The Katha Sarit Sagara/Chapter 6

by Somadeva

CHAPTER VI.

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Then that Mályaván wandering about in the wood in human form, passing under the name of Gunádhya, having served the king Sátaváhana, and having, in accordance with a vow, abandoned in his presence the use of Sanskrit and two other languages, with sorrowful mind came to pay a visit to Durgá, the dweller in the Vindhya hills; and by her orders he went and beheld Kánabhúti. Then he remembered his origin and suddenly, as it were, awoke from sleep; and making use of the Paiśácha language, which was different from the three languages he had sworn to forsake, he said to Kánabhúti, after telling him his own name; "Quickly tell me that tale which you heard from Pushpadanta, in order that you and I together, my friend, may escape from our curse." Hearing that, Kánabhúti bowed before him, and said to him in joyful mood, "I will tell you the story, but great curiosity possesses me, my lord, first tell me all your adventures from your birth, do me this favour." Thus being entreated by him, Gunádhya proceeded to relate as follows :

In Pratishthána*^[1] there is a city named Supratishthita; in it there dwelt once upon a time an excellent Bráhman named Somasárman, and he, my friend, had two sons Vatsa and Gulmaka, and he had also born to him a third child, a daughter named 'S'rutárthá. Now in course of time, that Bráhman and his wife died, and those two sons of his remained taking care of their sister. And she suddenly became pregnant. Then Vatsa and Gulma began to suspect one another, because no other man came in their sister's way: thereupon S'rutárthá, who saw what was in their minds, said to those brothers,— "Do not entertain evil suspicions, listen, I will tell you the truth; there is a prince of the name of Kirtisena, brother's son to Vásuki, the king of the Nágas; †^[2] he saw me when I was going to bathe, thereupon he was overcome with love, and after telling me his lineage and his name, made me his wife by the Gándharva marriage; he belongs to the Bráhman race, and it is by him that I am pregnant." When they heard this speech of their sister's, Vatsa and Gulma said, " What confidence can we repose in all this?" Then she silently called to mind that Nága prince, and immediately he was thought upon, he came and said to Vatsa and Gulma, "In truth I have made your sister my wife, she is a glorious heavenly nymph fallen down to earth in consequence of a curse, and you too have descended to earth for the same reason, but a son shall without fail be born to your sister here, and then you and she together shall be freed from your curse." Having said this he disappeared, and in a few days from that time, a son was born to Śrutárthá; know me my friend as that son.*^[3] At that very time a divine voice was heard from heaven, "This child that is born is an incarnation of virtue, and he shall be called Gunádya,†^[4] and is of the Bráhman caste. Thereupon my mother and uncles, as their curse had spent its force, died, and I for my part became inconsolable. Then I flung aside my grief, and though a child I went in the strength of my self-reliance to the Deccan to acquire knowledge. Then, having in course of time learned all sciences, and become famous, I returned to my native land to exhibit my accomplishments; and when I entered after a long absence into the city of Supratishthita, surrounded by my disciples, I saw a wonderfully splendid scene. In one place chanters were intoning according to prescribed custom the hymns of the Sáma Veda, in another place Bráhmans were disputing about the interpretation of the sacred books, in another place gamblers were praising gambling in these deceitful words, "Whoever knows the art of gambling, has a treasure in his grasp," and in another place, in the midst of a knot of merchants, who were talking to one another about their skill in the art of making money, a certain merchant spoke as follows:

