Hindoo Tales Part 2

Matanga, entirely believing the vision, and rendered still more confident by the companionship of the prince, fearlessly entered the cavern, found the copper plate and read the words engraved on it.

Following the directions therein contained, they went on in darkness, groping their way through long pa.s.sages, till at last they saw light before them and arrived at the subterranean country of Patala.

After walking some distance further, they came to a small lake, surrounded by trees, with a city in view.

Here they stopped, and Matanga begging the prince to watch and guard against interruption, collected a quant.i.ty of wood and lighted a large fire, into which he threw himself with many charms and incantations, and presently came forth with a new body full of youth, beauty, and vigour, to the great astonishment of his companion.

Hardly was this change effected, when they saw coming towards them from the city a procession, headed by a beautiful young lady splendidly dressed, and adorned with very costly jewels. Approaching Matanga, she made a low obeisance, and, without speaking, put a very precious gem into his hand. Being questioned by him, she answered, with tears in her eyes and in a soft musical voice, "O excellent brahman, I am the daughter of a chief of Asuras, and my name is Kalindi; my father, the ruler of this subterranean world, was slain by Vishnu whom he had offended, and as he had no son, I was left his heir and successor, and suffered great distress and perplexity.

"Some time ago I consulted a very holy Siddha, who had compa.s.sion on me, and told me, 'After a time, a certain mortal, having a heavenly body, will come down here from the upper world; he will become your husband, and reign prosperously with you over all Patala'.

"Trusting to this prophecy, I have waited impatiently, longing for your coming as a Chataka longs for rain, and am now come, with the consent of my ministers and people, to offer you my hand and kingdom."

Matanga, delighted at such a speedy fulfilment of the promise given in the vision, gladly accepted her offer, and with the approbation of his companion, was soon afterwards married to her amid great festivity.

Rajavahana was treated with great respect and kindness by Matanga and his bride; but after seeing all the wonders of the place, his curiosity was satisfied, and he was desirous of returning to the upper world.

At his departure, a magic jewel was given him by Kalindi, which had the power of keeping off from the possessor of it hunger, thirst, fatigue, and other discomforts; and Matanga accompanied him for a part of the way. Walking through darkness as before, the prince at last reached the mouth of the cavern and came forth into the open air.

Having missed all his companions, he was uncertain where to direct his steps, and wandered on till he came to a large park, outside a city, where a great concourse of people was a.s.sembled, and he there sat down to rest.

As he sat watching the various groups, he saw a young man enter the park, accompanied by a lady and followed by a numerous retinue, and they both got into one of the swings placed there for the amus.e.m.e.nt of the festal crowd.

Presently the eye of the new-comer rested on the prince; with signs of great joy he jumped down, exclaiming, "O what happiness! That is my lord Rajavahana," and, running to him, bowed down to his feet, saying "Great is my good fortune in meeting you again." Rajavahana, affected by equal pleasure, warmly embraced him, saying, "O my dear friend Somadatta, how happy I am to see you once more!"

Then they sat down together under a shady tree, and the prince inquired: "What have you been doing all this time? Where have you been? Who is this lady? And how did you get all these attendants?"

Somadatta, thus questioned, began the recital of what he had done and seen.

ADVENTURES OF SOMADATTA.

My lord, having great anxiety on your account, I wandered about in various countries. One day, when stooping to drink from a cool, clear stream, near a forest, I saw something bright under the water, and having taken it up, found it to be a ruby of very great value.

Exhausted by fatigue and the scorching heat of the sun, I went into a small temple to rest, and saw there a brahman with a number of children, all looking wretched and half-starved. He seemed to regard me as a possible benefactor, and when questioned, readily told me his story; how his wife had died, leaving him with the care of all these children, and how, having no means of subsistence, he had wandered about in the hope of obtaining some employment; but had got nothing better than the charge of this small temple, where the offerings were not sufficient to support him and his family.

I asked him--"What is that camp which I see at some distance?"

