The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
fell down and died within a sacred vessel belonging to that sanctuary,
and consequently we have been born as golden swans with a remembrance
of our former birth';--having heard this the king gazed on them to
his heart's content, and derived great pleasure from watching them.
"Therefore you will gain back your father and uncles by an unparalleled
gift." When Yajnadatta had given him this advice, Putraka did as he
recommended; when they heard the tidings of the distribution those
Bráhmans arrived: and when they were recognized they had great wealth
bestowed on them, and were reunited to their wives. Strange to say,
even after they have gone through calamities, wicked men having their
minds blinded by want of discernment, are unable to put off their
evil nature. After a time they hankered after royal power, and being
desirous of murdering Putraka they enticed him under pretext of a
pilgrimage to the temple of Durgá: and having stationed assassins in
the inner sanctuary of the temple, they said to him, "First go and
visit the goddess alone, step inside." Thereupon he entered boldly,
but when he saw those assassins preparing to slay him, he asked them
why they wished to kill him. They replied, "We were hired for gold to
do it by your father and uncles." Then the discreet Putraka said to
the assassins, whose senses were bewildered by the goddess, "I will
give you this priceless jewelled ornament of mine. Spare me, I will
not reveal your secret; I will go to a distant land." The assassins
said, "So be it," and taking the ornament they departed, and falsely
informed the father and uncles of Putraka that he was slain. Then those
Bráhmans returned and endeavoured to get possession of the throne,
but they were put to death by the ministers as traitors. How can the
ungrateful prosper?
In the meanwhile that king Putraka, faithful to his promise, entered
the impassable wilds of the Vindhya, disgusted with his relations:
as he wandered about he saw two heroes engaged heart and soul in
a wrestling-match, and he asked them who they were. They replied,
"We are the two sons of the Asura Maya, and his wealth belongs to
us, this vessel, and this stick, and these shoes; it is for these
that we are fighting, and whichever of us proves the mightier is to
take them." When he heard this speech of theirs, Putraka said with
a smile--"That is a fine inheritance for a man." Then they said--"By
putting on these shoes one gains the power of flying through the air;
whatever is written with this staff turns out true; and whatever food
a man wishes to have in the vessel is found there immediately." When
he heard this, Putraka said--"What is the use of fighting? Make this
agreement, that whoever proves the best man in running shall possess
this wealth." [45] Those simpletons said--"Agreed"--and set off to run,
while the prince put on the shoes and flew up into the air, taking with
him the staff and the vessel; then he went a great distance in a short
time and saw beneath him a beautiful city named Ákarshiká and descended
into it from the sky. He reflected with himself; "hetæræ are prone
to deceive, Bráhmans are like my father and uncles, and merchants are
greedy of wealth; in whose house shall I dwell?" Just at that moment he
reached a lonely dilapidated house, and saw a single old woman in it;
so he gratified that old woman with a present, and lived unobserved in
that broken down old house, waited upon respectfully by the old woman.
Once upon a time the old woman in an affectionate mood said to
Putraka--"I am grieved, my son, that you have not a wife meet
for you. But here there is a maiden named Pátalí, the daughter of
the king, and she is preserved like a jewel in the upper story of a
seraglio." While he was listening to this speech of hers with open ear,
the god of love found an unguarded point, and entered by that very path
into his heart. He made up his mind that he must see that damsel that
very day, and in the night flew up through the air to where she was,
by the help of his magic shoes. He then entered by a window, which
was as high above the ground as the peak of a mountain, and beheld
that Pátalí, asleep in a secret place in the seraglio, continually
bathed in the moonlight that seemed to cling to her limbs: as it
were the might of love in fleshly form reposing after the conquest of
this world. While he was thinking how he should awake her, suddenly
outside a watchman began to chant: "Young men obtain the fruit of
their birth, when they awake the sleeping fair one, embracing her as
she sweetly scolds, with her eyes languidly opening." On hearing this
encouraging prelude, he embraced that fair one with limbs trembling
with excitement, and then she awoke. When she beheld that prince,
there was a contest between shame and love in her eye, which was
alternately fixed on his face and averted. When they had conversed
together, and gone through the ceremony of the Gándharva marriage,
that couple found their love continually increasing, as the night
waned away. Then Putraka took leave of his sorrowing wife, and with
his mind dwelling only on her went in the last watch of the night to
the old woman's house. So every night the prince kept going backwards
and forwards, and at last the intrigue was discovered by the guards
of the seraglio, accordingly they revealed the matter to the lady's
father, and he appointed a woman to watch secretly in the seraglio
at night. She, finding the prince asleep, made a mark with red lac
upon his garment to facilitate his recognition. In the morning she
informed the king of what she had done, and he sent out spies in all
directions, and Putraka was discovered by the mark and dragged out from
the dilapidated house into the presence of the king. Seeing that the
king was enraged, he flew up into the air with the help of the shoes,
and entered the palace of Pátalí. He said to her,--"We are discovered,
therefore rise up, let us escape with the help of the shoes, and so
taking Pátalí in his arms he flew away from that place through the
air. [46] Then descending from heaven near the bank of the Ganges,
he refreshed his weary beloved with cakes provided by means of the
magic vessel. When Pátalí saw the power of Putraka she made a request
to him, in accordance with which he sketched out with the staff a
city furnished with a force of all four arms. [47] In that city he
established himself as king, and his great power having attained
full development, he subdued that father-in-law of his, and became
ruler of the sea-engirdled earth. This is that same divine city,
produced by magic, together with its citizens; hence it bears the
name of Pátaliputra, and is the home of wealth and learning.
