Hindoo Tales Part 5

The prince, not thinking of himself, said only, "Go at once to her who is dearer to me than life, and comfort her with news of me."

At that moment a great clamour was heard, and some persons, rushing from the interior of the palace, called out, loudly, "Help! help!

Chandavarma is murdered! killed by an a.s.sa.s.sin, who stabbed him as he was about to take the hand of the princess; and that man is now moving about the palace, cutting down all who attempt to seize him."

Rajavahana, when he heard this, without losing a moment, and before the guards had perceived his feet to be unfettered, with a sudden spring leapt on the elephant intended for his destruction; and having thrust off the driver, urged the beast at a rapid pace, pushing aside the crowd right and left as he went.

Having got into the courtyard, he shouted with a loud voice, "Who is the brave man that has done this great deed, hardly to be accomplished by a mere mortal? Let him come forth and join me; we two united are a match for a whole army."

The slayer of Chandavarma hearing this, came out of the palace, and quickly mounting the elephant, who held down his trunk to receive him, placed himself behind the prince.

Great was their mutual astonishment and joy when they recognised each other, the prince exclaiming, "Is it possible? Is it really you, my dear friend Apaharavarma, who have done this deed?" and the other saying, "Do I indeed see my Lord Rajavahana?" Having thus recognised and embraced each other, they turned the elephant round, and pa.s.sing through the crowd in the courtyard, went into the main street, now thronged by soldiers. Through these they forced their way, employing with good effect the weapons placed on the elephant for the use of Chandavarma.

Before, however, they had gone far, they heard the noise of battle at a distance, and saw the soldiers in front of them scattered in all directions.

Soon they saw coming towards them a very well-dressed, handsome man, riding on a swift elephant. On reaching them, he made obeisance to the prince, saying, "I am sure this is my Lord Rajavahana;" and then turning to Apaharavarma, said, "I have followed your directions exactly, and hastened on the advancing allies. We have just now encountered and utterly defeated the enemy, so that there is no fear of any further resistance."

Then Apaharavarma introduced the stranger to the prince, saying, "This is my dear friend Dhanamittra, well worthy of your respect and consideration; for he is as brave and clever as he is handsome. With your permission, he will liberate the King of Anga, and re-establish the former authorities; meanwhile, we will go on to a quiet place, and wait there for him and the princes who have come so opportunely to our a.s.sistance."

Rajavahana agreed to this. They went a little further, and dismounted at a pleasant cool bank, shaded by a large banian tree, and close to the Ganges.

When they had been for some time seated there, Dhanamittra returned, accompanied by Upaharavarma, Pramati, Mitragupta, Mantragupta, Visruta, Praharavarma King of Mithila, Kamapala lord of Benares, and Sinhavarma King of Anga.

The prince, astonished and delighted at such an unexpected meeting, warmly embraced his young friends, and very respectfully saluted, as a son, the elder men introduced by them. Many questions were asked on both sides. After some conversation, Rajavahana told them his own adventures, and those of Somadatta and Pushpodbhava, and then begged his friends to relate theirs.

Apaharavarma spoke first.

ADVENTURES OF APAHaRAVARMA.

My Lord, when you had gone away with the brahman, and we were unable to find you, I wandered about searching for you like the rest of your friends.

One day I heard by chance of a very famous muni, living in a forest on the banks of the Ganges, not far from Champa, who was said to have supernatural knowledge of past and future events.

Hoping to obtain some information about you, I determined to seek him out, and accordingly came here for that purpose. Having found the way to his dwelling, I saw there a miserable-looking man, very unlike the holy devotee whom I had pictured to myself. Sitting down, however, beside this person, I said, "I have come a long way to consult the celebrated rishi Marichi, having heard that he is possessed of very wonderful knowledge. Can you tell me where to find him?"

Deeply sighing, he answered: "There was, not long ago, such a person in this place; but he is changed--he is no longer what he was."

"How can that be?" I asked.

"One day," he replied, "while that muni was engaged in prayer and meditation, he was interrupted by the sudden arrival of a famous actress and dancer, called Kamamanjari, who, with dishevelled hair and eyes full of tears, threw herself at his feet.

"Before he had time to ask the meaning of this, a confused crowd of her companions came up, headed by an old woman, the mother of Kamamanjari, apparently in great agitation and distress.

"When they were all a little quieted, he asked the girl the meaning of her tears, and for what purpose she had come to him.

"She answered, apparently with great respect and bashfulness, 'O reverend sir, I have heard of your great wisdom, and your kindness to those who are willing to give up the pleasures of this world for the sake of the next. I am tired of the disgraceful life I am leading, and wish to renounce it.' Upon this, her mother, with her loose grey hairs touching the ground, interrupted her, and said, 'Worthy sir, this daughter of mine would make it appear that I am to blame, but indeed I have done my duty, and have carefully prepared her for that profession for which, by birth, she was intended. From earliest childhood I have bestowed the greatest care upon her, doing everything in my power to promote her health and beauty. As soon as she was old enough, I had her carefully instructed in the arts of dancing, acting, playing on musical instruments, singing, painting, preparing perfumes and flowers, in writing and conversation, and even to some extent in grammar, logic, and philosophy. She was taught to play various games with skill and dexterity, and how to dress well, and show herself off to the greatest advantage in public; I hired persons to go about praising her skill and beauty, and to applaud her when she performed in public, and I did many other things to promote her success, and to secure for her liberal remuneration; yet, after all the time, trouble, and money which I have spent upon her, just when I was beginning to reap the fruit of my labours, the ungrateful girl has fallen in love with a stranger, a young brahman, without property, and wishes to marry him and give up her profession, notwithstanding all my entreaties, and representations of the poverty and distress to which all her family will be reduced if she persists in her purpose; and because I oppose this marriage, she declares that she will renounce the world, and become a devotee.'