He answered--"The Lord of Lata, Mattakala by name, hearing again and again of the great beauty of Vamalochana, daughter of Viraketu, sovereign of this country, asked her in marriage, and was refused.

Being determined to obtain her, he raised an army and besieged Patali, the capital city. Viraketu finding himself unable to resist the enemy, purchased peace by giving up his daughter, and Mattakala, thinking that the marriage can be celebrated with greater magnificence in his own country, has deferred it till his return. He is now on his way home with a small part of his army, the rest having been dismissed; and he is staying at present near this forest to enjoy the pleasures of the chase. The princess is not with her intended husband, but under the care of Manapala, one of her father's officers, who is said to be very indignant at the surrender of the lady; you may see his camp at no great distance from the other."

While thanking the poor man for his information, a thought came into my mind--here is a very poor and deserving man, I will give him the jewel which I have found; and I did so.

He received the gift with profuse thanks, and set out immediately to try to dispose of it; while I lay down there to sleep.

After a time I was awakened by a great clamour, and saw the brahman coming towards me with his hands tied behind him, driven along, with blows of a whip and much abuse, by a party of soldiers.

On seeing me, he called out, "There is the thief; that is the man who gave me the jewel."

Upon this the soldiers let him go, and, seizing me, refused to listen to my remonstrances, or to my account of the manner in which I had found the ruby. They dragged me along with them, and having put fetters on my feet, thrust me into a dungeon, saying, "There are your companions," pointing at the same time to some other prisoners confined in that place.

When I recovered my senses--for I was half stunned by the violence with which I had been pushed in--I said to my fellow-prisoners, "Who are you, and what did the soldiers mean by calling you my companions?

for you are quite strangers to me."

Those prisoners then told me the story of the King of Lata, which I had already heard from the brahman, and further said, "We were sent by Manapala to a.s.sa.s.sinate that king, and broke into the place where we supposed him to be. Not finding him, we were unwilling to come away empty-handed; we therefore carried off everything of value within our reach and made our escape to the forest. The next morning there was an active pursuit, our hiding-place was discovered, we were all captured, and the stolen property taken from us, with the exception of one ruby of great value, which had disappeared. The king is exceedingly angry that this cannot be found; our a.s.sertion that we have lost it is disbelieved, and we are threatened with torture to-morrow, unless we say where it is hidden."

Having heard the robbers' story, I was convinced that the ruby in question was the one which I had found and given to the brahman, and I now understood why these men were supposed to be my accomplices.

I told them who I was, how I had found the jewel, and had been unjustly arrested on account of it, and exhorted them to take courage and join me in an attempt to escape that night. To this they agreed, and at midnight we managed to overpower the jailors and knock off our fetters; and having armed ourselves with weapons which we found in the prison, we cut our way through the guards, and reached Manapala's camp in safety. The next day, men sent by the King of Lata came to Manapala, and said--"Some robbers, who were caught after breaking into the king's dwelling, have made their escape, and are known to have come here; give them up immediately, or it will be the worse for you."

Manapala, who only wanted an excuse for a quarrel, having heard this insulting message, his eyes red with anger, answered,--"Who is the King of Lata, that I should bow down to him? What have I to do with that low fellow? Begone!"

When the men returned to their master and told him the reception they had met with, he was in a furious rage, and, disregarding the smallness of the force which was with him, marched out at once to attack Manapala, who was quite prepared to meet him.

When I entered the camp, after my escape, Manapala, who received from his servants an exaggerated account of my coolness, dexterity, and courage, had treated me with great honour, and now I offered my services in the approaching fight. They were gladly accepted, and I was furnished with an excellent chariot and horses guided by a skilful charioteer, a strong coat of mail, a bow and two quivers full of arrows, as well as with other weapons.

Thus equipped, I went forth to meet the enemy, and seeking out the leader, soon found myself near him. First confusing him with arrows poured upon him in rapid succession, I brought my chariot close to his, and suddenly springing into it, cut off his head at a blow.

