The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
Indradatta, he founded for his glory a great temple at the holy
bathing-place of Pápasodhana, desiring the body of good reputation,
as he saw that our mortal body is perishable. And the king in the
ardour of his devotion was continually going to visit it, and all
kinds of people were continually coming there to bathe in the holy
water. Now, one day the king saw a merchant's wife, whose husband was
travelling in foreign parts, who had come there to bathe in the holy
water; she was steeped in the nectar of pure beauty, and adorned
with various charms, like a splendid moving palace of the god of
Love. She was embraced on both her feet by the radiance of the two
quivers of the five-arrowed god, [500] as if out of love, believing
that with her he would conquer the world. [501] The moment the king
saw her, she captivated his soul so entirely that, unable to restrain
himself, he found out her house and went there at night. And when he
solicited her, she said to him--"You are a protector of the helpless,
you ought not to touch another man's wife. And if you lay violent
hands on me, you will commit a great sin; and I will die immediately,
I will not endure disgrace." Though she said this to him, the king
still endeavoured to use force to her, whereupon her heart broke in a
moment through fear of losing her chastity. When the king saw that,
he was at once abashed, and went back by the way that he came, and
in a few days died out of remorse for that crime.
Having told this tale, Kalingasená bowed in timid modesty, and
again said to the king of Vatsa--"Therefore, king, set not your
heart on wickedness that would rob me of breath; since I have come
here, allow me to dwell here; if not, I will depart to some other
place." Then the king of Vatsa, who knew what was right, hearing
this from Kalingasená, after reflecting, desisted from his intention,
and said to her--"Princess, dwell here at will with this husband of
yours; I will not say anything to you, henceforth fear not." When
the king had said this, he returned of his own accord to his house,
and Madanavega, having heard the conversation, descended from heaven,
and said--"My beloved, you have done well, if you had not acted thus,
O fortunate one, good fortune would not have resulted, for I should
not have tolerated your conduct." When the Vidyádhara had said this,
he comforted her, and passed the night there, and continued going
to her house and returning again. And Kalingasená, having a king of
the Vidyádharas for her husband, remained there, blessed even in
her mortal state with the enjoyment of heavenly pleasures. As for
the king of Vatsa, he ceased to think about her, and remembering the
speech of his minister, he rejoiced, considering that he had saved
his queens and kingdom and also his son. And the queen Vásavadattá
and the minister Yaugandharáyana were at ease, having reaped the
fruit of the wishing-tree of policy.
Then, as days went on, Kalingasená had the lotus of her face a
little pale, and was pregnant, having longing produced in her. Her
lofty breasts, with extremities a little dark, appeared like
the treasure-vessels of Love, marked with his seal of joy. [502]
Then her husband Madanavega came to her and said, "Kalingasená, we
heavenly beings are subject to this law, that, when a mortal child
is conceived we must abandon it, and go afar. Did not Menaká leave
Sakuntalá in the hermitage of Kanva? And though you were formerly an
Apsaras, you have now, goddess, become a mortal by the curse of Siva,
inflicted on account of your disobedience. Thus it has come to pass
that, though chaste, you have incurred the reproach of unchastity;
so guard your offspring, I will go to my own place. And whenever
you think upon me, I will appear to you." Thus the prince of the
Vidyádharas spake to the weeping Kalingasená, and consoled her,
and gave her a heap of valuable jewels, and departed with his mind
fixed on her, drawn away by the law. Kalingasená, for her part,
remained there; supported by the hope of offspring as by a friend,
protected by the shade of the king of Vatsa's arm.
In the meanwhile the husband of Ambiká [503] gave the following
order to Rati, the wife of the god of Love, who had performed
penance in order to get back her husband with his body restored:
"That husband of thine who was formerly consumed, has been born in
the palace of the king of Vatsa, under the name of Naraváhanadatta,
conceived in a mortal womb on account of disrespect shewn to me. But
because thou hast propitiated me, thou shalt also be born in the world
of mortals, without being conceived in a mortal womb; and then thou
shalt be reunited to thy husband, once more possessing a body." Having
said this to Rati, Siva then gave this command to the Creator; [504]
"Kalingasená shall give birth to a son of divine origin. By thy power
of illusion thou shalt remove her son, and substitute in his place
this very Rati, who shall abandon her heavenly body, and be moulded
by thee in the form of a mortal maiden." The Creator, in obedience to
the order of Siva, [505] went down to earth, and when the appointed
time came, Kalingasená gave birth to a son. The Creator abstracted,
by his divine power of illusion, her son, the moment he was born,
and substituted Rati, whom he had turned into a girl, in his place,
without the change being detected. And all present there saw that girl
born, and she seemed like the streak of the new moon suddenly rising
in broad daylight, for she illuminated with her splendour the lying-in
chamber, and eclipsing the long row of flames of the jewel-lamps [506]
robbed them of lustre, and made them, as it were, abashed. Kalingasená,
when she saw that incomparable daughter born, in her delight made
greater rejoicing, than she would have made at the birth of a son.
