In a certain country there was a King, it is said. There was a single
daughter of the King's. From many places they spoke of marriage to
that royal Princess, but her father the King did not agree to it.
At last, when a certain royal Prince asked to marry this Princess,
her father the King, having made inquiry, because of his not happening
to be a son of the Chief Queen was not satisfied with it.
But on account of the Prince's possessing a mind extremely attached
to the said Princess, having considered several means of success for
bringing away this Princess, he made a very large brass lamp. The
chamber of the lamp had a size [sufficient] for the Prince to be
concealed [in it].
Having caused the lamp to be constructed in this manner, after the
Prince entered there, having employed four persons they took this
very lamp to sell. In order to go in this way, the Prince said thus
to his servants, "There is necessity for me to enter such and such a
royal house. While [you are] taking this lamp, when anyone [elsewhere]
asks for it, mention a price which it is not worth; but having gone
to the royal house give it at whatever they ask it for," he said.
Thereafter the servants, keeping this word in mind, and the Prince
being concealed [in it], took the lamp to the royal house, it is
said. The King, having seen the lamp and having thought, "This is an
extremely fine lamp. This is suitable for placing in my daughter's
chamber," asked the price of it, it is said. Thereupon the servants
who took the lamp fixed the price at four hundred masuran. And when
the King said, "This is not worth so much; I will give seventy-five
[248] masuran," the servants because of the Prince's word gave the
lamp at that price, it is said.
Thereafter, for the purpose of beautifying the royal Princess's chamber
he placed there this lamp. The Prince, also, having entered the lamp
was [in it].
Although for the care of the Princess many servants were staying there,
the Prince obtained opportunity in order to bring about conversation
with the Princess, it is said. By this method obtaining about a [half]
share of the Princess's food, the Prince remained hidden for a time.
They give the Princess only one quantity of food. It was the custom
once in seven days to weigh this Princess; [249] but as the Prince
was eating a share of the Princess's food, the Princess having become
thin became less in weight.
Having seen that the Princess's weight by degrees was growing less,
the servant women, becoming afraid, informed the King that the
Princess perhaps had some illness. The King also having thought that
the Princess perhaps had some sickness (abadayak), made inquiry, and
having ascertained that she had not a sickness in that way, ordered
them to give additional food on account of it. After this time,
having seen that the Princess is increasing in weight by the method,
at the time when he inquired about it, he ascertained, it is said,
that the Princess had been pregnant for eight months.
After this, although the King investigated by several methods regarding
the manner in which this disgrace occurred to the Princess, he was
unable to learn it. Everyone in the country got to know about this.
In this way, after the King was coming to great grief, he caused
notification to be made by beat of tom-toms throughout the country that
to a person who should seize and give him the wicked man who caused
the disgrace to the royal Princess, he will give goods [amounting]
to a tusk elephant's load.
A certain old woman, having caused the proclamation tom-tom to stop,
said, "I can catch and give the thief," it is said. Thereupon they
took the old mother near the King.
Then the King having spoken, asked, "Canst thou catch and give
the thief?"
"It is so; may the Gods cause me to be wise," the old woman said,
it is said.
"Dost thou require something for it?" he asked.
"[You] must give me a permission for it in this manner," she
said. "That is to say, whether in the [right] time or in unseasonable
time, [250] it is proper that I should receive permission for coming
to any place I please in the palace," she said. And the King gave
permission for it.
The old mother, upon that same permission having come to the royal
house, while conversing in a friendly manner with the Princess
after many days had gone by ascertained that from outside anyone was
unable to approach the palace. But perceiving that some one could
hide inside the lamp that is in the Princess's chamber, one day, in
the evening, at the time when darkness was about to fall, she came
to the Princess's chamber, and having been talking, dishonestly to
the Princess she scattered white sand round the lamp, and went away.
In the morning, having arrived, when she looked she saw the foot-marks
of a person who went out of the lamp, and perceiving that most
undoubtedly the rogue is in the lamp, told the King (rajuhata), it is
said. Thereupon the King having employed the servants and brought the
rogue out, made the tusk elephant drink seven large pots of arrack
(palm spirit), and ordered them to kill him by means of the tusk
elephant.