Seeing the king fall, his soldiers were discouraged, and fled; the camp was taken, much booty gained, and the princess led back, to her father. He having received an account of the victory, and of my share in it, through a messenger sent from Manapala, came forth to meet us when we entered the city, and received me with great honour. After a time, as I continued daily to increase in favour with him, he bestowed on me the hand of his daughter, and declared me his successor.

Being thus arrived at the height of prosperity and happiness, I had but one cause of sorrow--my absence from you. I am on my way to Mahakala, to worship Siva there. I have stopped at this place, hoping, at a festival so much frequented, I might at least hear some tidings of you, and now the G.o.d has favoured his worshipper, and through this happy meeting all my wishes are fulfilled.

Rajavahana, who delighted in valour, having heard Somadatta's story, while expressing his sorrow for his undeserved imprisonment, congratulated him on the happy result of it, and told him his own adventures.

He had scarcely finished the relation of them when a third person came up, and the prince, warmly greeting him, exclaimed, "O, Somadatta, here is Pushpodbhava." Then there were mutual embracings and rejoicings, after which they all three sat down again, and Rajavahana said: "Somadatta has told me his adventures, but I know nothing of the rest of my friends. What did you do when you missed me that morning in the forest?" Then Pushpodbhava respectfully spoke as follows:--

ADVENTURES OF PUSHPODBHAVA.

My lord, your friends being convinced that you had gone on some expedition with the brahman, and knowing nothing of the direction which you had taken, were greatly perplexed. At last we agreed to separate, each going a different way, and I, like the rest, set out by myself. One day, being unable to bear the heat of the noonday sun, I sat down in the shade of a tree at the bottom of a mountain. Happening to look up, I saw a man falling from the rock above, and he came to the ground very near me.

On going up to him, I found that he was still alive, and having revived him by throwing cold water over him, and by other means, I found that he had no bone broken, and did not appear to have received any serious injury.

When he was sufficiently recovered, I asked him who he was and how he came to fall from the precipice. With tears in his eyes, and a feeble voice, he said: "My name is Ratnodbhava; I am the son of a minister of the King of Magadha; travelling about as a merchant, I came, many years ago, to the island of Kalayavana. There I married a merchant's daughter, and going with her by sea to visit my relations, was overtaken by a violent storm, during which the ship sank, and I was the only person saved.

"After reaching the sh.o.r.e, I wandered about for some time in a strange country, and, unable to bear my misery, was about to put an end to my life, when I was stopped by a Siddha, who a.s.sured me that after sixteen years I should find my wife. Trusting to this promise, I have endured life through all these years; but the appointed time having pa.s.sed without any sign of the fulfilment of the prophecy, I could hold out no longer, and threw myself from the top of this precipice."

At that moment the voice of a woman in distress was heard not far off, and saying to him whom I recognised as my father, "Take courage, I have good news for you; only wait a moment," I ran off in the direction of the place whence the voice had proceeded, and soon came in sight of a large fire and two women near it, the one trying to throw herself into the flames, the other struggling to prevent her.

Going to the help of the latter, I soon got the lady away, and brought her and her companion to the place where my father was lying.

I then said to the old woman, "Pray tell me what all this means? How came you to be in such a place, and why did the lady wish to destroy herself?"

With a voice broken by sobs, she answered me: "This lady, whose name is Suvritta, is the daughter of a merchant in the island of Kalayavana, and the wife of Ratnodbhava. While crossing the sea with her husband, there was a great storm, the ship sank, and this lady and I, her nurse, were the only persons saved. A few days afterwards she gave birth to a son in the forest; but through my ill-fortune the child was lost, having been seized by a wild elephant. Afterwards we two wandered about in great misery, and she would have put an end to her life had we not met with a holy man, who comforted her with the a.s.surance that after sixteen years she would be reunited with her husband and son. Relying on this prophecy, she consented to wait, and we have spent all these years living near his hermitage; but the sixteen years were ended some time ago, and having lost all hope, she was about to end her wretched life by throwing herself into a fire which she had made, when you so opportunely came to my a.s.sistance."