Story of the Mouse-merchant:-It is not very wonderful that a thrifty man should acquire wealth by wealth; but I long ago achieved prosperity without any wealth to start with. My father died before I was born, and then my mother was deprived by wicked relations of all she possessed. Then she fled through fear of them, watching over the safety of her unborn child, and dwelt in the house of Kumáradatta a friend of my father's, and there the virtuous woman gave birth to me, who was destined to be the means of her future maintenance; and so she reared me up by performing menial drudgery. And as she was so poor, she persuaded a teacher by way of charity to give me some instruction in writing and ciphering. Then she said to me, "You are the son of a merchant, so you must now engage in trade, and there is a rich merchant in this country called Viśákhila; he is in the habit of lending capital to poor men of good family, go and entreat him to give you something to start with." Then I went to his house, and he at the moment I entered, said in a rage to some merchant's son; "You see this dead mouse here upon the floor, even that is a commodity by which a capable man would acquire wealth, but I gave you, you good-for-nothing fellow, many dínárs*^[5] and so far from increasing them, you have not even been able to preserve what you got." When I heard that, I suddenly said to that Viśákhila, " I hereby take from you that mouse as capital advanced;" saying this I took the mouse up in my hand, and wrote him a receipt for it, which he put in his strong box, and off I went. The merchant for his part burst out laughing. Well, I sold that mouse to a certain merchant as cat's-meat for two handfuls of gram, then I ground up that gram, and taking a pitcher of water, I went and stood on the cross-road in a shady place, outside the city; there I offered with the utmost civility the water and gram to a band of wood-cutters; †^[6] every wood-cutter gave me as a token of gratitude two pieces of wood; and I took those pieces of wood and sold them in the market; then for a small part of the price which I got for them, I bought a second supply of gram, and in the same way on a second day I obtained wood from the wood-cutters. Doing this every day I gradually acquired capital, and I bought from those wood-cutters all their wood for three days. Then suddenly there befell a dearth of wood on account of heavy rains, and I sold that wood for many hundred panas, with that wealth I set up a shop, and engaging in traffic, I have become a very wealthy man by my own ability. Then I made a mouse of gold, and gave it to that Viśákhila, then he gave me his daughter; and in consequence of my history I am known in the world by the name of Mouse. So without a coin in the world I acquired this prosperity. All the other merchants then, when they heard this story, were astonished. How can the mind help being amazed at pictures without walls ? ‡^[7]

Story of the chanter of the Sâma Veda:- In another place a Bráhman who had got eight gold máshas as a present, a chanter of the Sáma Veda, received the following piece of advice from a man who was a bit of a roué, " You get enough to live upon by your position as a Bráhman, so you ought now to employ this gold for the purpose of learning the way of the world in order that you may become a knowing fellow." The fool said " Who will teach me ?" Thereupon the roué said to him, "This lady §^[8] named Chaturiká, go to her house." The Bráhman said, "What am I to do there"? The roué replied "Give her gold, and in order to please her make use of some sáma."^[9] When he heard this, the chanter went quickly to the house of Chaturiká; when he entered, the lady advanced to meet him and he took a seat. Then that Bráhman gave her the gold and faltered out the request, "Teach me now for this fee the way of the world." Thereupon the people who were there began to titter, and he, after reflecting a little, putting his hands together in the shape of a cow's ear, so that they formed a kind of pipe, began, like a stupid idiot, to chant with a shrill sound the Sáma Veda, so that all the roués in the house came together to see the fun; and they said "Whence has this jackal blundered in here? Come, let us quickly give him the half-moon^[10] on his throat." Thereupon the Bráhman supposing that the half-moon meant an arrow with a head of that shape, and afraid of having his head cut off, rushed out of the house, bellowing out, "I have learnt the way of the world;" then he went to the man who had sent him, and told him the whole story. He replied "when I told you to use sama, I meant coaxing and wheedling; what is the propriety of introducing the Veda in a matter of this kind? The fact is, I suppose, that stupidity is engrained in a man who muddles his head with the Vedas?" So he spoke, bursting with laughter all the while, and went off to the lady's house, and said to her, "Give back to that two-legged cow his gold-fodder." So she laughing gave back the money, and when the Brahman got it, he went back to his house as happy as if he had been born again.

Witnessing strange scenes of this kind at every step, I reached the palace of the king which was like the court of Indra. And then I entered it, with my pupils going before to herald my arrival, and saw the king Satavahana sitting in his hall of audience upon a jewelled throne, surrounded by his ministers, S'arvavarman and his colleagues, as Indra is by the gods. After I had blessed him and had taken a seat, and had been honoured by the king, S'arvavarman and the other ministers praised me in the following words, "This man, O king, is famous upon the earth as skilled in all lore, and therefore his name Gunadhya^[11] is a true index of his nature." Satavahana hearing me praised in this style by his ministers, was pleased with me and immediately entertained me honourably, and appointed me to the office of Minister. Then I married a wife, and lived there comfortably, looking after the king's affairs and instructing my pupils. Once, as I was roaming about at leisure on the banks of the Godávari out of curiosity, I beheld a garden called Devikriti, and seeing that it was an exceedingly pleasant garden, like an earthly Nandana,*^[12] I asked the gardener how it came there, and he said to me, " My lord, according to the story which we hear from old people, long ago there came here a certain Bráhman who observed a vow of silence and abstained from food, he made this heavenly garden with a temple; then all the Bráhmans assembled here out of curiosity, and that Bráhman being persistently asked by them told his history. There is in this land a province called Vakakachchha on the banks of the Narmadá, in that district I was born as a Bráhman, and in former times no one gave me alms, as I was lazy as well as poor; then in a fit of annoyance I quitted my house being disgusted with life, and wandering round the holy places, I came to visit the shrine of Durgá the dweller in the Vindhya hills, and having beheld that goddess, I reflected, ' People propitiate with animal offerings this giver of boons, but I will slay myself here, stupid beast that I am.' Having formed this resolve, I took in hand a sword to cut off my head. Immediately that goddess being propitious, herself said to me, 'Son, thou art perfected, do not slay thy-self, remain near me;' thus I obtained a boon from the goddess and attained divine nature; from that day forth my hunger and thirst disappeared; then once on a time, as I was remaining there, that goddess herself said to me, ' Go, my son, and plant in Pratishthána a glorious garden;' thus speaking, she gave me, with her own hands, heavenly seed; thereupon I came here and made this beautiful garden by means of her power; and this garden you must keep in good order. Having said this, he disappeared. In this way this garden was made by the goddess long ago, my lord." When I had heard from the gardener this signal manifestation of the favour of the goddess, I went home penetrated with wonder.

The story of Sátaváhana:- When Gunádhya had said this, Kánabhúti asked, " Why, my lord, as the king called Sátaváhana ?" Then Gunádhya said, Listen, I will tell you the reason. There was a king of great power named Dvipikarni. He had a wife named Śaktimati, whom he valued more than life, and once upon a time a snake bit her as she was sleeping in the garden. Thereupon she died, and that king thinking only of her, though he had no son, took a vow of perpetual chastity. Then once upon a time the god of the moony crest said to him in a dream — " While wandering in the forest thou shalt behold a boy mounted on a lion, take him and go home, he shall he thy son." Then the king woke up, and rejoiced remembering that dream, and one day in his passion for the chase he went to a distant wood; there in the middle of the day that king beheld on the bank of a lotus-lake a boy splendid as the sun, riding on a lion; the lion desiring to drink water set down the boy, and then the king remembering his dream slew it with one arrow. The creature thereupon abandoned the form of a lion, and suddenly assumed the shape of a man; the king exclaimed, "Alas! what means this? tell me!" and then the man answered him -- "king, I am a Yaksha of the name of Sáta, an attendant upon the god of wealth; long ago I beheld the daughter of a Rishi bathing in the Ganges; she too, when she beheld me, felt love arise in her breast, like myself: then I made her my wife by the Gándharva form of marriage; and her relatives, finding it out, in their anger cursed me and her, saying, "You two wicked ones, doing what is right in your own eyes, shall become lions." The hermit-folk appointed that her curse should end when she gave birth to offspring, and that mine should continue longer, until I was slain by thee with an arrow. So we became a pair of lions; she in course of time became pregnant, and then died after this boy was born, but I brought him up on the milk of other lionesses, and lo ! to-day I am released from my curse having been smitten by thee with an arrow. Therefore receive this noble son which I give thee, for this thing was foretold long ago by those hermit-folk." Having said this that Guhyaka named Sáta disappeared,*^[13] and the king taking the boy went home; and because he had ridden upon Sáta he gave the boy the name of Sátaváhana, and in course of time he established him in his kingdom. Then, when that king Dvipikarni went to the forest, this Sátaváhana became sovereign of the whole earth.

Having said this in the middle of his tale in answer to Kánabhúti's question, the wise Gunádhya again called to mind and went on with the main thread of his narrative. Then once upon a time, in the spring festival that king Sátaváhana went to visit the garden made by the goddess, of which I spake before. He roamed there for a long time like Indra in the garden of Nandana, and descended into the water of the lake to amuse himself in company with his wives. There he sprinkled his beloved ones sportively with water flung by his hands, and was sprinkled by them in return like an elephant by its females. His wives with faces, the eyes of which were slightly reddened by the collyrium washed into them, and which were streaming with water, and with bodies the proportions of which were revealed by their clinging garments, pelted him vigorously; and as the wind strips the creepers in the forest of leaves and flowers, so he made his fair ones who fled into the adjoining shrubbery lose the marks on their foreheads †^[14] and their ornaments. Then one of his queens tardy with the weight of her breasts, with body tender as a śirisha flower, became exhausted with the amusement; she not being able to endure more, said to the king who was sprinkling her with water,——"do not pelt me with water-drops;" on hearing that, the king quickly had some sweet-meats*^[15] brought; then the queen burst out laughing and said again "king, what do we want with sweetmeats in the water? For I said to you, do not sprinkle me with water-drops. Do you not even understand the coalescence of the words má and udaka, and do you not know that chapter of the grammar, how can you be such a blockhead?" When the queen, who knew grammatical treatises, said this to him, and the attendants laughed, the king was at once overpowered with secret shame; he left off romping in the water and immediately entered his own palace unperceived, crestfallen, and full of self-contempt. Then he remained lost in thought, bewildered, averse to food and other enjoyments, and, like a picture, even when asked a question, he answered nothing. Thinking that his only resource was to acquire learning or die, he flung himself down on a couch, and remained in an agony of grief. Then all the king's attendants, seeing that he had suddenly fallen into such a state, were utterly beside themselves to think what it could mean. Then I and Śarvavarman came at last to hear of the king's condition, and by that time the day was almost at an end. So perceiving that the king was still in an unsatisfactory condition, we immediately summoned a servant of the king named Rájahansa. And he when asked by us about the state of the king's health, said this—"I never before in my life saw the king in such a state of depression: and the other queens told me with much indignation that he had been humiliated to-day by that superficial blue-stocking, the daughter of Vishnusakti." When S'arvavarman and I had heard this from the mouth of the king's servant, we fell into a state of despondency, and thus reflected in our dilemma; " If the king were afflicted with bodily di.~ we might introduce the physicians, but if his disease is mental it is impossible to find the cause of it. For there is no enemy in his country the thorns of which arc destroyed, and these subjects are attached to him; no dearth of any kind is to be seen ; so how can this sudden melancholy of the king's have arisen?" After we had debated to this effect, the wise S'arvavarman said as follows—"I know the cause, this king is discressed by sorrow for his own ignorance, for he is always expressing a desire for culture, saying 'I am a blockhead;' I long ago detected this desire of his, and we have heard that the occasion of the present fit is his having been humiliated by the queen." Thus we debated with one another and after we had passed that night, in the morning we went to the private apartments of the sovereign. There, though strict orders had been given that no one was to enter, I managed to get in with difficulty, and after me Śarvavarman slipped in quickly. I then sat down near the king and askedhim this question—— "Why, king, art thou without cause thus despondent?" Though he heard this, Sátaváhana nevertheless remained silent, and then Śarvavarman uttered this extraordinary speech, "King, thou didst long ago say to me, 'Make me a learned man.' Thinking upon that I employed last night a charm to produce a dream.*^[16] Then I saw in my dream a lotus fallen from heaven, and it was opened by some heavenly youth, and out of it came a divine woman in white garments, and immediately, O king, she entered thy mouth. When I had seen so much I woke up, and I think without doubt that the woman who visibly entered thy mouth was Sarasvatí. As soon as Śarvavarman had in these terms described his dream, the king broke his silence and said to me with the utmost earnestness,—— "In how short a time can a man, who is diligently taught, acquire learning? Tell me this. For without learning all this regal splendour has no charms for me. What is the use of rank and power to a blockhead? They are like ornaments on a log of wood." Then I said, "King, it is invariably the case that it takes men twelve years to learn grammar, the gate to all knowledge. But I, my sovereign, will teach it you in six years." When he heard that, Śarvavarman suddenly exclaimed in a fit of jealousy —— "How can a man accustomed to enjoyment endure hardship for so long? So I will teach you grammar, my prince, in six months." When I heard this promise which it seemed impossible to make good, I said to him in a rage, "If you teach the king in six months, I renounce at once and for ever Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the vernacular dialect, these three languages which pass current among men; †^[17] then Śarvavarman said —— "And if I do not do this, I Śarvavarman, will carry your shoes on my head for twelve years." Having said this he went out; I too went home; and the king for his part was comforted, expecting that he would attain his object by means of one of us two. Now Śarvavarman being in a dilemma, seeing that his promise was one very difficult to perform, and regretting what he had done, told the whole story to his wife, and she grieved to hear it said to him, "My lord, in this difficulty there is no way of escape for you except the favour of the Lord Kártikeya. ‡^[18] "It is so," said Śarvavarman and determined to implore it. Accord ingly in the last watch of the night, Śarvavarman set out fasting for the shrine of the god. Now I came to hear of it by means of my secret emissaries, and in the morning I told the king of it; and he, when he heard it, wondered what would happen. Then a trusty Rájpút called Sinhagupta said to him, "When I heard, king, that thou wast afflicted I was seized with great despondency. Then I went out of this city, and was preparing to cut off my own head before the goddess Durgá in order to ensure thy happiness. Then a voice from heaven forbade me, saying, 'Do not so, the king's wish shall be fulfilled.' Therefore, I believe, thou art sure of success." When he had said this, that Sinhagupta took leave of the king, and rapidly despatched two emissaries after Śarvavarman; who feeding only on air, observing a vow of silence, steadfast in resolution, reached at last the shrine of the Lord Kártikeya. There, pleased with his penance that spared not the body, Kártikeya favoured him according to his desire; then the two spies sent by Sinhagupta came into the king's presence and reported the minister's success. On hearing that news the king was delighted and I was despondent, as the chátaka joys, and the swan grieves, on seeing the cloud.*^[19] Then Śarvavarman arrived successful by the favour of Kártikeya, and communicated to the king all the sciences, which presented themselves to him on his thinking of them. And immediately they were revealed to the king Sátaváhana. For what cannot the grace of the Supreme Lord accomplish? Then the kingdom rejoiced on hearing that the king had thus obtained all knowledge, and there was high festival kept throughout it; and that moment banners were flaunted from every house, and being fanned by the wind, seemed to dance. Then Śarvavarman was honoured with abundance of jewels fit for a king by the sovereign, who bowed humbly before him, calling him his spiritual preceptor, and he was made governor of the territory called Vakakachchha, which lies along the bank of the Narmadá. The king being highly pleased with that Rájpút Sinhagupta, who first heard by the mouth of his spies, that the boon had been obtained from the six-faced god, †^[20] made him equal to himself in splendour and power. And that queen too, the daughter of Vishnuśakti, who was the cause of his acquiring learning, he exalted at one bound above all the queens, through affection anointing ‡^[21] her with his own hand.

