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diff --git a/40402-0.txt b/40402-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..edba41e --- /dev/null +++ b/40402-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12256 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40402 *** + + SAGAS FROM THE FAR EAST; + Or, + Kalmouk and Mongolian + Traditionary Tales. + + With Historical Preface and Explanatory Notes. + + + By the Author of "Patrañas," "Household Stories from the Land of + Hofer," &c. + + + London: + Griffith and Farran, + Successors to Newbery and Harris, + Corner of St. Paul's Churchyard. + + MDCCCLXXIII. + + + + + + + "It singularly happens that the Sagas of the ancient Indians are + preserved to us in much fuller measure than their authentic + history, which is scanty enough. Moreover to them their Sagas + served as actual statements of facts, so that we can neither form + a right conception of their mind, nor arrive at any knowledge of + their history, without studying their Sagas." + + Lassen, "Pref. to Ind. Alterthumskunde," p. vii. + + + "The Mongol is candid and credulous as an infant, and + passionately loves to listen to marvellous myths and tales." + + Huc, "Travels in China and Tibet," vol. ii. ch. xii. + + + + + + +PREFACE. + + +The origin and migrations of myths have of late been the subject +of so much sifting and study, the elaborate results of which are +already before the world, that there is no need in this place +to offer more than a few condensed remarks in allusion to the +particular collections now, I believe, for the first time put into +English. Translations of some chapters of the "Adventures of the +Well-and-wise-walking Khan" have been made by Benj. Bergmann, Riga, +1804; by Golstunski, St. Petersburg, 1864; and by H. Osterley, +in 1867. Of "Ardschi-Bordschi," by Emil Schlaginweit; by Benfey, +in "Ausland," Nos. 34-36, and the whole of both by Professor Jülg, +1865-68; of these I have availed myself in preparing the following +pages; I know of no other translation into any European language +except one into Russ by Galsan Gombojew, published at S. Petersburg +in 1865-68 [1]. + +The first thirteen chapters of the "Well-and-wise-walking Khan" are a +Kalmouk (1) collection, all the rest Mongolian; and though traceable to +Indian sources, they yet have received an entire transformation in the +course of their adoption by their new country. In giving them another +new home, some further alterations, though of a different nature, have +been necessary. However much one may regret them such transformations +are inevitable. It seems a law of nature that history should to a +certain extent write itself. We know the age of a tree by its knots +and rings; and we trace the age of a building by its alterations and +repairs--and that equally well whether these be made in a style later +prevailing, utterly different from that of the original design, or in +the most careful imitation of the same; for the age of the workman's +hand cannot choose but write itself on whatever he chisels. + +It is just the same with these myths. They cannot remain as if +stereotyped from the first; the hand that passes them on must mould +them anew in the process. You might say, they have been already +altered enough during their wanderings, give them to us now at least +as the Mongolians left them. But it is not possible, most of them +are too coarse to meet an eye trained by Christianity and modern +cultivation. The habit of mind in which they are framed is in places +as foreign as the idiom in which they are written; I have, however, +made it an undeviating rule to let such alterations be as few and as +slight as the case admitted, and that they should go no farther than +was necessary to make them readable, or occasionally give them point. + +As I have said these stories have an 'Indian' source, it becomes +incumbent to spend a few lines on defining the use and reach of the +word [2]. + +The words >'Indoc and Indik`h occur for the first time among writers +of classical antiquity in the fragments that have come down to us +of the writings of Hecatæus, B.C. 500. Herodotus also uses the same; +from these they descended to us through the Romans. They both received +it through Persian means and used it in the most comprehensive sense, +though the Persian use of their equivalent at the time seems to have +been more limited. It is probable, however, that later the Persian +use became further extended; and through the Arabians, who also +adopted it from them, it became the Muhammedan designation of the +whole country. When they, in 713, conquered the country watered by +the lower course of the Indus, namely, Sinde, they confirmed the use +of this more extended application of the Persian word Hind, reserving +Sind, the local form of the same word--apparently without perceiving +it was the same--to this particular