And at night, Súryaprabha, as he was lying sleepless, saw a wonderful

and beautiful maiden enter the chamber, in which he was occupying a

solitary couch in accordance with his vow. She came boldly up to him,

who pretended to be asleep, with his ministers sleeping round him,

and said to her confidante, who was with her; "If he possesses such

glorious beauty, when he is asleep, and all the graceful motion of

his body is still, what must it be, my friend, when he is awake? So

let be! we must not wake him up. I have gratified the curiosity of my

eyes. Why should I fix my heart too fondly on him? For he will have

a battle with Srutasarman, and who can say what will befall either

party in it? For the feast of battle is for consuming the lives of

heroes. And should he not be fortunate, we shall have to take some

other resolve. [662] And how could one like me captivate the soul of a

man who, when roaming in the air, beheld Kámachúdámani?" When she said

this, her confidante answered, "Why do you say this? Why, fair one,

is it your duty not to allow your heart to attach itself to him? Why

should not he, the sight of whom captivated the heart of Kámachúdámani,

captivate the heart of any other lady, were she even Arundhatí in

bodily presence? And do you not know that he will prosper in fight by

the force of science? And when he is emperor, you, and Kámachúdámani,

and Suprabhá of the same family, are to be his wives, so say the holy

sages, and in these very days he has married Suprabhá. So, how can

he be unsuccessful in fight? For the predictions of the sages are

never falsified. And will you not captivate the heart of the man,

whose heart was captivated by Suprabhá? For you, blameless one,

exceed her in beauty. And if you hesitate through regard for your

relations, that is not right, for good women have no relations but

their husband." That excellent maiden, when she heard this speech of

her confidante's, said--"You have spoken truth, my friend, I need no

other relations. And I know my husband will conquer in fight by his

science. He has obtained jewels and sciences, but my mind is grieved

because up to the present time he has not obtained the virtuous

herbs. Now they are all in a cave of the mountain Chandrapáda. But

they are to be obtained by an emperor possessing virtue. So, if he

were to go there and procure those mighty drugs, it would be well, for

his great struggle is nigh at hand, even to-morrow." When Súryaprabha

heard this, he flung off all his feigned sleep, and rising up, said

respectfully to that maiden--"Lovely-eyed one, you have shewn great

favour to me, so I will go there, tell me who you are." When the maiden

heard that, she was abashed with shame, and silent, thinking that he

had heard all, but her friend said--"This is a maiden named Vilásiní,

the daughter of Sumeru, the prince of the Vidyádharas, who was desirous

of beholding you." When her friend said this, Vilásiní said to her,

"Come, let us go now," and went out of the room.

Then Súryaprabha woke up his ministers, Prabhása and the rest, and

told them of that method of procuring the drugs, which the lady spoke

of. And he sent Prabhása, a fit person to accomplish that, to tell it

to Sunítha and Sumeru and Maya. And when they came and approved of it,

Súryaprabha, accompanied by his ministers, went with them in the night

to the mountain Chandrapáda. And as they were gradually advancing,

the Yakshas, Guhyakas, and Kumbhándas, being alarmed, rose up to bar

their way, armed with numerous weapons. Some of them Súryaprabha

and his friends bewildered with weapons, some they paralysed by

science, and at last they reached that mountain Chandrapáda. When

they reached the mouth of the cavern in that mountain, the Ganas

of Siva prevented them from entering, assuming strange deformed

countenances. Then Suvásakumára said to Súryaprabha and the others,

"We must not fight with these, for the revered god Siva might be

angry. Let us praise that giver of boons by his eight thousand names,

and that will make the Ganas [663] favourably disposed to us." Then

they all agreed, and praised Siva; and the Ganas, pleased at hearing

their master praised, said to them; "We abandon this cave to you,

take its potent simples. But Súryaprabha must not enter it himself;

let Prabhása enter it, for it will be easy for him to enter." They

all said "So be it," and acceded to the advice of the Ganas. Then

that cave, as soon as Prabhása entered it, though before enveloped

in darkness, became irradiated with light. And four very terrible

Rákshasas, who were servants there, rose up, and bending before him,

said to him "Enter." Then Prabhása entered, and collected those seven

divine herbs, and coming out, gave them all to Súryaprabha. And that

moment a voice was heard from heaven, saying, "Súryaprabha, of great

power are these seven drugs which you have obtained to-day." When

Súryaprabha and the others heard that, they were delighted, and

quickly returned to the dwelling of Sumeru to greet their army. Then

Sunítha asked that Suvásakumára; "Hermit, why was Prabhása allowed

by the Ganas to enter the cave, and not Súryaprabha, and why was he

also welcomed by the servants?" When the hermit heard that, he said

in the hearing of all, "Listen, I will explain this--Prabhása is a

great benefactor to Súryaprabha, being a second self to him, there is

no difference between them. Moreover, no one is equal in might and

courage to Prabhása, and this cave belongs to him on account of his

good deeds in a former life, and listen, I will tell you what sort

of a person he was in a former existence."

Story of the generous Dánava Namuchi.

In old times there was an excellent Dánava named Namuchi, who

was devoted to charity and very brave, and did not refuse to give

anything to anybody that asked, even if he were his enemy. He practised

asceticism as a drinker of smoke for ten thousand years, and obtained

as a favour from Brahmá, that he should be proof against iron, stone,

and wood. Then he frequently conquered Indra and made him flee,

so the rishi Kasyapa entreated him, and made him make peace with

the gods. Then the gods and Asuras, as their enmity was at an end,

deliberated together, and went to the ocean of milk, and churned it

with the mountain Mandara. And as Vishnu and the other gods received

Lakshmí and other things as their shares, so Namuchi gained the horse

Uchchhaihsravas; and the other gods and Asuras received other various

shares, appointed by Brahmá, of the things that rose from the sea, when

churned. And the amrita at last came up at the end of the churning,

and the gods stole it, so a quarrel again took place between them

and the Asuras. Then, as fast as the gods killed an Asura in their

light with them, the horse Uchchhaihsravas immediately restored him

to life by smelling him. The consequence was that the gods found it

impossible to conquer the Daityas and Dánavas. Then Vrihaspati said

in secret to Indra, who was in despair: "There is only one expedient

left, adopt it without delay; go to Namuchi yourself, and ask him for

that excellent horse, for he will certainly give it to you, though

you are his enemy, sooner than mar the glory of open-handedness,

which he has been accumulating since his birth." When the preceptor

of the gods said that to him, great Indra went with the gods and

craved as a boon that horse Uchchhaihsravas from Namuchi. Then the

great-hearted Namuchi reflected, "I never turn back a suppliant, so

I will not turn back Indra; and how can I, as long as I am Namuchi,

refuse to give him the horse? If the glory of generosity, which I

have long been acquiring in the worlds, were to wither, what would

be the use to me of prosperity, or life?" Accordingly he gave the

horse to Indra, although Sukra warned him not to do it. Then Indra,

after he had given the horse, lulled him to security, and as he could

not be slain by any other weapon, killed him with foam of the Ganges,

in which he had placed a thunderbolt. Alas! terrible in the world

is the thirst for enjoyment, carried away by which even gods do not

shrink from unbecoming and infamous conduct. When Danu, the mother of

Namuchi, heard this, being afflicted with grief, she made by virtue

of her asceticism a solemn resolve for the allaying of her sorrow,

"May that mighty Namuchi be again born in my womb, and may he again

become invincible by the gods in battle." Then he was again conceived

in her womb, and born as an Asura composed all of jewels, named

Prabala on account of his strength. Then he performed asceticism,

and satisfying supplicants even with his life, became successful,

and as prince of the Dánavas conquered Indra a hundred times. Then

the gods took counsel together, and came to him, and said to him:

"By all means give us your body for a human sacrifice." [664] When he

heard that, he gave them his own body, although they were his enemies;

noble men do not turn their backs on a suppliant, but bestow on him

even their lives. Then that Dánava Prabala was cut to pieces by the

gods, and he has been again born in the world of men with the body

of Prabhása.

"So Prabhása was first Namuchi, and then he was Prabala, and then

he became Prabhása, therefore on account of his merit he is hard

for his enemies to conquer. And that cave of herbs, which belonged

to that Prabala, is for that reason the property of Prabhása,

and is at his command with its servants. And below it there is in

Pátála [665] the mansion of Prabala, and in it there are his twelve

head-wives beautifully adorned, and various jewels, and many kinds

of weapons, and a wishing-stone, and a hundred thousand warriors,

and also horses. This all belongs to Prabhása, and was acquired by

him in a former life. Such a hero is Prabhása; in him nothing is

wonderful." When they heard this from the hermit's son, Súryaprabha

and his followers, with Maya and Prabhása, went immediately to that

cavern belonging to Prabhása, that led down to Pátála, for the purpose

of securing the jewels. Prabhása alone went in by that entrance,

and secured his former wives, and the wishing-stone, and the horses,

and the Asura warriors, and coming out again with all his wealth,

he gave great satisfaction to Súryaprabha. Then that Súryaprabha,

having quickly obtained what he wished, returned to his own camp with

Maya and Sunítha and Prabhása, followed by Sumeru and the other kings

and the ministers. There, after the Asuras and kings and others had

gone to their own quarters, he again was consecrated for the fight,

restraining his passions, and spent the rest of the night on a bed

of kusa grass.

CHAPTER XLVII.

Early the next morning, Súryaprabha set out from the hermitage of

Sumeru with his forces to conquer Srutasarman. And arriving near

the mountain of Trikúta his dwelling place, he encamped, driving

away the enemies' army with his own force, which was established

there. And while he was encamped there with Sumeru, Maya, and others,

and was in the hall of council, an ambassador came from the lord of

Trikúta. And when he came, he said to Sumeru the Vidyádhara prince;

"The king, the father of Srutasarman, sends you this message. 'We

have never entertained you, as you were far off; now you have arrived

in our territory with guests, so now we will shew you appropriate

hospitality.'" When Sumeru heard this scoffingly ambiguous message,

he said in answer: "Bravo! you will not get another guest such a fit

object of hospitality as we are. Hospitality will not bear its fruit

in the next world, its fruit is in this. So here we are, entertain

us." When Sumeru said this, the ambassador returned to his master as

he came.

Then Súryaprabha and the others, established upon an elevated place,

surveyed their armies encamped separately. Then Sunítha said to his

father-in-law the Asura Maya: "Explain to me the arrangement of the

warriors in our army." Then that all-knowing prince of the Dánavas

said, "I will do so, listen;" and pointing them out with his finger,

he began to say--"These kings Subáhu, Nirgháta, Mushtika, and Gohara,

and Pralamba, and Pramátha, and Kankata, and Pingala, and Vasudatta

and others, are considered half-power warriors. [666] And Ankurin,

and Suvisála, and Dandin, and Bhúshana, and Somila, and Unmattaka,

and Devasarman, and Pitrisarman, and Kumáraka, and Haridatta and

others are all full-power warriors. And Prakampana, and Darpita,

and Kumbhíra, and Mátripálita, and Mahábhata, and Vírasvámin,

and Surádhara, and Bhándíra, and Sinhadatta and Gunavarman, with

Kítaka and Bhíma and Bhayankara, these are all warriors of double

power. And Virochana, and Vírasena, and Yajnasena, and Khujjara,

and Indravarman, and Sevaraka, and Krúrakarman, and Nirásaka, these

princes are of triple power, my son. And Susarman, and Báhusálin,

and Visákha, and Krodhana, and Prachanda,--these princes are warriors

of fourfold power. And Junjarin, and Vírasarman, and Pravíravara, and

Supratijna and Maráráma, and Chandadanta, and Jálika, and the three,

Sinhabhata, Vyághrabhata, and Satrubhata, these kings and princes are

warriors of fivefold power. But this prince Ugravarman is a warrior

of sixfold power. And the prince Visoka, and Sutantu, and Sugama, and

Narendrasarman are considered warriors of sevenfold power. And this

king Sahasráyu is a great warrior. But this Satáníka is lord of a host

of great warriors. And Subhása, Harsha, and Vimala, the companions of

Súryaprabha, Mahábuddhi and Achalabuddhi, Priyankara and Subhankara are

great warriors, as also Yajnaruchi and Dharmaruchi. But Visvaruchi,

and Bhása, and Siddhártha, these three ministers of Súryaprabha,

are chiefs of hosts of great warriors. And his ministers Prahasta and

Mahártha are leaders of hosts of transcendent warriors. And Prajnádhya

and Sthirabuddhi are leaders of hosts of hosts of warriors; and the

Dánava Sarvadamana, and Pramathana here, and Dhúmaketu, and Pravahana,

and Vajrapanjara, and Kálachakra, and Marudvega are leaders of warriors

and transcendent warriors. Prakampana and Sinhanáda are leaders of

hosts of leaders of hosts of warriors. And Mahámáya, and Kámbalika,

and Kálakampana here, and Prahrishtaroman, these four lords of the

Asuras, are kings over chiefs of hosts of transcendent warriors. And

this Prabhása, the general of the army, who is equal to Súryaprabha,

and this son of Sumeru, Kunjarakumára, these two are leaders of hosts

of chiefs of hosts of great warriors. Such heroes are there in our

army, and others besides, girt with their followers. There are more

in the hostile army, but Siva being well disposed towards us, they

will not be able to resist our host.

While the Asura Maya was saying this to Sunítha, another ambassador

came from the father of Srutasarman, and said thus to him; "The king

of Trikúta sends this message to you; 'This is a great feast for

heroes--the feast, which goes by the name of battle. This ground

is narrow for it, therefore let us leave it, and go to a place

named Kalápagráma, where there is a wide space.'" When Sunítha and

the other chiefs with their soldiers heard this, they agreed, and

all of them went with Súryaprabha to Kalápagráma. And Srutasarman

and his partizans also, eager for battle, went to that same place,

surrounded with the hosts of the Vidyádharas. When Súryaprabha and his

chiefs saw elephants in the army of Srutasarman, they summoned their

contingent of elephants, which was conveyed in the chariot that flew

through the air. Then Dámodara, that excellent Vidyádhara, drew up his

army in the form of a large needle; Srutasarman himself took up his

position on the flank with his ministers, and Dámodara was in front,

and other great warriors in other places. And Prabhása, the leader of

Súryaprabha's army, arranged it in the form of a crescent; he himself

was in the centre, and Kunjarakumára and Prahasta at the two horns;

and Súryaprabha, and Sunítha and the other chiefs, all remained in

the rear. And Sumeru with Suvásakumára stood near him. Thereupon the

war-drums were beaten in both armies.

