The sprite said, “Your majesty! There was a city named Kubalpur, the
name of the king of which was Sudakshi. Now, a merchant named Dhanãkshi
used also to live in that city, and he had a daughter whose name was
Dhanvati. He gave her in marriage in her childhood to a merchant named
Gauridatt. After a considerable time she had a girl, whom she named
Mohani. When she attained to some years, her father died, and the
merchant’s kinsfolk seized all his property. She, in her helplessness,
left the house in the darkness of the night, and taking her daughter
with her, set out for the house of her parents.”
“After proceeding but a short distance, she lost the road, and came upon
a burning-ground, where a thief was stretched upon an impaling-stake.
Her hand quite unexpectedly came in contact with his foot. He called
out, ‘Who is it that put me to pain just now?’ On this she replied, ‘I
have not willingly inflicted pain on you forgive my fault.’ He said, ‘No
one gives either pain or pleasure to another; according as the Creator
decrees one’s fate shall be, so he experiences; and those who affirm
that they did such and such things, are very unwise; for men are fixed
to the cord of fate, which draws them after it whithersoever it pleases.
The ways of the Creator are utterly inscrutable; for men propose a thing
to themselves, and He brings something quite different to pass.’”
“On hearing this, Dhanvati said, ‘O man! who art thou?’ He replied, ‘I
am a thief; this is my third day on the impaling-stake, and life will
not quit the body.’ She said, ‘For what reason?’ He replied, saying, ‘I
am unmarried; if thou wilt give me thy daughter in marriage, I will give
thee ten millions of gold-mohurs.’ It is notorious that greediness of
gain is the root of all evil, pleasure the source of pain, and love the
source of sorrow. Whoever keeps clear of these three lives happy. It
is not every one, however, who can give them up. Eventually, Dhanvati,
through greed, became willing to give him her daughter, and asked, ‘It
is my desire that thou shouldst have a son; but how can this be?’ He
replied, saying, ‘when she attains to womanhood, send for a handsome
Brahman, and give him five hundred gold-mohurs, and place her with him;
thus will she have a son.’”
“When she heard this, Dhanvati married the girl to him by giving her
four turns round the stake. Then the thief said to her, ‘There is
a banyan-tree near a large well of masonry to the east of this; the
gold-mohurs lie buried beneath it; go thou and take them.’ He said this,
and died. She went in the direction indicated, and on arriving there,
took a few gold-mohurs from those buried» and came to her parents’
house. After relating her story to them, she brought them with her to
her husband’s land. Then she built a large house and began living in it;
and the girl increased in stature daily.”
“When she had become a woman, she was standing one day with a female
companion on the house-top, and casting her eyes along the road, while
just at that moment a young Brahman passed that way, and she, at the
sight of him, was smitten with love, and said to her friend, ‘O my
friend! bring this man to my mother.’ On hearing this, she went and
brought the Brahman to her mother. She said, on seeing him, ‘O Brahman!
my daughter is young; if thou wilt lie with her, I will give thee a
hundred gold-mohurs for a son.’ On hearing this, he said, ‘I will do
so.’”
“Whilst they were conversing thus, evening came on. They gave him food
to his mind, and he supped. It is a well known saying that enjoyment is
of eight kinds,--1. Perfume; 2. Woman; 3. Apparel; 4. Song; 5. _Pan_; 6.
Food; 7. The couch; 8. Ornaments. All these existed there. To be brief,
when the first watch of the night was at hand (or, was nigh passed),
he repaired to the nuptial chamber, and spent the whole night in
pleasure and enjoyment with her. When it became morning, he went home,
and she arose and came to her companions. Then one of them enquired,
‘Say! What pleasures did you enjoy with your love in the night?’ She
replied, ‘When I went and sat near him, a kind of tremour made itself
felt in my heart; (but) when he smiled and took hold of my hand, I was
quite overcome, and no consciousness of what took place remained to me.
And it is said that if a husband be--1. possessed of renown; 2. brave;
3. clever; 4. a chief; 5. liberal; 6. endowed with good qualities; 7.
a protector of his wife,--such a man a wife never forgets even in the
world to come, much less in this world.”
“The gist of the story is, that on that very night she conceived. When
the full time came, a boy was born. On the sixth night, the mother saw
in a vision an ascetic, with matted hair on his head, a shining moon on
his forehead, ashes of burnt cow-dung rubbed over him, wearing a white
Brahminical thread, seated on a white lotus, wearing a necklace of white
snakes, with a string of skulls thrown round his neck, and with a skull
in one hand and a trident in the other, thus assuming a most terrifying
appearance, come before her, and begin to say, ‘To-morrow, at midnight,
place a bag of one thousand gold-mohurs in a large basket, and enclosing
this boy therein, leave it at the gate of the palace.’”
