Shree Shookdeo Jee said,--O great king! one day Shree Krishnù
Chund, the sea of compassion, the brother of poor and the benefactor
of his worshippers, was sitting in an assembly of wise men, sages,
brahmins and Chuttrees, when the Raja Joodisthur came; and, beseeching
earnestly and bowing his head, said to him, with joined hands, “O lord
of Shivù and Bruhmù! gods, sages, holy men and jogees constantly
meditate on you; you are the unseen, invisible and impenetrable; no
one understands the secrets of your nature; holy men and jogees
meditate on you with profound attention; but you do not for a moment
enter their minds; you appear to us at our home, and have an affection
for your worshippers; the sports you engage in, Mohun, no one can
comprehend; the world has been deceived by your delusive power! you
behave towards us as a mortal; you look upon those as your superiors,
who bear you in remembrance, O lord of the world! you are far from the
proud man, and the root of the life of the speaker of truth.”
O great king! having thus spoken, Raja Joodisthur then said, “O
merciful to the poor! through your compassion, all that I had in view
has been accomplished, but I have still one desire.” Krishnù
enquired, “What is it?” The Raja said, “O great king! it is my wish to
perform a royal sacrifice, and present it as an offering to you, and
thereby cross over the sea of the world.” On hearing these words Shree
Krishnù Chund was delighted, and said, “Raja! you have formed a good
wish, by this gods, men, saints and sages will all be gratified; this
will be agreeable to all, and it is not at all difficult for you to do
this; because your four brothers, Urjoon, Bheem, Nukool and Suhdeo are
very renowned and powerful; there is not any one in the world now who
can oppose them; first send them forth to conquer, and bring under
subjection the Rajas of the ten quarters of the world, and after that
perform the sacrifice at your ease.”
Raja! when Krishnù had thus spoken, the Raja Joodisthur sent for his
four brothers, and giving them armies, sent them in four different
directions; Suhdeo Jee went to the South, Nukool to the West, Urjoon
to the North, and Bheemsen to the East. Some time after this, O great
king! the four brothers, by the glorious favour of Huri, having
conquered the seven islands and nine divisions of the earth, and
subjugated the Rajas of the ten quarters, brought them back with them,
at that time Raja Joodisthur, having joined his hands, said to Shree
Krishnù Chund Jee, “O great king! through your aid this business has
been accomplished; what are your orders now?” Upon this, Oodho Jee
said, “O incarnation of justice! the kings of all countries have come,
with exception of the Raja Joorasindhoo, of the Mugudh country, who is
not under your authority; and until he shall be made subject to you,
it will not be of advantage to perform the sacrifice. The Raja
Joorasindhoo, the son of Jydruth, is very mighty and renowned, and
liberal and just; not every one has power to oppose him.” When the
Raja Joodisthur having heard this was sad; Shree Krishnù Chund said,
“O great king! be not at all anxious, but give the order to my
brothers, Bheem and Urjoon, and to me, and we will, either by force or
stratagem, bring him here bound, or kill him.” On hearing these words,
Raja Joodisthur gave the order to the two brothers; and then Huri,
accompanied by the two brothers, took the road to the Mugudh country;
when they had advanced some distance on their journey, Shree Krishnù
Chund Jee said to Urjoon and Bheem, “Travel as brahmins, and let us
kill our enemy by stratagem or force.”
O great king! having thus spoken, Shree Krishnù Chund Jee assumed the
appearance of a brahmin, and Bheem and Urjoon did the same also. The
three having drawn three horizontal lines across their foreheads, and
taking each a book under his arm, went along assuming the same bright,
handsome, elegant and well-arranged appearance, as the three
properties of humanity, truth, passion and ignorance, would assume, if
they put on corporeal form, or as the three times, present, past and
future, would assume. At length, after some days’ journey, they
arrived in the Mugudh country, and at mid-day stood at the gate of the
Raja Joorasindhoo. On seeing their appearance, the gate-keepers went,
and said to the Raja, “O great king! three brahmin guests (or beggars)
of very splendid appearance, great pundits, and very intelligent are
standing at the gate, desirous of some thing. What are your orders to
us?”