And in the meanwhile the heaven was filled with the gods, come

to see the battle, together with Indra, and the Lokapálas, and

the Apsarases. And Siva, the lord of all, came there with Párvatí,

followed by deities, and the Ganas, and demons, and the mothers. [667]

And holy Brahmá came accompanied by the Vedas incarnate in bodily

form, beginning with the Gáyatrí, and the Sástras and all the

great Rishis. And the god Vishnu came, riding on the king of birds,

bearing his weapon the discus, accompanied by goddesses, of whom the

goddesses of Fortune, Glory, and Victory were the chief. And Kasyapa

came with his wives, and the Ádityas and the Vasus, and the chiefs of

the Yakshas, Rákshasas and snakes, and also the Asuras with Prahláda

at their head. The sky was obscured with them, and the battle of those

two armies began, terrible with the clashing of weapons, accompanied

with loud shouts. The whole heaven was darkened by the dense cloud of

arrows, through which the flashes, made by the arrows striking against

one another, played like lightning, and rivers of blood flowed, swollen

with the gore of many elephants and horses wounded with weapons, in

which the bodies of heroes moved like alligators. That battle gave

great delight to heroes, jackals, and goblins, that danced, waded,

and shouted in blood.

When the confused mêlée, in which countless soldiers fell, had abated,

Súryaprabha, and the other chiefs, gradually began to perceive the

distinction between their own army and that of the enemy, and heard in

order from Sumeru the names and lineage of the chiefs fighting in front

of the enemies' host. Then first took place a single combat between

king Subáhu and a chief of the Vidyádharas, named Attahása. Subáhu

fought a long time, until Attahása, after riddling him with arrows,

cut off his head with a crescent-headed shaft. When Mushtika saw that

Subáhu was slain, he rushed forward in wrath; he too fell smitten

by Attahása with an arrow in the heart. When Mushtika was slain,

a king named Pralamba in wrath rushed on, and attacked Attahása with

showers of arrows, but Attahása slew his retainers, and striking the

hero Pralamba with an arrow in a mortal place, laid him low on the

seat of his chariot. A king named Mohana, when he saw Pralamba dead,

engaged with Attahása and smote him with arrows. Then Attahása cut his

bow and slew his charioteer, and laid him low, slain with a terrific

blow. When the host of Srutasarman saw that the dexterous Attahása

had slain those four warriors, expecting the victory, they shouted

for joy. When Harsha, the companion of Súryaprabha, saw that, he was

wroth, and with his followers attacked Attahása and his followers;

and with shafts he repelled his shafts, and he slew his followers,

and killed his charioteer, and two or three times cut his bow and

his banner, and at last he cleft asunder his head with his arrows,

so that he fell from his chariot on the earth, pouring forth a stream

of blood. When Attahása was slain, there was such a panic in the

battle, that in a moment only half the two armies remained. Horses,

elephants and footmen fell down there slain, and only the trunks of

slaughtered men remained standing in the van of battle.

Then a chief of the Vidyádharas, named Vikritadanshtra, angry at

the slaughter of Attahása, showered arrows upon Harsha. But Harsha

repelled his arrows, struck down his chariot-horses, and his banner and

his charioteer, and cut off his head with its trembling earrings. But

when Vikritadanshtra was killed, a Vidyádhara king, named Chakravála,

in wrath attacked Harsha; he slew Harsha still fighting on, though

fatigued with combat, after his bow had been frequently cut asunder,

and his other weapons damaged. Angry at that, king Pramátha attacked

him, and he too was slain by that Chakravála in fight. In the same

way four other distinguished kings, who attacked him one by one,

were slain one after another by that Chakravála, namely, Kankata,

and Visála, and Prachanda and Ankurin. When king Nirgháta saw that,

he was wroth, and attacked Chakravála, and those two, Chakravála

and Nirgháta, fought for a long time, and at last they broke one

another's chariots to pieces, and so became infantry soldiers, and

the two, rushing furiously together, armed with sword and discus,

cleft with sword-strokes one another's heads, and fell dead on

the earth. Then the two armies were dispirited, seeing those two

warriors dead, but nevertheless a king of the Vidyádharas, named

Kálakampana, stepped forward to the front of the fight. And a prince,

named Prakampana, attacked him, but he was in a moment struck down

by that Kálakampana. When he was struck down, five other warriors

attacked Kálakampana, namely Jálika, and Chandadatta, and Gopaka,

and Somila, and Pitrisarman; all these let fly arrows at him at the

same time. But Kálakampana deprived all five of their chariots, and

slew them at the same time, piercing the five with five arrows in

the heart. That made the Vidyádharas shout for joy, and the men and

Asuras despond. Then four other warriors rushed upon him at the same

time, Unmattaka and Prasasta, Vilambaka and Dhurandhara; Kálakampana

slew them all easily, in the same way he killed six other warriors

that ran towards him, Tejika, and Geyika, and Vegila, and Sákhila,

and Bhadrankara and Dandin, great warriors with many followers. And

again he slew five others that met him in fight, Bhíma, Bhíshana,

Kumbhíra, Vikata, and Vilochana. And a king, named Sugana, when he

saw the havoc that Kálakampana had made in the battle, ran to meet

him. Kálakampana fought with him until both had their horses and

charioteers killed, and were compelled to abandon their chariots;

then Kálakampana, reduced to fight on foot, laid Sugana, who was

also fighting on foot, low on the earth with a sword-cut. Then the

sun, having beheld that surprising struggle of Vidyádharas with men,

went grieved to rest. [668] Not only did the field of battle become

red, filled with streaming blood, but the heaven also became red,

when evening set her foot-prints there. Then the corpses and demons

began their evening dance, and both armies, stopping the battle,

went to their camps. In the army of Srutasarman were slain that day

three heroes, but thirty-three distinguished heroes were slain in

the army of Súryaprabha.

Then Súryaprabha, grieved at the slaughter of his kinsmen and friends,

spent that night apart from his wives. And eager for the fight, he

passed that night in various military discussions with his ministers,

without going to sleep. And his wives, grieved on account of the

slaughter of their relations, met together in one place that night,

having come for the sake of mutual condolence. But even on that

melancholy occasion they indulged in miscellaneous conversation;

there is no occasion on which women are not irrelevant in their

talk. In the course of this conversation, one princess said--"It is

wonderful! How comes it that to-night our husband has gone to sleep

without any of his wives?" Hearing that, another said--"Our husband

is to-day grieved on account of the slaughter of his followers in

battle, so how can he take any pleasure in the society of women?" Then

another said, "If he were to obtain a new beauty, he would that instant

forget his grief." Then another said--"Do not say so; although he is

devoted to the fair sex, he would not behave in this way on such a

sad occasion." While they were thus speaking, one said with wonder;

"Tell me why our husband is so devoted to women, that, though he has

carried off many wives, he is perpetually marrying new princesses

and is never satisfied." One of the wives, a clever woman of the

name of Manovatí, said when she heard this,--"Hear why kings have

many loves. The good qualities of lovely women are different, varying

with their native land, their beauty, their age, their gestures, and

their accomplishments, no one woman possesses all good qualities. The

women of Karnáta, of Láta, of Sauráshtra and Madhyadesa, please by

the peculiar behaviour of their various countries. Some fair ones

captivate by their faces like an autumn moon, others by their breasts

full and firm like golden ewers, and others by their limbs, charming

from their beauty. One has limbs yellow as gold, another is dark like

a priyangu, another, being red and white, captivates the eyes as soon

as seen. One is of budding beauty, another of full-developed youth,

another is agreeable on account of her maturity, and distinguished by

increasing coquetry. One looks lovely when smiling, another is charming

even in anger, another charms with gait resembling that of an elephant,

another with swan-like motion. One, when she prattles, irrigates the

ears with nectar; another is naturally beautiful, when she looks at

one with graceful contraction of the eyebrows. One charms by dancing,

another pleases by singing, and another fair one attracts by being

able to play on the lyre and other instruments. One is distinguished

for good temper, another is remarkable for artfulness; another enjoys

good fortune from being able to understand her husband's mind. But,

to sum up, others possess other particular merits; so every lovely

woman has some peculiar good point, but of all the women in the

three worlds none possesses all possible virtues. So kings, having

made up their minds to experience all kinds of fascinations, though

they have captured many wives for themselves, are for ever seizing

new ones. [669] But the truly noble never, under any circumstances,

desire the wives of others. So this is not our husband's fault, and we

cannot be jealous." When the head-wives of Súryaprabha, beginning with

Madanasená, had been addressed in this style by Manovatí, they made

one after another remarks to the same effect. Then, in their merriment,

they laid aside all the ties of reserve, and began to tell one another

all kinds of secrets. For unfortunately there is nothing which women

will not let out, when they are met together in social intercourse,

and their minds are interested in the course of the conversation. At

last that long conversation of theirs was somehow or other brought

to an end, and in course of time the night passed away, during which

Súryaprabha was longing to conquer the host of his enemies, for he

was alone, intently waiting for the time when the darkness should

depart. [670]

CHAPTER XLVIII.

The next morning, Súryaprabha and his party, and Srutasarman and

his supporters, again went to the field of battle armed, with their

forces. And again the gods and Asuras, with Indra, Brahmá, Vishnu,

and Rudra, and with the Yakshas, snakes, and Gandharvas, came to see

the fight. Dámodara drew up the troops of Srutasarman in the form of a

discus, and Prabhása drew up the troops of Súryaprabha in the form of a

thunderbolt. Then the battle of those two armies went on, deafening the

horizon with drums and the shouts of champions, and the sun hid himself

in flights of arrows, as if out of fear that the warriors smitten with

weapons would certainly pierce his disk. Then Prabhása, by command of

Súryaprabha, broke the discus-arrangement of the enemy's host, hard

for another to break, and entered alone. And Dámodara himself came

and defended that opening in the line, and Prabhása fought against

him unaided. And Súryaprabha, seeing that he had entered alone, sent

fifteen great warriors to follow him, Prakampana, and Dhúmraketu,

and Kálakampana, and Mahámáya, and Marudvega, and Prahasta, and

Vajrapanjara, and Kálachakra, and Pramathana, and Sinhanáda, and

Kambala, and Vikatáksha, and Pravahana, and Kunjarakumáraka, and

Prahrishtaroman the heroic Asura prince: all those great warriors

rushed forward to the opening in the line; then Dámodara exhibited

his wonderful heroism, in that alone he fought with those fifteen.

When Indra saw that, he said to the hermit Nárada, who was at his side,

"Súryaprabha and the others of his party are incarnations of Asuras,

but Srutasarman is a portion of me, and all these Vidyádharas are

portions of the gods, so observe, hermit, this is a disguised fight

between the gods and Asuras. And observe, in it Vishnu is, as ever,

the ally of the gods, for Dámodara, who is a portion of him, is

fighting here."

While Indra was saying this, fourteen great warriors came to assist

the general Dámodara,--Brahmagupta and Váyubala, and Yamadanshtra,

and Suroshana, and Roshávaroha, and Atibala, and Tejahprabha, and

Dhurandhara, and Kuveradatta, and Varunasarman, and Kámbalika, and

the hero Dushtadamana, and Dohana and Árohana. And those fifteen

heroes, joined with Dámodara, fighting in front of the line, kept

off the followers of Súryaprabha. Then single combats took place

between them; Prakampana carried on a missile fight with Dámodara, and

Dhúmraketu fought with Brahmagupta, and Mahámáya fought with Atibala,

the Dánava Kálakampana fought with Tejahprabha, and the great Asura

Marudvega with Váyubala, and Vajrapanjara fought with Yamadanshtra,

and the heroic Asura Kálachakra with Suroshana; Pramathana fought

with Kuveradatta, and the king of the Daityas, named Sinhanáda, with

Varunasarman. Pravahana fought with Dushtadamana, and the Dánava

Prahrishtaroman fought with Roshávaroha; and Vikatáksha fought with

Dhurandhara, Kambala fought with Kámbalika, and Kunjarakumáraka with

Árohana, and Prahasta with Dohana, who was also called Mahotpáta.

When these pairs of warriors were thus fighting in the front of the

line, Sunítha said to Maya, "Alas! observe, our heroic warriors,

though skilled in the use of many weapons, have been prevented by

these antagonists from entering the enemies' line; but Prabhása

entered before recklessly alone, so we do not know what will become

of him there." When Suvásakumára heard this, he said, "All the gods,

Asuras, and men in the three worlds are not a match for this Prabhása

unaided, much less then are these Vidyádharas. So why do you fear

without reason, though you know this well enough?"

While the hermit's son was saying this, the Vidyádhara Kálakampana came

to meet Prabhása in fight. Then Prabhása said to him, "Ha! Ha! you

have rendered me a great service, so let me now see your valour

here." Saying this, Prabhása let fly at him a succession of arrows,

and Kálakampana in return showered sharp arrows upon him. Then that

Vidyádhara and that man fought together with arrows and answering

arrows, making the worlds astonished. Then Prabhása with a sharp

arrow struck down the banner of Kálakampana, with a second he killed

his charioteer, with four more his four horses, and with one more

he cut his bow in half, with two more he cut off his hands, with

two more his arms, and with two more his two ears, and with one

sharp-edged arrow he cut off the head of his foe, and thus displayed

wonderful dexterity. Thus Prabhása, as it were, chastised Kálakampana,

being angry with him because he had slain so many heroes in his own

army. And the men and Asuras, when they saw that Vidyádhara chief

slain, raised a shout, and the Vidyádharas immediately proclaimed

their despondency. [671]

Then a king of the Vidyádharas, named Vidyutprabhá, lord of the hill

of Kálanjara, in wrath attacked Prabhása. When he was fighting with

Prabhása, Prabhása first cut asunder his banner, and then kept cutting

his bows in two, as fast as he took them up. Then the Vidyádhara,

being ashamed, by his delusive power flew up invisible into the sky,

and rained swords, clubs, and other weapons upon Prabhása. Prabhása,

for his part, swept away his succession of missiles with others,

and by the illuminating weapon made that Asura manifest, and then

employing the weapon of fire, he burned up Vidyutprabhá with its blaze,

and bringing him down from the heaven, laid him dead on the earth.

