Sagas from the Far East Part 24

Ere he had set foot on the lowest step, however, the two figures of sculptured wood that stood upon it, abandoning their guardant att.i.tude, suddenly came forward, and placed themselves before him, as in defiance--the warrior striking him in the breast, while the Suta addressed him thus:--

"Surely, O Ardschi-Bordschi! it is not in earnest that thou art minded to ascend the steps of this sacred throne?" And all the thirty-two sculptured figures answered together,--

"Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi!"

But the Suta proceeded,--

"Knowest thou not, O Ardschi-Bordschi, that this throne in the days of old was the seat of the G.o.d Churmusta, and that after him it was given to none to set upon it, till Vikramaditja rose. Wherefore, O Ardschi-Bordschi, approach not to occupy it. Unless thou also art prepared to devote thy days, not to thine own pleasure, but to the service of the six cla.s.ses of living beings (5), renounce the attempt to set foot on it." And all the thirty-two sculptured figures answered together,--

"Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi!"

But the Suta proceeded,--

"Art thou such a king as the great Vikramaditja? then come and sit upon his throne; but if not, then desist from the attempt." And all the thirty-two sculptured figures answered together,--

"Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi!"

When they cried the third time, "Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi!" the King himself, and all who stood there with him, fell on their faces before the throne, and worshipped it.

Then spoke another Suta,--

"Listen, O Ardschi-Bordschi, and all ye people give ear, and I will tell you out of the days of old what manner of king was the hero Vikramaditja."

THE SuTA TELLS ARDSCHI-BORDSCHI CONCERNING VIKRAMaDITJA'S BIRTH.

Long ages ago there lived a King named Gandharva. To him was wedded Udsesskulengtu-Goa-Chatun (1), the all-charming daughter of the mighty king Galindari.

Gandharva was a n.o.ble King, and ruled the world with justice and piety. Nevertheless Gandharva had no heir, though he prayed continually to Buddha that he might have a son. And as he thus prayed and mourned continually, Udsesskulengtu-Goa came to him one day, and said, "My lord, since thou art thus grieved at heart because no heir is given to us, take now unto thee another wife, even a wife from among thy people, and perhaps so shalt thou be blessed with succession to the throne." And her words pleased the King, and he chose a wife of low degree, and married her, and in due time she bore him a son.

But when Udsesskulengtu-Goa, the all-charming one, saw that the heart of the King was taken from her, and given to the wife of low degree, because she had borne him a son, while she was less favoured by heaven, she was grieved in spirit, and said within herself, "What shall I do now that the heart of my lord is taken from me? Was it not by my father's aid that he attained the throne? And was it not even by my advice that he took this wife who has borne him a son? And yet his heart is taken from me." Nevertheless she complained not to him, but mourned by herself apart.

Then one of her maidens, when she saw her thus mourning apart, came to her, and said, "Is there not living by the kaitja (2), on the other side of the mountain, a lama, possessed of prodigious powers? Who shall say but that he might find a remedy for the grief of the Khan's wife." And Udsesskulengtu-Goa listened to the maiden's words, and leaving off from mourning, she rose, and called to her four of the maidens, and prepared her to make the journey to visit the holy man at the kaitja, on the other side the mountain, taking with her good provision of tea (3) and other things needful for the journey.

Arrived at the kaitja, she made the usual obeisance, and would have opened her suit; but the hermit was at that moment sunk in his meditations, and paid her no heed until she had three times changed (4) her place of kneeling. Then he said, "Exalted Queen! what grief or what necessity brings thee hither to this kaitja thus devoutly?" And when she had told him all her story, he replied,--

"Mayst thou be blessed with succession to the throne and with many children to gladden thee." At the same time he gave her a handful of earth, bidding her boil it in oil--sesame oil (5)--in a porcelain vessel, and eat it all up.

The Queen returned home, and, believing in the promise of the hermit, she boiled the earth in sesame oil in a new porcelain vessel, when behold it was changed into barley porridge; but she neglected to eat up the whole of it. Some time after the maiden who had counselled the visit to the hermit, seeing that some of the porridge still remained in the porcelain vessel, she also ate of it, saying, "Who knows what blessing it may bring to me also?"

Many months had not pa.s.sed when all manner of propitious tokens appeared upon the land. Showers of brilliant blossoms fell in place of rain from heaven, the melodious voice of the kalavinka (6) made itself heard, and delicious perfumes filled the air. In the midst of this rejoicing of nature the Queen bore the King a son.

The gladness of the King knew no bounds that now he had an heir to the throne who was born of a princess and not of a wife of low degree, and he ordered public rejoicings throughout the whole kingdom. Further, in his joy he sent an expedition, with the younger wife at its head, and many great men of state, to go to the lama of the kaitja, on the other side of the mountain, and learn what should be the fate of the child.

When they came to him he was again sunk in his meditations; but when they had opened their matter to him, almost without looking up, he replied,--

"Tell the King your master that there be got ready for the child against he grow up fifteen thousand waggon-loads of salt, for that will be but small compared with what will be required for the use of his kitchen."

With such a message the expedition returned to the King.

When Gandharva heard the prognostics of the hermit, he was struck with astonishment, and with indignation against the child, not understanding the intention of the words. Then he called together the people and announced the thing to them, adding these words, "Of a truth the child must be a hundredfold a schimnu; how could a man use fifteen thousand waggon-loads of salt for the seasoning of his food? It is not good for such an one to live. Let him be taken forth and slain!"