O great king! at these words, Raja Joorasindhoo rose up, and came to
where the brahmins were standing; and having made an obeisance to the
three, conducted them with the greatest respect and deference to his
house; afterwards, having seated them on a throne, he stood in their
presence with joined hands, and looking at them, and reflecting said,
“The beggar, who being a great Raja, comes to another man’s gate, is
called a guest, you are not brahmins, but strong, powerful men of war,
deceit of any kind is wrong; if a thug (or impostor) come as such, he
is regarded in his proper character, and not as an honest man; the
lustre of your Chutree appearance cannot be concealed: you seem to be
resolute, bold, strong men. You three brothers are splendid to behold,
bestowers of boons like Shivù, Bruhmù and Vishnù. This is what
appears probable to me; but do you, O deities! give an explanation
yourselves; whatever you may desire I will do for you, and will not
swerve from my agreement. A liberal man never speaks falsely, and will
not keep back his wealth, body or any thing else; I will make you any
present you ask for, my children, wives, any thing I may have, and my
life.”
On hearing these words, Shree Krishnù Chund Jee said, “O great king!
once on a time, there was a very liberal Raja, named Hurchund, whose
fame is still spread abroad in the world; on one occasion there was a
famine in Raja Hurchund’s country; and in consequence of the dearth of
grain vast numbers of people began to die; upon this, the Raja sold
all his property, and gave food to his people; when all his country,
towns and wealth were gone; and the Raja was left without any money,
one evening he was sitting hungry with his family, when Biswamittrù
came, and, in order to test his truth and sincerity, said, ‘O great
king! give me wealth, and derive the same advantage from doing so, as
you would derive from giving a daughter in marriage.’ On hearing this
speech, the Raja brought out all that was in his house, and gave it
him, then the holy man said, ‘O great king! my business will not be
completed with this much money.’ After this the Raja sold his male and
female servants, and brought the proceeds, and gave them to the sage;
and having expended all his wealth, and sold all his servants, he was
left without money and without servants, and only with his wives and
children. The sage again said, ‘O form of justice! my business has not
been accomplished by the money you have given me, to whom shall I go
now, and ask for more? I do not know of any one in the world, who is
wealthier, more virtuous and liberal than you are. Yes, there is a
Chundal, named Soopuch, who is a vessel of wealth; if you tell me to
do so, I will go and ask him for money, but I am ashamed to do so for
one reason, that having begged from so liberal a Raja, what should I
beg from him?’ O great king! on hearing these words, Raja Hurchund
took Biswamittrù with him, and went to the house of that Chundal, and
said to him, ‘Brother! keep me in pledge for a year, and fulfil his
wishes for him.’ Soopuch said, ‘How will you be able to do my work and
banish all pride and passion from your mind? You are a very
illustrious and mighty Raja; and the service you will have to perform
for me is of a low, menial kind and severe. O great king! my business
is to keep watch in a cemetery, and to receive a tax on every corpse
that comes there, and afterwards to watch and guard my own house; if
you can do this, I will give the rupees required, and keep you in
pledge.’ The Raja said, ‘Well I will serve you for a year; give him
the money.’ When the Raja had thus spoken, Soopuch counted out the
money to Biswamittrù, which he took away to his home; and the Raja
remaining at the Chundal’s house, began to wait upon him. After some
days, Raja Hurchund’s son, Roohitas, died; and his mother went with
her son’s corpse into the burying place; and as she was on the point
of lighting the funeral pile she had erected, the Raja came, and asked
for the tax; the Ranee being displeased and grieved said, ‘Consider
and reflect, O Raja! this is your son, Roohitas, and I have nothing
wherewith to pay the tax, except this cloth, which I am now wearing.’