When Srutasarman saw this, he said to his warriors, "Observe, this

man has slain two chiefs of hosts of great warriors. Now why do you

put up with it? Join together and slay him." When they heard that,

eight warriors in anger surrounded Prabhása. One was a king of the

Vidyádharas named Úrdhvaroman, a lord of hosts of warriors, dwelling

in the great mountain named Vankataka. And the second warrior was

a chief of the Vidyádharas named Vikrosana, the king of the rock

Dharanídhara. And the third was the hero Indramálin, a prince of the

Vidyádharas, lord of a host of distinguished warriors, and his home

was the mountain Lílá. And the fourth was an excellent Vidyádhara

named king Kákandaka, a chief of a host of warriors, and his dwelling

was in the mountain Malaya. And the fifth was Darpaváha by name, lord

of the hill Niketa, and the sixth was Dhúrtavyayana the lord of the

mountain Anjana, and both these Vidyádharas were chiefs of excellent

warriors. And the seventh one, whose chariot was drawn by asses,

was named Varáhasvámin, king of the mount Kumuda, and he was chief

of a host of great warriors. And the eighth warrior was like him,

Medhávara king of Dundhubhi. Prabhása repelled the numerous arrows,

which these eight came and discharged, and he pierced them all at

the same time with arrows. And he slew the horse of one, and of one

the charioteer, and he cut in half the banner of one, and he cleft

the bow of another. But Medhávara he struck at the same time with

four arrows in the heart, and at once laid him dead on the earth. And

then he fought with the others, and cut off with an anjalika [672] the

head of Úrdhvaroman with its curled and plaited hair, and of the other

six he killed the horses and charioteers, and at last laid themselves

low, cutting off their heads with crescent-headed arrows. And then a

rain of flowers fell on his head from heaven, encouraging the kings

of the Asuras, and discouraging the Vidyádharas. Then four more

great warriors, armed with bows, sent by Srutasarman, surrounded

Prabhása; one was named Kácharaka, the lord of the mountain Kuranda;

the second Dindimálin, whose home was the hill of Panchaka, and the

third was Vibhávasu, king of the mountain Jayapura, the fourth was

named Dhavala, the ruler of Bhúmitundika. Those excellent Vidyádharas,

chiefs of hosts of great warriors, let fly five hundred arrows at the

same time at Prabhása. But Prabhása easily disposed of all, one by

one, each with eight arrows; with one arrow he cut down the banner,

with one cleft the bow, with one he killed the charioteer, with four

the horses, and with one more he cut off the head of the warrior,

and then shouted triumphantly.

Then another four Vidyádharas, by the order of Srutasarman, assembled

in fight against Prabhása. The first was named Bhadrankara, dark as the

blue water-lily, sprung from Mercury in the house [673] of Visvávasu,

but the second was Niyantraka like the fire in brightness, sprung

from Mars in the house of Jambaka, and the third was called Kálakopa,

very black in hue, with tawny hair, sprung from Saturn in the house of

Dámodara. And the fourth was Vikramasakti, like gold in brightness,

sprung from the planet Jupiter in the house of the Moon. The three

first were lords of hosts of lords of hosts of transcendent warriors,

but the fourth was a great hero surpassing the rest in valour. And

those haughty chiefs attacked Prabhása with heavenly weapons. Prabhása

repelled their weapons with the weapon of Náráyana, and easily cut

asunder the bow of each eight times; then he repelled the arrows and

clubs which they hurled, and slaying their horses and charioteers,

deprived them all of their chariots. When Srutasarman saw that,

he quickly sent other ten lords of the Vidyádharas, chiefs of lord

of hosts of lords of hosts of warriors, two called Dama and Niyama,

who exactly resembled one another in appearance, two sons born to

the Asvins in the house of the lord of Ketumálá, and Vikrama and

Sankrama, and Parákrama and Ákrama, and Sammardana and Mardana,

and Pramardana and Vimardana, the eight similar sons of the Vasus

born in the house of Makaranda. And when they came, the previous

assailants mounted other chariots. Wonderful to say, though all those

fourteen joined together, and showered arrows on Prabhása, he alone

fought with them fearlessly. Then, by the order of Súryaprabha,

Kunjarakumára and Prahasta left the mêlée and flying up from the

front of the line, weapons in hand, white and black in hue, came to

the aid of Prabhása, like Ráma and Krishna over again. They, though

fighting on foot, harassed Dama and Niyama, by cutting asunder their

bows and killing their charioteers. When they, in their fear, soared

up to heaven, Kunjarakumára and Prahasta soared up also, weapons in

hand. When Súryaprabha saw that, he quickly sent them his ministers

Mahábuddhi and Achalabuddhi to act as charioteers. Then Prahasta and

Kunjarakumára discovered, by employing magic collyrium, those two sons

of the Vidyádharas, Dama and Niyama, though they had made themselves

invisible by magic power, and riddled them so with showers of arrows

that they fled. And Prabhása, fighting with the other twelve, cleft

all their bows asunder, though they kept continually taking fresh

ones. And Prahasta came and killed at the same time the charioteers of

all, and Kunjarakumára slew their horses. Then those twelve together,

being deprived of their chariots, and finding themselves smitten by

three heroes, fled out of the battle.

Then Srutasarman, beside himself with grief, anger and shame, sent

two more Vidyádharas, captains of hosts of warriors and distinguished

warriors; one was called Chandragupta born in the house of the lord

of the great mountain Chandrakula, beautiful as a second moon, and

the second was his own minister named Narangama, of great splendour,

born in the house of the lord of the mountain Dhurandhara. They also,

after discharging a shower of arrows, were in a moment deprived of

their chariots by Prabhása and his comrades, and disappeared.

Then the men and Asuras shouted for joy; but thereupon Srutasarman

came himself, with four great warriors of mighty force, named Mahaugha,

Árohana, Utpáta and Vetravat, the sons respectively of Tvashtri, [674]

Bhaga, Aryaman and Púshan, born in the houses of the four Vidyádhara

kings, Chitrapada and others, that ruled over mount Malaya. And

Srutasarman himself, blinded with furious anger, was the fifth, and

they all fought against Prabhása and his two companions. Then the host

of arrows, which they shot at one another, seemed like a canopy spread

in the sky by the Fortune of war in the full blaze of the sun. Then

those other Vidyádharas, who had been deprived of their chariots,

and had fled from the battle, came back into the fight.

Then Súryaprabha, seeing many of them assembled in fight, under the

leadership of Srutasarman, sent other great warriors of his own to

support Prabhása and his comrades, his own friends with Prajnádhya

at their head, and the princes of whom Satáníka and Vírasena were

the chief. They flew through the air, and Súryaprabha sent the other

warriors also through the air in the chariot Bhutásána. When all those

archers had gone chariot-borne, the other Vidyádhara kings, who were on

the side of Srutasarman, also came up. Then a fight took place between

those Vidyádhara princes on the one side, and Prabhása and his comrades

on the other, in which there was a great slaughter of soldiers. And in

the single combats between the two hosts, many warriors were slain on

both sides, men, Asuras, and Vidyádharas. Vírasena slew Dhúmralochana

and his followers; but having been deprived of his chariot, he was in

his turn killed by Harisarman. Then the Vidyádhara hero Hiranyáksha

was killed by Abhimanyu, but Abhimanyu and Haribhata were slain

by Sunetra. And Sunetra was killed by Prabhása, who cut off his

head. And Jválámálin and Maháyu killed one another. But Kumbhíraka

and Nirásaka fought with their teeth, after their arms were cut

off, and so did Kharva and the mighty Susarman. And the three,

Satrubhata, Vyághrabhata, and Sinhabhata were slain by Pravahana,

the Vidyádhara king. Pravahana was killed by the two warriors Suroha

and Viroha, and those two were slain by Sinhabala, the dweller in

the cemetery. That very Sinhabala, whose chariot was drawn by ghosts,

and Kapilaka, and Chitrápída the Vidyádhara king, and Jagajjvara, and

the hero Kántápati, and the mighty Suvarna, and the two Vidyádhara

kings Kámaghana and Krodhapati, and king Baladeva and Vichitrápída,

these ten were slain by the prince Satáníka. When these heroes had

been slain, Srutasarman, beholding the slaughter of the Vidyádharas,

himself attacked Satáníka in his anger. Then a terrible fight took

place between those two, lasting to the close of the day, and causing

a great slaughter of soldiers, exciting the wonder even of the gods,

and it continued until hundreds of corpses, rising up all round, laid

hold of the demons as their partners, when the time arrived for the

joyous evening dance. At the close of day the Vidyádharas, depressed

at the great slaughter of their army, and grieved at the death of

their friends, and the men and Asuras having won the victory by sheer

force stopped the combat, and went each of them to their own camps.

At that time two Vidyádharas, chiefs of captains of bands of warriors,

who had deserted the cause of Srutasarman, came, introduced by

Sumeru, and said to Súryaprabha, after bowing before him: "We are

named Maháyána and Sumáya, and this Sinhabala was the third of us;

we had obtained magic power by having the rule of a great cemetery,

and were unassailable by the other Vidyádharas. While we, such as

you have heard, were once taking our ease in a corner of the great

cemetery, there came to us a good witch named Sarabhánaná, of great

and godlike power, who is always well disposed towards us. We bowed

before her and asked her, 'Where have you been, honoured lady, and what

have you seen there strange?' She thereupon related this adventure."

Adventure of the witch Sarabhánaná.

'I went with the witches to visit my master, the god Mahákála, [675]

and while I was there, a king of the Vetálas came and reported:

"See, O master, the chiefs of the Vidyádharas have killed our

commander-in-chief named Agnika, and one named Tejahprabha is swiftly

carrying off his lovely daughter. But the holy sages have foretold that

she shall be the wife of the emperor of the Vidyádharas, so grant us

a boon, and have her released before he forcibly carries her off to

a distance." When the god heard this speech of the afflicted Vetála,

he said to me--"Go and set her free," then I went through the air

and came up with the maiden. Tejahprabha said, "I am carrying off

the girl for our rightful emperor Srutasarman," but I paralyzed

him by my magic power, and bringing back the maiden, gave her to

my master. And he made her over to her own family. I in truth went

through this strange adventure. Then I remained there some days,

and after taking a reverent farewell of the god I came here.'

"When that witch Sarabhánaná had said this, we said to her--'Tell us,

who is to be the future emperor of the Vidyádharas? You in truth know

all.' She said--'Súryaprabha will certainly be.' Whereupon Sinhabala

said to us--'This is untrue, for have not the gods and Indra girded up

their loins to support the cause of Srutasarman?' When the noble woman

heard that, she said to us--'If you do not believe this, listen; I tell

you that soon there will be war between Súryaprabha and Srutasarman,

and when this Sinhabala shall be slain before your eyes by a man

in battle, you will recognise this token, and will know that this

speech of mine is true.' When that witch had said this, she departed,

and those days passed away, and now we have seen with our own eyes,

that in truth this Sinhabala has been slain. Relying upon that, we

think that you are indeed appointed emperor of all the Vidyádharas,

and submitting ourselves to your rule, we have repaired to your two

lotus-like feet." When the Vidyádharas Maháyána and Sumáyaka said

this, Súryaprabha, in concert with Maya and the rest, received them

into confidence and honoured them, and they rejoiced. When Srutasarman

heard that, he was in great consternation, but Indra comforted him by

a message, sending to him Visvávasu, and commissioning him to say--"Be

of good cheer! To-morrow I will aid thee with all the gods in the

van of battle." This he said to him out of love, to comfort him. And

Súryaprabha, having been encouraged by beholding the breaking of his

enemies' line, and having seen in the front of battle the slaughter

of his rival's partisans, again forwent the society of his charmers,

and entered his dwelling at night surrounded by his ministers.

CHAPTER XLIX.

Then Súryaprabha, lying on his couch at night, eager for battle,

apart from his wives, said to his minister Vítabhíti--"I cannot sleep,

so tell me, my friend, some strange story of courage and endurance,

to amuse me during the night." When Vítabhíti heard this request of

Súryaprabha's, he answered--"I will obey your order," and he told

this story.

Story of king Mahásena and his virtuous minister Gunasarman.

There is a city Ujjayiní, the ornament of this earth, full of

numberless jewels of pellucid water. In that city there lived a king

named Mahásena, beloved by the virtuous, an unequalled treasury of

accomplishments, having the beauty both of the sun and moon. He had a

wife named Asokavatí, whom he loved as his life, there was not another

woman in the three worlds equal to her in beauty. The king ruled his

realm with her for consort, and he had besides a friend, a Bráhman

named Gunasarman, whom he respected and loved. And that Bráhman was

brave and very handsome, and, though young, had thoroughly mastered

the lore of the Vedas, and knew the accomplishments, the Sástras,

and the use of weapons, and was always in attendance on the king.

And one day, as he was within the palace, a conversation arose

about dancing, and the king and queen said to Gunasarman, who was

in attendance,--"You know everything, there is no doubt about that;

so we have a curiosity to see you dancing; if you know how to dance,

kindly exhibit your skill." When Gunasarman heard this, he said with

a smile on his face; "I know how to dance, but dancing is a thing not

becoming in the king's court; foolish dancing is generally ridiculous

and is censured in the Sástras. And far from me be shame here in the

presence of the king and queen." When Gunasarman said that, the king

answered him, being urged on to it by the queen out of curiosity--"This

will not be like a dance on the stage, or in such places, which would

make a man feel ashamed, but merely a private display of skill in

the society of friends. And at present I am not your king, I am your

friend without ceremony, so rest assured that I will not eat to-day,

until I have seen your skill in dancing." When the king pressed him

in this style, the Bráhman consented to do it. For how can servants

refuse the request of an importunate lord? Then that Gunasarman danced

so skilfully with his body, that the hearts of both the king and queen

danced for joy. And, at the end of it, the king gave him a lyre to

play upon, and the moment he tested its tones, he said to the king,

"This lyre is not in good order, so give me another one, there is a

puppy inside this, your Majesty,--I know that by the indications of

the twanging of the strings." Saying this, Gunasarman let go the lyre

from under his arm. Then the king sprinkled it, and unscrewed and

examined it, and a puppy came out of it. Then king Mahásena praised

Gunasarman's omniscience, and was much astonished, and had another

lyre brought. He played on that lyre which, like the Ganges that flows

in three worlds, [676] was charming from its swift stream of music,

[677] and purged the ear by its sound. Then in presence of the king,

who with his wife looked on astonished, he exhibited in turn his skill

in the nobler studies. Then the king said to him, "If you are skilled

in fighting, then shew me a specimen of the art of binding the enemy's

limbs with your own hands unarmed." The Bráhman answered him--"King,

take your weapons and strike at me, that I may shew you a specimen of

my skill." Then, as fast as the king took a sword or other weapon and

struck at him, Gunasarman, by that artifice of fettering the limbs

immediately disarmed him with ease, and frequently fettered his hand

and body, without receiving a wound. Then the king, seeing that he

was capable of aiding him in his political affairs, praised that

excellent Bráhman of transcendent ability, and honoured him highly.

