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163g (25). Conclusion of King Trivikramasena and the Mendicant^[1]

THEN King Trivikramasena came up to that mendicant 碍峁Ｄ乶迟颈艣墨濒补, carrying that corpse on his shoulder. And he saw that ascetic, alone at the foot of a tree, in the cemetery that was terrible with a night of the black fortnight, eagerly awaiting his arrival. He was in a circle made with the yellow powder of bones, the ground within which was smeared with blood, and which had pitchers full of blood placed in the direction of the cardinal points.^[2] It was richly illuminated with candles of human fat,^[3] and near it was a fire fed with oblations; it was full of all the necessary preparations for a sacrifice, and in it the ascetic was engaged in worshipping his favourite deity.

So the king went up to him, and the mendicant, seeing that he had brought the corpse, rose up delighted, and said, praising him:

鈥淕reat King, you have conferred on me a favour difficult to accomplish. To think that one like you should undertake this enterprise in such a place and at such a time! Indeed they say with truth that you are the best of all noble kings, being a man of unbending courage,^[4] since you forward the interests of another with such utter disregard of self. And wise men say that the greatness of great ones consists in this very thing, that they swerve not from what they have engaged to do, even though their lives are in danger.鈥�

With these words the mendicant, thinking he had gained his end, took the corpse down from the shoulder of that king. And he bathed it, and anointed it, and threw a garland round it, and placed it within that circle. And he smeared his limbs with ashes, and put on a sacrificial thread of hair, and clothed himself in the garments of the dead, and thus equipped he continued for a time in meditation. Then the mendicant summoned that mighty 痴别迟腻濒补 by the power of spells, and made him enter the corpse, and proceeded to worship him. He offered to him an argha^[5] of white human teeth in a skull by way of an argha vessel; and he presented to him flowers and fragrant unguents; and he gratified him with the savoury reek of human eyes,^[6] and made an offering to him of human flesh.

And when he had finished his worship, he said to the king, who was at his side:

鈥淜ing, fall on the ground, and do obeisance with all your eight limbs to this high sovereign of spells who has appeared here, in order that this bestower of boons may grant you the accomplishment of your heart鈥檚 desire.鈥�

When the king heard that, he called to mind the words of the 痴别迟腻濒补, and said to the mendicant:

鈥淚 do not know how to do it, reverend sir; do you show me first, and then I will do exactly as you.鈥�

Then the mendicant threw himself on the ground, to show the king what he was to do, and then the king cut off his head with a stroke of his sword. And he tore and dragged^[7] the lotus of his heart out of his inside, and offered his heart and head as two lotuses to that 痴别迟腻濒补.

Then the delighted hosts of goblins uttered shouts of applause on every side, and the 痴别迟腻濒补 said to the king from inside the corpse:

鈥淜ing, the sovereignty of the 痴颈诲测腻诲丑补谤补蝉, which this mendicant was aiming at, shall fall to your lot after you have finished the enjoyment of your earthly sway. Since I have given you much annoyance, choose whatever boon you desire.鈥�

When the 痴别迟腻濒补 said this, the king said to him:

鈥淪ince you are pleased with me, every boon that I could desire is obtained; nevertheless, as your words cannot be uttered in vain, I crave this boon of you: may these first twenty-four questions and answers, charming with their various tales, and this conclusion, the twenty-fifth of the series, be all famous and honoured on the earth!鈥�

When the king made this request to the 痴别迟腻濒补, the latter replied:

鈥淪o be it! And now listen, King; I am going to mention a peculiar excellence which it shall possess. This string of tales, consisting of the twenty-four first, and this final concluding tale, shall become, under the title of 鈥楾he Twenty-five Tales of a Vampire,鈥� famous and honoured on the earth, as conducing to prosperity! Whosoever shall read respectfully even a 艣濒辞办补 of it, or whosoever shall hear it read, even they two shall immediately be freed from their curse. And 驰补办峁�a蝉, and 痴别迟腻濒补s, and 碍耻峁�m腻峁囜笉补蝉, and witches, and 搁腻办峁�a蝉补蝉, and other creatures of the kind shall have no power where this shall be recited.鈥�

When the 痴别迟腻濒补 had said this, he left that human corpse, and went by his supernatural deluding power to the habitation he desired.