“As soon as she saw this, her eyes opened. And on its becoming morning,
she told all the circumstances to her mother. When her mother heard
this, she, on the following day, put the boy in a basket in the very
manner directed, and left him at the king’s gate. Now, here (at the
palace) the king saw an apparition with ten arms, five heads, each head
having three eyes in it, and a moon upon it, very large teeth, a trident
in his hand--a most terrifying form, which came before him and said, ‘O
king! a basket is placed at thy door; bring away the child that is in
it; he it is who will maintain thy dominion.’”
“As soon as the king heard this, his eyes opened. He then related the
whole affair to the queen. After that, rising up thence, and coming
to the door, he perceived the basket placed there. On the instant of
opening the basket and peering into it, he beheld a boy and a bag of one
thousand gold-mohurs in it. He took up the child himself, and told
the door-keepers to bring in the bag. He then went into the female
apartments, and placed the child on the queen’s lap.”
“By this time the day broke. The king came out, and summoning the sages
and astrologers, questioned them, saying, ‘Tell me, what marks of
royalty are perceptible in this child?’ Thereupon one of the sages, who
was acquainted with the science of interpreting the spots on the human
body, spoke, saying, ‘Your majesty! three marks are distinctly perceived
on this child; 1. a broad chest; 2. a high forehead; 3. a large face; in
addition to these, your majesty! the whole thirty-two marks which are
assigned to man exist in this one. Have no apprehensions on his account;
he will rule over the kingdom.’ On hearing this, the king was pleased,
and taking off a chaplet of pearls from his own neck, presented it to
that Brahman; and after giving large gifts to all the Brahmans, he bade
them name the child. Then the sages said, ‘Your majesty! be pleased to
sit down with the queen fastened to you; let her majesty sit with the
child in her lap; and summon all the musicians, singers, and others
employed on festive occasions, and cause rejoicings to take place; then
will we give him a name after the manner prescribed by the sacred
writings.’”
“When the monarch heard this, he ordered his minister to do whatever
they bid him. The minister had rejoicings for the birth of the child
forthwith proclaimed throughout the city. On hearing this, all the
professional rejoicers were in attendance, and congratulatory songs rung
forth from every home; festive music began to strike up in the king’s
palace, and rejoicing to take place. Then the king and the queen, with
the child in her lap, came and sat within a square filled with coloured
meal, perfumes, and sweetmeats, and the Brahmans began reading the
scriptures. An astrologer from among the Brahmans, having first
determined the auspicious planetary conjunction and time, named the
child Hardatti After that, he grew daily. At length, at the age of nine
years, he finished the study of the six learned volumes, and fourteen
sciences, and became a profound scholar. In the meantime, according to
what was willed by God, it happened that his father and mother died. He
ascended the throne, and began to govern justly.”
“After, several years, the king one day thought to himself, ‘What have I
done for my parents in return for being born in their family? The saying
is that,--Those who are compassionate, deal compassionately with all;
they it is who are wise, and to them it is that Paradise is allotted.
And the gifts, worship, religious penances, pilgrimages, and listening
to the scriptures of those who are not pure of heart, is all in vain.
And those who perform the funeral ceremonies and worship of the Manes
without faith, and in pride, derive no advantage thereby, and so, their
fathers go with their desires unfulfilled.’ Reflecting and pondering on
this matter, the king decided that he ought now to perform the funeral
ceremonies of his fathers. Thereupon King Hardatt proceeded to Gayã, and
on arriving there, invoked the names of his fathers, and began offering
oblations * to them on the bank of the River Phalgü, when the hands of
all three ** came up out of the river. He was troubled in mind on seeing
this, wondering to which of the hands he should give (the oblations),
and to which not.”
* These oblations consist of balls (pind) or lumps of meat,
or rice mixed up with milk, curds, flowers, &c.
** That is the thief’s, the Brahman’s who begat him, and the
king’s who adopted him. The Hindus believe that when a son
performs the ceremony in question, the father is permitted
to come from the other world and receive the oblation.
Having reached this stage of the story, the sprite said, “O King Vikram!
to which of the three was it right to give the oblations?” Then the
king said, “To the thief.” The sprite said again, “For what reason?”
Thereupon he (the king) said, “The seed of the Brahman had been bought;
and the king took a thousand gold mohurs and brought up the boy; and
therefore neither of these two had any right to the oblation.” On
hearing these words, the sprite went again and hung on to that tree, and
the king carried him away bound from thence.