But queen Asokavatí, having beheld again and again the beauty and

abilities of that Bráhman, suddenly fell in love with him. She

thought to herself, "If I cannot obtain him, of what use is my life

to me." Then she artfully said to the king--"Do me a kindness,

my husband, and order this Gunasarman to teach me to play on the

lyre. For when I beheld to-day his skill in playing on the lyre,

I took a desperate fancy to the instrument." When the king heard

this, he said to Gunasarman--"By all means teach the queen to play

on the lyre." Then Gunasarman said, "I will do so, my sovereign, we

will begin the practising on an auspicious day." Then he took leave

of the king and went home. But he put off for many days beginning to

teach the queen the lyre, seeing the changed expression of the queen,

and afraid of some mischief.

One day he was standing near the king when he was eating, and when

the cook was giving him some condiment, he prevented him, saying,

"Stop! stop!" The king asked what this meant, then the discreet

man said, "This sauce is poisoned, and I detected it by certain

indications. For when the cook was giving you the sauce, he looked

at my face, trembling with fear, and with an eye that rolled

apprehensively. And we can at once find out whether I am right;

let this sauce be given to some one to eat, and I will counteract

the effect of the poison." When he said this, the king made the

cook eat the sauce, and immediately after he had eaten it, he became

senseless. Then Gunasarman counteracted the effect of the poison on

the cook by a spell, and when the king asked the cook the truth of

the whole matter, he said this--"King, your enemy king Vikramasakti,

sovereign of Gauda, sent me here to give you poison. I introduced

myself to your majesty as a foreigner skilful in the culinary art, and

entered your kitchen. So to-day I have been discovered by that shrewd

man in the act of giving you poison in sauce; your majesty knows what

to do now." When the cook said this, the king punished him, and being

much pleased, gave Gunasarman a thousand villages for saving his life.

And the next day, as the queen kept vigorously pressing him, the

king made Gunasarman begin to teach her the lyre. Then, while he was

teaching her the lyre, the queen Asokavatí indulged in perpetual

coquetry, laughter, and mirth. One day, wounded with the arrow

of love, she scratched him with her nails frequently in secret,

and said to the chaste Gunasarman, who entreated her to desist,

"It was yourself that I asked for, handsome man, under the pretext

of learning to play the lute, for I am desperately in love with you,

so consent to my wishes." When she said this, Gunasarman answered

her, "Do not talk so, for you are my master's wife, and such a one

as I am should not commit such treason, desist from this reckless

conduct." When Gunasarman said this, the queen continued, "Why do

you possess in vain this beauty and skill in accomplishments? How

can you look with a passionless eye on me who love you so much?" When

Gunasarman heard this, he answered sarcastically, "You are right. What

is the use of that beauty and skill, which is not tarnished with infamy

by seducing the wife of another, and which does not in this world and

the next cause one to fall into the ocean of hell?" When he said this,

the queen said to him, pretending to be angry, "I am determined to

die, if you do not do what I say, so being despised by you, I will

slay you before I die." Then Gunasarman said, "By all means, let it

be so. For it is better to live for one moment, bound by the bonds

of righteousness, than to live unrighteously for hundreds of crores

of kalpas. And it is far preferable for me to die without reproach,

having done no wrong, than for me to have done wrong, and to be put

to death by the king, with reproach attaching to my name." When the

queen heard that, she went on to say to him--"Do not commit treason

against yourself and me; listen, I will tell you something. The king

does not neglect to do what I tell him, even if it is impossible;

so I will ask him and get territories given to you, and I will have

all your servants made barons, so you will become a king, for you

are distinguished for good qualities. So what have you to fear? Who

can overpower you and how? So grant my wishes fearlessly, otherwise

you will not live." When the king's wife said this, seeing that she

was determined, Gunasarman said to her artfully, in order to put her

off for a moment,--"If you are persistently set on this, then I will

obey your command, but it will not be advisable to do so immediately,

for fear it should get abroad; wait for some days; believe that what

I say is true; what object have I in incurring your enmity which would

ensure my destruction?" Thus Gunasarman comforted her with that hope,

and agreed to her request, and then departed with heart lightened.

Then, in the course of some days, king Mahásena went and surrounded

king Somaka in his treasure-city. And when the king of Gauda,

Vikramasakti, knew that he had arrived there, he went and surrounded

king Mahásena; then king Mahásena said to Gunasarman--"While we are

occupied in besieging one enemy we are besieged by another, so now

how are we to fight with two enemies, as we are unequal in force? And

how long, being brave men, can we remain without fighting a battle? So

what are we to do in this difficulty?" When Gunasarman, who was at the

side of the king, was asked this question, he answered--"Be of good

courage, my sovereign; I will devise a stratagem that will enable us

to get out of this situation, difficult as it is." He comforted the

king with these words, and put on his eyes an ointment that rendered

him invisible, and at night went, without any one seeing him, to the

camp of Vikramasakti. And he entered into his presence, and woke him

up while asleep, and said, "Know, O king, that I am come a messenger

from the gods. Make peace with king Mahásena and depart quickly,

otherwise you will certainly be destroyed here with your army. And

if you send an ambassador, he will agree to your proposals of peace;

I have been sent by the holy Vishnu to tell you this. For you are a

votary of his, and he watches over the safety of his votaries." When

king Vikramasakti heard this, he thought, "Certainly this is true, if

he were any other, how could he enter this carefully guarded tent? This

is not what a mere mortal could accomplish." When the king had gone

through these reflections, he said--"I am fortunate in receiving such

a command from the god, I will do what he bids me." When the king said

that, Gunasarman disappeared by the help of his magic collyrium, thus

confirming the king's confidence in him, and went away. And he came

and told king Mahásena what he had done; he threw his arms round his

neck, and hailed him as the preserver of his life and throne. And the

next morning Vikramasakti sent an ambassador to Mahásena, and after

making peace with him, returned home with his army. But Mahásena

conquered Somaka, and having obtained elephants and horses, returned

to Ujjayiní a victor, thanks to Gunasarman. And while he was there,

Gunasarman saved him from a crocodile while bathing in the river,

and from the poison of a snake-bite while in his garden.

Then, after some days had passed, king Mahásena, having got together

an army, went to attack his enemy Vikramasakti. And that king, as

soon as he heard of his approach, marched out to meet him in fight,

and a great battle took place between the two. And in the course of

it, the two kings met in single combat, and disabled one another's

chariots. Then, in their fury, they rushed forward sword in hand,

and king Mahásena through carelessness stumbled and fell on the

earth. Then the king Vikramasakti tried to strike him on the ground,

but Gunasarman cut off his arm with a discus, sword and all, and

striking him again in the heart with an iron mace laid him low. And

king Mahásena rose up, and was pleased when he saw his enemy dead,

and said repeatedly to Gunasarman--"What am I to say? This is the

fifth time that you have saved my life, heroic Bráhman." Then Mahásena

conquered the army and kingdom of Vikramasakti, who had been slain by

Gunasarman, and after overcoming other kings by the aid of Gunasarman,

he returned to Ujjayiní and dwelt there in happiness.

But queen Asokavatí did not cease from importunately soliciting

Gunasarman day and night. But he would never consent to that crime;

good men prefer death to immodest conduct. Then Asokavatí, finding

out that he was resolved, one day out of enmity to him affected to

be unhappy, and remained with tearful countenance. Then Mahásena,

coming in, and seeing her in that condition, said--"What is this, my

beloved? Who has offended you? Tell me the name of the man whose life

and property I am to take by way of punishment?" Then the unforgiving

queen said with affected reluctance to the king, who had thus addressed

her, "You have no power to punish the man who has injured me; he is not

a man you can chastise, so what is the good of revealing the injury to

no purpose?" When she said this, the king pressed her, and she said

deceitfully--"My husband, if you are very anxious to know, listen,

I will tell you. Gunasarman, who pretends to be a loyal servant,

[678] made an agreement with the King of Gauda, and in order to get

money from him, undertook to do you an injury. The wicked Bráhman

secretly sent his confidential messenger to Gauda, to make the king

hand over treasure and so on. Then a confidential servant, seeing

the king despondent, said to him--'I will manage this affair for you,

do not waste your wealth.' When the king of Gauda heard this, he had

that messenger of Gunasarman's cast into prison, [679]----

and the cook who was to administer the poison came here, carefully

keeping the secret. In the meanwhile Gunasarman's messenger escaped

from prison, and came here to him. And he, knowing the whole story,

revealed it all, and pointed out to Gunasarman [680] that cook, who

had entered into our kitchen. Then that scoundrelly Bráhman detected

the cook in the act of administering the poison, and denounced him to

you, and so had him put to death. Then the mother and the wife and the

younger brother of that cook came here to find out what had become of

him, and the sagacious Gunasarman, finding it out, put to death his

wife and mother, but his brother escaped somehow or other and entered

my palace. While he was imploring my protection and telling me the

whole story, Gunasarman entered my apartment. When the brother of that

cook saw Gunasarman and heard his name, he went out and fled from my

presence, whither I know not. Gunasarman, for his part, when he saw him

who had been previously pointed out to him by his servants, was abashed

and seemed to be thinking over something. And I, wanting to know what

it was, said to him in private, 'Gunasarman, why do you seem to be

altered to-day?' And he, being anxious to win me over to his side,

as he was afraid of the matter being revealed, said to me--'Queen,

I am consumed with passion for you, so consent to my wishes, otherwise

I cannot live; bestow on me life as a Bráhman's fee.' When he had said

this, as the room was empty, he fell at my feet. Then I drew away my

foot and rose up in bewilderment, and he, rising up, embraced me,

a weak woman, by force. And my maid Pallaviká came in at that very

moment. The instant he saw her, he fled out alarmed. If Pallaviká

had not come in, the villain would certainly have outraged me. [681]

This is the injury he has done me to-day." When the queen had told

this false tale, she stopped and wept. For in the beginning wicked

women sprang from Lying Speech. And the moment the king heard it,

he was all on fire with anger, for reliance upon the words of women

destroys the discrimination even of the great. And he said to his dear

wife, "Be comforted, fair one, I will certainly punish that traitor

with death. But he must be slain by artifice, otherwise we might

be disgraced, for it is well known that five times he has saved my

life. And we must not proclaim abroad his crime of offering violence

to you." When the king said this to the queen, she answered--"If that

crime may not be published, may that other one of his be published,

that out of friendship for the king of Gauda he attempted treason

against his master?" When she said this, he answered--"You are quite

right"--and so king Mahásena went to his hall of audience.

Then all the kings, and princes, and barons came to visit the king. And

in the meanwhile Gunasarman left his house to go to court, and on

the way he saw many unfavourable omens. There was a crow on his left

hand, a dog ran from the left to the right, a snake appeared on his

right, and his left arm and shoulder throbbed. [682] He thought to

himself, "These evil omens indicate calamity to me without doubt,

so whatever happens to me, I hope no misfortune may befall the king

my master." With these thoughts he entered the hall of audience, and

prayed loyally that nothing untoward might befall the palace. But when

he bowed and took his seat, the king did not salute him as before,

but looked askance at him with an eye glowing with anger. And when

Gunasarman was alarmed as to what it might mean, the king rose up from

the seat of justice, and sat at his side, and said to the astonished

courtiers, "Hear what Gunasarman has done to me; [683] then Gunasarman

said--"I am a servant, you are my master, so how can our suit be

equal, ascend your seat of judgment, and afterwards give what order

you like." When the resolute man said this, the king, by the advice of

the other ministers, ascended the seat of judgment, and said again to

his courtiers--"You know, that I made this Gunasarman equal to myself,

preferring him to my hereditary ministers. Now hear what treason he

attempted to commit against me, after making an agreement with the

king of Gauda by sending messengers to and fro." After saying this,

the king related to them all the fictitious account of the matter which

Asokavatí had given him. And the king also told to his confidential

ministers, after dismissing the crowd, the lying tale of an attempt to

outrage her, which she had told against Gunasarman. Then Gunasarman

said--"King, who told you such a falsehood, who painted this aerial

picture?" When the king heard that, he said, "Villain, if it is not

true, how did you know that the poison was in the dish of rice?" When

Gunasarman said--"Everything is known by wisdom," the other ministers,

out of hatred to him, said, "That is impossible." Then Gunasarman said,

"King, you have no right to speak thus without enquiring into the truth

of the matter, and a king devoid of discrimination is not approved

of by those who understand policy." When he repeated this over and

over again, the king exclaimed that he was an insolent wretch, and

aimed a sword-cut at him. But he avoided that blow by employing his

trick of fence, and then the other followers of the king struck at

him. And he eluded their swords by his artifices of fence, and baffled

the exertions of them all. And he fettered them, binding them with

one another's hair, shewing wonderful skill in the employment of his

trick of disarming. And he made his way out by force from that hall

of assembly of the king, and he killed about a hundred warriors,

who pursued him. Then he put on his eyes that ointment serving to

render him invisible, which he had in the corner of his garment, and

immediately left that country without being seen. And he made towards

the Dekhan, and as he was going along, he thus reflected on the way:

"Surely that foolish king was set on by that Asokavatí. Alas! women

whose love is slighted are worse than poison! Alas! kings who do not

investigate the truth are not to be served by the good!" While engaged

in such reflections, Gunasarman came at last to a village, there

he saw a worthy Bráhman under a banyan-tree teaching his pupils. He

went up to him and hailed him. And the Bráhman, after welcoming him,

immediately asked him, "O Bráhman, what recension of the Vedas do you

recite, tell me." Then Gunasarman answered that Bráhman,--"Bráhman,

I recite twelve recensions, two of the Sámaveda, two of the Rigveda,

seven of the Yajurveda, and one of the Atharvaveda." Then the Bráhman

said--"You must be a god," and he went on to say to Gunasarman, whose

shape revealed his excellence; "Tell me, what country and what family

did you adorn by being born in them? What is your name and how did

you learn so much?" When Gunasarman heard this, he said to him:

Story of Ádityasarman the father of Gunasarman.