province. + +The later Persian designation is Hindustan--the country of the +Hindu--and this is generally adopted in India itself to denote the +whole country, though many Europeans have restricted it to the Northern +half, in contradistinction from the Dekhan, or country south of the +Vindha-range (2), often excluding even Bengal. + +The original native names are different. In the epic mythology occur, +Gambudvîpa, the island of the gambu-tree (Eugenia Jambolana), for +the central or known world of which India was part, and Sudarsana, +"of beautiful appearance," to denote both the tree and the "island" +named from it. The Buddhist cosmography uses Gampudvîpa for India +Proper. Within this the Brahmanical portion, lying to the south of +the Himâlajas, is designated as Bhârata or Bhâratavarsha. In the +great epic poem called the Mahâ Bhârata, the name is derived from +Bhârata, son of Dusjanta, the first known ruler of the country, and +several dynasties are called after him Bhâratides, though it is more +probable his name rather accrued to him from that of the country, +the word being derived from bhri, "to bring forth" or "nourish," +hence, "the fruitful," "life-nourishing" land. Bhârata is also called +(Rig-Ved. i. 96, 3) "the nourisher," sustentator. + +The native historical name is undoubtedly "Ârjâvata," the district of +the Ârja--"the venerable men"--or more literally, "worthy to be sought +after," keepers of the sacred laws, the people of honourable ancestry; +calling themselves so in contradistinction to the Mlêk'ha, barbarous +despisers of the sacred laws (Manu, i. 22; x. 45), also Ârja-bhûmi, +land of the Ârja. The Manu defines rigidly the original boundaries +of this sacred country; it lies between the Himâlaja and Vindhja +mountains, and stretches from the eastern to the western seas. Though +Ptolemy (Geog. vii. I) calls the people of the west coast, south of +the Vindhja, Âriaka, this was a later extension of the original term. + +What gives the word a great historical importance is the circumstance +which must not be passed over here, that the original native name of +the inhabitants of Iran was either the same or similarly derived. Airja +in Zend stood both for "honourable" and for the name of the Iranian, +people. Concerning the Medes we have the testimony of Herodotus +that they originally called themselves >'Arioi, and we owe him the +information also that the original Persian name was >Artaio`i, a word +which has the same root as Ârja, or at least can have no very different +meaning. They do not seem ever to have actually called themselves Ârja, +although the word existed in their ancient tongue with the sense of +"noble," "honourable." + +The earliest Indian Sagas speak of the Arja as already established in +Central India, and give no help to the discovery of when or how they +settled there. Like most other peoples of the old world, they believed +themselves aborigines, and they placed the Creation and the origin of +species in the very land where they found themselves living, nor do +their myths bear a trace of allusion to any earlier dwelling-place or +country outside their Bhâratavarsha (4). It is true, that the sanctity +they ascribe to the north country, and the mysterious allusions to the +sacred mountain-country of Meerû, the dwelling of the gods in the far, +far north, over the Himâlajas, is calculated to mislead for a moment +with the suggestion that they point to a possible immigration from +that north, but a closer observation shows that that very sacred regard +more probably arose from the very fact of its being an unknown country; +while the effect of the majestic and inaccessible heights, with their +glorious colouring and their peculiar natural productions, was enough +to suggest them the seat of a superior and divine race of beings. + +The fact that Sanskrit, the ancient tongue of the Aryan Indians, +is so closely allied to the languages of so many western nations, +establishes with certainty the identity of origin of these people, and +lays on us the burden of deciding whether the Aryan Indians migrated to +India as the allied peoples migrated to their countries from a common +aboriginal home, or whether that aboriginal home was India, and all the +allied peoples migrated from it, the Indians alone remaining at home. + +Reason points to the adoption of the former of these two solutions. In +the first place, it is altogether unlikely that in the case of a great +migration all should have migrated rigidly in one direction. It is +only natural to expect they should have poured themselves out every +way, and to look for the original home in a locality which should have +formed a central base of operations. The very feuds which would in many +cases lead to such outpourings would necessitate the striking out in +ever new directions. Then, there is nothing in the manners, ideas, +speech--in the names of