When we heard from the mouth of Varsha the above strange and
extraordinarily marvellous story, our minds, O Kánabhúti, were for
a long time delighted with thrilling wonder.
CHAPTER IV.
Having related this episode to Kánabhúti in the Vindhya forest,
Vararuchi again resumed the main thread of his narrative.
While thus dwelling there with Vyádi and Indradatta, I gradually
attained perfection in all sciences, and emerged from the condition of
childhood. Once on a time when we went out to witness the festival of
Indra, we saw a maiden looking like some weapon of Cupid, not of the
nature of an arrow. Then, Indradatta, on my asking him who that lady
might be, replied,--"She is the daughter of Upavarsha, and her name
is Upakosá," and she found out by means of her handmaids who I was,
and drawing my soul after her with a glance made tender by love, she
with difficulty managed to return to her own house. She had a face
like a full moon, and eyes like a blue lotus, she had arms graceful
like the stalk of a lotus, and a lovely full [48] bosom; she had a neck
marked with three lines like a shell, [49] and magnificent coral lips;
in short she was a second Lakshmí, so to speak, the store-house of the
beauty of king Cupid. Then my heart was cleft by the stroke of love's
arrow, and I could not sleep that night through my desire to kiss her
bimba [50] lip. Having at last with difficulty gone off to sleep,
I saw, at the close of night, a celestial woman in white garments;
she said to me--"Upakosá was thy wife in a former birth; as she
appreciates merit, she desires no one but thee, therefore, my son,
thou oughtest not to feel anxious about this matter. I am Sarasvatí
[51] that dwell continually in thy frame, I cannot bear to behold thy
grief." When she had said this, she disappeared. Then I woke up and
somewhat encouraged I went slowly and stood under a young mango tree
near the house of my beloved; then her confidante came and told me of
the ardent attachment of Upakosá to me, the result of sudden passion:
then I with my pain doubled, said to her, "How can I obtain Upakosá,
unless her natural protectors willingly bestow her upon me? For
death is better than dishonour; so if by any means your friend's
heart became known to her parents, perhaps the end might be prosperous.
"Therefore bring this about, my good woman, save the life of me and
of thy friend." When she heard this, she went and told all to her
friend's mother, she immediately told it to her husband Upavarsha,
he to Varsha his brother, and Varsha approved of the match. Then, my
marriage having been determined upon, Vyádi by the order of my tutor
went and brought my mother from Kausámbí; so Upakosá was bestowed
upon me by her father with all due ceremonies, and I lived happily
in Pátaliputra with my mother and my wife.
Now in course of time Varsha got a great number of pupils, and among
them there was one rather stupid pupil of the name of Pánini; he,
being wearied out with service, was sent away by the preceptor's wife,
and being disgusted at it and longing for learning, he went to the
Himálaya to perform austerities: then he obtained from the god, who
wears the moon as a crest, propitiated by his severe austerities, a new
grammar, the source of all learning. Thereupon he came and challenged
me to a disputation, and seven days passed away in the course of our
disputation; on the eighth day he had been fairly conquered by me,
but immediately afterwards a terrible menacing sound was uttered by
Siva in the firmament; owing to that our Aindra grammar was exploded
in the world, [52] and all of us, being conquered by Pánini, became
accounted fools. Accordingly full of despondency I deposited in the
hand of the merchant Hiranyadatta my wealth for the maintenance of
my house, and after informing Upakosá of it, I went fasting to mount
Himálaya to propitiate Siva with austerities.
Story of Upakosá and her four lovers.
Upakosá on her part anxious for my success, remained in her own house,
bathing every day in the Ganges, strictly observing her vow. One day,
when spring had come, she being still beautiful, though thin and
slightly pale, and charming to the eyes of men, like the streak of
the new moon, was seen by the king's domestic chaplain while going
to bathe in the Ganges, and also by the head magistrate, and by the
prince's minister; and immediately they all of them became a target for
the arrows of love. It happened too somehow or other that she took a
long time bathing that day, and as she was returning in the evening,
the prince's minister laid violent hands on her, but she with great
presence of mind said to him, "Dear Sir, I desire this as much as you,
but I am of respectable family, and my husband is away from home. How
can I act thus? Some one might perhaps see us, and then misfortune
would befall you as well as me. Therefore you must come without fail
to my house in the first watch of the night of the spring-festival
when the citizens are all excited." [53] When she had said this,