_The Fairy Prince Cloud-chariot and the Serpent Shell-crest. Which is
the more self-sacrificing?_
So the king walked along with the goblin. And the goblin said: "O king,
listen to a story the like of which was never heard."
There is a mountain called Himalaya where all gems are found. It is the
king of mountains. Its proud loftiness is everywhere the theme of song.
The sun himself has not seen its top.
On its summit is a city called Golden City, brilliant like a heap of
sunbeams left in trust by the sun. There lived a glorious fairy-king
named Cloud-banner. In the garden of his palace was a wishing-tree
which had come down to him from his ancestors.
King Cloud-banner had worshipped the tree which was really a god, and
by its grace had obtained a son named Cloud-chariot. This son
remembered his former lives. He was destined to be a Buddha in a future
life. He was generous, noble, merciful to all creatures, and obedient
to his parents.
When he grew up, the king anointed him crown prince, persuaded thereto
by his counsellors as well as by the remarkable virtues of the youth.
While Cloud-chariot was crown prince, his father's counsellors came to
him one day and kindly said: "Crown prince, you must always honour this
wishing-tree in your garden; for it yields all desires, and cannot be
taken away by anybody. As long as it is favourably disposed to us, the
king of the gods could not conquer us, and of course nobody else could."
Then Cloud-chariot thought: "Alas! The men of old had this heavenly
tree, yet they did not pluck from it any worthy fruit. They were
mean-spirited. They simply begged it for some kind of wealth. And so
they degraded themselves and the great tree too. But I will get from it
the wish which is in my heart."
With this thought the noble creature went to his father. He showed such
complete deference as to delight his father, then when his father was
comfortably seated, he whispered: "Father, you know yourself that in
this sea of life all possessions, including our own bodies, are
uncertain as a rippling wave. Especially is money fleeting, uncertain,
fickle as the twilight lightning. The only thing in life which does not
perish is service. This gives birth to virtue and glory, twin witnesses
through all the ages to come. Father! Why do we keep such a
wishing-tree for the sake of transient blessings? Our ancestors clung
to it, saying: It is mine, it is mine.' And where are they now? What
is it to them, or they to it? Then, if you bid me, I will beg this
generous wishing-tree for the one fruit that counts, the fruit of
service to others."
His father graciously assented, and Cloud-chariot went to the
wishing-tree, and said: "O god, you have fulfilled the wishes of our
fathers. Fulfil now my one single wish. Remove poverty from the world.
A blessing be with you. Go. I give you to the needy world." And as
Cloud-chariot bowed reverently, there came a voice from the tree: "I
go, since you give me up." And the wishing-tree immediately flew from
heaven and rained so much money on the earth that nobody was poor. And
Cloud-chariot's reputation for universal benevolence was spread about.
But all the relatives were jealous and envious. They thought that they
could easily conquer Cloud-chariot and his father without the
wishing-tree, and they prepared to fight to take away his kingdom. But
Cloud-chariot said to his father: "Father, how can you take your
weapons and fight? What high-minded man would want a kingdom after
killing his relatives just for the sake of this wretched, perishable
body? Let us abandon the kingdom, and go away somewhere to devote
ourselves entirely to virtue. Then we shall be blessed in both worlds.
And let these wretched relatives enjoy the kingdom which they hanker
after."
And Cloud-banner said: "My son, I only want the kingdom for you, and if
you give it up from benevolent motives, what good is it to me? I am an
old man."
So Cloud-chariot left the kingdom and went with his father and mother
to the Malabar hills. There he built a hermit's retreat, and waited on
his parents.
One day, as he wandered about, he met Friend-wealth, the son of
All-wealth, who lived there as king of the Siddhas. And Cloud-chariot
spoke to him and made friends with him.
Then one day Cloud-chariot saw a shrine to the goddess Gauri in the
grove, and entered there. And he saw a slender, lovely maiden
surrounded by her girl friends and playing on a lute, in honour of
Gauri. The deer listened to her music and her song, motionless as if
ashamed because her eyes were lovelier than their own. When
Cloud-chariot saw the slender maiden, his heart was ravished.
And he seemed to her to make the garden beautiful like the spring-time.
A strange longing came over her. She became so helpless that her
friends were alarmed.
Then Cloud-chariot asked one of her friends: "My good girl, what is
your friend's sweet name? What family does she adorn?"
And the friend said: "This is Sandal, sister of Friend-wealth, and
daughter of the king of the Siddhas." Then she earnestly asked for the
name and family of Cloud-Chariot from a hermit's son who had come with
him. And then she spoke to Sandal with words punctuated by smiles: "My
dear, why do you not show hospitality to the fairy prince? He is a
guest whom all the world would be glad to honour."
But the bashful princess remained silent with downcast eyes. Then the
friend said: "She is bashful. Accept a hospitable greeting from me."