Having made the Prince sit upon the tusk elephant, they went near the
upper story where the Princess was. The elephant-driver was a servant
who was inside the palace for much time. As he was a man to whom the
Princess several times had given to eat and drink, the Princess said
for the elephant-keeper to hear, "With the tusk-elephant face don't
smash the tips of the cooked rice." [251]
The elephant-keeper also understanding the speech, without killing the
Prince saved him. Although he employed the tusk elephant even three
times, and made it trample on his bonds, at the three times he escaped.
Thereupon the King [said], "This one is a meritorious person;" [252]
and having caused him to be summoned, and made notification of these
things after he came, at the time when he asked, "Who art thou? What
is thy name?" he told all, without concealing [anything]. Thereupon
he married and gave the Princess to the Prince.
While the two persons were living thus, a longing arose for the
Princess to wear blue-lotus flowers. As this time was a season without
flowers, having heard that there would be flowers only at one pool at
a Kinnara village at a great distance, the Prince went there. While
he was there, a Rodi (Kinnara) woman by means of a [knowledge of the]
teaching of the Kala [253] spells caused the Prince to stop there,
it is said.
When time went in this manner without the Prince's coming, the
King started off and sent four Ministers for the purpose of finding
him. The four persons, ascertaining that the Prince had been captured
and taken into the Kinnara caste, went there, and spoke to the Prince.
Perceiving that while by the mouth of the Rodi (Kinnara) [254] woman
the word "Go" was being said, he was unable to go, [255] they spoke
to the Prince, and did a trick thus, it is said; that is, they told
the Prince to say, "Certain of my friends have come; we must give
them amply to eat and drink." "Because of it [be pleased] to tell
the Kinnara woman to cook food amply," they said. When the Prince
told the Kinnari to cook food in that manner she did so.
When the Prince summoned the Ministers to the food, they, the four
persons, putting sand in their waist pockets and mixing it with
the food, endeavoured to eat, it is said. Having done so, the four
Ministers said, "Although we came so far seeking our friend, we were
unable to eat even a mouthful of rice from our friend without sand and
stones [being] in it," and having scolded the Prince they went away. At
that time the Prince appeared as though approaching great grief.
The Rodi (Kinnara) woman who saw this spoke to the Prince, "Go, calling
your friends to come," she said. After the way in which she said this
[word] "Go," the Prince very speedily having started, went with the
four Ministers to his own country. Having gone thus and arrived at the
palace, he told of the beauty of the Kinnara woman, and all his story.
In the meantime the Kinnara woman also having arrived in front of
him, the Kinnara woman having said, "Here he is," when she seized
the Prince's hand the King, having pushed the Rodi (Kinnara) woman
from there, sent her out of the way.
The Kinnara woman because of this trouble drew out her tongue, and
having bit it died, it is said; and after that having cast out the
dead body they burned it. On the grave mound a plant [used as a]
vegetable grew.
Two women of the village near this place came here to break
fire-wood. Because one of the two women had pregnancy longing,
uprooting the plant [used as a] vegetable, she cooked and ate it to
allay the longing. After she ate thus, the woman having given birth
to a female child she grew up extremely beautiful, like the dead
Kinnara woman.
During this time, the Prince in succession to his father-in-law
had come to the sovereignty, it is said. At the time when the child
born like the Kinnara woman had arrived at sufficient age, the King
having come and having seen her when he was going [past], remembered
the dead Kinnara woman, and having tied his affections on the young
woman endeavoured to obtain her, it is said. But her two parents not
being pleased at it, as the King was going to walk away beat him,
and killed him.
After the King died, when the King's men were burying him they gave
the kingship to his son. After this son arrived at the time when
he understood matters, he asked his mother how his father the King
died, and ascertaining it he seized the men of the village at which
they killed the King, and having put them in a ship he launched it
on the sea. The men having cast nets, catching fish [in them] got
their livelihood. After this, having cast the net and made efforts,
catching a hundred Seer fishes they went to the village that was
visible on shore. That village, indeed, is now Migamuwa (Negombo).
Western Province.
The capture of the Prince by a low-caste village girl is apparently
borrowed from Sinhalese history. In the second century before Christ,
Prince Sali, the only son of King Duttha-Gamani, fell in love with a
beautiful village girl of low-caste,--according to tradition a Duraya
girl--married her, and in order to retain her abandoned his succession
to the throne. According to the historians, his infatuation was due to
his grandfather's having been a pious man of low-caste in his former
life, and to the Prince's marrying the girl in a previous existence,
both of them then being of the same caste.