articles of primary importance to support +life, in which at least we might expect to find such a trace--of the +other peoples to connect them in any way with India. Had they ever +been at home there, some remnants of local influence would have been +retained; but we find none. Besides this, we have, on the other hand, +very satisfactory evidence of at least the later journeyings of the +Indian family. Their warlike and conquering entrance into the Dekhan +and crossing of the Vindhja range is matter of positive history. Some +help for ascertaining their earlier route may be found in the necessity +established by the laws and limits of possibility. Encumbered with +flocks and herds, and unassisted by appliances of transport, we cannot +believe them to have traversed the steep peaks of the Himâlajas. The +road through eastern Caboolistan and the valley of the Pangkora, or +that leading from the Gilgit by way of Attok, or over the table-land +of Deotsu through Cashmere, are all known to us as most difficult +of access, and do not appear at any period to have been willingly +adopted. But the western passes of Hindukutsch, skirting round the +steep Himâlajas--the way trod by the armies of Alexander and other +warlike hosts, no less than by the more peaceful trains of merchants, +with whom it was doubtless traditional--affords a highly probable +line of march for the first great immigration. + +We are reminded here of the fact already alluded to, of the common +origin of the earliest name of both Indians and Persians, leading us to +suppose they long inhabited one country in common. For this supposition +we find further support in other similarities: e. g. between the older +Sanskrit of the Vêda and the oldest poems of the Iranian tongue; also +between the teaching, mythology, the sagas, and the spoken language +of the two peoples. On the other hand, we find also the most diverse +uses given to similar expressions, pointing to a period of absolute +separation between them, and at a remote date: e.g. the Indian word +for the Supreme Being is dêva; in Zend, daêva, as also dêv in modern +Persian, stands for the Evil Principle. Again, in Zend dagju means a +province (and its use implies orderly division of government and the +tranquil exercise of authority); but in the Brahmanical code dasju +is used for a turbulent horde, who set law and authority at defiance. + +Such transpositions seem the result of some fierce variance, leading +to division and hatred between peoples long united. + +Proceeding now to trace the original wandering farther on, we find +some help from Iranian traditions. The Zendavesta distinctly tells +of a so-called Aîrjanem Vaêgo as a sacred country, the seat of +creation, and place it in the farthest east of the highest Iranian +table-land, the district of the source of the Oxus and Jaxartes; by +the death-bringing Ahriman it was stricken with cold and barrenness +(3), and only saw the sun thenceforth for two months of the year. The +particularity with which it is described would point to the fact +that the locality treated of was a distant one, with which the race +had a traditional acquaintance; while at the same time it cannot be +adopted too precisely in every detail, because details may be altered +by a poetical imagination--merits may be exaggerated by regret for +absence, and defects magnified by vexation, or invented in proof of +the effects of a predicated curse. + +If we may conclude that we have rightly traced up the Indians and +Persians to a common home between the easternmost Iranian highlands +and the Caspian Sea, it follows from the linguistic analogies of +the so-called Indo-European peoples that this same home was also +theirs at a time when they were not yet broken up into distinct +families. This common local origin gives at once the reason for the +analogies in the grammatical structure of their languages, and no +less of their mythical traditions, which are far too widely spread, +and have entered too radically into the universal teaching of both, +to be supposed for a moment to have been borrowed by either from the +other within the historical period, or at all since their separation. + + + +It remains only to say a few words on the scope and object of the +work, and the profit that may be derived from its perusal. I know +there are many who think that mere amusement is profit enough to +expect from a tale, and that to look for the extraction of any more +serious result is tedious. But I will give my young readers--or at +least a large proportion of them--credit for possessing sufficient +love of improvement to prefer that class of amusement which furthers +their desire for information and edification. + +The collections of myths with which I have heretofore presented them +have all had either a Christian origin, or at least have passed through +a Christian mould, and have thus almost unconsciously