And she gave him a garland.
Cloud-chariot, far gone in love, took the garland and put it around
Sandal's neck. And the loving, sidelong glance which she gave him
seemed like another garland of blue lotuses. So they pledged themselves
without speaking a word.
Then a serving-maid came and said to the princess: "Princess, your
mother remembers you. Come at once." And she went slowly, after drawing
from her lover's face a passionate glance, for which Love's arrow had
wedged a path. And Cloud-chariot went to the hermitage, thinking of
her; while she, sick with the separation from the lord of her life, saw
her mother, then tottered to her bed and fell upon it. Her eyes were
blinded as if by smoke from the fire of love within her, her limbs
tossed in fever, she shed tears. And though her friends anointed her
with sandal and fanned her with lotus-leaves, she found no rest on her
bed or in the lap of a friend or on the ground.
Then when the day fled away with the passionate red twilight, and the
moon drew near to kiss the face of the laughing East, she despaired of
life, and her modesty would not let her send a message in spite of all
her love. But somehow she lived through the night. And Cloud-chariot
too was in anguish at the separation. Even in his bed he was fallen
into the hand of Love. Though his passion was so recent, he had already
grown pale. Though shame kept him silent, his looks told of the pangs
of love. And so he passed the night.
In the morning he arose and went to the shrine of Gauri. And his
friend, the hermit's son, followed him and tried to comfort him. At
that moment the lovelorn Sandal came out of her house alone, for she
could not endure the separation, and crept to that lonely spot to end
her life there.
She did not see her lover behind a tree, and with eyes brimming with
tears she prayed to the goddess Gauri: "O goddess, since I could not in
this life have Cloud-chariot as my husband, grant that in another life
at last he may be my husband."
Then she tied her garment to the limb of an ashoka tree before the
goddess and cried: "Alas, my lord! Alas, Cloud-chariot! They say your
benevolence is universal. Why did you not save me?"
But as she fastened the garment about her neck, a voice from the sky
was heard in the air: "My daughter, do nothing rash. Cloud-chariot, the
future king of the fairies, shall be your husband."
And Cloud-chariot heard the heavenly voice, and with his friend
approached his rejoicing sweetheart. The friend said to the girl: "Here
is the gift which the goddess grants you." And Cloud-chariot spoke more
than one tender word and loosed the garment from her neck with his own
hand.
Then a girl friend who had been gathering flowers there and had seen
what was happening, came up joyfully and said, while Sandal's modest
eyes seemed to be tracing a figure on the ground: "My dear, I
congratulate you. Your wish is granted. This very day Prince
Friend-wealth said in my presence to King All-wealth, your father:
Father, the fairy prince, who deserves honour from all the world, who
gave away the wishing-tree, is here, and we should treat him as an
honoured guest. We could not find another bridegroom like him. So let
us welcome him with the gift of Sandal who is a pearl of a girl.' And
the king agreed, and your brother Friend-wealth has this moment gone to
the hermitage of the noble prince. I think your marriage will soon take
place. So go to your chamber, and let the noble prince go to his
hermitage."
So she went slowly and happily and lovingly. And Cloud-chariot hastened
to the hermitage. There he greeted Friend-wealth and heard his message,
and told him about his own birth and former life. Then Friend-wealth
was delighted and told Cloud-chariot's parents who were also delighted.
Then he went home and made his own parents happy with the news.
That very day he invited Cloud-chariot to his home. And they made a
great feast as was proper, and married the fairy prince and Sandal on
the spot. Then Cloud-chariot was completely happy and spent some time
there with his bride Sandal.
One day he took a walk for pleasure about the hills with Friend-wealth,
and came to the seashore. There he saw great heaps of bones, and he
asked Friend-wealth: "What creatures did these heaps of bones belong
to?" His brother-in-law Friend-wealth said to the merciful prince:
"Listen, my friend. I will tell you the story briefly."
Long ago Kadru, the mother of the serpents, made a wager with her rival
Vinata, the mother of the great bird Garuda. She won the wager and
enslaved her rival. Now Garuda's anger continued even after he had
freed his mother from slavery. He kept going into the underworld where
Kadru's offspring, the serpents, live, to eat them. Some he killed,
others he crushed.
Then Vasuki, king of the serpents, feared that in time all would be
lost if the serpents were all to be slain thus. So he made an agreement
with Garuda. He said: "O king of birds, I will send one serpent every
day to the shore of the southern sea for you to eat. But you are never
to enter the underworld again. What advantage would it be to you if all
the serpents were slain at once?" And Garuda agreed, with an eye to his
own advantage.
Since that time Garuda every day eats the snake sent by Vasuki here on
the seashore. And these heaps of bones from the serpents that have been
eaten, have in time formed a regular mountain.
