The sprite said, “O king! there is a city named Ujjain, of which
Mahãbal was king. Now, he had an envoy named Haridãs. The name of that
envoy’s daughter was Mahãdevï. She was extremely beautiful. When she
became marriageable, her father thought that he ought to seek a husband
for her, and give her in marriage. In short, the girl one day said to
her father, ‘Father! give me in marriage to some one who is possessed of
all accomplishments. On this, he said, ‘I will give thee to one who is
acquainted with all science.’”
“One day subsequent to this, the king summoned Haridãs, and said, ‘There
is in the south a king named Harichand; go and ask after his health
and welfare for me, and bring me news thereof.’ On receiving the king’s
command he took leave, and arriving at that king’s after some days,
delivered to him the whole message of his royal master, and took up his
permanent abode near that monarch.”
“To be brief, it happened one day that the king questioned him, saying,
‘Haridãs! has the Iron Age (i.e. the fourth age of the world, or the age
of vice) begun yet or not?’ On this he put his hands together and said,
‘Your majesty! we are already in the Iron Age (_lit_. the Iron Age is
present); for falsehood is rife in the world, and truth has decreased;
people utter soft words to one’s face, while they harbour deceit in
their hearts; virtue has vanished; vice has increased; the earth has
begun to yield less fruit; kings have begun levying contributions by
violence; Brahmans have become covetous; women have abandoned modesty;
the son obeys not the father’s command; brother trusts not brother;
friendship has departed from amongst friends; faith is no longer found
in masters, and servants have cast aside the duty they owe to masters,
and every description of impropriety meets the eye.’”
“When he had said all this to the king, his majesty arose and went into
the private apartments, and he (the envoy) came and sat down in his own
place. In the meantime a Brahman’s son came to him and said, ‘I have
come to solicit something of you.’ On hearing this, he said, ‘What
request have you to make? Mention it.’ He replied, ‘Give me your
daughter in marriage.’ Haridãs said, ‘I will give her to him in whom all
accomplishments exist.’ Hearing this, he rejoined, ‘I am acquainted
with all the sciences.’ Then said the envoy, ‘Show me something of thy
knowledge; I shall thus be able to judge whether thou art versed in
science.’ Hereupon the Brahman’s son said, ‘I have made a car which has
this marvellous property, that it will convey you in a moment to any
place you may wish to go to.’ Then Haridãs replied, ‘Bring the car to me
in the morning.’”
“In fine, he brought the car to Haridãs early in the morning. Then the
two mounted the car, and arrived in the City of Ujjain. Here, however,
it so happened that, previous to his arrival, another Brahman’s son had
come, and said to his eldest son, ‘Give me your sister in marriage and
he also had replied, saying, ‘I will give her to one who is learned
in all the sciences;’ and that Brahman’s son, too, had said, ‘I am
acquainted with all knowledge and science.’ On hearing this, he had
said, ‘To you will I give her.’ Another Brahman’s son had said to the
girl’s mother, ‘Give me your daughter.’ She, too, had given him the same
answer; viz., ‘I will give my girl to him who is acquainted with all
science.’ That Brahman’s son also had replied, ‘I am acquainted with
the whole body of science contained in the _Shãstras_, and can shoot an
arrow which will hit an object which is merely heard, and not seen.’
On hearing this, she, too, had said, ‘I consent, and will give her to
thee.’”
“In short, all the three suitors had come and met together in this way.
Haridãs began to think to himself, ‘One girl and three suitors! to whom
shall I give her, and to whom not?’ He was troubled with this thought,
when a demon came at night and carried off the girl to the summit of a
mountain in the Vindhyã range. It is said that too much of anything is
not good. Sïtã was exceedingly beautiful, and Rãvan carried her off;
King Bali gave gifts largely,--he became indigent; Rãvan utterly ruined
his family by his excessive pride.”
“In brief, when mom arrived, and none of the household found the girl,
they began to fancy all sorts of things; and the three suitors, too,
on bearing of the matter, came there. One of them was a wise man,--him
Haridãs questioned, saying, ‘O wise man! tell me whither the girl has
gone?’ He considered for a moment or so, and said, ‘A demon has carried
off your daughter, and lodged her on a mountain.’ On this, the second
said, ‘I will kill the demon and bring her back.’ Then, again, the third
said, ‘Mount my car and bring her back.’ On the instant of hearing this,
he mounted the car, reached the place, slew the demon, and forthwith
brought her back. And then they began quarrelling with one another.
Thereupon the father pondered over the matter in his mind, and said,
‘All of them have conferred obligations on me, to whom shall I give her,
and to whom not?’” Having related so much of the story, the sprite said,
“Now, king Vikram! whose wife, out of the three, did the maiden become?”
He replied, “She became the wife of him who slew the demon and brought
her back.” The sprite said, “The good qualities of all were on a
par,--how came she to become his wife?” The king replied, “The other two
simply conferred favours, for which they were recompensed; but this one
fought with and slew him (the demon) and brought her away, hence she
became his wife.” On hearing this the sprite went again to the same
tree, and suspended himself on it, and the king, too, went immediately,
bound the sprite, placed him on his shoulder, and carried him off as
before.