In the city of Ujjayiní there was a Bráhman's son named Ádityasarman,

and when he was a child, his father died, and his mother entered

the fire with her husband. Then Ádityasarman grew up in that city,

in his uncle's house, reading the Vedas, and the books of knowledge,

and also the treatises on accomplishments. And after he had acquired

knowledge, and was engaged in a vow of muttering prayers, he struck up

a friendship with a certain wandering hermit. That wandering hermit

went with his friend Ádityasarman, and performed a sacrifice in a

cemetery to get a Yakshiní into his power. Then a heavenly maiden,

beautifully adorned, appeared to him in a chariot of gold, surrounded

with beautiful maidens. She said to him in a sweet voice, "Mendicant,

I am a Yakshí named Vidyunmálá, and these others are Yakshinís. Take

a suitable wife from my following according to your pleasure. So much

have you obtained by your employment of spells; you have not discovered

the perfect spell for obtaining me; so, as I am obtained by that

only, do not take any further trouble to no purpose." When the Yakshí

said this to him, the mendicant consented, and chose one Yakshiní

from her retinue. Then Vidyunmálá disappeared, and Ádityasarman

asked that Yakshiní, whom the hermit had obtained, "Is there any

Yakshiní superior to Vidyunmálá?" When the Yakshiní heard that, she

answered, "Yes, handsome man, there is. Vidyunmálá, Chandralekhá,

and Sulochaná the third, are the best among the Yakshinís, and among

these Sulochaná." After saying that, the Yakshiní departed, to return

at the appointed time; and the mendicant went with Ádityasarman to

his house. There the loving Yakshiní every day visited the hermit

at the appointed time, and granted him all that he desired. One day

Ádityasarman asked her this question by the mouth of that mendicant:

"Who knows the proper spell for attracting Sulochaná?" And the Yakshiní

sent him this message by the mouth of the mendicant--"There is a

place called Jambuvana in the south. There is a mendicant there,

named Vishnugupta, who has made his dwelling on the banks of the

Vení; he is the best of Buddhist mendicants, and knows the spell

at full length." When Ádityasarman learned this from the Yakshiní,

he went in all eagerness to that country, followed by the mendicant

out of love. There he duly searched for the Buddhist mendicant, and

after he had approached him, he served him devotedly for three years,

and waited upon him continually. And by the help of that Yakshiní,

who was at the beck and call of the first mendicant, his friend,

he provided him with heavenly luxuries, ministered seasonably. Then

that Buddhist mendicant, being pleased, gave to that Ádityasarman the

spell for obtaining Sulochaná, which he desired, together with the

prescribed rites to accompany it. Then Ádityasarman, having obtained

that spell, and having duly employed it, went into a solitary place and

performed there the final sacrifice according to the prescribed ritual,

leaving no ceremony out. Then the Yakshiní Sulochaná appeared to

him in an air-chariot, with world-enchanting beauty, and said to him,

"Come! come! I have been won by you, but you must not make me your wife

for six months, great hero, if you wish to have by me a son, who will

be a favourite of fortune, marked with auspicious marks, all-knowing

and invincible." When she said this, Ádityasarman consented, and

she took him off in her chariot to Alaká. And Ádityasarman remained

there, looking at her ever near him, with his suspense and doubts at

an end, and performed for six months a vow as difficult as standing

on the edge of a sword. Then the god of wealth, being pleased, himself

gave that Sulochaná to Ádityasarman according to a heavenly ritual. I

was born as that Bráhman's son by her, and I was named Gunasarman by

my father on account of my good qualities. Then in that very place I

learned in succession the Vedas, the sciences, and the accomplishments,

from a prince of the Yakshas named Manidara.

Then, once upon a time, it happened that Indra came to the god of

wealth, and all who sat there rose up when they saw him. But as Fate

would have it, Ádityasarman my father was at that time thinking of

something else, and did not rise up in a hurry. Then Indra, being

angry, cursed him, and said--"Out, fool! go to your own world of

mortals, you are out of place here." Then Sulochaná fell at his feet,

and propitiated him, and Indra answered, "Then let him not go to

the world of mortals himself, but let this son of his go, for one's

son is said to be a second self. Let not my word have been spoken

in vain." When Indra had said so much, he was satisfied. Then my

father took me and deposited me in my uncle's house in Ujjayiní. For

what is ordained to be a man's lot must be. There, as it happened,

I struck up a friendship with the king of that place. And listen,

I will tell you what happened to me there afterwards.

After saying this, he described to him what happened from the very

beginning, and what Asokavatí did, and what the king did, ending

up with his fight. And he went on to say to him--"Bráhman, thus

I have fled away to go to a foreign land, and on my way, as I was

journeying along, I have seen you." When the Bráhman heard that, he

said to Gunasarman--"And thus I have become fortunate by your visit,

my lord. So now come to my house, and know that I am Agnidatta by name,

and this village is my grant from the king; be at ease here." After

saying this, Agnidatta made Gunasarman enter his splendid mansion,

in which were many cows, buffaloes, and horses. There he honoured that

guest with bath and unguents, and robes and ornaments, and with various

kinds of food. And he shewed him his daughter, Sundarí by name, whose

beauty was to be desired even by the gods, on the pretence of getting

him to inspect her marks. And Gunasarman, for his part, seeing that

she was unsurpassed in beauty, said "She will have rival wives. She

has a mole on her nose, and consequently I assert that she must have

a second one on her breast; and men say that such is the result of

spots in these two localities." When he said this, her brother, by

command of her father, uncovered her breast, and beheld there a mole.

Then Agnidatta said in astonishment to Gunasarman, "You are

all-knowing, but these moles of hers portend good fortune to us. For

wives generally have many rivals when the husband is fortunate, a poor

[684] man would find it difficult to support one, much more to support

many." When Gunasarman heard this, he answered him--"It is as you say;

how could ill fortune befall a shape with such auspicious marks?" When

he had said this, Agnidatta took occasion to ask him concerning the

meaning of moles and other marks; and he told him what moles and other

marks portended on every single limb, both in men and women. [685]

Then Sundarí, the moment she beheld Gunasarman, longed eagerly to

drink him in with her eyes, as the female partridge longs to drink

the moon. Then Agnidatta said in private to Gunasarman, "Illustrious

one, I give you this my daughter Sundarí. Do not go to a foreign land,

remain at ease in my house." When Gunasarman heard this speech of his,

he said to him--"True, I should be happy enough to do so, but as I have

been on a false charge scorched with the fire of the king's contempt,

it does not please me. A lovely woman, the rising of the moon, and

the fifth note of a lute, these delight the happy but afflict the

miserable. And a wife, who falls in love of her own accord with a man,

is sure to be chaste, but if she is given away by her father against

her will, she will be like Asokavatí. Moreover, the city of Ujjayiní is

near to this place, so the king may perhaps hear of my whereabouts and

oppress me. So I will wander round to holy places, and will wash off

the stains of sin contracted ever since my birth, and will abandon this

body, then I shall be at rest." When he said this, Agnidatta answered

him, smiling, "If even you show so much infatuation, what are we to

expect from others? What annoyance can you, a man of pure character,

derive from the contempt of a fool? Mud thrown at the heaven falls

upon the head of the thrower. The king will soon reap the fruit of

his want of discrimination, for Fortune does not long wait upon a

man blind with infatuation and wanting in discrimination. Besides,

if you are disgusted with women from your experience of Asokavatí,

do you not feel respect for them on beholding a good woman, for you

know signs? And even though Ujjayiní be near to this place where

you now are, I will take steps to prevent any one's knowing that you

are here. But if you desire to make a pilgrimage to sacred places,

then I say--that is approved by the wise only for a man, who cannot,

according to the scriptures, attain happiness by performing the actions

enjoined by the Vedas; but he who can acquire merit by offerings to

the gods, to the manes of deceased ancestors, and to the fire, by

vows, and muttering prayers, what is the use of his wandering about

on pilgrimages? A pilgrim whose pillow is his arm, who sleeps upon

the ground, and lives on alms, and drinks only water, is not free

from cares, even though he has attained equality with hermits. And as

for your desiring to abandon the body, [686] in this also you are led

astray, for in the next world suicides suffer more severe pains than

here. An unbecoming fault and folly is not to be committed by one

so young and wise: decide for yourself: you must certainly do what

I tell you. I will have made for you here a spacious and beautiful

subterranean dwelling; marry Sundarí and live at ease in it." When he

was thus diligently schooled by Agnidatta, Gunasarman agreed to his

proposal, and said to him, "I accept your offer, for who would abandon

a wife like Sundarí? [687] But I will not marry this your daughter till

I have accomplished my ends. In the meanwhile I will propitiate some

god with strict asceticism, in order that I may be revenged on that

ungrateful monarch." When he said this, Agnidatta gladly consented,

and Gunasarman rested there in comfort during the night. And the

next day Agnidatta had a secret subterranean dwelling constructed

for his comfort, called Pátálavasati. [688] And while he was there,

Gunasarman said in secret to Agnidatta: "Tell me, what god, granting

boons to his worshippers, shall I propitiate here by performing vows,

and what spell shall I use?" When the brave man said that, Agnidatta

answered him, "I have a spell for propitiating the god Svámikumára,

which was told me by a teacher; so with that propitiate the general of

the gods, the foe of Táraka, desiring whose birth the gods, oppressed

by their enemies, sent Káma to Siva, (and he, after burning him up,

decreed that henceforth he should be born in the mind;) whose origin

they say was various, from Siva, from the fire-cavity, from fire,

from the thicket of reeds and from the Krittikás; and who, as soon as

he was born, made the whole world bend by his irresistible might, and

slew the unconquered Asura Táraka." Then Gunasarman said, "Tell me that

spell." And Agnidatta gave Gunasarman that spell. With it Gunasarman

propitiated Skanda in the subterranean dwelling, unremitting in his

vow, waited upon by Sundarí. Then the six-faced god appeared to him in

visible form, and said, "I am pleased with you, choose a boon,-- [689]

You shall possess an inexhaustible treasury and, after conquering

Mahásena, you shall, my son, advance irresistibly and rule the

earth." After giving him this great boon, Skanda disappeared, and

Gunasarman obtained inexhaustible treasure. Then the successful hero

married, according to the prescribed rites, with splendour suited to

his greatness, the daughter of the Bráhman Agnidatta, who fell more in

love with him every day, like his future good fortune in affairs come

to him in bodily form. And then having collected, by virtue of his

surpassing accumulation of inexhaustible treasure, an army consisting

of many horses, elephants and foot-soldiers, he marched to Ujjayiní,

overrunning the earth with the forces of all the kings that crowded

to his banner out of gratitude for his gifts. And after proclaiming

there to the subjects that immodest conduct of Asokavatí, and after

conquering the king Mahásena in battle, and deposing him from the

throne, he obtained the dominion of the earth. And king Gunasarman

married many daughters of kings, besides Sundarí, and his orders were

obeyed even on the shores of the sea, and with Sundarí as his consort

he long enjoyed pleasures to his heart's content.

"Thus king Mahásena, in old time, suddenly incurred calamity through

being unable to discriminate the characters of men, being a man of

dull intellect, but the clear-headed Gunasarman, with the help of

his own resolute character alone, obtained the highest prosperity."

After Súryaprabha had heard this chivalrous tale at night from the

mouth of his minister Vítabhíti, the royal hero, who was longing

to traverse the great sea of battle, gained great confidence, and

gradually dropped off to sleep.

CHAPTER L.

Then Súryaprabha and his ministers rose up early in the morning,

and accompanied by all the troops of the Dánavas and their allies,

went to the field of battle. And Srutasarman came surrounded by all

the forces of the Vidyádharas; and all the gods, Asuras, and others

again came to look on. Both armies adopted the crescent formation, then

there took place a battle between those two armies. The swift arrows,

[690] winged with feathers, clashing against one another and cutting

one another in pieces, also fought. The long sword-blades issued from

the mouths of the scabbards, and drinking blood, and waving to and fro,

appeared like the tongues of Death. The field of battle seemed like

a lake, the full-blown lotuses of which were the faces of heroes; on

these the shower of discuses descended like a flight of Brahmany ducks,

and so ruined the kingly swans. The combat appeared, with the severed

heads of heroes flying up and down, like a game of ball, with which

Death was amusing himself. When the arena of combat was cleared from

the obscuring dust by the sprinkling of bloody drops, there took place

on it the single combats of furious champions. There Súryaprabha fought

with Srutasarman, and Prabhása fought with Dámodara, and Siddhártha

fought with Mahotpáta, and Prahasta with Brahmagupta, and Vítabhí with

Sangama, and Prajnádhya with Chandragupta, and Priyankara with Ákrama,

and Sarvadamana fought with Atibala, and Kunjarakumáraka fought with

Dhurandhara, and other great champions fought with others respectively.

Then first Mahotpáta silenced the arrows of Siddhártha with his arrows,

and after cleaving his bow, slew his horses and charioteer. Siddhártha,

though deprived of his chariot, charged him angrily, and with a large

iron mace broke in pieces his chariot and horses. Then Siddhártha

fought on foot with Mahotpáta also on foot, and in a wrestling-bout

hurled him to the ground. But while he was trying to crush him, that

Vidyádhara was delivered by his father Bhaga, and flying up into the

air left the battle-field. And Prahasta and Brahmagupta destroyed

one another's chariots, and then fought with swords, shewing various

arts of fence; and Prahasta cleft his foe's shield in the course of

their sword-play, and with a dexterous sleight laid him low on the

earth; but when he was about to cut off his head, as he lay on the

ground, he was forbidden by his father Brahmá himself by a sign from

a distance; then all the Dánavas laughed the gods to scorn, saying,

"You gods have come to save your sons, not to behold the fray." In

the meanwhile Vítabhaya, after cutting in two the bow of Sankrama,

and slaying his charioteer, slew him by piercing his heart with the

weapon of Káma. And Prajnádhya, fighting on foot with Chandragupta,

sword to sword, after both their chariots had been destroyed, killed

him by cutting off his head. Then the Moon, angry at the death of his

son, himself came and fought with Prajnádhya, and the two combatants

were evenly matched. And Priyankara, who had lost his chariot, fighting

with Ákrama, who had also had his chariot destroyed, cut him in two

with one blow of his sword. And Sarvadamana easily killed Atibala

in fight, for when his bow was cleft, he threw his elephant-hook and

smote him in the heart.

Then Kunjarakumára in a contest, in which missiles were opposed by

answering missiles, frequently deprived Dhurandhara of his chariot,

and as frequently Vikramasakti brought him a chariot, and defended him

in sore straits, repelling weapons with weapons; then Kunjarakumára

in wrath rushed forward, and swiftly hurled a great rock on to the

chariot of Vikramasakti, and, when Vikramasakti retired with broken

chariot, he crushed Dhurandhara with that very stone. [691]

Then Súryaprabha, while fighting with Srutasarman, being angry

on account of the slaughter of Virochana, killed Dama with one

arrow. Enraged at that, the two Asvins descended to the combat,

but Sunítha received them with showers of arrows, and a great fight

took place between him and them. And Sthirabuddhi slew Parákrama in

fight with a javelin, and then fought with the eight Vasus enraged

on account of his death. And Prabhása, seeing Bhása deprived of his

chariot, though himself engaged in fighting with Dámodara, killed

Mardana with one arrow. The Dánava Prakampana killed Tejahprabha in

a missile combat, and then fought with the god of Fire enraged on

account of his death. And when Dhúmraketu had slain Yamadanshtra

in fight, he had a terrible combat with the enraged Yama. [692]

And Sinhadanshtra, having crushed Suroshana with a stone, fought

with Nirriti, [693] enraged on account of his death. Kálachakra

also cut Váyubala in two with a discus, and then fought with Váyu

[694] inflamed with rage thereat. And Mahámáya slew Kuveradatta,

who deluded his foes by assuming the forms of a snake, a mountain,

and a tree, assuming himself the forms of Garuda, of the thunderbolt,

and of fire. Then Kuvera [695] himself fought with him in wrath. In

the same way all the gods fought, angry on account of the slaughter

of their sons. And then various other princes of the Vidyádharas were

slain by various men and Dánavas, darting forward from time to time.