subserved the +purpose of illustrating some phase of Christian teaching, which is +specially distinguished by keeping in view, not spasmodically and +arbitrarily, as in the best of other systems, but uniformly, in +its sublimest reach and in its humblest detail, the belief that an +eternal purpose and consequence pervades the whole length and breadth +of human existence. + +Whether the story of "Juanita the Bald" was originally drawn by a +Christian desirous of inculcating the sacred principles of the new +covenant, or adapted to the purpose by such an one from the myth +of OEdipus and Antigone; whether that of "St. Peter's Three Loaves" +was really a traditional incident of our Lord's wanderings on earth +too insignificant to find place in the pages of Holy Writ, or adapted +from the myth of Baucis and Philemon; or whether all were adaptations +according to the special convictions of various narrators of great +primeval traditions, mattered very little, as each had an intrinsic +purpose and an interest of its own quite distinct from that accruing +to it through ascertaining its place in the history of the world's +beliefs. In telling them, it needed not to point a moral, for the +moral--i.e. some more or less remote application of the sacred and +civilizing teaching of the Gospel--was of the very essence of each. + +With the Tales given in the following pages, however, it is quite +different. They come direct from the far East, and in most of them +nothing further has been aimed at than the amusement of the weary +hours of disoccupation, whether forced or voluntary, of a people +indisposed by climate, natural temperament, or want of cultivation +from finding recreation in the healthy exercise of mental effort. + +To me it seems that before we can take pleasure in giving our time to +the perusal of such stories, we must invest them with, or discover +in them some sort of purpose. Nor is this so far to seek, perhaps, +as might appear at first sight. + +Some, it must be observed, belong to the class which deals with the +deeds of heroes--fabling forth the grand all-time lesson of the +vigorous struggle of good with evil; the nobility of unflinching +self-sacrifice and of devotion to an exalted cause, setting the +model for the lowly sister of charity as much as for the victorious +leader of armies, and each all the while typical of Him who gave +Himself to be the servant of all, and the ransom of all. A German +writer rises so inspired from their study that he bursts forth into +this pæan:--"Eine Fülle der Göttergeschichte thut sich hier auf, und +nirgends lässt sich der eigenthümliche Naturcharacter in Fortbildung +des Mythus vollständiger erkennen, als an diesen Alterthümern. Götter +und vergötterte Menschen ragen hier, wie an den Wänden der Tempel +von Thebe hoch über das gewöhnliche Menschengestalt. Alles hat einen +riesenhaften Aufschwung zur himmlischen Welt [3]." Subsidiarily to +these conceptions of them, stories of this class have the further +merit of being one chief means of conveying the scanty data we possess +concerning the early history of the people of whose literature they +form part (5). + +Others again may be placed in a useful light by endeavouring to trace +in them the journeyings they have made in their transmigration. Benfey, +a modern German writer who has employed much time and study "in tracing +the Mährchen in their ever-varying forms," while pointing out as many +others have also done (6), that the great bulk of our household tales +have come to us from the East, and have been spread over Europe in +various ways, points out that this was done for the South in great +measure through the agency of the Turks; but for the North it was by +the Mongolians during their two centuries of ascendancy in Eastern +Europe; the Slaves received them from them, and communicated them to +the German peoples (7). + +If therefore you find some tales in one collection bearing a close +resemblance with those you have read in another, you should make it +a matter of interest to observe what is individual in the character +of each, and to trace the points both of diversity and analogy in +the mode of expression in which they are clothed, and which will be +found just as marked as the difference in costume of the respective +peoples who have told them each after their own fashion. + +All of them have at least the merit of being, in the main, pictures +of life, however overwrought with the fantastic or supernatural +element, not ideal embodiments of the perfect motives by which people +ought to be actuated, but genre pictures of the modes in which they +commonly do act. As such they cannot fail to contain the means of +edification, though we are left to look for and discover and apply it +for ourselves. To take one instance. The Christian hagiographer could +never have written of a hero he was celebrating, as we find it said