1. * Pratishthána according to Wilson is celebrated as the capital of Śaliváhana. It is identifiable with Peytan on the Godávari. the Bathana or Paithana of Ptolemy, the capital of Siripolemaios. Wilson identifies this name with Śaliváhana, but Dr. Rost remarks that Lassen more correctly identifies it with that of Śri Pullmán of the Andhra dynasty who reigned at Pratishthána after the overthrow of the house of Salivahaná about 130 A. D.
2. † Fabulous serpent-demons having the head of a man with the tail of a serpent. (Monier Williams, i.e)
3. * It seems to me that team in Dr. Brockhaus' text must be a misprint for tam.
4. † I.e., rich in virtues, and good qualities.
5. * From the Greek Srivdptov = denarius. (Monier Williams . r.) Dramma = Or. Spax is used in the Panchatantra; see Dr. Buhler's Notes to Panchatantra, IV and V, Note on P. 40, 1. 3.
6. † Literally wood-carriers.
7. ‡ He had made money without capital, so his achievements are compared to pictures suspended in the air.
8. salpa
9. The vita or rout meant "conciliation" but the chanter of the Sama Veda took it to moan "hymn."
10. I.e., seize him with curved hand, and fling him out neck and crop. The precentor supposed them to mean a crescent-headed arrow.
11. I.e., rich in accomplishments.
12. * Indra'a pleasure-ground or Elysium.
13. * Guhyaka hero synonymous with Yaksha. The Guhyakas like tin.- Yakshas are attendants upon Kuvera the god of wealth.
14. † The tilaka a mark made upon the forehead or between the eyebrows with coloured earths, sandal-wood, &c., serving as an ornament or a sectarial distinction. Monier Williams s.v.
15. The negative particle ma coalesces with udakaih (the plural instrumental case of udaka) into modakaih, and madakaih (the single word) means "with sweetmeals."
16. * So explained by Bohtlingk and Roth s. v. op. Taranga 72 sl. 103.
17. † He afterwards learns to speak in the language of the Piśáchas, goblins, or ogres.
18. ‡ Called also Kumára. This was no doubt indicated by the Kumára or boy, who opened the lotus.
19. * The chátaka lives on rain-drops, but the poor swan has to take a long journey to the Mánasa lake beyond the snowy hills, at the approach of the rainy season.
20. † Kártikeya.
21. ‡ More literally sprinkling her with water.