Then the king of Vatsa, with his queen and his ministers, heard that
such a lovely daughter had been born to Kalingasená. And when the
king heard of it, he suddenly, under the impulsion of the god Siva,
said to the queen Vásavadattá, in the presence of Yaugandharáyana;
"I know, this Kalingasená is a heavenly nymph, who has fallen down to
earth in consequence of a curse, and this daughter born to her will
also be heavenly, and of wonderful beauty. So this girl, being equal
in beauty to my son Naraváhanadatta, ought to be his head-queen." When
the queen Vásavadattá heard that, she said to the king--"Great king,
why do you suddenly say this now? What similarity can there possibly
be between this son of yours, of pure descent by both lines, and the
daughter of Kalingasená, a girl whose mother is unchaste." When the
king heard that, he reflected, and said, "Truly, I do not say this
of myself, but some god seems to have entered into me, and to be
forcing me to speak. And I seem to hear a voice uttering these words
from heaven--'This daughter of Kalingasená is the appointed wife
of Naraváhanadatta.' Moreover, that Kalingasená is a faithful wife,
of good family; and her reproach of unchastity has arisen from the
influence of her actions in a former birth." When the king had said
this, the minister Yaugandharáyana spoke--"We hear, king, that when
the god of Love was consumed, Rati performed asceticism. And Siva
granted to Rati, who wished to recover her husband, the following boon:
'Thou shalt assume the condition of a mortal, and be reunited to thy
husband, who has been born with a body in the world of mortals.' Now,
your son has long ago been declared by a heavenly voice to be an
incarnation of Káma, and Rati by the order of Siva has to become
incarnate in mortal form. And the midwife said to me to-day--'I
inspected previously the fetus when contained in the uterus, and
then I saw one quite different from what has now appeared. Having
beheld this marvel I have come here to tell you.' This is what that
woman told me, and now this inspiration has come to you. So I am
persuaded that the gods have stolen the real child of Kalingasená
and substituted this daughter not born in the ordinary way, who is
no other than Rati, ordained beforehand to be the wife of your son,
who is an incarnation of Káma, O king. To illustrate this, hear the
following story concerning a Yaksha."
Story of the Yaksha Virúpáksha.
The god of wealth had for servant a Yaksha, named Virúpáksha, who
had been appointed chief guardian of lacs of treasure. [507] And he
delegated a certain Yaksha to guard a treasure lying outside the town
of Mathurá, posted there like an immovable pillar of marble. And
once on a time a certain Bráhman, a votary of Pasupati, who made
it his business to exhume treasures, went there in search of hidden
wealth. While he was examining that place, with a candle made of human
fat in his hand, the candle fell from his grasp. By that sign he knew
that treasure was concealed there; and he attempted to dig it up with
the help of some other Bráhmans his friends. Then the Yaksha, who was
told off to guard that treasure, beholding that, came and related
the whole circumstance to Virúpáksha. And Virúpáksha in his wrath
gave the following command to the Yaksha--"Go and slay immediately
those mean treasure-hunters." Then the Yaksha went and slew by his
power those Bráhmans, who were digging for treasure, before they had
attained their object. Then the god of wealth came to hear of it, and
being angry he said to Virúpáksha, "Why did you, evil one, recklessly
order the slaughter of a Bráhman? What will not poor people, who are
struggling for a livelihood, [508] do out of desire for gain? But
they must be prevented by being terrified with various bug-bears,
they must not be slain." When the god of Wealth had said this, he
cursed that Virúpáksha as follows--"Be born as a mortal on account of
your wicked conduct." Then that Virúpáksha, smitten with the curse,
was born on the earth as the son of a certain Bráhman who lived on a
royal grant. Then the Yakshiní his wife implored the lord of wealth,
"O god, send me whither my husband has gone; be merciful to me,
for I cannot live without him." When the virtuous lady addressed
this prayer to him, Vaisravana said--"Thou shalt descend, without
being born, into the house of a female slave of that very Bráhman, in
whose house thy husband is born. There thou shalt be united to that
husband of thine, and by thy power he shall surmount his curse and
return to my service." In accordance with this decree of Vaisravana,
that virtuous wife became a mortal maiden, and fell at the door of
that Bráhman's female slave's house. And the slave suddenly saw that
maiden of marvellous beauty, and took her and exhibited her to her
master the Bráhman. And the Bráhman rejoiced, and said to the female
slave--"This is without doubt some heavenly maiden not born in the
ordinary way; so my soul tells me. Bring here this girl who has entered
your house, for, I think, she deserves to be my son's wife." Then in
course of time that girl and the son of the Bráhman, having grown
up, were smitten with ardent reciprocal affection at the sight of
one another. Then they were married by the Bráhman; and the couple,
though they did not remember their previous births, felt as if a long
separation had been brought to an end. Then at last the Yaksha died,
and as his wife burnt herself with his mortal body, his sins were
wiped away by her sufferings, and he regained his former rank.
"Thus, you see, heavenly beings, on account of certain causes, descend
from heaven to the earth, by the appointment of fate, and, because they
are free from sin, they are not born in the usual way. What does this
girl's family matter to you? So this daughter of Kalingasená is, as I
said, the wife appointed for your son by destiny." When Yaugandharáyana
had said this to the king of Vatsa and the queen Vásavadattá, they