of +Vikramâditja, that as part of his preparation for the battle of life +"while learning wisdom with the wise, and the use of arms from men of +valour," "of the robber bands he acquired the art of stealing, and of +fraudulent dealers, to lie." If he had been illustrating the actual +biography of a Christian hero, it is a detail which could not have +entered, and if drawing an ideal picture, it would have been entirely +at variance with the system he was illustrating. Circumstances like +this which fail to serve as subject for imitation, must be turned to +account in exercising the powers of judgment, as well in distinguishing +what to avoid from what to admire, as in taking note of these very +variances between Christian and the best non-christian morality. + + + +* * * The author feels bound to apologize for any inaccuracies +which may have crept into these pages owing to being abroad while +preparing them for the press. + + + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + THE SAGA OF THE WELL-AND-WISE-WALKING KHAN. + + Page + Dedication 1 + Tales + + I.--The Woman who sought her Husband in the Palace of + Erlik-Khan 10 + II.--The Gold-spitting Prince 17 + III.--How the Schimnu-Khan was slain 36 + IV.--The Pig's-head Soothsayer 54 + V.--How the Serpent-gods were propitiated 71 + VI.--The Turbulent Subject 82 + VII.--The White Bird and his Wife 89 + VIII.--How Ânanda the Woodcarver and Ânanda the Painter strove + together 97 + IX.--Five to One 105 + X.--The Biting Corpse 115 + XI.--The Prayer making suddenly Rich 120 + XII.--"Child-intellect" and "Bright-intellect" 130 + XIII.--The Fortunes of Shrikantha 135 + XIV.--The Avaricious Brother 146 + XV.--The Use of Magic Language 157 + XVI.--The Wife who loved Butter 165 + XVII.--The Simple Husband and the Prudent Wife 173 + XVIII.--How Shanggasba buried his Father 178 + XIX.--The Perfidious Friend 192 + XX.--Bhîxu Life 198 + XXI.--How the Widow saved her Son's Life 206 + XXII.--The White Serpent-king 213 + XXIII.--What became of the Red-coloured Dog 221 + Conclusion of the Adventures of the + Well-and-Wise-Walking Khan 229 + + + THE SAGA OF ARDSCHI-BORDSCHI AND VIKRAMÂDITJA'S THRONE. + + Historical Notice of Vikramâditja 230 + The Boy-King 252 + The False Friend 253 + The Pretended Son 257 + Ardschi-Bordschi discovers Vikramâditja's Throne 262 + The Sûta tells Ardschi-Bordschi concerning Vikramâditja's Birth 266 + The Sûta tells Ardschi-Bordschi concerning Vikramâditja's Youth 273 + Schalû the Wolf-boy 277 + Vikramâditja and Schalû conquer the Schimnus 284 + The Sûta tells Ardschi-Bordschi concerning Vikramâditja's Deeds 291 + Vikramâditja acquires another Kingdom ib. + Vikramâditja makes the Silent speak 294 + Who invented Woman? 298 + The Voice-charmer 304 + The Sûta tells Ardschi-Bordschi concerning the Seventy-one + Parrots and their Adviser 309 + How Naran Gerel swore falsely and yet told the Truth 315 + + + Notes 325 + + + + + + +THE SAGA OF THE WELL-AND-WISE-WALKING KHAN. + + +DEDICATION. + + +O thou most perfect Master and Teacher of Wisdom and Goodness! Teacher, +second only to the incomparable Shâkjamuni (1)! Thou accomplished +Nâgârg'una (2)! Thou who wast intimately acquainted with the Most-pure +Tripîtaka (3), and didst evolve from it thy wise madhjamika (4), +containing the excellent paramârtha (5)! Before thee I prostrate +myself! Hail! Nâgârg'una O! + + + +It is even the wonderful and astounding history of the deeds of the +Well-and-wise-walking Khan, which he performed under the help and +direction of this same Master and Teacher, Nâgârg'una, that I propose +to relate in the form of the following series of narratives. + +In the kingdom of Magadha (6) there once lived seven brothers who +were magicians. At the distance of a mile from their abode lived +two brothers, sons of a Khan. The elder of these went to the seven +magicians, saying, "Teach me to understand your art," and abode with +them seven years. But though they were always setting him to learn +difficult tasks, yet they never taught him the true key to their mystic +knowledge. His brother, however, coming to visit him one day, by merely +looking through a crack in the door of the apartment where the seven +brothers were at work acquired perfectly the whole krijâvidja (7). + +After this they both went home together, the elder because he +perceived he would never learn any thing of the magicians, and the +younger because he had learnt every thing they had to impart. + +As they went along the younger brother said, "Now that we know +all their art the seven magicians will probably seek to do us some +mischief. Go thou, therefore, to our stable, which we left empty, and +thou shalt find there a splendid steed. Put a rein on him and lead +him forth to sell him, only take care thou go not in the direction +of the dwelling of the seven magicians; and, having sold him, bring +back the price thou shalt have