This sprite said, “Your majesty! there was a city named Dharmpur, where
a king named Dharmaj ruled. In his city was a Brahman named Govind,
versed in the whole four Vedas and all the six learned treatises, and
a careful observer of all his religious duties; and Haridatt, Somdatt,
Yagyadatt and Brahmadatt were his four sons. They were very learned,
very clever, and at all times obedient to their father. After some time
his eldest son died, and he, too, was at the point of death through
grief for him.”
“At that time, Vishnusharma, the king’s family priest, came and began
reasoning with him, saying, ‘When this (being) man enters the mother’s
womb, he first suffers pain there; secondly, falling under the influence
of love in youth, he endures the anguish of separation from his beloved;
thirdly, becoming old, he is involved in suffering through his body
being feeble. In brief, many are the sorrows attendant on (man’s) being
born in the world, and few (are) the joys; for the world is the source
of sorrow. If a man were to climb to the top of a tree, or go and sit
on the summit of a mountain, or remain hiding in water, or sneak into an
iron cage and remain therein, or go and conceal himself in the infernal
regions--even then death would not let him escape. Moreover, whatever
one may be--whether learned or a fool, rich or poor, wise or unwise,
strong or weak--still, this all devouring death lets no one escape. The
full duration of a man’s life is a hundred years; of this, half passes
away in night, and half of the half in childhood and old age; the
remainder is spent in contention, the (distress arising from)
separation from those we love, and affliction. Further, the soul that
is, is as restless as a watery wave; how, then, can it yield man
any peace? And now, in this Iron Age, to meet with truthful men is
a difficult matter; while countries are daily laid! waste, kings are
avaricious, the earth yields little fruit, thieves and evil doers
commit violence on the earth; and but little of religion, devotion, and
truth remain in the world; kings are tyrannical, Brahmans covetous, men
have fallen under the influence of women, wives have become wanton, sons
have begun reviling their fathers, and friends (have begun to display)
enmity. Observe, further, that death did not even spare the great
Chimanyu, whose maternal uncle was Kanhaiya, and father Arjun. And when
Yama * carries off a man, wealth remains behind in his house, and
father, mother, wife, son, brothers and kindred--no one proves of any
avail; his good and evil deeds, his vices and his virtues alone
accompany him; while those same kinsfolk take him to the burning-ground
and burn him. And see (how) the night comes to an end on one side, while
day dawns on the other; here the moon sets, there the sun rises. In the
same way youth departs, old age comes on; thus, also, time goes on
passing away, and yet, even while perceiving this, man does not learn
wisdom. Observe, again, in the First, or Golden Age, Mandhãta, a great
king, who filled (_lit_. covered) the whole earth with the fame of his
virtue; and in the Second, or Silver Age, the glorious monarch
Rãmchandra, who, bridging the sea, destroyed such a fortress as Lanka,
and slew Rãvan; and in the Third Age, Yudhisthir reigned in such a
manner that people sing of his renown to this day--yet death did not
spare even these. Moreover, the birds which fly in the air, and the
animals which dwell in the sea, when the hour arrives, even these fall
into trouble. No one has escaped sorrow on coming into this world. To
grieve on this account is folly. It is best, therefore, to practise
religious duties.’”
* Yama is the judge of the deceased, and ruler of the
infernal regions: also, the god of death.
“When Vishnusharmã had reasoned with him in this manner, it came into
the Brahman’s mind that he would thenceforth perform meritorious and
pious acts. Having thought this over in his mind, he said to his sons,
‘I am about to sit down to a sacrifice; you go and bring me a turtle
from the sea.’ On receiving their father’s command, they went to a
fisherman, and said, ‘Take a rupee, and catch a turtle for us.’ He took
it, and caught one, and gave it to them. Then the eldest of the brothers
said to the second, ‘Do thou take it up.’ He said to the youngest,
‘Brother! do thou take it up.’ He replied, saying, ‘I will not touch
it; a bad smell will cling to my hands, and I am very nice * in (my)
eating.’ The second said, ‘I am very particular in my intercourse with
women.’ The eldest said, ‘I am particular in (the matter of) sleeping on
a bed.’”