"The muni compa.s.sionately said to the girl: 'You will never be able to endure the hardships of such a life as you propose to lead--a life so different from that to which you have been accustomed. Heaven may be attained by all who duly perform the duties of their station; take my advice then, give up all thoughts of an undertaking which you will never accomplish, comply with your mother's wishes, return with her, and be content with that way of life in which you have been brought up.'

"With many tears, she replied: 'If you will not receive me I will put an end to my wretched life.'

"Finding her so determined, the muni, after some reflection, said to the mother and her companions: 'Go away for the present; come back after a few days; I will give her good advice, and you will no doubt find her tired of living here, and quite ready to return.'

"Thereupon they all went away, and she was left alone with the muni.

At first she kept at a distance from him, taking care not to interrupt him in his meditations, but waiting on him un.o.btrusively, rendering him many little services, watering his favourite trees, and gathering sacred gra.s.s, and flowers for offerings to the G.o.ds. Then, as he became more accustomed to her, she would amuse him with songs and dances, and at last began to sit near him and talk of the pleasures of love.

"One day, as if in all simplicity, she said 'Surely people are very wrong in reckoning virtue, wealth and pleasure as the three great objects of life?'

"'Tell me,' he answered, 'how far do you regard virtue as superior to the other two?'

"'A very wise man like you,' she replied, 'can hardly learn anything from an ignorant woman like me; but since you ask, I will tell you what I think. There is no real acquisition of happiness or wealth without virtue; but the latter is quite independent of the other two.

Without it, a man is nothing; but if he fully possesses it, he is so purified by it that he may indulge in pleasures occasionally, and any sin connected with them will no more adhere to him than dust to a cloud. Look at all the stories of the amours of the G.o.ds. Are they the less worshipped on that account? I think, therefore, that virtue is a hundred times superior to the other two.' With many such specious arguments as these, and by her winning ways, she contrived to make him madly in love; so that, forgetting all his religious duties and former austerities, he thought only how to please her.

"When she perceived this, she said to him 'Let us stay no longer in the forest, but go to my house in the town, where we can have many more enjoyments.' Utterly infatuated, he was ready to do her bidding; and she, having procured a covered carriage, took him in the evening to her own house.

"The next day there was a great festival, at which the king was accustomed to appear in public and converse familiarly with his subjects. On such occasions he would often be surrounded by actresses and dancing girls.

"On that day Kamamanjari persuaded the muni to put on a gay dress and accompany her to the park where the festival was held; and he, thinking only of her, and miserable if she were away from him even for a short time, consented to go. On their arrival there, she walked with him towards the king, who, seeing her, said, with a smile: 'Sit down here with that reverend man.' And all eyes were directed towards him.

"Presently one of the ladies rose up, and, making a low obeisance to the king, said: 'My lord; I must confess myself beaten by that lady; I have lost my wager and must now pay the penalty.'

"Then a great shout of laughter arose; the king congratulated Kamamanjari, and presented her with handsome ornaments.

"After this she walked away with the astonished muni, followed by a great crowd, shouting applause.

"Before reaching her own house, she turned round to him with a low obeisance, and said: 'Reverend sir, you have favoured me with your company a long time; it will be well for you to attend now to your own affairs.'

"Not having his eyes yet opened, he started as if thunderstruck, and said: 'My dear, what does all this mean? What has become of the great love which you professed for me?'

"She smilingly answered: 'I will explain it all.'

"'One day, that lady whom you saw in the park had a dispute with me as to which was the most attractive. At last she said: "You boast of your powers, forsooth; go and try them on Marichi. If you can persuade him to accompany you here, then indeed you may triumph; I will acknowledge myself your inferior."

"'This was the reason of my coming to you; the trick has been successful; I have won my wager, and have now no further occasion for you.'

"Bowed down by shame and remorse, the unhappy man slunk back to his hermitage, miserable and degraded, bitterly lamenting his folly and infatuation, but resolved to atone for it by deep repentance and severe penance.

"I am that wretched man; you see, therefore, that I am now quite unable to a.s.sist you. But do not go away; remain in Champa. After a time I shall recover my former power."

While he was telling me this sad story, the sun set, and I remained with him that night. The next morning, at sunrise, I took leave of him, and walked towards the city. On my way thither, as I pa.s.sed a Buddhist monastery, I was struck by the appearance of a man sitting at the side of the road near it. He was extraordinarily ugly; his body naked, with the exception of a rag round his waist; and his face so covered with dirt, that the tears he was shedding left furrows as they rolled down his cheeks.

Moved by compa.s.sion, I sat down near him, and inquired the reason of his distress, at the same time adding, "If it is a secret, I do not wish to intrude upon you."

"'My misfortunes are well known,' he answered; 'I can have no objection to telling you if you wish to hear them.' Then he began: