The Kadambari of Bana Part 7

PART II.

(441) I hail, for the completion of the difficult toil of this unfinished tale, Uma and civa, parents of earth, whose single body, formed from the union of two halves, shows neither point of union nor division.

(442) I salute Narayana, creator of all, by whom the man-lion form was manifested happily, showing a face terrible with its tossing mane, and displaying in his hand quoit, sword, club and conch.

I do homage to my father, that lord of speech, the creator by whom that story was made that none else could fashion, that n.o.ble man whom all honour in every house, and from whom I, in reward of a former life, received my being.

(443) When my father rose to the sky, on earth the stream of the story failed with his voice. And I, as I saw its unfinished state was a grief to the good, began it, but from no poetic pride.

For that the words flow with such beauty is my father's special gift; a single touch of the ray of the moon, the one source of nectar, suffices to melt the moonstone.

As other rivers at their full enter the Ganges, and by being absorbed in it reach the ocean, so my speech is cast by me for the completion of this story on the ocean-flowing stream of my father's eloquence.

Reeling under the strong sweetness of Kadambari [340] as one intoxicated, I am bereft of sense, in that I fear not to compose an ending in my own speech devoid of sweetness and colour.

(444) The seeds that promise fruit and are destined to flower are forced by the sower with fitting toils; scattered in good ground, they grow to ripeness; but it is the sower's son who gathers them. [341]

'"Moreover," Kadambari continued, "if the prince were brought shame itself, put to shame by my weakness, would not allow a sight of him. (446) Fear itself, frightened at the crime of bringing him by force, would not enter his presence. Then all would be over if my friend Patralekha did her utmost from love to me, and yet could not induce him to come, even by falling at his feet, either perchance from his respect for his parents, or devotion to royal duty, or love of his native land, or reluctance towards me. Nay, more. (448) I am that Kadambari whom he saw resting on a couch of flowers in the winter palace, and he is that Candrapida, all ignorant of another's pain, who stayed but two days, and then departed. I had promised Mahacveta not to marry while she was in trouble, though she besought me not to promise, saying, that Kama often takes our life by love even for one unseen. (449) But this is not my case. For the prince, imaged by fancy, ever presents himself to my sight, and, sleeping or waking, in every place I behold him. Therefore talk not of bringing him."

'(450) Thereupon I [342] reflected, "Truly the beloved, as shaped in the imagination, is a great support to women separated from their loves, especially to maidens of n.o.ble birth." (451) And I promised Kadambari that I would bring thee, O Prince. (452) Then she, roused by my speech full of thy name, as by a charm to remove poison, suddenly opened her eyes, and said, "I say not that thy going pleases me, Patralekha. (453) It is only when I see thee that I can endure my life; yet if this desire possess thee, do what thou wilt!" So saying, she dismissed me with many presents.

'Then with slightly downcast face Patralekha continued: "The recent kindness of the princess has given me courage, my prince, and I am grieved for her, and so I say to thee, 'Didst thou act worthily of thy tender nature in leaving her in this state?'"

'Thus reproached by Patralekha, and hearing the words of Kadambari, so full of conflicting impulses, the prince became confused; (454) and sharing in Kadambari's feeling, he asked Patralekha with tears, "What am I to do? Love has made me a cause of sorrow to Kadambari, and of reproach to thee. (455) And methinks this was some curse that darkened my mind; else how was my mind deceived when clear signs were given, which would create no doubt even in a dull mind? All this my fault has arisen from a mistake. I will therefore now, by devoting myself to her, even with my life, act so that the princess may know me not to be of so hard a heart."

'(456) While he thus spoke a portress hastened in and said: "Prince, Queen Vilasavati sends a message saying, 'I hear from the talk of my attendants that Patralekha, who had stayed behind, has now returned. And I love her equally with thyself. Do thou therefore come, and bring her with thee. The sight of thy lotus face, won by a thousand longings, is rarely given.'"

'"How my life now is tossed with doubts!" thought the prince. "My mother is sorrowful if even for a moment she sees me not. (457) My subjects love me; but the Gandharva princess loves me more. Princess Kadambari is worthy of my winning, and my mind is impatient of delay;"

so thinking, he went to the queen, and spent the day in a longing of heart hard to bear; (458) while the night he spent thinking of the beauty of Kadambari, which was as a shrine of love.

'(459) Thenceforth pleasant talk found no entrance into him. His friends' words seemed harsh to him; the conversation of his kinsmen gave him no delight. (460) His body was dried up by love's fire, but he did not yield up the tenderness of his heart. (461) He despised happiness, but not self-control.

'While he was thus drawn forward by strong love, which had its life resting on the goodness and beauty of Kadambari, and held backwards by his very deep affection for his parents, he beheld one day, when wandering on the banks of the Sipra, a troop of horse approaching. (462) He sent a man to inquire what this might be, and himself crossing the Sipra where the water rose but to his thigh, he awaited his messenger's return in a shrine of Kartikeya. Drawing Patralekha to him, he said, "Look! that horse-man whose face can scarce be descried is Keyuraka!"

'(463) He then beheld Keyuraka throw himself from his horse while yet far off, gray with dust from swift riding, while by his changed appearance, his lack of adornment, his despondent face, and his eyes that heralded his inward grief, he announced, even without words, the evil plight of Kadambari. Candrapida lovingly called him as he hastily bowed and drew near, and embraced him. And when he had drawn back and paid his homage, the prince, having gratified his followers by courteous inquiries, looked at him eagerly, and said, "By the sight of thee, Keyuraka, the well-being of the lady Kadambari and her attendants is proclaimed. When thou art rested and at ease, thou shalt tell me the cause of thy coming;" and he took Keyuraka and Patralekha home with him on his elephant. (464) Then he dismissed his followers, and only accompanied by Patralekha, he called Keyuraka to him, and said: "Tell me the message of Kadambari, Madalekha and Mahacveta."