* I hazard this meaning for chatur in the teeth of the
vocabulary and the dictionaries, as, the meanings contained
therein do not seem to me to apply. The student, however,
may, if he pleases, substitute “sharp” or “clever” for
“nice.”
“Thus did the three of them begin wrangling; and leaving the turtle
where it was, they proceeded, quarrelling the while, to the king’s gate,
and said to the gatekeeper, ‘Three Brahmans have come seeking justice;
go thou and tell this to the king.’ On hearing this, the doorkeeper went
and informed the king. The king summoned them, and asked, ‘Why are you
quarrelling one with another?’ Then the youngest of them said, ‘Your
majesty! I am very particular as to food.’ The second said, ‘Lord of the
earth! I am very particular as to women.’ The eldest said, ‘Incarnation
of justice! I am particular in the matter of beds.’”
“When the monarch heard this, he said, ‘Each of you submit to a trial.’
They said, ‘Very well.’ The king sent for his cook, and said, ‘Prepare
various kinds of condiments and meats, and give this Brahman a
thoroughly good repast.’ On hearing this, the cook went and prepared
food, and taking with him the one who was nice in the matter of food,
seated him in front of the dishes. He was on the point of taking up a
mouthful and putting it into his mouth, when an offensive smell came
from it. He let it go, washed his hands, and came to the king. The king
asked, ‘Didst thou enjoy thy repast?’ Then he said, ‘Your majesty! I
perceived a disagreeable smell in the food, (and) did not eat.’ The king
said again, ‘State the cause of the offensive smell.’ He replied, ‘Your
majesty! it was rice which had been grown on a burning-ground; the smell
of corpses proceeded from it, and hence I did not eat it.’”
“On hearing this, the king summoned his steward, and asked, ‘Sirrah!
from what village does this rice come?’ He replied, ‘From Shibpur,
your majesty!’ The king said, ‘Summon the landholder of that village.’
Thereupon the steward had the landholder brought before the monarch. The
king asked him, ‘On what land was this rice grown?’ He replied, ‘On a
burning-ground, your majesty!’ When the king heard this, he said to that
Brahman, ‘Thou art indeed a connoisseur in the matter of food.’”
“After this, he had the one who was nice in the matter of women sent
for, and having a bed laid out in an apartment, and all the requisites
for enjoyment placed therein, had a beautiful woman brought and placed
near him, and the two while lying down began conversing with each other.
The king was secretly looking on through a lattice. Now, the Brahman was
about to give her a kiss, when smelling her breath, he turned away his
face, and went to sleep. The king having witnessed this conduct, entered
his palace and sought repose. Rising early in the morning, he came into
the court, and summoned that Brahman, and asked, ‘O Brahman! didst
thou pass the night pleasantly?’ He replied, ‘Your majesty! I found no
pleasure.’ ‘Why?’ asked the king again. The Brahman replied, ‘The smell
of a goat proceeded from her mouth, and my mind was much distressed in
consequence.’ When the king heard this, he summoned the procuress, and
inquired, ‘Whence didst thou bring this (woman)? and who is she?’ She
said, ‘She is my sister’s daughter; her mother died when she was three
months old, and I brought her up on goat’s milk.’ On hearing this, the
monarch said, ‘Thou art indeed a connoisseur in respect of women.’”
“After that he had a very fine bed prepared, and caused the Brahman who
was a nice judge of beds to sleep thereon. On its becoming morning, the
king sent for him, and asked, ‘Didst thou sleep comfortably through
the night?’ He replied, ‘Your majesty ‘I had no sleep the whole night
long.’ ‘Why?’ asked the king. He replied, ‘Your majesty! in the seventh
fold of the bedding there was a hair, which was pricking my back, and I
had no sleep in consequence.’ On hearing this, the king looked into the
seventh fold of the bedding, and lo! a hair was found. Thereupon he said
to him, ‘Thou art indeed a nice judge of beds.’”
After relating so much of the story, the sprite asked, “Who was the
greatest connoisseur of those three?” King Bir Yikramajit replied, “He
who was the connoisseur in the matter of beds.” When the sprite heard
this, he went again and hung on to that tree; (and) the king also went
there on the instant, and bound him, placed him on his shoulder, and
carried him away.