When Cloud-chariot heard this story from the lips of Friend-wealth, he
was deeply grieved and said: "My friend, wretched indeed is that king
Vasuki who deliberately sacrifices his own subjects to their enemy. He
is a coward. He has a thousand heads, yet could not find a single mouth
to say: O Garuda, eat me first.' How could he be so mean as to beg
Garuda to destroy his own race? Or how can Garuda, the heavenly bird,
do such a crime? Oh, insolent madness!"
So the noble Cloud-chariot made up his mind that he would use his poor
body that day to save the life of one serpent at least. At that moment
a door-keeper, sent by Friend-wealth's father, came to summon them
home. And Cloud-Chariot said: "Do you go first. I will follow." So he
dismissed Friend-wealth, and remained there himself.
As he walked about waiting for the thing he hoped for, he heard a
pitiful sound of weeping at a distance. He went a little way and saw
near a lofty rock a sorrowful, handsome youth. He was at that moment
abandoned by a creature that seemed to be a policeman, and was gently
persuading his old, weeping mother to return. And Cloud-chariot wished
to know who it might be. So he hid himself and listened, his heart
melting with pity.
The old mother was bowed down by anguish, and started to lament over
the youth. "Oh, Shell-crest! Oh, my virtuous son, whom I fondled, not
counting the labour and the pain! Oh, my son, my only son! Where shall
I see you again? Oh, my darling! When your bright face is gone, your
old father will fall into black despair. How can he live then? Your
tender form is hurt by the rays of the sun. How can it bear the pangs
of being eaten by Garuda? Oh, my unhappy fate! Why did the Creator and
the serpent-king choose my only son from the broad serpent-world, and
seize upon him?"
And as she lamented, the youth, her son, said: "Mother, I am unhappy
enough. Why torture me yet more? Return home. For the last time I bow
before you. It is time for Garuda to come."
And the mother cried: "Alas, alas for me! Who will save my son?" And
she gazed about wildly and wept aloud.
All this Cloud-chariot, the future Buddha, saw and heard. And with deep
pity he thought: "Alas! This is a serpent named Shell-crest, sent here
by Vasuki for Garuda to eat. And this is his mother, following him out
of her great love. He is her only son, and she is mourning in pain and
bitter anguish. I should forever curse my useless life if I did not
save one in such agony at the cost of a body which must perish anyway
some day."
So Cloud-chariot joyfully approached and said to the old mother:
"Serpent-mother, I will save your son. Do not weep."
But the old mother thought that this was Garuda, and she screamed: "O
Garuda, eat me! Eat me!"
Then Shell-crest said: "Mother, this is not Garuda. Do not be alarmed.
What a difference between one who soothes our feelings like the moon,
and the fearful Garuda."
And Cloud-chariot said: "Mother, I am a fairy, come to save your son. I
will put on his garment and offer my own body to the hungry bird. Do
you take your son and go home."
But the old mother said: "No, no. You are more than a son to me. To
think that such as you should feel pity for such as we!"
And Cloud-chariot answered: "Mother, I beg you not to disappoint me."
But when he insisted, Shell-crest said: "Noble being, you have
certainly shown compassion, but I do not wish to save my body at the
expense of yours. Who would save a common stone at the cost of a pearl?
The world is full of creatures like me, who are merciful only to
themselves. But creatures like you, who are merciful to all the world,
are very rare. Oh, pious being, I could not stain the pure family of
Shell-guard, as the dark spot stains the disk on the moon."
Then Shell-crest said to his mother: "Mother, return from this desolate
place. Do you not see the rock of sacrifice wet with the blood of
serpents, the terrible plaything of Death? I will go for a moment to
the shore and worship the god Shiva there. And I will return quickly
before Garuda comes."
So Shell-crest took leave of his mother and went to worship Shiva. And
Cloud-chariot thought: "If Garuda should come in this interval, I
should be happy."
Then he saw the trees stiffening themselves against the wind made by
the sweeping wings of the king of birds. "Garuda is coming," he
thought, and climbed the rock of sacrifice, eager to give his life for
another.
And Garuda straightway pounced upon the noble creature and lifted him
from the rock in his beak. While Cloud-chariot's blood flowed in
streams and the gem fell from his forehead, Garuda carried him off and
began to eat him on the summit of the Malabar hills. And while he was
being eaten, Cloud-chariot thought: "In every future life of mine may
my body do some good to somebody. I would not attain heaven and
salvation without doing some good first." Then a shower of flowers fell
from heaven on the fairy prince.
At that moment the blood-stained gem from his forehead fell in front of
his wife Sandal. She was in anguish at the sight, and as her
parents-in-law were near, she tearfully showed it to them. And they
were alarmed at the sight of their son's gem and wondered what it
meant. Then King Cloud-banner discovered the truth by his magic arts,
and he and his queen started to run with Cloud-chariot's wife Sandal.