'"What shall I say?" replied Keyuraka; "I have no message from any of these. For when I had entrusted Patralekha to Meghanada, and returned, and had told of thy going to Ujjayini, Mahacveta looked upwards, sighed a long, hot sigh, and saying sadly, 'It is so then,' returned to her own hermitage to her penance. Kadambari, as though bereft of consciousness, ignorant of Mahacveta's departure, only opened her eyes after a long time, scornfully bidding me tell Mahacveta; and asking Madalekha (465) if anyone ever had done, or would do, such a deed as Candrapida, she dismissed her attendants, threw herself on her couch, veiled her head, and spent the day without speaking even to Madalekha, who wholly shared her grief. When early next morning I went to her, she gazed at me long with tearful eyes, as if blaming me. And I, when thus looked at by my sorrowing mistress, deemed myself ordered to go, and so, without telling the princess, I have approached my lord's feet. Therefore vouchsafe to hear attentively the bidding of Keyuraka, whose heart is anxious to save the life of one whose sole refuge is in thee. For, as by thy first coming that virgin [343] forest was stirred as by the fragrant Malaya wind, so when she beheld thee, the joy of the whole world, like the spring, love entered her as though she were a red ac.o.ka creeper. (466) But now she endures great torture for thy sake." (466-470) Then Keyuraka told at length all her sufferings, till the prince, overcome by grief, could bear it no longer and swooned.

'Then, awakening from his swoon, he lamented that he was thought too hard of heart to receive a message from Kadambari or her friends, and blamed them for not telling him of her love while he was there.

(476) '"Why should there be shame concerning one who is her servant, ever at her feet, that grief should have made its home in one so tender, and my desires be unfulfilled? (477) Now, what can I do when at some days' distance from her. Her body cannot even endure the fall of a flower upon it, while even on adamantine hearts like mine the arrows of love are hard to bear. When I see the unstable works began by cruel Fate, I know not where it will stop. (478) Else where was my approach to the land of the immortals, in my vain hunt for the Kinnaras? where my journey to Hemakuta with Mahacveta, or my sight of the princess there, or the birth of her love for me, or my father's command, that I could not transgress, for me to return, though my longing was yet unfulfilled? It is by evil destiny that we have been raised high, and then dashed to the ground. Therefore let us do our utmost to console [344] the princess." (479) Then in the evening he asked Keyuraka, "What thinkest thou? Will Kadambari support life till we arrive? (480) Or shall I again behold her face, with its eyes like a timid fawn's?" "Be firm, prince," he replied. "Do thine utmost to go." The prince had himself begun plans for going; but what happiness or what content of heart would there be without his father's leave, and how after his long absence could that be gained? A friend's help was needed here, but Vaicampayana was away.

'(484) But next morning he heard a report that his army had reached Dacapura, and thinking with joy that he was now to receive the favour of Fate, in that Vaicampayana was now at hand, he joyfully told the news to Keyuraka. (485) "This event," replied the latter, "surely announces thy going. Doubtless thou wilt gain the princess. For when was the moon ever beheld by any without moonlight, or a lotus-pool without a lotus, or a garden without creeper? Yet there must be delay in the arrival of Vaicampayana, and the settling with him of thy plans. But I have told thee the state of the princess, which admits of no delay. Therefore, my heart, rendered insolent by the grace bestowed by thy affection, desires that favour may be shown me by a command to go at once to announce the joy of my lord's coming." (486) Whereat the prince, with a glance that showed his inward satisfaction, replied: "Who else is there who so well knows time and place, or who else is so sincerely loyal? This, therefore, is a happy thought. Go to support the life of the princess and to prepare for my return. But let Patralekha go forward, too, with thee to the feet of the princess. For she is favoured by the princess." Then he called Meghanada, and bade him escort Patralekha, (487) while he himself would overtake them when he had seen Vaicampayana. Then he bade Patralekha tell Kadambari that her n.o.ble sincerity and native tenderness preserved him, even though far away and burnt by love's fire, (489) and requested her bidding to come. (491) After their departure, he went to ask his father's leave to go to meet Vaicampayana. The king lovingly received him, and said to cukanasa: (492) "He has now come to the age for marriage. So, having entered upon the matter with Queen Vilasavati, let some fair maiden be chosen. For a face like my son's is not often to be seen. Let us then gladden ourselves now by the sight of the lotus face of a bride." cukanasa agreed that as the prince had gained all knowledge, made royal fortune firmly his own, and wed the earth, there remained nothing for him to do but to marry a wife. "How fitly,"

thought Candrapida, "does my father's plan come for my thoughts of a union with Kadambari! (493) The proverb 'light to one in darkness,'

or 'a shower of nectar to a dying man,' is coming true in me. After just seeing Vaicampayana, I shall win Kadambari." Then the king went to Vilasavati, and playfully reproached her for giving no counsel as to a bride for her son. (494) Meanwhile the prince spent the day in awaiting Vaicampayana's return. And after spending over two watches of the night sleepless in yearning for him, (495) the energy of his love was redoubled, and he ordered the conch to be sounded for his going. (497) Then he started on the road to Dacapura, and after going some distance he beheld the camp, (501) and rejoiced to think he would now see Vaicampayana; and going on alone, he asked where his friend was. But weeping women replied: "Why ask? How should he be here?" And in utter bewilderment he hastened to the midst of the camp. (502) There he was recognised, and on his question the chieftains besought him to rest under a tree while they related Vaicampayana's fate. He was, they said, yet alive, and they told what had happened. (505) "When left by thee, he halted a day, and then gave the order for our march. 'Yet,'

said he, 'Lake Acchoda is mentioned in the Purana as very holy. Let us bathe and worship civa in the shrine on its bank. For who will ever, even in a dream, behold again this place haunted by the G.o.ds?' (506) But beholding a bower on the bank he gazed at it like a brother long lost to sight, as if memories were awakened in him. And when we urged him to depart, he made as though he heard us not; but at last he bade us go, saying that he would not leave that spot. (508) 'Do I not know well' said he, 'all that you urge for my departure? But I have no power over myself, and I am, as it were, nailed to the spot, and cannot go with you.' (510) So at length we left him, and came hither."

'Amazed at this story, which he could not have even in a dream imagined, Candrapida wondered: "What can be the cause of his resolve to leave all and dwell in the woods? I see no fault of my own. He shares everything with me. Has anything been said that could hurt him by my father or cukanasa?" (517) He at length returned to Ujjayini, thinking that where Vaicampayana was there was Kadambari also, and resolved to fetch him back. (518) He heard that the king and queen had gone to cukanasa's house, and followed them thither. (519) There he heard Manorama lamenting the absence of the son without whose sight she could not live, and who had never before, even in his earliest years, shown neglect of her. (520) On his entrance the king thus greeted him: "I know thy great love for him. Yet when I hear thy story my heart suspects some fault of thine." But cukanasa, his face darkened with grief and impatience, said reproachfully: "If, O king, there is heat in the moon or coolness in fire, then there may be fault in the prince. (521) Men such as Vaicampayana are portents of destruction, (522) fire without fuel, polished mirrors that present everything the reverse way; (523) for them the base are exalted, wrong is right, and ignorance wisdom. All in them makes for evil, and not for good. Therefore Vaicampayana has not feared thy wrath, nor thought that his mother's life depends on him, nor that he was born to be a giver of offerings for the continuance of his race. (524) Surely the birth of one so evil and demoniac was but to cause us grief." (525) To this the king replied: "Surely for such as I to admonish thee were for a lamp to give light to fire, or daylight an equal splendour to the sun. Yet the mind of the wisest is made turbid by grief as the Manasa Lake by the rainy season, and then sight is destroyed. Who is there in this world who is not changed by youth? When youth shows itself, love for elders flows away with childhood. (528) My heart grieves when I hear thee speak harshly of Vaicampayana. Let him be brought hither. Then we can do as is fitting." (529) cukanasa persisted in blaming his son; but Candrapida implored leave to fetch him home, and cukanasa at length yielded. (532) Then Candrapida summoned the astrologers, and secretly bade them name the day for his departure, when asked by the king or cukanasa, so as not to delay his departure. "The conjunction of the planets," they answered him, "is against thy going. (533) Yet a king is the determiner of time. On whatever time thy will is set, that is the time for every matter." Then they announced the morrow as the time for his departure; and he spent that day and night intent on his journey, and deeming that he already beheld Kadambari and Vaicampayana before him.

'(534) And when the time came, Vilasavati bade him farewell in deep sorrow: "I grieved not so for thy first going as I do now. My heart is torn; my body is in torture; my mind is overwhelmed. (535) I know not why my heart so suffers. Stay not long away." He tried to console her, and then went to his father, who received him tenderly, (539) and finally dismissed him, saying: "My desire is that thou shouldst take a wife and receive the burden of royalty, so that I may enter on the path followed by royal sages; but this matter of Vaicampayana is in the way of it, and I have misgivings that my longing is not to be fulfilled; else how could he have acted in so strange a way? Therefore, though thou must go, my son, return soon, that my heart's desire may not fail." (540) At length he started, and spent day and night on his journey in the thought of his friend and of the Gandharva world. (544) And when he had travelled far the rainy season came on, and all the workings of the storms found their counterpart in his own heart. (548) Yet he paused not on his way, nor did he heed the entreaties of his chieftains to bestow some care on himself, but rode on all day. (549) But a third part of the way remained to traverse when he beheld Meghanada, and, asking him eagerly concerning Vaicampayana, (550) he learnt that Patralekha, sure that the rains would delay his coming, had sent Meghanada to meet him, and that the latter had not been to the Acchoda lake. (552) With redoubled grief the prince rode to the lake, and bade his followers guard it on all sides, lest Vaicampayana should in shame flee from them; but all his search found no traces of his friend. (553) "My feet," thought he, "cannot leave this spot without him, and yet Kadambari has not been seen. Perchance Mahacveta may know about this matter; I will at least see her." So he mounted Indrayudha, and went towards her hermitage. There dismounting, he entered; but in the entrance of the cave he beheld Mahacveta, with difficulty supported by Taralika, weeping bitterly. (554) "May no ill," thought he, "have befallen Kadambari, that Mahacveta should be in this state, when my coming should be a cause of joy." Eagerly and sorrowfully he questioned Taralika, but she only gazed on Mahacveta's face. Then the latter at last spoke falteringly: "What can one so wretched tell thee? Yet the tale shall be told. When I heard from Keyuraka of thy departure, my heart was torn by the thought that the wishes of Kadambari's parents, my own longing, and the sight of Kadambari's happiness in her union with thee had not been brought about, and, cleaving even the bond of my love to her, I returned home to yet harsher penance than before. (555) Here I beheld a young Brahman, like unto thee, gazing hither and thither with vacant glance. But at the sight of me his eyes were fixed on me alone, as if, though unseen before, he recognised me, though a stranger, he had long known me, and gazing at me like one mad or possessed, he said at last: 'Fair maiden, only they who do what is fitting for their birth, age, and form escape blame in this world. Why toilest thou thus, like perverse fate, in so unmeet an employment, in that thou wastest in stern penance a body tender as a garland? (556) The toil of penance is for those who have enjoyed the pleasures of life and have lost its graces, but not for one endowed with beauty. If thou turnest from the joys of earth, in vain does Love bend his bow, or the moon rise. Moonlight and the Malaya wind serve for naught.'"

'"But I, caring for nothing since the loss of Pundarika, asked no questions about him, (557) and bade Taralika keep him away, for some evil would surely happen should he return. But in spite of being kept away, whether from the fault of love or the destiny of suffering that lay upon us, he did not give up his affection; and one night, while Taralika slept, and I was thinking of Pundarika, (559) I beheld in the moonlight, clear as day, that youth approaching like one possessed. The utmost fear seized me at the sight. 'An evil thing,' I thought, 'has befallen me. If he draw near, and but touch me with his hand, this accursed life must be destroyed; and then that endurance of it, which I accepted in the hope of again beholding Pundarika, will have been in vain.' While I thus thought he drew near, and said: 'Moon-faced maiden, the moon, Love's ally, is striving to slay me. Therefore I come to ask protection. Save me, who am without refuge, and cannot help myself, for my life is devoted to thee. (560) It is the duty of ascetics to protect those who flee to them for protection. If, then, thou deign not to bestow thyself on me, the moon and love will slay me.' At these words, in a voice choked by wrath, I exclaimed: 'Wretch, how has a thunderbolt failed to strike thy head in the utterance of these thy words? Surely the five elements that give witness of right and wrong to mortals are lacking in thy frame, in that earth and air and fire and the rest have not utterly destroyed thee. Thou hast learnt to speak like a parrot, without thought of what was right or wrong to say. Why wert thou not born as a parrot? (561) I lay on thee this fate, that thou mayest enter on a birth suited to thine own speech, and cease to make love to one such as I.' So saying, I turned towards the moon, and with raised hands prayed: 'Blessed one, lord of all, guardian of the world, if since the sight of Pundarika my heart has been free from the thought of any other man, may this false lover by the truth of this my saying, fall into the existence p.r.o.nounced by me.' Then straightway, I know not how, whether from the force of love, or of his own sin, or from the power of my words, he fell lifeless, like a tree torn up by the roots. And it was not till he was dead that I learnt from his weeping attendants that he was thy friend, n.o.ble prince." Having thus said, she bent her face in shame and silently wept. But Candrapida, with fixed glance and broken voice, replied: "Lady, thou hast done thine utmost, and yet I am too ill-fated to have gained in this life the joy of honouring the feet of the lady Kadambari. Mayest thou in another life create this bliss for me." (562) With these words his tender heart broke, as if from grief at failing to win Kadambari, like a bud ready to open when pierced by a bee.

'Then Taralika burst into laments over his lifeless body and into reproaches to Mahacveta. And as the chieftains, too, raised their cry of grief and wonder, (564) there entered, with but few followers, Kadambari herself, attired as to meet her lover, though a visit to Mahacveta was the pretext of her coming, and while she leant on Patralekha's hand, she expressed her doubts of the prince's promised return, (565) and declared that if she again beheld him she would not speak to him, nor be reconciled either by his humility or her friend's endeavours. Such were her words; but she counted all the toil of the journey light in her longing to behold him again. But when she beheld him dead, with a sudden cry she fell to the ground. And when she recovered from her swoon, she gazed at him with fixed eyes and quivering mouth, like a creeper trembling under the blow of a keen axe, and then stood still with a firmness foreign to her woman's nature. (566) Madalekha implored her to give her grief the relief of tears, lest her heart should break, and remember that on her rested the hopes of two races. "Foolish girl," replied Kadambari, with a smile, "how should my adamantine heart break if it has not broken at this sight? These thoughts of family and friends are for one who wills to live, not for me, who have chosen death; for I have won the body of my beloved, which is life to me, and which, whether living or dead, whether by an earthly union, or by my following it in death, suffices to calm every grief. It is for my sake that my lord came hither and lost his life; how, then, could I, by shedding tears, make light of the great honour to which he has raised me? or how bring an ill-omened mourning to his departure to heaven? or how weep at the joyous moment when, like the dust of his feet, I may follow him? Now all sorrow is far away. (567) For him I neglected all other ties; and now, when he is dead, how canst thou ask me to live? In dying now lies my life, and to live would be death to me. Do thou take my place with my parents and my friends, and mayest thou be the mother of a son to offer libations of water for me when I am in another world. Thou must wed the young mango in the courtyard, dear to me as my own child, to the madhavi creeper. Let not a twig of the ac.o.ka-tree that my feet have caressed be broken, even to make an earring. Let the flowers of the malati creeper I tended be plucked only to offer to the G.o.ds. Let the picture of Kama in my room near my pillow be torn in pieces. The mango-trees I planted must be tended so that they may come to fruit. (568) Set free from the misery of their cage the maina Kalindi and the parrot Parihasa. Let the little mongoose that rested in my lap now rest in thine. Let my child, the fawn Taralaka, be given to a hermitage. Let the partridges on the pleasure-hill that grew up in my hand be kept alive. See that the hamsa that followed my steps be not killed. Let my poor ape be set free, for she is unhappy in the house. Let the pleasure-hill be given to some calm-souled hermit, and let the things I use myself be given to Brahmans. My lute thou must lovingly keep in thine own lap, and anything else that pleases thee must be thine own. But as for me, I will cling to my lord's neck, and so on the funeral pyre allay the fever which the moon, sandal, lotus-fibres, and all cool things have but increased." (569) Then she embraced Mahacveta, saying: "Thou indeed hast some hope whereby to endure life, even though its pains be worse than death; but I have none, and so I bid thee farewell, dear friend, till we meet in another birth."

'As though she felt the joy of reunion, she honoured the feet of Candrapida with bent head, and placed them in her lap. (570) At her touch a strange bright light arose from Candrapida's body, and straightway a voice was heard in the sky: "Dear Mahacveta, I will again console thee. The body of thy Pundarika, nourished in my world and by my light, free from death, awaits its reunion with thee. The other body, that of Candrapida, is filled with my light, and so is not subject to death, both from its own nature, and because it is nourished by the touch of Kadambari; it has been deserted by the soul by reason of a curse, like the body of a mystic whose spirit has pa.s.sed into another form. Let it rest here to console thee and Kadambari till the curse be ended. Let it not be burnt, nor cast into water, nor deserted. It must be kept with all care till its reunion."

'All but Patralekha were astounded at this saying, and fixed their gaze on the sky; but she, recovering, at the cool touch of that light, from the swoon brought on by seeing the death of Candrapida, rose, hastily seizing Indrayudha from his groom, saying: "However it may be for us, thou must not for a moment leave thy master to go alone without a steed on his long journey;" and plunged, together with Indrayudha, into the Acchoda Lake. (571) Straightway there rose from the lake a young ascetic, and approaching Mahacveta, said mournfully: "Princess of the Gandharvas, knowest thou me, now that I have pa.s.sed through another birth?" Divided between joy and grief, she paid homage to his feet, and replied: "Blessed Kapinjala, am I so devoid of virtue that I could forget thee? And yet this thought of me is natural, since I am so strangely ignorant of myself and deluded by madness that when my lord Pundarika is gone to heaven I yet live. (572) Tell me of Pundarika." He then recalled how he had flown into the sky in pursuit of the being who carried off Pundarika, and pa.s.sing by the wondering G.o.ds in their heavenly cars, he had reached the world of the moon. "Then that being," he continued, "placed Pundarika's body on a couch in the hall called Mahodaya, and said: 'Know me to be the moon! (573) When I was rising to help the world I was cursed by thy friend, because my beams were slaying him before he could meet his beloved; and he prayed that I, too, might die in the land of Bharata, the home of all sacred rites, knowing myself the pains of love. But I, wrathful at being cursed for what was his own fault, uttered the curse that he should endure the same lot of joy or sorrow as myself. When, however, my anger pa.s.sed away, I understood what had happened about Mahacveta. Now, she is sprung from the race that had its origin in my beams, and she chose him for her lord. Yet he and I must both be born twice in the world of mortals, else the due order of births will not be fulfilled. I have therefore carried the body hither, and I nourish it with my light lest it should perish before the curse is ended, and I have comforted Mahacveta. (574) Tell the whole matter to Pundarika's father. His spiritual power is great, and he may find a remedy.' And I, rushing away in grief, leapt off another rider in a heavenly chariot, and in wrath he said to me: 'Since in the wide path of heaven thou hast leapt over me like a horse in its wild course, do thou become a horse, and descend into the world of mortals.' To my tearful a.s.surance that I had leapt over him in the blindness of grief, and not from contempt, he replied: 'The curse, once uttered, cannot be recalled. But when thy rider shall die, thou shalt bathe and be freed from the curse.' Then I implored him that as my friend was about to be born with the moon-G.o.d, in the world of mortals, I might, as a horse, constantly dwell with him. (575) Softened by my affection, he told me that the moon would be born as a son to King Tarapida at Ujjayini, Pundarika would be the son of his minister, cukanasa, and that I should be the prince's steed. Straightway I plunged into the ocean, and rose as a horse, but yet lost not consciousness of the past. I it was who purposely brought Candrapida hither in pursuit of the kinnaras. And he who sought thee by reason of the love implanted in a former birth, and was consumed by a curse in thine ignorance, was my friend Pundarika come down to earth."

'Then Mahacveta beat her breast with a bitter cry, saying: "Thou didst keep thy love for me through another birth, Pundarika; I was all the world to thee; and yet, like a demon, born for thy destruction even in a fresh life, I have received length of years but to slay thee again and again. (576) Even in thee, methinks, coldness must now have sprung up towards one so ill-fated, in that thou answerest not my laments;"

and she flung herself on the ground. But Kapinjala pityingly replied: "Thou art blameless, princess, and joy is at hand. Grieve not, therefore, but pursue the penance undertaken by thee; for to perfect penance naught is impossible, and by the power of thine austerities thou shalt soon be in the arms of my friend."

'(577) Then Kadambari asked Kapinjala what had become of Patralekha when she plunged with him into the tank. But he knew naught of what had happened since then, either to her, or his friend, or Candrapida, and rose to the sky to ask the sage cvetaketu, Pundarika's father, to whom everything in the three worlds was visible.

'(577-578) Then Mahacveta counselled Kadambari, whose love to her was drawn the closer from the likeness of her sorrow, that she should spend her life in ministering to the body of Candrapida, nothing doubting that while others, to gain good, worshipped shapes of wood and stone that were but images of invisible G.o.ds, she ought to worship the present deity, veiled under the name of Candrapida. Laying his body tenderly on a rock, Kadambari put off the adornments with which she had come to meet her lover, keeping but one bracelet as a happy omen. She bathed, put on two white robes, rubbed off the deep stain of betel from her lips, (579) and the very flowers, incense, and unguents she had brought to grace a happy love she now offered to Candrapida in the worship due to a G.o.d. That day and night she spent motionless, holding the feet of the prince, and on the morrow she joyfully saw that his brightness was unchanged, (581) and gladdened her friends and the prince's followers by the tidings. (582) The next day she sent Madalekha to console her parents, and they sent back an a.s.surance that they had never thought to see her wed, and that now they rejoiced that she had chosen for her husband the incarnation of the moon-G.o.d himself. They hoped, when the curse was over, to behold again her lotus-face in the company of their son-in-law. (583) So comforted, Kadambari remained to tend and worship the prince's body. Now, when the rainy season was over, Meghanada came to Kadambari, and told her that messengers had been sent by Tarapida to ask the cause of the prince's delay, (584) and that he, to spare her grief, had told them the whole story, and bade them hasten to tell all to the king. They, however, had replied that this might doubtless be so; yet, to say nothing of their hereditary love for the prince, the desire to see so great a marvel urged them to ask to be allowed to behold him; their long service deserved the favour; and what would the king say if they failed to see Candrapida's body? (585) Sorrowfully picturing to herself what the grief of Tarapida would be, Kadambari admitted the messengers, (586) and as they tearfully prostrated themselves, she consoled them, saying that this was a cause for joy rather than sorrow. "Ye have seen the prince's face, and his body free from change; therefore hasten to the king's feet. Yet do not spread abroad this story, but say that ye have seen the prince, and that he tarries by the Acchoda Lake. For death must come to all, and is easily believed; but this event, even when seen, can scarce win faith. It profits not now, therefore, by telling this to his parents, to create in them a suspicion of his death; but when he comes to life again, this wondrous tale will become clear to them." (587) But they replied: "Then we must either not return or keep silence. But neither course is possible; nor could we so greet the sorrowing king." She therefore sent Candrapida's servant Tvaritaka with them, to give credit to the story, for the prince's royal retinue had all taken a vow to live there, eating only roots and fruits, and not to return till the prince himself should do so.

(589) 'After many days, Queen Vilasavati, in her deep longing for news of her son, went to the temple of the Divine Mothers of Avanti, [345] the guardian G.o.ddesses of Ujjayini, to pray for his return; and on a sudden a cry arose from the retinue: "Thou art happy, O Queen! The Mothers have shown favour to thee! Messengers from the prince are at hand." Then she saw the messengers, with the city-folk crowding round them, asking news of the prince, or of sons, brothers, and other kinsfolk among his followers, (591) but receiving no answers. She sent for them to the temple court, and cried: "Tell me quickly of my son. (592) Have ye seen him?" And they, striving to hide their grief, replied: "O Queen, he has been seen by us on the sh.o.r.e of the Acchoda Lake, and Tvaritaka will tell thee the rest." "What more," said she, "can this unhappy man tell me? For your own sorrowful bearing has told the tale. Alas, my child! Wherefore hast thou not returned? When thou didst bid me farewell, I knew by my forebodings that I should not behold thy face again. (593) This all comes from the evil deeds of my former birth. Yet think not, my son, that I will live without thee, for how could I thus even face thy father? And yet, whether it be from love, or from the thought that one so fair must needs live, or from the native simplicity of a woman's mind, my heart cannot believe that ill has befallen thee." (594) Meanwhile, the news was told to the king, and he hastened to the temple with cukanasa, and tried to rouse the queen from the stupor of grief, saying: (595) "My queen, we dishonour ourselves by this show of grief. Our good deeds in a former life have carried us thus far. We are not the vessel of further joys. That which we have not earned is not won at will by beating the breast. The Creator does what He wills, and depends on none. We have had the joy of our son's babyhood and boyhood and youth. We have crowned him, and greeted his return from his world conquest. (596) All that is lacking to our wishes is that we have not seen him wed, so that we might leave him in our place, and retire to a hermitage. But to gain every desire is the fruit of very rare merit. We must, however, question Tvaritaka, for we know not all yet." (597) But when he heard from Tvaritaka how the prince's heart had broken, he interrupted him, and cried that a funeral pyre should be prepared for himself near the shrine of Mahakala. (598) All his treasure was to be given to Brahmans, and the kings who followed him were to return to their own lands. Then Tvaritaka implored him to hear the rest of the story of Vaicampayana, and his grief was followed by wonder; while cukanasa, showing the desire of a true friend to forget his own grief and offer consolation, said: (599) "Sire, in this wondrous transitory existence, wherein wander G.o.ds, demons, animals and men, filled with joy and grief, there is no event which is not possible. Why then doubt concerning this? If from a search for reason, how many things rest only on tradition, and are yet seen to be true? As the use of meditation or certain postures to cure a poisoned man, the attraction of the loadstone, the efficacy of mantras, Vedic or otherwise, in actions of all kinds, wherein sacred tradition is our authority. (600) Now there are many stories of curses in the Puranas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the rest. For it was owing to a curse that Nahusha [346] became a serpent, Saudasa [347] a cannibal, Yayati decrepit, Tricamku [348] a Candala, the heaven-dwelling Mahabhisha was born as cantanu, while Ganga became his wife, and the Vasus, [349] his sons. Nay, even the Supreme G.o.d, Vishnu, was born as Yamadagni's son, and, dividing himself into four, he was born to Dacaratha, and also to Vasudeva at Mathura. Therefore the birth of G.o.ds among mortals is not hard of belief. And thou, sire, art not behind the men of old in virtue, nor is the moon greater than the G.o.d from whom the lotus springs. Our dreams at our sons' birth confirm the tale; the nectar that dwells in the moon preserves the prince's body, (601) and his beauty that gladdens the world must be destined to dwell in the world. We shall therefore soon see his marriage with Kadambari, and therein find all the past troubles of life more than repaid. Do then thine utmost by worshipping G.o.ds, giving gifts to Brahmans, and practising austerities, to secure this blessing." (602-604) The king a.s.sented, but expressed his resolve to go himself to behold the prince, and he and the queen, together with cukanasa and his wife, went to the lake. (605) Comforted by the a.s.surance of Meghanada, who came to meet him, that the prince's body daily grew in brightness, he entered the hermitage; (606) while, at the news of his coming, Mahacveta fled in shame within the cave, and Kadambari swooned. And as he looked on his son, who seemed but to sleep, the queen rushed forward, and with fond reproaches entreated Candrapida to speak to them. (608) But the king reminded her that it was her part to comfort cukanasa and his wife. "She also, to whom we shall owe the joy of again beholding our son alive, even the Gandharva princess, is yet in a swoon; do thou take her in thine arms, and bring her back to consciousness." Then she tenderly touched Kadambari, saying "Be comforted, my mother, [350] for without thee, who could have preserved the body of my son Candrapida? Surely thou must be wholly made of amrita, that we are again able to behold his face." (609) At the name of Candrapida and the touch of the queen, so like his own, Kadambari recovered her senses, and was helped by Madalekha to pay due honour, though with face bent in shame, to his parents. She received their blessing--"Mayest thou live long, and long enjoy an unwidowed life"--and was set close behind Vilasavati. The king then bade her resume her care of the prince, and took up his abode in a leafy bower near the hermitage, provided with a cool stone slab, and meet for a hermit, (610) and told his royal retinue that he would now carry out his long-cherished desire of an ascetic life, and that they must protect his subjects. "It is surely a gain if I hand over my place to one worthy of it, and by this enfeebled and useless body of mine win the joys of another world."

'So saying, he gave up all his wonted joys, and betook himself to the unwonted life in the woods; he found a palace beneath the trees; the delights of the zenana, in the creepers; the affection of friends, in the fawns; the pleasure of attire, in rags and bark garments. (611) His weapons were rosaries; his ambition was for another world; his desire for wealth was in penance. He refused all the delicacies that Kadambari and Mahacveta offered him, and so dwelt with his queen and cukanasa, counting all pains light, so that every morning and evening he might have the joy of seeing Candrapida.'

Having told this tale, [351] the sage Jabali said with a scornful smile to his son Harita and the other ascetics: 'Ye have seen how this story has had power to hold us long, and to charm our hearts. And this is the love-stricken being who by his own fault fell from heaven, and became on earth Vaicampayana, son of cukanasa. He it is who, by the curse of his own wrathful father, and by Mahacveta's appeal to the truth of her heart, has been born as a parrot.' (612) As he thus spoke, I awoke, as it were, out of sleep, and, young as I was, I had on the tip of my tongue all the knowledge gained in a former birth; I became skilled in all arts; I had a clear human voice, memory, and all but the shape of a man. My affection for the prince, my uncontrolled pa.s.sion, my devotion to Mahacveta, all returned. A yearning arose in me to know about them and my other friends, and though in deepest shame, I faintly asked Jabali: 'Now, blessed saint, that thou hast brought back my knowledge, my heart breaks for the prince who died in grief for my death. (613) Vouchsafe to tell me of him, so that I may be near him; even my birth as an animal will not grieve me.' With mingled scorn and pity he replied: 'Wilt thou not even now restrain thine old impatience? Ask, when thy wings are grown.' Then to his son's inquiry how one of saintly race should be so enslaved by love, he replied that this weak and unrestrained nature belonged to those born, like me, from a mother only. For the Veda says, 'As a man's parents are, so is he,' (614) and medical science, too, declares their weakness. And he said my life now would be but short, but that when the curse was over, I should win length of years. I humbly asked by what sacrifices I should gain a longer life, but he bade me wait, and as the whole night had pa.s.sed un.o.bserved in his story, (615) he sent the ascetics to offer the morning oblation, while Harita took me, and placed me in his own hut near his couch, and went to his morning duties. (616) During his absence, I sorrowfully thought how hard it would be to rise from being a bird to being a Brahman, not to say a saint, who has the bliss of heaven. Yet if I could not be united to those I loved in past lives why should I yet live? But Harita then returned, and told me that Kapinjala was there. (617-618) When I saw him weary, yet loving as ever, I strove to fly to him, and he, lifting me up, placed me in his bosom, and then on his head. (619) Then he told me, 'Thy father cvetaketu knew by divine insight of thy plight, and has begun a rite to help thee. As he began it I was set free from my horse's shape; (620) but he kept me till Jabali had recalled the past to thee, and now sends me to give thee his blessing, and say that thy mother Lakshmi is also helping in the rite.' (621) Then, bidding me stay in the hermitage, he rose to the sky, to take part in the rite. (622) After some days, however, my wings were grown, and I resolved to fly to Mahacveta, so I set off towards the north; (623) but weariness soon overtook me, and I went to sleep in a tree, only to wake in the snare of a terrible Candala. (624) I besought him to free me, for I was on the way to my beloved, but he said he had captured me for the young Candala princess, who had heard of my gifts. With horror I heard that I, the son of Lakshmi and of a great saint, must dwell with a tribe shunned even by barbarians; (625) but when I urged that he could set me free without danger, for none would see him, he laughed, and replied: 'He, for whom there exist not the five guardians of the world, [352] witnesses of right and wrong, dwelling within his own body to behold his actions, will not do his duty for fear of any other being.' (626) So he carried me off, and as I looked out in hope of getting free from him, I beheld the barbarian settlement, a very market-place of evil deeds. It was surrounded on all sides by boys engaged in the chase, unleashing their hounds, teaching their falcons, mending snares, carrying weapons, and fishing, horrible in their attire, like demoniacs. Here and there the entrance to their dwellings, hidden by thick bamboo forests, was to be inferred, from the rising of smoke of orpiment. On all sides the enclosures were made with skulls; (627) the dustheaps in the roads were filled with bones; the yards of the huts were miry with blood, fat, and meat chopped up. The life there consisted of hunting; the food, of flesh; the ointment, of fat; the garments, of coa.r.s.e silk; the couches, of dried skins; the household attendants, of dogs; the animals for riding, of cows; the men's employment, of wine and women; the oblation to the G.o.ds, of blood; the sacrifice, of cattle. The place was the image of all h.e.l.ls. (628) Then the man brought me to the Candala maiden, who received me gladly, and placed me in a cage, saying: 'I will take from thee all thy wilfulness.' What was I to do? Were I to pray her to release me, it was my power of speech that had made her desire me; were I silent, anger might make her cruel; (629) still, it was my want of self-restraint that had caused all my misery, and so I resolved to restrain all my senses, and I therefore kept entire silence and refused all food.

Next day, however, the maiden brought fruits and water, and when I did not touch them she said tenderly: 'It is unnatural for birds and beasts to refuse food when hungry. If thou, mindful of a former birth, makest distinction of what may or may not be eaten, yet thou art now born as an animal, and canst keep no such distinction. (630) There is no sin in acting in accordance with the state to which thy past deeds have brought thee. Nay, even for those who have a law concerning food, it is lawful, in a time of distress, to eat food not meet for them, in order to preserve life. Much more, then, for thee. Nor needst thou fear this food as coming from our caste; for fruit may be accepted even from us; and water, even from our vessels, is pure, so men say, when it falls on the ground.' I, wondering at her wisdom, partook of food, but still kept silence.

'After some time, when I had grown up, I woke one day to find myself in this golden cage, and beheld the Candala maiden as thou, O king, hast seen her. (631) The whole barbarian settlement shewed like a city of the G.o.ds, and before I could ask what it all meant, the maiden brought me to thy feet. But who she is and why she has become a Candala, and why I am bound or brought hither, I am as eager as thou, O king, to learn.'