Then 艢颈惫补, being pleased, appeared, accompanied by all the gods, to that king, visibly manifest, and said to him, as he bowed before him:

鈥淏ravo, my son, for that thou hast to-day slain this hypocritical ascetic, who was so ardently in love with the imperial sovereignty over the 痴颈诲测腻诲丑补谤补蝉! I originally created thee out of a portion of myself, as 痴颈办谤补尘腻诲颈迟测补, in order that thou mightest destroy the Asuras, that had become incarnate in the form of Mlecchas. And now thou hast again been created by me as an heroic king of the name of Trivikramasena, in order that thou mightest overcome an audacious evildoer. So thou shalt bring under thy sway the earth with the islands and the realms below, and shalt soon become supreme ruler over the 痴颈诲测腻诲丑补谤补蝉. And after thou hast long enjoyed heavenly pleasures, thou shalt become melancholy, and shalt of thy own will abandon them, and shalt at last without fail be united with me. Now receive from me this sword named Invincible, by means of which thou shalt duly obtain all this.鈥�

When the god 艢颈惫补 had said this to the king, he gave him that splendid sword, and disappeared after he had been worshipped by him with devout speeches and flowers.

Then King Trivikramasena, seeing that the whole business was finished, and as the night had come to an end, entered his own city 笔谤补迟颈峁ａ弓丑腻苍补. There he was honoured by his rejoicing subjects, who in course of time came to hear of his exploits during the night, and he spent the whole of that day in bathing, giving gifts, in worshipping 艢颈惫补, in dancing, singing, music and other enjoyments of the kind. And in a few days that king, by the power of the sword of 艢颈惫补, came to enjoy the earth, that was cleared of all enemies, together with the islands and the lower regions; and then by the appointment of 艢颈惫补 he obtained the high imperial sovereignty over the 痴颈诲测腻诲丑补谤补蝉, and after enjoying it long, at last became united with the blessed one, so attaining all his ends.^[8]

 

163. Story of 惭峁沢腻峁卥补诲补迟迟补

When that minister 痴颈办谤补尘补办别艣补谤颈苍, meeting in the way the successful^[9] Prince 惭峁沢腻峁卥补诲补迟迟补, after he had been long separated from him by a curse, had told him all this, he went on to say to him:

鈥淪o, Prince, after that old Br膩hman had told me in that village this story, called 鈥楾he Twenty-five Tales of a Vampire,鈥� he went on to say to me:

鈥榃ell, my son, did not that heroic King Trivikramasena obtain from the favour of a 痴别迟腻濒补 the thing that he desired? So do you also receive from me this spell, and laying aside your state of despondency win over a chief among the 痴别迟腻濒补s, in order that you may obtain reunion with Prince M峁沢ankadatta. For nothing is unattainable by those who possess endurance: who, my son, will not fail, if he allows his endurance to break down? So do what I recommend you to do out of affection; for you kindly delivered me from the pain of the bite of a poisonous serpent.鈥�^[10]

When the Br膩hman said this, I received from him the spell with the practice to be employed with it, and then, King, I took leave of him, and went to 鲍箩箩补测颈苍墨. There I got hold of a corpse in the cemetery at night, and I washed it and performed all the necessary processes with regard to it, and I summoned a 痴别迟腻濒补 into it by means of that spell, and duly worshipped him.

And to satisfy his hunger, I gave him human flesh to eat; and being greedy for the flesh of men, he ate that up quickly, and then said to me:

鈥業 am not satisfied with this; give me some more.鈥�

And as he would not wait any time, I cut off my own flesh,^[11] and gave it to him to please him; and that made that prince of magicians exceedingly pleased with me.