received." + +When he had made an end of speaking he transformed himself into a +horse, and went and placed himself in the stable against his brother +arrived. + +But the elder brother, knowing the magicians had taught him nothing, +stood in no fear of them. Therefore he did not according to the +words of his brother; but saying within himself, "As my brother is +so clever that he could conjure this fine horse into the stable, let +him conjure thither another if he wants it sold. This one I will ride +myself." Accordingly he saddled and mounted the horse. All his efforts +to guide him were vain, however, and in spite of his best endeavours +the horse, impelled by the power of the magic of them from whom the +art had been learnt, carried him straight to the door of the magicians' +dwelling. Once there he was equally unable to induce him to stir away; +the horse persistently stood still before the magicians' door. When +he found he could not in any way command the horse, he determined to +sell it to these same magicians, and he offered it to them, asking +a great price for it. + +The magicians at once recognized that it was a magic horse, and they +said, among themselves, "If our art is to become thus common, and +every body can produce a magic horse, no one will come to our market +for wonders. We had best buy the horse up and destroy it." Accordingly +they paid the high price required and took possession of the horse +and shut it up in a dark stall. When the time came to slaughter it, +one held it down by the tail, another by the head, other four by the +four legs, so that it should in nowise break away, while the seventh +bared his arm ready to strike it with death. + +When the Khan's son, who was transformed into the horse, had learnt +what was the intention of the magicians, he said, "Would that any sort +of a living being would appear into which I might transform myself." + +Hardly had he formed the wish when a little fish was seen swimming down +the stream: into this the Khan transformed himself. The seven magicians +knew what had occurred, and immediately transformed themselves into +seven larger fish and pursued it. When they were very close to the +little fish, with their gullets wide open, the Khan said, within +himself, "Would that any sort of living being would appear into +which I might transform myself." Immediately a dove was seen flying +in the heavens, and the Khan transformed himself into the dove. The +seven magicians, seeing what was done, transformed themselves into +seven hawks, pursuing the dove over hill and dale. Once again they +were near overtaking him, when the dove took refuge in the Land Bede +(8). Southward in Bede was a shining mountain and a cave within it +called "Giver of Rest." Hither the dove took refuge, even in the very +bosom of the Great Master and Teacher, Nâgârg'una. + +The seven hawks came thither also, fast flying behind the dove; but, +arrived at the entrance of Nâgârg'una's cave, they showed themselves +once more as men, clothed in cotton garments. + +Then spoke the great Master and Teacher, Nâgârg'una, "Wherefore, +O dove, flutterest thou so full of terror, and what are these seven +hawks to thee?" + +So the Khan's son told the Master all that had happened between +himself, his brother, and the seven magicians; and he added these +words, "Even now there stand before the entrance of this cave seven +men clothed in cotton garments. These men will come in unto the Master +and pray for the boon of the ârâmela he holds in his hand. Meantime, +I will transform myself into the large bead of the ârâmela, and when +the Master would reach the chaplet to the seven men, I pray him that, +putting one end of it in his mouth, he bite in twain the string of +the same, whereby all the beads shall be set free." + +The Master benevolently did even as he had been prayed. Moreover, +when all the beads fell showering on the ground, behold they were +all turned into little worms, and the seven men clothed in cotton +garments transformed themselves into seven fowls, who pecked up the +worms. But when the Master dropped the large bead out of his mouth on +to the ground it was transformed into the form of a man having a staff +in his hand. With this staff the Khan's son killed the seven fowls, +but the moment they were dead they bore the forms of men's corpses. + +Then spoke the Master. "This is evil of thee. Behold, while I gave +thee protection for thy one life, thou hast taken the lives of these +men, even of these seven. In this hast thou done evil." + +But the Khan's son answered, "To protect my life there was no +other means save to take the life of these seven, who had vowed to +kill me. Nevertheless, to testify my thanks to the Master for his +protection, and to take this sin from off my head, behold I am ready +to devote myself to whatever painful and difficult enterprise the +Master will be pleased