Thereupon the king, in great amazement, sent for the maiden, and she, entering, overawed the king with her majesty, and said with dignity: 'Thou gem of earth, lord of Rohini, joy of Kadambari's eyes--thou, O moon, hast heard the story of thy past birth, and that of this foolish being. Thou knowest from him how even in this birth he disregarded his father's command, and set off to seek his bride. Now I am Lakshmi, his mother, and his father, seeing by divine insight that he had started, bade me keep him in safety till the religious rite for him was completed, and lead him to repentance. (632) The rite is now over. The end of the curse is at hand. I brought him to thee that thou mightest rejoice with him thereat. I became a Candala to avoid contact with mankind. Do ye both therefore, straightway leave bodies beset with the ills of birth, old age, pain, and death, and win the joy of union with your beloved.' So saying, she suddenly rose to the sky, followed by the gaze of all the people, while the firmament rang with her tinkling anklets. The king, at her words, remembered his former birth and said: 'Dear Pundarika, now called Vaicampayana, happy is it that the curse comes to an end at the same moment for us both'; but while he spoke, Love drew his bow, taking Kadambari as his best weapon, and entered into the king's heart to destroy his life. (635) The flame of love wholly consumed him, and from longing for Mahacveta, Vaicampayana, who was in truth Pundarika, endured the same sufferings as the king.

Now at this time there set in the fragrant season of spring, as if to burn him utterly, (636) and while it intoxicated all living beings, it was used by Love as his strongest shaft to bewilder the heart of Kadambari. On Kama's festival she pa.s.sed the day with great difficulty, and at twilight, when the quarters were growing dark, she bathed, worshipped Kama, and placed before him the body of Candrapida, washed, anointed with musk-scented sandal, and decked with flowers. (637) Filled with a deep longing, she drew nigh, as if unconsciously and suddenly, bereft by love of a woman's native timidity, she could no longer restrain herself, and clasped Candrapida's neck as though he were yet alive. At her ambrosial embrace the prince's life came back to him, and, clasping her closely, like one awakened from sleep (638), he gladdened her by saying: 'Timid one, away with fear! Thine embrace hath brought me to life; for thou art born of the Apsaras race sprung from nectar, and it was but the curse that prevented thy touch from reviving me before. I have now left the mortal shape of cudraka, that caused the pain of separation from thee; but this body I kept, because it won thy love. Now both this world and the moon are bound to thy feet. Vaicampayana, too, the beloved of thy friend Mahacveta, has been freed from the curse with me.' While the moon, hidden in the shape of Candrapida, thus spoke, Pundarika descended from the sky, pale, wearing still the row of pearls given by Mahacveta, and holding the hand of Kapinjala. (639) Gladly Kadambari hastened to tell Mahacveta of her lover's return, while Candrapida said: 'Dear Pundarika, though in an earlier birth thou wast my son-in-law, [353] thou must now be my friend, as in our last birth.' Meanwhile, Keyuraka set off to Hemakuta to tell Hamsa and Citraratha, and Madalekha fell at the feet of Tarapida, who was absorbed in prayer to civa, Vanquisher of Death, and Vilasavati, and told them the glad tidings. (640) Then the aged king came, leaning on cukanasa, with the queen and Manorama, and great was the joy of all. Kapinjala too brought a message to cukanasa from cvetakatu, saying: 'Pundarika was but brought up by me; but he is thy son, and loves thee; do thou therefore keep him from ill, and care for him as thine own. (641) I have placed in him my own life, and he will live as long as the moon; so that my desires are fulfilled. The divine spirit of life in me now yearns to reach a region surpa.s.sing the world of G.o.ds.' That night pa.s.sed in talk of their former birth; and next day the two Gandharva kings came with their queens, and the festivities were increased a thousandfold. Citraratha, however, said: 'Why, when we have palaces of our own, do we feast in the forest? Moreover, though marriage resting only on mutual love is lawful among us, [354] yet let us follow the custom of the world.' 'Nay,' replied Tarapida. 'Where a man hath known his greatest happiness, there is his home, even if it be the forest.1 (642) And where else have I known such joy as here? [355]

All my palaces, too, have been given over to thy son-in-law; take my son, therefore, with his bride, and taste the joys of home.' Then Citraratha went with Candrapida to Hemakuta, and offered him his whole kingdom with the hand of Kadambari. Hamsa did the same to Pundarika; but both refused to accept anything, for their longings were satisfied with winning the brides dear to their hearts.

Now, one day Kadambari, though her joy was complete, asked her husband with tears: 'How is it that when we all have died and come to life, and have been united with each other, Patralekha alone is not here, nor do we know what has become of her?' 'How could she be here, my beloved?' replied the prince tenderly. 'For she is my wife Rohini, and, when she heard I was cursed, grieving for my grief, she refused to leave me alone in the world of mortals, and though I sought to dissuade her, she accepted birth in that world even before me, that she might wait upon me. (643) When I entered on another birth, she again wished to descend to earth; but I sent her back to the world of the moon. There thou wilt again behold her.' But Kadambari, in wonder at Rohini's n.o.bility, tenderness, loftiness of soul, devotion, and charm, was abashed, and could not utter a word.

The ten nights that Candrapida spent at Hemakuta pa.s.sed as swiftly as one day; and then, dismissed by Citraratha and Madira, who were wholly content with him, he approached the feet of his father. There he bestowed on the chieftains who had shared his sufferings a condition like his own, and laying on Pundarika the burden of government, followed the steps of his parents, who had given up all earthly duties. Sometimes from love of his native land, he would dwell in Ujjayini, where the citizens gazed at him with wide, wondering eyes; sometimes, from respect to the Gandharva king, at Hemakuta, beautiful beyond compare; sometimes, from reverence to Rohini, in the world of the moon, where every place was charming from the coolness and fragrance of nectar; sometimes, from love to Pundarika, by the lake where Lakshmi dwelt, on which the lotuses ever blossomed night and day, and often, to please Kadambari, in many another fair spot.

With Kadambari he enjoyed many a pleasure, to which the yearning of two births gave an ever fresh [356] and inexhaustible delight. Nor did the Moon rejoice alone with Kadambari, nor she with Mahacveta, but Mahacveta with Pundarika, and Pundarika with the Moon, all spent an eternity of joy in each other's company, and reached the very pinnacle of happiness.

APPENDIX.