Then he said to me:

鈥楳y friend, I am much pleased now with this intrepid valour of thine, so become whole in thy limbs as thou wast before, and crave from me whatever boon thou desirest.鈥�

When the 痴别迟腻濒补 said this to me, I answered him then and there:

鈥楥onvey me, god, to that place where my master 惭峁沢腻峁卥补诲补迟迟补 is; there is no other boon which I desire more than this.鈥�

Then the mighty 痴别迟腻濒补 said to me:

鈥楾hen quickly get up on my shoulder, that I may carry thee rapidly to that master of thine.鈥�

When the 痴别迟腻濒补 said this, I consented, and eagerly climbed up on his shoulder, and then the 痴别迟腻濒补, that was inside that human corpse, rapidly set out through the air, carrying me with him. And he has brought me here today, King; and when that mighty 痴别迟腻濒补 saw you on the way, he brought me down from the air, and thus I have been made to reach the sole of your foot. And I have to-day been reunited with my master, and the 痴别迟腻濒补 has departed, having accomplished what was required of him. This, O bestower of honour,^[12] is my great adventure, since I was separated from you by the curse of the 狈腻驳补.鈥�

When 惭峁沢腻峁卥补诲补迟迟补, as he was going to 鲍箩箩补测颈苍墨 to win his beloved, had heard, on the way, from his minister, 痴颈办谤补尘补办别艣补谤颈苍, this account of his adventures since he had been separated from him, that prince rejoiced, as he had in course of time found some of his ministers, who were separated from him by the curse of 笔腻谤腻惫补迟腻办峁�a, and as he augured therefrom success in all that he had in hand.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

See Appendix, p. 263.鈥攏.m.p.

[2]:

I read, with the MS. in the Sanskrit College, lipta for klipta, and 辫奴谤峁嘺 for 辫奴谤惫补.

[3]:

See Vol. III, pp. 150-154.鈥攏.m.p.

[4]:

The Sanskrit College MS. reads 苍颈峁�k补尘辫补峁�. But perhaps we ought to read 苍颈峁�k补尘辫补, 鈥淥 fearless one.鈥� Satyam must be used adverbially. 碍耻濒补产丑奴产丑峁泃腻尘 also means 鈥渙f great mountains.鈥�

[5]:

In the D, text 鈥渧ery pure human blood鈥� (sunirmalai岣� nararaktai岣�) is offered as an argha, an oblation to gods and venerable men, generally consisting of water, rice and 诲奴谤惫补 grass. 鈥攏.m.p.

[6]:

I read 苍别迟谤补颈艣别丑补 for netre cha, with the Sanskrit College MS.

[7]:

Perhaps 辫腻峁璱迟腻迟 would give a better sense.

[8]:

Here ends the 痴别迟腻濒补pa帽cavi峁兣沘ti, which began in Vol. VI, p. 165. 鈥擭.M.P.

[9]:

The Sanskrit College MS. reads sa k峁泃膩rtha峁�. -But surely 惭峁沢腻峁卥补诲补迟迟补 could hardly be described as 鈥渟uccessful鈥� before he had obtained 艢a艣膩峁卥avat墨. The difficulty, however, vanishes if instead of B.鈥檚 svak峁泃膩rtham nijag膩da r膩japutram we read prak峁泃膩rtha峁� nijag膩da r膩japutram with D. The translation then would be 鈥渟poke to the prince (again) of the present subject.鈥� See Speyer, op. cit., p. 138.鈥攏.m.p.

[10]:

The B. text is corrupt here. Read with the D. text tva峁� me bandhu岣� sarpada峁兣浤乺tihart膩, 鈥淚 hold you for my kinsman, since you have rescued me of the pain of a serpent鈥檚 bite.鈥� See Speyer, op. cit., p. 138.鈥攏.m.p.

[11]:

See Vol. I, pp. 84, 84n1, 85, and also Vol. VI, pp. 122, 122n2, 123n. To the references given in Vol. I, I would add F. Panzer, Beowulf, 1910, p. 191; and to those in Vol. VI, the tale of 鈥淟a Montagne Noire,鈥� 惭茅濒耻蝉颈苍别, vol. ii, p. 447. Here the hero rides on the back of a crow, to whom he has to give flesh as often as he says 鈥�couac.鈥� At last he has to give him flesh from his own thighs. The wounds are healed instantaneously by means of a 鈥�fiole de graisse鈥� which he carries with him. Cf. also No. 61 of Gonzenbach鈥檚 Sicilianiscke M盲rchen with Dr K枚hler鈥檚 notes.鈥攏.m.p.

[12]:

The Sanskrit College MS. reads kopita for 尘腻苍补诲补鈥�i.e. 鈥淪ince I was separated from you by the curse of the enraged 狈腻驳补.鈥