And as Gangadhara started, and looked up in wonder, he saw Smaradasa
just above him, hovering in the air. And that celestial roamer descended
gently, and stood upon the ground beside him. And he said to the prime
minister, who humbly bowed before him: Gangadhara, I am Smaradasa, a
king of the Widyadharas, and I have come to let thee know so much as may
be necessary, and tell thee in this matter what to do: which is, to sit
with thy hands folded, like an image of Jinendra on a temple wall, for a
very little while, and the conclusion will arrive of itself, without thy
interference: since others are concerned as well as thou, in punishing
this king, and his outcast of a queen, who like a wheel has left the
track, and run out of her proper course, downhill.
And Gangadhara said: My lord, I am favoured by the very sight of thee:
and I am curious to know all the circumstances of this extraordinary
matter, if it be permitted to such a one as me.
And Smaradasa said: O Gangadhara, creatures of every kind fall into
disaster by reason of their own characters and actions, and this is such
a case. And there is no necessity for thee to be acquainted with any of
the particulars, since curiosity is dangerous, and those who pry into
the business of their superiors run the risk of getting into trouble,
which they might have avoided had they been discreet. So much only will
I tell thee, that this queen's independent behaviour is on the eve of
giving birth to its own punishment, which will in all probability
involve in it that of her silly lover as well as her own. And the
Widyadharas have fixed upon thee, to be an agent in bringing it about.
And I bring thee a commission, which if thou dost refuse, evil will come
upon thee, very soon, and very sudden, and very terrible. But as I
think, thou wilt undertake it, seeing that the result will tally
precisely with objects of thy own. For as I said, spies better than thy
own have had their eyes on thee and all the others, unobserved.
Then Gangadhara trembled, and he said: This servant of thine is ready to
do anything, no matter what.
And Smaradasa said: There is little to be done, and it will be very
easy. Know, as it may be that thou knowest already, that Arunodaya
desires nothing in the world so much, as to recollect the incidents of
his previous existence: since this is what perpetually troubles him,
that he seems to be hovering for ever on the very brink of grasping
recollection, which nevertheless invariably slips from his grasp:
leaving him in such a state of irritated longing and disappointment,
that to quench it, he would give the three worlds. Go, then, to
Arunodaya, and give him this fruit. And say to him this: Maharaj, one of
the neighbouring king's ministers, whom I have recently befriended, sent
me this fruit, with its fellow, brought to him by a traveller from
another _dwipa_.[41] And such is their virtue that whoever eats one,
just before he goes to sleep, will dream, all night long, of the very
thing that he most desires. And so, wishing to test it, I ate one; and
that night I saw in my dreams such mountains of gold and gems, that even
Meru and the ocean could not furnish half the sum of each. And now I
have brought thee the other, thinking that the experience might amuse
thee: and now it is for Maharaj to judge. And when he hears, Arunodaya
will think the fruit to be no other than the very fruit of his own birth
in visible form before his eyes. For it will enable him to realise his
desire, and discover the events of his former birth.
[Footnote 41: (Pronounce _dweep_)--a far-off continent or island.]
And Gangadhara took the fruit into his hand, and looked at it
attentively, resembling as it did a pomegranate, but smaller. And the
smell of it was so strong, and so strange, and so delicious, that it
seemed to say to its possessor: Refrain, if you can, from tasting, what
tastes even better than it smells. And then, he shuddered, and he raised
his eyes, and looked steadily at Smaradasa: and he said: Is it poison?
And that crafty Widyadhara laughed, and he said: Nay, O Gangadhara: it
is exactly what I told thee to say, and thy account will be the very
truth.
Then said Gangadhara again: But if this is so, how can Arunodaya's
eating it advantage either thee or me?
And Smaradasa said: Gangadhara, it is dangerous for anybody, and much
more for this King, to recollect his former birth, even in a dream.
Beware of eating it thyself: for it is tempting. But now, mark very
carefully what I have to say. See, when thou dost give it him, and tell
him, that the Queen is by. I say, mark well, that at the time of thy
telling, she overhears thee: and beware, at thy peril, of forgetting
this condition, for in it will all the poison of the fruit be contained;
and without it, it is naught.
Then said Gangadhara: I do not understand.
And Smaradasa laughed, and he said: Gangadhara, no matter: for thy
understanding is not an essential condition of success. But be under no
concern: for Arunodaya will not die of poison, and the fruit is free of
harm. For poison of the body is a very clumsy contrivance, and one
suited only to mortals who are void of the sciences, not knowing how or
being able, like Widyadharas, to work indirectly by poisoning the soul.