And in the meanwhile a conflict went on between Prabhása and Dámodara,

terrible from its unceasing exchange of missiles. Then Dámodara,

though his bow was cleft asunder, and his charioteer slain, took

another bow and fought on, holding the reins in his own hands. And

when Brahmá applauded him, Indra said to him, "Revered one, why are

you pleased with one who is getting the worst of it?" Then Brahmá

answered him,--"How can I help being pleased with one, who fights for

so long with this Prabhása? Who but Dámodara, who is a portion of Hari,

would do this? For all the gods would be a scant match for Prabhása in

fight. For that Asura Namuchi, who was so hard for the gods to subdue,

and who was then born again as Prabala, one entire and perfect jewel,

has now been born as the invincible Prabhása son of Bhása, and Bhása

too was in a former birth the great Asura Kálanemi, who afterwards

became Hiranyakasipu and then Kapinjala. And Súryaprabha is the

Asura who was called Sumundíka. And the Asura who was before called

Hiranyáksha is now this Sunítha. And as for Prahasta and others, they

are all Daityas and Dánavas; and since the Asuras slain by you have

been born again in these forms, the other Asuras, Maya and others,

have espoused their cause. And see, Bali has come here to look on, for

his bonds have been broken by virtue of the great sacrifice to Siva,

duly performed by Súryaprabha and the others, but keeping his promise

faithfully, he remains content with the realm of Pátála until your

allotted period of rule is at an end, and then he will be Indra. These

are now favoured by Siva, so it is not now a time of victory for you,

make peace with your foes." While Brahmá was saying this to the king

of the gods, Prabhása sent forth the great weapon of Siva. When Vishnu

saw that terrible all-destroying weapon let loose, he also sent forth,

out of regard for his son, his discus called Sudarsana. Then there took

place between those divine weapons, which had assumed visible shapes,

a struggle which made the three worlds dread a sudden destruction of

all creatures. Then Hari said to Prabhása--"Recall your weapon and I

will recall mine," and Prabhása answered him,--"My weapon cannot be

launched in vain, so let Dámodara turn his back, and retire from the

fight, and then I will recall my weapon." When Prabhása said that,

Vishnu answered--"Then do you also honour my discus, let not either

of these weapons be fruitless." When Vishnu said this, Prabhása who

possessed tact, said "So be it, let this discus of thine destroy my

chariot." Vishnu agreed, and made Dámodara retire from the fight, and

Prabhása withdrew his weapon, and the discus fell on his chariot. Then

he mounted another chariot and went to Súryaprabha, and then Dámodara,

for his part, repaired to Srutasarman.

And then the single combat between Srutasarman, who was puffed

up by being a son of Indra, and Súryaprabha, became exceedingly

fierce. Whatever weapon Srutasarman vigorously employed, Súryaprabha

immediately repelled with opposing weapons. And whatever delusion

Srutasarman employed, was overmastered by Súryaprabha with

opposing delusion. Then Srutasarman in fierce wrath sent forth

the weapon of Brahmá, and the mighty Súryaprabha let loose the

weapon of Siva. That mighty weapon of Siva repelled the weapon of

Brahmá, and being irresistible, was overpowering Srutasarman, when

Indra and the other Lokapálas, being indignant, sent forth their

tremendous weapons beginning with thunderbolts. But the weapon of

Siva conquered all those weapons, and blazed exceedingly, eager to

slay Srutasarman. Then Súryaprabha praised that great weapon, and

entreated it not to kill Srutasarman, but to take him prisoner and

hand him over to himself. Then all the gods speedily prepared for

fight, and the other Asuras also, who had come to look on, did the

same, being eager to conquer the gods. Then a Gana named Vírabhadra,

sent by Siva, came and delivered this order of his to Indra and the

other gods: "You came to look on, so what right have you to fight

here? Moreover, your overstepping the bounds of propriety will produce

other bad results." When the gods heard that, they said--"All of us

have sons here that have been slain, or are being slain, so how can

we help fighting? [696] Love for one's offspring is a feeling hard

to lay aside, so we must certainly revenge ourselves on their slayers

to the utmost of our power; what impropriety is there in this?" When

the gods said this, Vírabhadra departed, and a great fight took place

between the gods and the Asuras: Sunítha fought with the two Asvins,

and Prajnádhya fought with the Moon, and Sthirabuddhi with the Vasus,

and Kálachakra with Váyu, and Prakampana with Agni, and Sinhadanshtra

with Nirriti, and Pramathana with Varuna, and Dhúmraketu with Yama,

and then Mahámáya fought with the god of wealth, and other Asuras

[697] at the same time fought with other gods, with missiles and

opposing missiles. And finally, whatever mighty weapon any god sent

forth, Siva immediately destroyed with an angry roar. But the god

of wealth, when his club was uplifted, was restrained by Siva in a

conciliatory manner, while various other gods, their weapons having

been broken, fled from the field of battle. Then Indra himself, in

wrath, attacked Súryaprabha, and let fly a storm of arrows at him and

various other weapons. And Súryaprabha repelled those weapons with

ease, and kept striking Indra with hundreds of arrows drawn back to

the ear. Then the king of the gods, enraged, seized his thunderbolt,

and Siva made an angry noise and destroyed that thunderbolt. Then

Indra turned his back and fled, and Náráyana himself, in wrath,

attacked Prabhása with sharp-edged [698] arrows. And he fearlessly

fought with him, opposing those and other missiles with his own

missiles, and when his horses were slain, and he was deprived of his

chariot, he ascended another, and still fought with that enemy of the

Daityas on equal terms. Then the god enraged sent forth his flaming

discus. And Prabhása sent forth a heavenly sword, after consecrating

it with magic formulas. While those two weapons were contending,

Siva, seeing that the sword was gradually being overpowered by the

discus, made an angry roar. That caused the discus and sword to be

both destroyed. Then the Asuras rejoiced, and the gods were cast

down, as Súryaprabha had obtained the victory, and Srutasarman was

taken prisoner. Then the gods praised and propitiated Siva, and the

husband of Ambiká, being pleased, gave this command to the gods--"Ask

any boon but that promised to Súryaprabha; who can set aside what

has been once promised at a burnt-sacrifice?" The gods said--"But,

Lord, let that also which we promised to Srutasarman be fulfilled,

and let not our sons perish." Then they ceased, and the Holy Lord

thus commanded them, "When peace is made, let that be so, and this

is the condition of peace;----let Srutasarman with all his retinue do

homage to Súryaprabha. Then we will issue a decree which shall be for

the weal of both." The gods acquiesced in this decision of Siva's,

and made Srutasarman do homage to Súryaprabha. Then they renounced

their enmity and embraced one another, and the gods and Asuras

also laid aside their enmity and made peace with one another. Then,

in the hearing of the gods and Asuras, the holy Siva said this to

Súryaprabha: "You must rule yourself in the southern half-vedi, but

the northern half-vedi give to Srutasarman. For you are destined, my

son, soon to receive the fourfold sovereignty of all the sky-goers,

Kinnaras and all. And when you receive this, as you will be in a

distinguished position, you must also give the southern half-vedi

to Sríkunjarakumára." And as for the heroes slain on both sides in

the battle, let them all rise up alive with unwounded limbs. After

saying this, Siva disappeared, and all those heroes, who were slain

in that battle, rose up unwounded, as if they had awaked from sleep.

Then Súryaprabha, the tamer of his foes, intent on observing the

command of Siva, went to a remote extensive plain, and sitting in

full court, himself made Srutasarman, who came to him, sit down

on half of his throne. And his companions, headed by Prabhása, and

Srutasarman's companions, headed by Dámodara, sat at the side of the

two princes. And Sunítha and Maya, and the other Dánavas, and the kings

of the Vidyádharas too sat on seats in order of precedence. Then the

Daityas, who were kings of the seven Pátálas, headed by Prahláda,

and the kings of the Dánavas came there out of joy. And Indra came

with the Lokapálas, preceded by Vrihaspati, and the Vidyádhara Sumeru

with Suvásakumára. And all the wives of Kasyapa came, headed by Danu,

and the wives of Súryaprabha in the chariot Bhútásana. When they had

all sat down, after shewing one another affection, and going through

the prescribed courtesies, a friend of Danu's, named Siddhi, spoke

to them as from her: "O gods and Asuras, the goddess Danu says this

to you--'Say, if you have ever felt before the joy and satisfaction

which we all feel in this friendly meeting! so you ought not to wage

against one another war, which is terrible on account of the sorrow

it produces. Hiranyáksha and those other elder Asuras, who waged it

to obtain the empire of heaven, have passed away, and Indra is now

the eldest, so what cause is there for enmity?

"'So let your mutual antagonism drop, and be happy, in order that I

may be pleased, and the prosperity of the worlds may be ensured.'" When

they had heard this address of the revered Danu, uttered by the mouth

of Siddhi, Vrihaspati, Indra having looked him in the face, said to

her--"The gods entertain no design against the Asuras, and are willing

to be friends with them, unless they display a treacherous animosity

against the gods." When the preceptor of the gods said this, Maya the

king of the Dánavas said--"If the Asuras entertained any animosity,

how could Namuchi have given to Indra the horse Uchchhaihsravas that

resuscitates the dead? And how could Prabala have given his own body

to the gods? And how could Bali have given the three worlds to Vishnu,

and himself have gone to prison? Or how could Ayodeha have given his

own body to Visvakarman? What more shall I say? The Asuras are ever

generous, and if they are not treacherously injured, they cherish

no animosity." When the Asura Maya had said this, Siddhi made a

speech, which induced the gods and Asuras to make peace and embrace

one another.

In the meanwhile a female warder, named Jayá, sent by Bhavání,

came there and was honoured by all, and she said to Sumeru, "I am

sent by the goddess Durgá to you, and she gives you this order--'You

have an unmarried daughter named Kámachúdámani; give her quickly to

Súryaprabha, for she is a votary of mine.'" When Jayá said this to

Sumeru, he bowed, and answered her--"I will do as the goddess Durgá

commands me, for this is a great favour to me, and this very thing was

long ago enjoined on me by the god Siva." When Sumeru answered Jayá on

this wise, she said to Súryaprabha--"You must set Kámachúdámani above

all your wives, and she must be respected by you more than all the

others; this is the order given to you to-day by the goddess Gaurí,

being propitious to you." When Jayá had said this, she disappeared,

after having been honoured by Súryaprabha. And Sumeru quickly fixed

upon an auspicious moment in that same day for the marriage, and

he had an altar made there, with pillars and pavement of refulgent

jewels, furnished with fire that seemed, as it were, eclipsed by

their rays. And he summoned there his daughter Kámachúdámani, whose

beauty was greedily drunk in by the eager eyes of gods and Asuras. Her

loveliness was like that of Umá, and no wonder, for if Párvatí was the

daughter of Himálaya, she was the daughter of Sumeru. Then he made

her ascend the altar, fully adorned, resplendent from the ceremony

of the marriage-thread, and then Súryaprabha took the lotus-hand

of Kámachúdámani, on which bracelets had been fastened by Danu,

and the other ladies. And when the first handful of parched grain

[699] was thrown into the fire, Jayá immediately came and gave her

an imperishable celestial garland sent by Bhavání, and then Sumeru

bestowed priceless jewels, and an excellent elephant of heavenly breed,

descended from Airávata. And at the second throwing of parched grain,

Jayá, bestowed a necklace, of such a kind that, as long as it is upon

a person's neck, hunger, thirst and death cannot harm them; and Sumeru

gave twice as many jewels as before, and a matchless horse descended

from Uchchhaihsravas. And at the third throwing of grain, Jayá gave

a single string of jewels, such that, as long as it is on the neck,

youth does not wither, and Sumeru gave a heap of jewels three times

as large as the first, and gave a heavenly pearl that bestowed all

kinds of magic powers upon its possessor.

Then the wedding being over, Sumeru said to all present; "Gods,

Asuras, Vidyádharas, mothers of the gods, and all. To-day all of you

must eat in my house, you must do me this honour, I entreat you with

palms folded above my head." They all were inclined to refuse Sumeru's

invitation, but in the meanwhile Nandin arrived; he said to them, who

bowed humbly before him, "Siva commands you to feast in the house of

Sumeru, for he is the god's servant, and if you eat his food, you will

be satisfied for ever." All of them, when they heard this from Nandin,

agreed to it. Then there came there innumerable Ganas sent by Siva,

under the leadership of Vináyaka, Mahákála, Vírabhadra and others. They

prepared a place fit for dining, and caused the guests to sit down in

order, gods, Vidyádharas and men. And the divine beings Vírabhadra,

Mahákála, Bhringin and others, ministered to them viands produced by

Sumeru by magic, and others supplied by the cow Kámadhenu ordered to

do so by Siva, and they waited upon every single guest according to

his rank, and then there was a concert, charming on account of the

dancing of heavenly nymphs, and in which the bards of the Vidyádharas

kept continually joining out of delight. And at the end of the feast,

Nandin and the others gave them all celestial garlands, robes, and

ornaments. After they had thus honoured the gods and others, all the

chiefs of the Ganas, Nandin and the others, departed with all the Ganas

as they had come. Then all the gods and Asuras, and those mothers of

theirs, and Srutasarman and his followers took leave of Sumeru, and

went each to his own place. But Súryaprabha and his wife, accompanied

by all his former wives, went in the chariot first to that ascetic

grove of Sumeru. And he sent his companion Harsha to announce his

success to the kings and to his brother Ratnaprabha. And at the close

of day he entered the private apartments of his wife Kámachúdámani,

in which were splendid jewelled couches, and which were admirably

built. There he flattered her by saying to her, "Now other women

dwell outside of me, but you alone live in my heart." Then the night

and his sleep gradually came to an end.

