The sprite said, “O king! there is a city named Champãpur, the king
of which is Champakeshwar. And the queen’s name is Sulochanã, and the
daughter’s Tribhuvan-sundari. She is an eminently-beautiful woman, whose
face is like the moon, hair like black clouds, eyes like a gazelle’s,
eyebrows (arched) like a bow, nose like a parrot’s (beak), neck like a
pigeon’s, teeth like the grains of a pomegranate; the redness of whose
lips resembles that of the _kandüri_, * whose waist is like a leopard’s,
hands and feet like the tender lotus, complexion like the champa-flower;
in short, the bloom of her youth was daily on the increase.”
* The kandüri is a cucurbitaceous plant with red fruit, or
the gourd of the momordica monadelpha. Its Hindi name is
bimb.
“When she became marriageable, the king and queen began to feel anxious
in their minds. And the news spread among the monarchs of the different
countries (round about) that so beautiful a girl had been born in the
palace of king Champakeshwar that, at a mere glance at her beauty, gods,
men, and holy sages, remain fascinated. Thereupon the kings of the
different countries had each his likeness painted, and sent it by the
hands of a Brahman to king Champakeshwar.
“The king received and showed the portraits of all the monarchs to his
daughter, but none of them suited her fancy. Thereupon the king said,
‘Do thou, then, make a public choice of a husband.’ To this, too, she
did not agree, but said to her father, ‘Father! give me to him who
possesses the three qualities of beauty, strength, and superior
knowledge.’”
“In fine, when several days had elapsed, four suitors came from four
different countries. Then the king said to them, ‘Do each of you
set forth clearly before me the superior qualities and knowledge
he possesses.’ One of them said, ‘I possess such knowledge that I
manufacture a cloth and sell it for five rubies. When I realise the
price, I give one of the rubies to Brahmans, of another I make an
offering to the gods, a third I wear on my own person, a fourth I
reserve for my wife, the fifth I sell, and constantly support myself
with the money so obtained. No one else possesses this knowledge. And as
to the good looks I possess,--they are open to view.’ The second said,
‘I am acquainted with the languages of both land and aquatic beasts
and birds; have no equal in strength; and my beauty is before you.’ The
third said, ‘So well do I comprehend the learned writings that no equal
of mine exists; and my beauty is before your eyes.’ The fourth said,
‘I stand alone in my knowledge of the use of weapons; * there is no
one like me; I can shoot an arrow which will strike an object which is
heard, but not seen; and my beauty is famous in the world,--you, too,
must surely see it.’”
* I suspect an error in the text here; viz., shãstra for
shastra; for the third suitor had already claimed the
possession of unrivalled excellence in the shãstras, while
the fourth boasts of his superior shill in archery, which
would certainly seem to accord better with shastra than
shãstra. Moreover, the judgment of King Vikram shows
satisfactorily, I think, that shastra is the word intended.
“On hearing the statements of the four of them, the king began to think
to himself, ‘All four are on a par as to excellences; to which should I
give the girl?’ Having reflected thus, he went to his daughter and set
forth the virtues of the whole four of them, and said, ‘To which of them
shall I give thee (in marriage)?’ On hearing this, she hung down her
head through modesty, and kept silent, making no answer.”
After relating so much of the story, the sprite said, “Now, King Vikram!
for which of them is this woman suited?” The king replied, “He who makes
cloth and sells it is a _südra_ by caste; and he who knows the languages
is a _bais_ by caste; he who has studied the learned writings is a
_Brahman_; and he who hits with an arrow an object which is simply,
heard, and not seen, is of _her_ caste: the woman is suitable for him.”
On hearing these words, the sprite went again and hung himself on that
tree; and the king, too, went thither, bound him, placed him on his
shoulder, and carried him off.