But his ministers interceded with him and said, "Nay, shall the son of the King and the heir to his royal throne be slain? Shall we not rather take him to some solitary place and leave him to his fate in a thick wood?"

And the King found their words good; so two of his ministers took the child a long way off to a solitary place, and left him exposed in a thick wood. But as they turned to go away, and one of them yet lingered, the child called after him, saying,--

"Wait a little s.p.a.ce, sir minister; I have a word to say to you!"

And the minister stood still in great astonishment. But the child said, "Bear these words faithfully unto the King:--

"It is said that when the young of the peac.o.c.k are first fledged their feathers are all of one blue colour, but afterwards, as they increase in proportions, their plumage a.s.sumes the splendid hues admired by men. Even so when a King's son is born. For a while he remains under the tutelage of his parents; but if, when he has come to man's estate, he would be a great king, worthy to be called king of the four parts of the universe (7), it will behove him to call together the princes of the four parts of the universe to a great a.s.semblage and prepare for them a sacred festival (8), at which such may be their number who may come together to honour it, that fifteen thousand waggon-loads of salt may even fall short of what is required!

"So the parrots, when they first break through their egg-sh.e.l.l, appear very much like any other birds, but when they are full grown they learn the speech of man and grow in sagacity and wisdom (9). Even so when a King's son is born. For a while he remains under the tutelage of his parents; but when he comes to man's estate, if he would be a mighty king, worthy of being called king of the four parts of the universe, it will behove him to call together all kings and devas and princes of the earth, with all the countless Bodhisattvas, and all the priests of religion, and prepare for them a great religious banquet. At such a banquet it is well if fifteen thousand waggon-loads of salt suffice for the seasoning. This for your King."

The minister took the message of the child word for word to the Gandharva, who when he heard it clasped his hands in agony and rose up, saying,--

"What is this that I have done! Of a certainty the child was a Bodhisattva (10). But it is the truth that what I did to him I did in ignorance. Run now swiftly and fetch me back my son." The minister therefore set out on his way without stopping to take breath; but what haste soever he made the King's eagerness was greater, and at the head of a great body of the people Gandharva himself took his way in all speed to the place in the thick grove where they had laid the child. And since he did not find him at the first, he broke out into loud lamentations, saying,--

"0 thou, mine own Bodhisattva! who so young yet speakest words of wisdom, even young as thou art exercise also mercy and forgiveness. O how was I mistaken in thee! Set it not down to me that I knew thee not!"

While he wandered about searching and thus lamenting, the cry of a child made itself heard from the depths of a grotto there was in the grove, which when the King had entered he found eight princes of the serpent-G.o.ds (11) busy tending the child. Some had woven for him a covering of lotus-blossoms; others were dropping honey into his mouth; others were on their knees, bowing their foreheads to the ground before him. Thus he saw them engaged, only when he entered the cave they all at once disappeared without leaving a trace behind (12).

Then the King laid the child on a litter borne by eight princ.i.p.al men, and amid continual lamenting of his fault, saying, "O my son, Bodhisattva, be merciful; I indeed am thy father," he brought him to his dwelling, where he proclaimed him before all the people the most high and mighty Prince Vikramaditja.

When the Suta had concluded this narrative, he turned to Ardschi-Bordschi and said,--

"Thus was Vikramaditja wise in his earliest youth; thus even in infancy he earned the homage of his own father; thus was he innately great and lofty and full of majesty. If thou, O Ardschi-Bordschi! art thus n.o.bly born, thus indwelt with power and might, then come and mount this throne; but, if otherwise, then on thy peril desist from the attempt."

Then Ardschi-Bordschi once more approached to ascend the throne; but as he did so two other of the sculptured figures, relinquishing their guardant att.i.tude, stood forward to bar the way, the warrior-figure striking him on the breast, and the Suta thus addressing him,--

"Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi! as yet hast thou but heard the manner of the wonderful birth of Vikramaditja; as yet knowest thou not what was the manner of his youth."

And all the thirty-two sculptured figures answered and said,--

"Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi!"

But the Suta continued, saying, "Hearken, O Ardschi-Bordschi! and ye, O people, give ear, and I will tell you out of the days of old concerning the youth of Vikramaditja.

THE SuTA TELLS ARDSCHI-BORDSCHI CONCERNING VIKRAMaDITJA'S YOUTH.

Gandharva, the hero's father, was himself also a mighty man of valour, and a prince devoting himself to the well-being of his people. He not only carried on wars against the enemies of his country, but exerted himself to the utmost to deliver his subjects from the onslaught of the wicked Schimnus.

One day, therefore, he went forth alone to do battle with a prince of the Schimnus; and in order that he might be in a condition the better adapted to match him, he left his body behind him, under shadow of an image of Buddha. His younger wife, even the wife of low degree, happening by chance to see him leaving the temple without his body, was so delighted with the wonderfully beauteous appearance he thus presented that she went to Udsesskuleng-Goa-Chatun, saying, "Our master, so long as he went in and out among us, always was clothed in human form like other men; but to-day, when he started on his expedition against the Schimnus, he wore such a brilliant and beautiful appearance that it would be a joy if he looked the same when he is with us." But Udsesskuleng-Chatun replied, "Because you are young you understand not these things. It is only to preserve his body from the fine piercing swords of the Schimnus that he left it behind him."