And in the morning Súryaprabha got up, and went and paid compliments

to his head-wives, who were all together. And while they were rejecting

him, as being in love with a new wife, with playfully sarcastic, sweet,

affectionate, and bashful turns of speech, a Vidyádhara named Sushena

came, announced by the warder, and after doing homage, said to that

triumphant king--"Your highness, I have been sent here by all the

princes of the Vidyádharas, the lord of Trikúta and others, and they

make this representation to your highness--'It is auspicious that your

coronation should take place on the third day at the mountain Rishabha,

let this be announced to all, and let the necessary preparations be

made.'" When Súryaprabha heard that, he answered the ambassador--"Go,

and say to the king of Trikúta and the other Vidyádharas from me--'Let

your honours begin the preparations, and say yourselves what further

is to be done; I for my part am ready. But I will announce the day

to all, as is fitting.'" Then Sushena departed, taking with him this

answer. But Súryaprabha sent off his friends Prabhása and the others,

one by one, to invite all the gods, and the hermits, Yájnavalkya and

others, and the kings, and the Vidyádharas, and the Asuras to the

great festival of his coronation.

He himself went alone to Kailása the monarch of mountains, in order

to invite Siva and Ambiká. And as he was ascending that mountain,

he saw that it gleamed white as ashes, looking like a second Siva

to be adored by the Siddhas, Rishis, and gods. After he had got

more than half-way up it, and had seen that further on it was

hard to climb, he beheld on one side a coral door. When he found

that, though gifted with supernatural power, he could not enter,

he praised Siva with intent mind. Then a man with an elephant's

face opened the door, and said--"Come! enter! the holy Ganesa is

satisfied with you." Then Súryaprabha entered, inly wondering, and

beheld the god seated on a broad slab of jyotírasa, [700] with one

tusk, and an elephant's proboscis, in brightness like twelve suns,

with pendent stomach, with three eyes, with flaming axe and club,

surrounded by many Ganas with the faces of animals, and falling

at his feet, he adored him. The vanquisher of obstacles, being

pleased, asked him the cause of his coming, and said to him with

an affectionate voice--"Ascend by this path." Súryaprabha ascended

by that path another five yojanas, and saw another great door of

ruby. And not being able to enter there either, he praised the god

Siva by his thousand names with intent mind. Then the son of Skanda,

called Visákha, himself opened the door, proclaiming who he was,

and introduced the prince into the interior. And Súryaprabha,

having entered, beheld Skanda of the brightness of burning fire,

accompanied by his five sons like himself, Sákha, Visákha and their

brothers, surrounded by inauspicious planets, and infant planets,

[701] that submitted to him as soon as he was born, and by ten

millions of Ganesas, prostrate at his feet. That god Kártikeya also,

being pleased, asked the cause of his coming, and shewed him the

path by which to ascend the mountain. In the same manner he passed

five other jewel-doors in succession, kept by Bhairava, Mahákála,

Vírabhadra, Nandin, and Bhringin severally, each with his attendants,

and at last he reached on the top of the mountain an eighth door of

crystal. Then he praised Siva, and he was introduced courteously by

one of the Rudras, and beheld that abode of Siva that excelled Svarga,

in which blew winds of heavenly fragrance, in which the trees ever

bore fruit and flowers, [702] in which the Gandharvas had begun their

concert, which was all joyous with the dancing of Apsarases. Then,

in one part of it, Súryaprabha beheld with joy the great god Siva,

seated on a throne of crystal, three-eyed, trident in hand, in hue

like unto pure crystal, with yellow matted locks, with a lovely

half-moon for crest, adored by the holy daughter of the mountain,

who was seated at his side. And he advanced, and fell at the feet of

him and the goddess Durgá. Then the adorable Hara placed his hand on

his back, and made him rise up, and sit down, and asked him why he had

come. And Súryaprabha answered the god, "My coronation is nigh at hand,

therefore I desire the Lord's presence at it." Then Siva said to him,

"Why have you gone through so much toil and hardship? Why did you not

think of me where you were, in order that I might appear there. Be it

so, I will be present." The god, who is kind to his votaries, said

this, and calling a certain Gana who stood near him, gave him the

following command: "Go and take this man to the Rishabha mountain, in

order that he may be crowned emperor, for that is the place appointed

for the grand coronation of emperors such as he is." When the Gana

had received this command from the holy god, he took in his lap with

all respect Súryaprabha, who had circumambulated Siva. And he carried

him and placed him on the Rishabha mountain by his magic power that

very moment, and then disappeared. And when Súryaprabha arrived there,

his companions came to him, and his wives with Kámachúdámani at their

head, and the kings of the Vidyádharas, and the gods with Indra,

and the Asuras with Maya at their head, and Srutasarman, and Sumeru

with Suvásakumára. And Súryaprabha honoured them all in becoming

fashion, and when he told the story of his interview with Siva, they

congratulated him. Then Prabhása and the others brought the water

of consecration with their own hands, mixed with various herbs, in

pitchers of jewels and gold, taking it from male and female rivers,

seas and holy bathing places. In the meanwhile the holy Siva came

there, accompanied by Durgá; and the gods, and Asuras and Vidyádharas,

and kings, and great rishis adored his foot. And while all the gods,

and Dánavas, and Vidyádharas uttered loud cries of "Blessed be this

day," the rishis made Súryaprabha sit on the throne, and pouring all

the waters over him, declared him emperor of the Vidyádharas. And the

discreet Asura Maya joyfully fastened on his turban and diadem. And

the drum of the gods, preceded by the dancing of lovely Apsarases,

sounded joyfully in heaven, in unison with the cymbals of earth. And

that assembly of great rishis poured the water of consecration over

Kámachúdámani also, and made her the appropriate queen consort of

Súryaprabha. Then, the gods and Asuras having departed, Súryaprabha,

the emperor of the Vidyádharas, protracted his great coronation feast

with his relations, friends, and companions. And in a few days he

gave to Srutasarman that northern half vedi mentioned by Siva, and

having obtained his other beloved ones, he enjoyed for a long time,

together with his companions, the fortune of king of the Vidyádharas.

"Thus by virtue of the favour of Siva, Súryaprabha, though a man,

obtained of yore the empire of the Vidyádharas."

Having told this story in the presence of the king of Vatsa, and

having bowed before Naraváhanadatta, Vajraprabha, the king of the

Vidyádharas, ascended to heaven. And after he had gone, that hero,

king Naraváhanadatta, together with his queen Madanamanchuká, remained

in the house of his father the king of Vatsa, waiting to obtain the

rank of emperor of the Vidyádharas.

BOOK IX.

CHAPTER LI.

We bow before that Ganesa before whom, when dancing, even the mountains

seem to bow, for they are made to stoop, owing to the earth being

bent by the weight of Nisumbha.

Thus Naraváhanadatta, the son of the king of Vatsa, dwelt in Kausámbí

in the palace of his father, having heard with astonishment of the

reign of the king of the Vidyádharas. And once on a time, having gone

out hunting, he dismissed his army, and entered a great forest, with

Gomukha as his only companion. There the throbbing of his right eye

indicated the approach of good fortune, and he soon heard the sound of

singing mixed with the notes of a heavenly lyre. After going a short

distance to find whence the sound proceeded, he beheld a Svayambhú

[703] temple of Siva, and after tying up his horse, he entered it. And

there he beheld a heavenly maiden, surrounded by many other lovely

maidens, praising Siva with the harp. As soon as he saw her, with the

effluent streams of her loveliness she disturbed his heart, as the orb

of the moon disturbs the heart of the sea. She too looked on him with

impassioned, loving, and bashful eye, and had her mind solely fixed on

him, and forgot to pour forth her notes. Then Gomukha, who read his

master's soul, began to ask her attendants--"Who is she, and whose

daughter is she?" But in the meanwhile a Vidyádharí of mature age,

resembling her in feature, descended from heaven, preceded by a gleam

red as gold. And she came down, and sat by the side of that maiden,

and then the maiden rose up, and fell at her feet. And that mature

dame blessed that girl, saying, "Obtain without impediment a husband,

who shall be king of all the Vidyádharas." Then Naraváhanadatta came

to that gentle-looking Vidyádharí, and bowed before her, and after

she had given him her blessing, he slowly said to her: "Who is this

maiden of thine, mother, tell me?" then that Vidyádharí said to him

"Listen, I will tell you."

Story of Alankáravatí.

There is on the mountain-heights of the father of Gaurí, [704]

a city named Srísundarapura, and in it there dwells a king of the

Vidyádharas, named Alankárasíla. That lofty-souled king had a wife

named Kánchanaprabhá, and in course of time a son was born to the

king by her. And, when Umá announced to his father in a dream that he

should be devoted to religion, he named him Dharmasíla. And in course

of time that son Dharmasíla grew up to be a young man, and the king,

having had him taught the sciences, appointed him Crown-prince. Then

Dharmasíla, when appointed Crown-prince, being exclusively devoted to

virtue, and self-controlled, delighted the subjects even more than

did his father. Then the queen Kánchanaprabhá, the consort of king

Alankárasíla, became pregnant again, and gave birth to a daughter. Then

a heavenly voice proclaimed, "This daughter shall be the wife of

the emperor Naraváhanadatta." Then her father gave her the name of

Alankáravatí, and the girl gradually grew like a digit of the moon. And

in course of time she attained mature youth, and learned the sciences

from her own father, and through devotion to the god Siva, began to

roam from temple to temple of his. In the meanwhile that brother of

hers, Dharmasíla, who was saintly, though in the bloom of youth, said

in secret to his father Alankárasíla--"My father, these enjoyments,

that vanish in a moment, do not please me; for what is there in this

world which is not distasteful at the last? Have you not heard on

this point the saying of the hermit Vyása? 'All aggregations end in

dissolution, all erections end in a fall, all unions end in separation,

and life ends in death.' So what pleasure can wise men take in these

perishable objects? Moreover, neither enjoyments nor heaps of wealth

accompany one into the other world, but virtue is the only friend that

never moves a step from one's side. Therefore I will go to the forest,

and perform a severe penance, in order by it to attain everlasting

supreme felicity." When the king's son Dharmasíla said this, his father

Alankárasíla was perturbed, and answered him with tears in his eyes;

"My son, what is this sudden delusion that has overtaken you while

still a boy? For good men desire a life of retirement after they

have enjoyed their youth. This is the time for you to marry a wife,

and rule your kingdom justly, and enjoy pleasures, not to abandon the

world." When Dharmasíla heard this speech of his father's, he answered:

"There is no period for self-control or absence of self-control fixed

by age; any one, even when a child, attains self-control, if favoured

by the Lord, but no bad man attains self-control even when old. And I

take no pleasure in reigning, nor in marrying a wife; the object of my

life is to propitiate Siva by austerities." When the prince said this,

his father Alankárasíla, seeing that he could not be turned from his

purpose even by the greatest efforts, shed tears, and said; "If you,

who are young, my son, display such freedom from passion, why should

not I, who am an old man? I too will go to the forest." He said this,

and went to the world of men, and bestowed on Bráhmans and the poor a

myriad loads of gold and jewels. And returning to his city, he said to

his wife Kánchanaprabhá: "You must, if you wish to obey my commands,

remain here in your own city, and take care of this daughter of ours,

Alankáravatí, and when a year has past, there will be on this very

day an auspicious moment for her marriage. And then I will give her in

marriage to Naraváhanadatta, and that son-in-law of mine shall be an

emperor, and shall come to this city of ours." Having said this to his

wife, the king made her take an oath, and then made her return weeping

with her daughter, and himself went with his son to the forest. But

his wife Kánchanaprabhá lived in her own city with her daughter;

what virtuous wife would disobey her husband's commands? Then her

daughter Alankáravatí wandered about to many temples together with

her mother, who accompanied her out of affection. And one day the

science named Prajnapti said to her, "Go to the holy places in Kasmíra

named Svayambhú, and there offer worship, for then you will obtain

without difficulty for a husband, Naraváhanadatta, the sole emperor

of all the Vidyádhara kings." After hearing this from the science,

she went with her mother to Kasmíra and worshipped Siva in all the

holy places, in Nandikshetra, in Mahádevagiri, in Amaraparvata, in

the mountains of Suresvarí, and in Vijaya, and Kapatesvara. After

worshipping the husband of Párvatí in these and other holy places,

that princess of the Vidyádharas and her mother returned home.

Know, auspicious youth, that this is that very maiden Alankáravatí,

and that I am her mother Kánchanaprabhá. And to-day she came to

this temple of Siva without telling me. Then I, perceiving it by the

Prajnapti science, came here, and I was told by the same science that

you had come here also. So marry this daughter of mine who has been

ordained your wife by the god. And to-morrow arrives the day of her

marriage appointed by her father, so return for this day, my son,

to Kausámbí your own city. And we will go hence, but to-morrow the

king Alankárasíla will come from the grove of asceticism, and himself

give you this daughter of his.

When she said this, Alankáravatí and Naraváhanadatta were thrown into

a strange state of distraction, for their eyes were full of tears,

since their hearts could not bear that they should be separated from

one another even for a night, and they were like chakravákas when the

end of the day is near. When Kánchanaprabhá saw them in such a state,

she said: "Why do you show such a want of self-restraint because

you are to be separated for one night. People, who possess firmness,

endure for a long time mutual separation to which no termination is

assigned; hear in proof of this the tale of Rámabhadra and Sítá."

Story of Ráma and Sítá.