to lay upon me." + +"Then," said the Master, "if this is so, betake thyself to the cool +grove, even to the cîtavana (9), where is the Siddhî-kür (10). From +his waist upwards he is of gold, from his waist downwards of emerald; +his head is of mother-of-pearl, decked with a shining crown. Thus +is he made. Him if thou bring unto me from his Mango-tree (11), thou +shalt have testified thy gratitude for my protection and shalt have +taken this sin that thou hast committed from off thy head; for so +shall I be able, when I have the Siddhî-kür in subjection under me, +to bring forth gold in abundance, to give lives of a thousand years' +duration to the men of Gambudvîpa (12), and to perform all manner of +wonderful works." + +"Behold, I am ready to do even as according to thy word," answered +the Khan's son. "Tell me only the way I have to take and the manner +and device whereby I must proceed." + +Then spoke the great Master and Teacher, Nâgârg'una, again, saying,-- + +"When thou shalt have wandered forth hence for the distance of about +an hundred miles, thou shalt come to a dark and fearsome ravine where +lie the bodies of the giant-dead. At thy approach they shall all rise +up and surround thee. But thou call out to them, 'Ye giant-dead, +hala hala svâhâ (13)!' scattering abroad at the same time these +barley-corns, consecrated by the power of magic art, and pass on thy +way without fear. + +About another hundred miles' space farther hence thou shalt come +to a smooth mead by the side of a river where lie the bodies of +the pigmy-dead. At thy approach they shall all rise up and surround +thee. But thou cry out to them, 'Ye pigmy-dead, hulu hulu svâhâ!' and, +strewing thine offering of barley-corns, again pass on thy way +without fear. + +At a hundred miles' space farther along thou shalt come to a garden +of flowers having a grove of trees and a fountain in the midst; here +lie the bodies of the child-dead. At thy approach they shall rise +up and running together surround thee. But thou cry out to them, 'Ye +child-dead, rira phad!' and, strewing thine offering of barley-corns, +again pass on thy way without fear. + +Out of the midst of these the Siddhî-kür will rise and will run away +from before thee till he reaches his mango-tree, climbing up to the +summit thereof. Then thou swing on high the axe which I will give thee, +even the axe White Moon (14), and make as though thou wouldst hew +down the tree in very truth. Rather than let thee hew the mango-tree +he will come down. Then seize him and bind him in this sack of many +colours, in which is place for to stow away an hundred, enclose the +mouth thereof tight with this cord, twisted of an hundred threads of +different colours, make thy meal off this cake which never grows less, +place the sack upon thy shoulder, and bring him hither to me. Only +beware that by the way thou open not thy lips to speak! + +"And now, hitherto hast thou been called the Khan's son, but now, +since thou hast found thy way even to the cave 'Giver of Rest,' thou +shalt be called no more the Khan's son, but 'the Well-and-wise-walking +Khan.' Go now thy way." + +When the Master, Nâgârg'una, had given him this new name, he further +provided him with all the provisions for the undertaking which he +had promised him, and, pointing out the way, dismissed him in peace. + +When the Well-and-wise-walking Khan had overcome all the alarms and +difficulties of the way, and come in sight of the Siddhî-kür, he set +out swiftly to pursue him; but the Siddhî-kür was swifter than he, +and, reaching the mango-tree, clambered up to the summit. Then said +the Well-and-wise-walking Khan, "Behold, I come in the name of the +great Master and Teacher, Nâgârg'una. My axe is the axe 'White Moon,' +my provision for the journey is the cake which never diminishes, +my prison is the sack of many colours, in which is place to stow +away an hundred, my cord is the cord twisted of an hundred threads of +different colours, I myself am called the Well-and-wise-walking Khan; +I command thee, therefore, Siddhî-kür, that thou come down hither to +me, otherwise with my axe 'White Moon' will I fell the mango-tree." + +At these words the Siddhî-kür cried, in answer, "Fell not the +mango-tree. Rather will I come down to thee." With that he came +down, and the Khan, taking him, put him in his sack of many colours, +in which was place to stow away an hundred, then he made the mouth +fast with the cord twisted of an hundred threads of various colours, +made his meal off his cake which never diminished, and proceeded on +his way to take him to the great Master and Teacher, Nâgârg'una. + +As they journeyed on thus day after day, and had grown weary, thus +spoke the Siddhî-kür, "Long is the journey, and both of us are weary, +tell thou now a story to enliven it." + +But, remembering the words of Nâgârg'una, "Beware thou open not thy +lips to