At that moment Shell-crest returned from his worship of Shiva. He saw
the rock stained with blood, and cried: "Alas for me, poor sinner!
Surely that noble, merciful creature has given his body to Garuda in
place of mine. I must find him. Where has the great being been carried
by my enemy? If I find him alive, then I shall not sink into the slough
of infamy." So he followed weeping the broad trail of blood.
Now Garuda noticed that Cloud-chariot was happy while being eaten, and
he thought: "This must be some strange, great being, for he is happy
while I am eating him. He does not die, and what remains of him is
thrilled with delight. And he turns a gracious, benevolent look upon
me. Surely, he is no serpent, but some great spirit. I will stop eating
him and ask him."
But while he reflected, Cloud-chariot said: "O king of birds, why do
you stop? There is still some flesh and blood on me, and I see that you
are not satisfied. Pray continue to eat."
When the king of birds heard these remarkable words, he said: "You are
no serpent. Tell me who you are."
But Cloud-chariot continued to urge him: "Certainly I am a serpent.
What does the question mean? Continue your meal. What fool would begin
a thing and then stop?"
At that moment Shell-crest shouted from afar: "O Garuda, do not commit
a great and reckless crime. What madness is this? He is not a serpent.
I am the serpent."
And he ran between them and spoke again to the agitated bird: "O
Garuda, what madness is this? Do you not see that I have the hood and
the forked tongue? Do you not see how gentle his appearance is?"
While he was speaking, Cloud-chariot's wife Sandal and his parents
hurried up. And when his parents saw how he was lacerated, they wept
aloud and lamented: "Alas, my son! Alas, Cloud-chariot! Alas for my
merciful darling, who gave his life for others!"
But when they cried: "Alas, Garuda! How could you do this thoughtless
thing?" then Garuda was filled with remorse and thought: "Alas! How
could I be mad enough to eat a future Buddha? This must be
Cloud-chariot, who gives his life for others, whose fame is trumpeted
abroad through all the world. If he is dead, I am a sinner, and ought
to burn myself alive. Why does the fruit of the poison-tree of sin
taste sweet?"
While Garuda was thus deep in anxious thought, Cloud-chariot saw his
relatives gathered, fell down, and died from the pain of his wounds.
Then, while his grief-stricken parents were loudly lamenting, while
Shell-crest was accusing himself, Sandal looked up to heaven and, in a
voice stammering with tears, reproached the goddess Gauri who had
graciously given her this husband: "Oh, Mother! You told me that the
fairy prince should be my husband, but it is my fate that you spoke
falsely."
Then Gauri appeared in a visible form, and said: "Daughter, my words
are not false." And she sprinkled Cloud-chariot with nectar from a jar.
And straightway he stood up alive, unhurt and more beautiful than
before.
As they all bent low in worship, and Cloud-chariot rose only to bend
again, the goddess said: "My son, I am pleased with your gift of your
own body. With my own hand I anoint you king of the fairies." And she
anointed Cloud-chariot with liquor from the jar, and then disappeared,
followed by the worship of the company. And showers of heavenly
blossoms fell from the sky, and the drums of the gods were joyfully
beaten in heaven.
Then Garuda reverently said to Cloud-chariot: "O King, I am pleased
with your more than human character. For you have done a strange thing
of unparalleled nobility, to be marvelled at throughout the universe,
to be written upon the walls of heaven. Therefore I am at your service.
Choose from me what boon you will."
The noble creature said to Garuda: "O Garuda, you must repent and eat
no more serpents. And you must restore to life those that you ate
before, who now are nothing but bones."
And Garuda said: "So be it. I will eat no serpents hereafter. And those
that I have eaten shall come to life."
Then all the serpents who had been eaten down to the bones, suddenly
stood up. And through the grace of Gauri all the leading fairies
learned immediately the wonderful deed of Cloud-chariot. So they all
came and bowed at his feet and took him, freshly anointed by the very
hand of Gauri, with his rejoicing relatives and friends to the Himalaya
mountain. There Cloud-chariot lived happily with his father and his
mother and his wife Sandal and Friend-wealth and the generous
Shell-crest. And he ruled the fairy world radiant with gems.
When the goblin had told this long, strange story, he said to the king:
"O King, tell me. Which was the more self-sacrificing, Cloud-chariot or
Shell-crest? If you know and do not tell, then the curse I mentioned
before will be fulfilled."
And the king said: "There was nothing remarkable in what Cloud-chariot
did. He was prepared for it by the experiences of many past lives. But
Shell-crest deserves praise. He was saved from death. His enemy had
another victim, and was far away. Yet he ran after and offered his body
to Garuda."
When the goblin heard this, he went back to the sissoo tree. And the
king returned to catch him again.