The Raja replied, ‘I have no option in the matter; I am employed on my
master’s business, and if I do not do his work, my character for truth
will be lost.’ O great king! when the Ranee, on hearing this, put her
hand on the border of the cloth to take it off, the three worlds
trembled. Upon this Bhugwan, who had observed the sincerity of the
Raja and Ranee, first sent a chariot, and afterwards having appeared
himself, liberated all three. O great king! when Bruhmù, having
restored Roohitas to life, and seated the Raja and Ranee, together
with their son, on a chariot, gave the order to proceed to the
celestial paradise, Raja Hurchund joining his hands, said to Bhugwan,
‘O brother of the poor, purifying the guilty and kind to the wretched!
how can I go and dwell in paradise without Soopuch?’ Having heard this
speech, and knowing the Raja’s secret wishes, Huri, the benefactor of
his worshippers, the sea of compassion, granted deliverance to
Soopuch, together with the city in which he abode, and to the Raja,
Ranee and their son. There Hurchund obtained immortality; and here for
ages, his fame has been handed down.”
Having mentioned this account of Hurchund to Joorasindhoo Shree
Krishnù Chund Jee said, “O great king! and besides the above
instance, Ratdeo performed a penance, during which he remained
forty-eight days without water; and when he sat down to drink, some
one, who was thirsty, came to him. He did not drink any water himself,
but gave it to the thirsty man; and by the gift of that water,
obtained salvation. Again the Raja Buli was very munificent in his
gifts, and obtained the government of the infernal regions, and even
yet, his great renown is being handed down. Again the sage Oodwal ate
after six months’ fasting. On one occasion a beggar came to him, when
it was his eating time; he did not himself eat any food, but gave it
to the beggar, and died from excess of the hunger he then endured, and
afterwards in consequence of having given away his food, he went to
Vishnù’s celestial paradise, mounted on a chariot. Again, on one
occasion, Raja Indrù went with all the gods, and said to Dudheech, ‘O
great king! we cannot escape now from the hands of Brittasoor, unless
you give us one of your bones, and then we shall escape, otherwise
escape will be difficult, because he can only be destroyed by a
weapon, formed of one of your bones.’ On hearing this, O great king!
Dudheech having had his body licked by a cow extracted his thigh bone
and gave it to the gods, who made it into a thunderbolt, and Dudheech
having sacrificed his life, obtained paradise. Such are instances of
men of boundless liberality, whose fame the world celebrates.”
Raja! having thus spoken, Shree Krishnù Chund Jee, said to
Joorasindhoo, “O great king! you equal in the present age the just and
liberal Rajas, who flourished formerly in other ages, and now satisfy
our expectations in the same way, that formerly they fulfilled the
desires of those who solicited them. There is a saying, ‘What will not
a beggar ask, and what will not a liberal man give; he has no
avaricious desire for his house, sons and wives, but will give up his
body and head, and obtain celebrity.’” When Krishnù had thus spoken,
Joorasindhoo said, “A beggar has no sympathy with a donor, but in
spite of this the liberal and resolute do not lay aside their usual
dispositions, whether they derive pleasure or pain from the exercise
of them. Lo! Huri, being disguised as, and transformed into, a dwarf,
went to the Raja Buli, an asked for three paces of ground; at that
time, Shookrù cautioned Buli not to give it, but the Raja did not
swerve from his promise, he gave the earth together with his body, and
has obtained renown in the world by this act. What celebrity has
Vishnù acquired by being a beggar, who, having received every thing,
acted perversely? For this reason, do you first of all explain your
names, and your mysterious appearance, and I will then grant whatever
you ask. I do not speak falsely.” Shree Krishnù Chund replied, “Raja!
we are Chutrees; Basoodeo is my name; you know me very well, and these
two, Urjoon and Bheem, are my father’s sister’s children; we have come
to fight with you, be pleased to fight with us; we have come here to
make this request, and do not ask any thing else from you.”
Having, O great king! heard this speech of Shree Krishnù Chund Jee’s,
Joorasindhoo laughed and said, “Why should I fight with you; you have
already fled from before me? Nor will I fight with Urjoon, because he
went into the Bidurubh country, disguised as a woman; there remains
Bheemsen, with whom I will fight, if you wish it, he is my equal, and
I am not ashamed to fight with him. First of all refresh yourselves
with food, and afterwards wrestle in the palæstra.” Having given them
refreshments the Raja came out, and sent a message to Bheemsen. He
gave him his own club, and took himself one belonging to another man.