Long ago king Dasaratha, the sovereign of Ayodhyá, had a son, named

Ráma, the elder brother of Bharata, Satrughna and Lakshmana. He was a

partial incarnation of Vishnu for the overthrow of Rávana, and he had

a wife named Sítá, the daughter of Janaka, the lady of his life. As

fate would have it, his father handed over the kingdom to Bharata, and

sent Ráma to the forest with Sítá and Lakshmana. There Rávana carried

off his beloved Sítá by magic, and took her to the city of Lanká,

having slain Jatáyus on the way. Then Ráma, in his bereaved state,

made Sugríva his friend by killing Bálin, and by sending Hanumán to

Lanká, obtained news of his wife. And he crossed the sea by building

a bridge over it, and slew Rávana, and gave the sovereignty of Lanká

to Vibhíshana and recovered Sítá. Then he returned from the forest,

and while he was ruling his kingdom, that Bharata had made over to

him, Sítá became pregnant in Ayodhyá. And while the king was roaming

through the city at leisure, with a small retinue, to observe the

actions of his subjects, he beheld a certain man turning his wife,

whom he held by the hand, out of his house, and giving out that her

fault was going to the house of another man. [705] And king Ráma heard

the wife saying to her husband,--"King Ráma did not desert his wife,

though she dwelt in the house of the Rákshasa; this fellow is superior

to him, for he abandons me for going to the house of a relation." So

he went home afflicted; and afraid of the slander of the people,

he abandoned Sítá in the forest; a man of reputation prefers the

sorrow of separation to ill-repute. And Sítá, languid with pregnancy,

happened to reach the hermitage of Válmíki, and that rishi comforted

her, and made her take up her abode there. And the other hermits there

debated among themselves; "Surely this Sítá is guilty, otherwise how

could her husband have deserted her? So, by beholding her, everlasting

pollution will attach to us; but Válmíki does not expel her from the

hermitage out of pity, and he neutralizes by means of his asceticism

the pollution produced by beholding her, so come, let us go to some

other hermitage." When Válmíki perceived that, he said; "Bráhmans,

you need not have any misgivings about the matter, I have perceived

her by my meditation to be chaste. When even then they exhibited

incredulity, Sítá said to them; "Reverend sirs, test my purity by any

means that you know of, and if I turn out to be unchaste, let me be

punished by having my head cut off." When the hermits heard that,

they experienced an emotion of pity, and they said to her, "There

is a famous bathing-place in this forest, called Títhibhasaras, for

a certain chaste woman named Títhibhí, being falsely accused by her

husband, who suspected her of familiarity with another man, in her

helplessness invoked the goddess Earth and the Lokapálas, and they

produced it for her justification. There let the wife of Ráma clear

herself for our satisfaction." When they said that, Sítá went with

them to that lake. And the chaste woman said--"Mother Earth, if my

mind was never fixed even in a dream on any one besides my husband,

may I reach the other side of the lake,"--and after saying this,

she entered the lake, and the goddess Earth appeared, and, taking

her in her lap, carried her to the other side. Then all the hermits

adored that chaste woman, and enraged at Ráma's having abandoned her,

they desired to curse him. But Sítá, who was devoted to her husband,

dissuaded them, saying,--"Do not entertain an inauspicious thought

against my husband, I beg you to curse my wicked self." The hermits,

pleased with that conduct of hers, gave her a blessing which enabled

her to give birth to a son, and she, while dwelling there, in good

time did give birth to a son, and the hermit Válmíki gave him the

name of Lava. [706] One day she took the child and went to bathe, and

the hermit, seeing that it was not in the hut, thought--"She is in

the habit, when she goes to bathe, of leaving her child behind her,

so what has become of the child? Surely it has been carried off by a

wild beast. I will create another, otherwise Sítá, on returning from

bathing, will die of grief." Under this impression, the hermit made

a pure babe of kusa grass, resembling Lava, and placed him there,

and Sítá came, and seeing it, said to the hermit, "I have my own boy,

so whence came this one, hermit?" When the hermit Válmíki heard this,

he told her exactly what had taken place, and said, "Blameless one,

receive this second son named Kusa, because I by my power created him

out of kusa grass." When he said this to her, Sítá brought up those

two sons Kusa and Lava, for whom Válmíki performed the sacraments. And

those two young princes of the Kshatriya race, even when children,

learned the use of all heavenly weapons, and all sciences from the

hermit Válmíki.

And one day they killed a deer belonging to the hermitage, and ate

its flesh, and made use of a linga, which Válmíki worshipped, as a

plaything. The hermit was offended thereby, but at Sítá's intercession

he appointed for those youths the following expiatory penance:

"Let this Lava go quickly and bring from the lake of Kuvera golden

lotuses, and mandára [707] flowers from his garden, then worship,

both of you brothers, this linga with those flowers; in this way

this crime of those two will be atoned for." When Lava heard this,

he went, though a boy, to Kailása, and invaded that lake and garden

of Kuvera, and after killing the Yakshas, brought back the lotuses

and the flowers, and as he was returning, being tired, he rested in

the way under a tree. And in the meanwhile Lakshmana came that way,

seeking a man with auspicious marks for Ráma's human sacrifice. [708]

He, according to the custom of Kshatriyas, challenged Lava to fight,

and paralyzed him by the stupefying weapon, and taking him prisoner,

led him to the city of Ayodhyá. And in the meanwhile Válmíki comforted

Sítá, who was anxious about the return of Lava, and said to Kusa

in his hermitage, "Lakshmana has taken prisoner the child Lava and

has carried him off to Ayodhyá; go and deliver him from Lakshmana,

after conquering him with these weapons." When the sage said this,

and gave to Kusa a heavenly weapon, he went and with it attacked

and besieged the sacrificial enclosure in Ayodhyá, and he conquered

in fight Lakshmana, who advanced to repel him, by the help of those

heavenly weapons; then Ráma advanced to meet him; and when he could

not, though exerting himself to the utmost, conquer with weapons that

Kusa, owing to the might of Válmíki, he asked him who he was, and why

he came. Then Kusa said, "Lakshmana has taken my elder brother prisoner

and brought him here; I have come here to set him at liberty. We

two are Kusa and Lava the sons of Ráma, this is what our mother,

the daughter of Janaka, says." Thereupon he told her story. Then

Ráma burst into tears, and summoned Lava and embraced both, saying,

"I am that same wicked Ráma." Then the citizens assembled and praised

Sítá, beholding those two heroic youths, and Ráma recognised them as

his sons. And then he summoned the queen Sítá from the hermitage of

Válmíki, and dwelt with her in happiness, transferring to his sons

the burden of the empire.

"Thus heroic souls endure separation for so long a time, and how

can you find it difficult to endure it for only one night?" When

Kánchanaprabhá had said this to her daughter Alankáravatí, who was

eager to be married, and to Naraváhanadatta, she departed through

the air with the intention of returning again, and took her daughter

with her: and Naraváhanadatta, for his part, returned despondent to

Kausámbí.

Then, as he could not sleep at night, Gomukha said to him to amuse

him--"Prince, hear this story of Prithvírúpa, which I will relate

to you."

Story of the handsome king Prithvírúpa.

There is in the Dekhan a city named Pratishthána, in it lived a very

handsome king, named Prithvírúpa. Once on a time two discerning

Buddhist hermits came to him, and seeing that that king was very

handsome, they said to him, "King, we have travelled through the

world, and we have nowhere seen a man or woman equal to you in beauty,

except the daughter of king Rúpadhara and queen Hemalatá, in the isle

of Muktipura, Rúpalatá by name, and that maiden alone is a match for

you, and you alone are a match for her; if you were to be united in

marriage, it would be well." With these words of the hermit, which

entered by his ears, the arrows of Love entered also and stuck in

his heart. Then king Prithvírúpa, being full of longing, gave this

order to his admirable painter, Kumáridatta by name; "Take with you my

portrait, accurately painted on canvas, and with these two mendicants

go to the isle of Muktipura, and there shew it by some artifice to

the king Rúpadhara and his daughter Rúpalatá. Find out if that king

will give me his daughter or not, and take a likeness of Rúpalatá,

and bring it back." When the king had said this, he made the painter

take his likeness on canvas, and sent him with the mendicants to that

island. And so the painter and the mendicants set out, and in course

of time reached a city named Putrapura on the shore of the sea. There

they embarked on a ship, and going across the sea, they reached in

five days that island of Muktipura. There the painter went and held

up at the gate of the palace a notice, to the effect that there was

no painter like him in the world. When the king Rúpadhara heard of

that, he summoned him, and the painter entered the palace, and bowing,

he said: "O king, though I have travelled all over the earth, I have

never seen my match as a painter, so tell me, whom I am to paint of

gods, mortals, and Asuras." When the king heard that, he summoned his

daughter Rúpalatá into his presence, and gave him the following order:

"Make a portrait of this daughter of mine, and shew it me." Then the

painter Kumáridatta made a portrait of the princess on canvas and

shewed it, and it was exactly like the original. Then king Rúpadhara

was pleased, and thinking him clever, he asked that painter, in his

desire to obtain a son-in-law, "My good fellow, you have travelled

over the earth: so tell me if you have anywhere seen a woman or a

man equal to my daughter in beauty." When the king said this, the

painter answered him, "I have nowhere in the world seen a woman or a

man equal to her, except a king in Pratishthána, named Prithvírúpa,

who is a match for her; if she were married to him, it would be

well. Since he has not found a princess equal in beauty, he remains,

though in his fresh youth, without a wife. And I, your majesty, having

beheld that king, dear to the eyes, took a faithful likeness of him,

out of admiration of his beauty." When the king heard that, he said:

"Have you that portrait with you?" And the painter said, "I have,"

and showed the portrait. Thereupon the king Rúpadhara, beholding

the beauty of that king Prithvírúpa, found his head whirl round

with astonishment. And he said, "Fortunate are we to have beheld

that king even in a picture; I felicitate those who behold him in

the flesh. When Rúpalatá heard this speech of her father's, and saw

the king in the picture, she was full of longing, and could neither

hear nor see anything else. Then the king Rúpadhara, seeing that his

daughter was distracted with love, said to that painter Kumáridatta,

"Your pictures exactly correspond to the original, so that king

Prithvírúpa must be an appropriate husband for my daughter. So take

this portrait of my daughter, and set off immediately, and shew

my daughter to king Prithvírúpa; and tell the whole incident as it

took place, and if he pleases, let him come here quickly, to marry

her." Thus the king spake, and honoured the painter with gifts,

and sent him off with his ambassador, in the company of the mendicants.

The painter, the ambassador, and the mendicants crossed the sea,

and all reached the court of Prithvírúpa in Pratishthána. There they

gave the present to that king, and told him the whole transaction,

as it took place, and the message of Rúpadhara. And then that painter

Kumáridatta shewed to that king his beloved Rúpalatá in a painting. As

the king gazed, [709] his eye was drowned in that sea of beauty

her person, so that he could not draw it out again. For the king,

whose longing was excessive, could not be satisfied with devouring

her form, which poured forth a stream of the nectar of beauty, as

the partridge cannot be satisfied with devouring the moonlight. And

he said to the painter, "My friend, worthy of praise is the Creator

who made this beauty, and yourself who copied it. So I accept the

proposal of king Rúpadhara; I will go to the island of Muktipura and

marry his daughter." After saying this, the king honoured the painter,

the ambassador, and the hermits, and remained looking at the picture.

And afflicted with the sorrow of absence, the king spent that day in

gardens and other places, and set out the next day on his expedition,

after ascertaining a favourable moment. And the king mounted the

great elephant Mangalaghata, and proceeded on his way with many horses

and elephants, with chiefs and Rájpúts, and with the painter and the

hermits, together with the ambassador of Rúpadhara, and in a few days

he reached the entrance of the Vindhya forest, and encamped there in

the evening. The next day, the king Prithvírúpa mounted an elephant

named Satrumardana, and going on entered that forest. And as he was

slowly proceeding, he beheld his army, which was marching in front

of him, suddenly fleeing. And while he was perplexed as to what it

could mean, a Rájpút named Nirbhaya, mounted on an elephant, came up

and said to him, "King, a very large army of Bhillas attacked us in

front there; in the fight that ensued those Bhillas slew with their

arrows just fifty of our elephants, and a thousand of our footmen, and

three hundred horses; but our troops laid low two thousand Bhillas,

so that for every single corpse seen in our host two were seen in

theirs. Then our forces were routed, galled with their arrows, which

resemble thunderbolts." When the king heard that, he was angry, and

advancing he slew the army of the Bhillas, as Arjuna slew that of

the Kauravas. Then the other bandits were slain by Nirbhaya and his

comrades, [710] and the king cut off with one crescent-headed arrow the

head of the commander of the Bhillas. The king's elephant Satrumardana,

with the blood flowing from arrow-wounds, resembled a mountain of

collyrium pouring forth streams coloured with cinnabar. Then his

whole army, that had been dispersed, returned, finding themselves

victorious, and those Bhillas, that had escaped slaughter, fled in

all directions. And the king Prithvírúpa, having brought the fight

to an end, had his might extolled by the ambassador of Rúpadhara,

and being victorious, encamped in that very forest district, on the

bank of a lake, to recruit the strength of his wounded troops.

And in the morning the king set out thence, and slowly advancing

he reached that city of Putrapura on the shore of the sea. There he

rested for a day, being entertained in becoming fashion by the king

of that place, named Udáracharita. And he crossed the sea in ships

supplied by him, and in eight days reached the isle of Muktipura.

And the king Rúpadhara, hearing of it, came to meet him delighted, and

the two kings met and embraced one another. Then the king Prithvírúpa

entered his city with him, being, so to speak, drunk in by the eyes of

the ladies of the city. Then the queen Hemalatá and the king Rúpadhara,

seeing that he was a suitable husband for their daughter, rejoiced. And

that king Prithvírúpa remained there, and Rúpadhara honoured him with

entertainment in accordance with his own magnificence.

And the next day, the long-desiring Rúpalatá ascended the altar in

an auspicious moment, and he with exultation received her hand in

marriage. And when they beheld one another's beauty, the expanded

eye of each was extended to the ear, as if to inform that organ that

the report it had heard before was true. When the parched grain was

thrown, Rúpadhara gave jewels in such abundance to the happy couple,

that men thought he was a perfect mine of jewels. And after his

daughter's marriage had taken place, he honoured the painter and

the two mendicants with dresses and ornaments, and bestowed gifts

on all the others. Then that king Prithvírúpa, remaining in that

city with his attendants, enjoyed the best meat and drink the isle

could produce. The day was spent in singing and dancing, and at night

the eager king entered the private apartments of Rúpalatá, in which

jewelled couches were spread, which was adorned with jewelled pavement,

the circuit of which was propped on jewelled pillars, and which was lit

up with jewel-lamps. And in the morning he was woke up by the bards and

heralds reciting, and he rose up and remained as the moon in heaven.

Thus king Prithvírúpa remained ten days in that island, amusing

himself with ever-fresh enjoyments furnished by his father-in-law. On

the eleventh day, the king, with the consent of the astrologers, set

out with Rúpalatá, after the auspicious ceremony had been performed

for him. And he was escorted by his father-in-law as far as the

shore of the sea, and accompanied by his retainers, he embarked

on the ships with his wife. He crossed the sea in eight days, and

his army, that was encamped on the shore, joined him, and the king

Udáracharita came to meet him, and then he went to Putrapura. There

king Prithvírúpa rested some days, and was entertained by that king,

and then he set out from that place. And he mounted his beloved

Rúpalatá on the elephant Jayamangala, and he himself mounted an

elephant named Kalyánagiri. And the king, proceeding by continual

stages, in due course reached his good city of Pratishthána, where

flags and banners were waving. Then, after beholding Rúpalatá, the

ladies of the city lost at once all pride in their own beauty, and

gazed on her with eyes unwinking from wonder. Then king Prithvírúpa

entered his palace, making high festival, and he gave to that painter

villages and wealth, and he honoured those two hermits with wealth

as they deserved, and gave complimentary presents to the chiefs,

ministers and Rájpúts. Then that king, having attained his object,

enjoyed there this world's happiness in the society of Rúpalatá.