Moorari went and sat where all the spectators were assembled in a
circle, Joorasindhoo and Bheemsen stood up simultaneously, opposed to
each other; they had helmets on their heads, and fastened tight the
cloths they wore round their hips, and tucked them in behind,
appearing very like jugglers.
O great king! when the two heroes striking the upper part of their
arms in preparation for the encounter, holding their clubs at arm’s
length, changing their attitudes, and moving slowly from side to side,
confronted each other in the palæstra, they seemed like two “_must_”
elephants, rushing upon each other. Before the struggle commenced,
Joorasindhoo said to Bheemsen, “Strike the first blow with your club,
because you came to my gate in the appearance of a brahmin; and I will
not, therefore, strike you first.” Having heard this, Bheemsen
replied, “Raja! we will have a fair fight, and the understanding is
not necessary, that I should strike first, let who will, strike
first.”
O great king! these two brave men having thus conversed with each
other, aimed blows simultaneously, and began to fight. They watched
each other’s stratagems, inflicting wounds right and left; and jumped
about, avoiding blows, and sparred and fought club against club; they
struck their clubs violently against each other, making them clash,
and inflicting wounds. Great noise and tumult were produced by the
collision.
Having narrated thus much of the history, Shree Shookdeo Jee said to
the Raja Pureechit,--O great king! in this manner those two resolute
antagonists had a fair fight during the whole day; and coming in the
evening to the house, ate and rested together. They thus spent
twenty-seven days, fighting continually; when one day at their
fighting time, Shree Krishnù Chund Jee thought to himself, that
Joorasindhoo could not be destroyed by this mode of encounter,
because, when he was born, he was born in two separate parts; and the
female Demon, Jura, his mother, closed his mouth and nose; and then
the two separate parts were united. Having been informed of this
circumstance, his father, Jyedruth, summoned the astrologers, and
enquired from them, “What the child’s name should be, and what would
be his future career?” The astrologers said, “O great king! his name
is Joorasindhoo, and he shall acquire a very glorious reputation, and
shall not be subject to the infirmities of age, and shall be immortal:
and shall not be destroyed by any one, until the junction, uniting the
two separate parts of his body, shall be rent asunder.”
Having thus spoken, the astrologers took leave. O great king! Shree
Krishnù Jee reflected upon these matters in his mind; and, having
bestowed his own strength upon Bheemsen, and splitting a straw winked
to him, that he must split up Joorasindhoo in the same manner. On
receiving this hint from Krishnù, Bheemsen laid hold of Joorasindhoo
and threw him down, and having placed his foot on one of his thighs,
and laying hold of his other foot with his hand, he tore him asunder,
just as any one would tear asunder a stick for cleaning the teeth. On
the death of Joorasindhoo, gods, men and celestial musicians, playing
upon drums and other musical instruments, and raining down flowers,
began to raise shouts of victory; and grief and calamity having
departed, joy was diffused throughout the city. At that time, the wife
of Joorasindhoo came and stood, weeping and lamenting in the presence
of Krishnù, joining her hands, she exclaimed, “Bravo! bravo! you have
great reason to exult, O lord! in having taken away the life of him,
who gave you every thing, this is the sort of friendship, you show to
one, who resigns to you his sons, wealth and body. Under a disguised
appearance you have practised deceit and violence, and this is the
celebrity you have acquired coming into the world.”
O great king! when the wife of Joorasindhoo, from tenderness for her
husband’s memory, spoke thus solicitingly, with joined hands in
presence of the abode of mercy; then Krishnù taking compassion on
her, first performed the funeral obsequies of Joorasindhoo, and having
afterwards sent for his son, Suhdeo, making the marks of sovereignty
on his forehead, and seating him on a throne said, “Son! carry on a
moral government, and protect sages, holy men, cows, brahmins and your
subjects.”