speak," he answered him never a word. + +Then said the Siddhî-kür again, "If thou wilt not tell a story to +lighten the journey, at least listen to one from me, and to this +thou canst give assent without opening thy lips, if only thou nod +thy head backwards towards me. At this sign I will tell a tale." So +the Well-and-wise-walking Khan nodded his head backwards towards the +Siddhî-kür, and the Siddhî-kür told this tale:-- + + + + + + +TALE I. + +THE WOMAN WHO SOUGHT HER HUSBAND IN THE PALACE OF ERLIK KHAN. + + +Long ages ago there reigned a young Khan whose father had died early +and left him in possession of the kingdom. He was a youth comely to +look upon, and dazzling in the glory of his might. To him had been +given for his chief wife the daughter of a Khan of the South. But the +young Khan loved not this wife. At a mile's distance from his palace +there lived in her father's house a well-grown, beautiful maiden, of +whom he had made his second wife; as she was not a Khan's daughter +he feared to take her home to his palace, lest he should displease +his mother, but he came often to visit her, and as they loved each +other very much, she asked no more. + +One night, when the moon was brightly shining, some one knocked at +the window, the maiden knew it was the Khan's manner of knocking, +so she opened to him,--but with trembling, for he had never been wont +to come at that hour; yet by the light of the moonbeam she saw that +it was indeed himself, only instead of his usual garments, he was +habited in shining apparel, which she could hardly look upon for its +brightness, and he, himself, too, looked more exceeding beautiful +than usual. When he had partaken of her rice-brandy and cakes, +he rose and stood upon the doorstep, saying, "Come, sweet wife, +come out together with me;" and when she had gone a little way with +him, he said, "Come, sweet wife, come a little farther with me." And +when she had gone a little farther with him, he said again, "Come, +sweet wife, come yet a little farther." So she went yet a little +farther till they had reached nearly to the gates of the palace, and +from within the courts of the palace there came a noise of shouting +and playing on instruments. Then inquired she, "To what end is this +shouting and this music?" And he replied, "It is the noise of the +sacrifice for the rites of the burial of the Khan (1)." "And why +do they celebrate the rites of the burial of the Khan?" she asked, +now beginning to fear in earnest. "Because I am dead, sweet wife, and +am even now on my way to the deva's kingdom. But thou listen to me, +and do according to my word, and all shall be well for thee and for +our son. Behold, even now, within the palace, my mother and my chief +wife strive together concerning a jewel which is lost. But I have +purposely hid the jewel under a god's image in the apartment. Thou, +therefore, pass the night in this elephant-stable of the palace +hard by, and there shall our son be born; and in the morning, the +elephant-tamers finding thee shall bring thee to my mother and my +chief wife. But thou, take the jewel and give it to the chief wife +and send her away to her own people. Then shall my mother have joy +in thee alone and in the child, and you two together shall direct +the Government till he be come to man's estate." Thus spoke the Khan. + +While he spoke these words, the wife was so stricken with fear and +grief that she fell to the ground senseless, nor knew that he bore +her into the elephant-stable, and went up to the deva's kingdom. + +In the night their son was born; and in the morning, the +elephant-tamers coming in, said, "Here is a woman and a babe lying +in the elephant-stable; this must not be, who knows but that it +might bring evil to the elephants (2)?" so they raised her up, +with her infant, and took her to the Khan's mother. Then she told +the Khan's mother all that had befallen her, and as the jewel was +found in the place the Khan had told her, it was taken for proof +of her truth. Accordingly, the jewel was given to the chief wife, +and she was dismissed to her own people; and as the Khan had left no +other child, the boy born in the elephant-stable was declared heir, +and his mother and the Khan's mother directed the Government together +till he should come to man's estate. + +Thus the lowly maiden was established in the palace as the Khan +had promised. Moreover, every month, on the fifteenth of the month, +the Khan came in the night to visit her, disappearing again with the +morning light. When she told this to the Khan's mother, she would not +believe her, because he was invisible to all eyes but hers. And when +she protested that she spoke only words of truth, the Khan's mother +said, "If it be very truth, then obtain of him that his mother may +see him also." + +On the fifteenth of the month, when he came again, she said therefore +to him, "That thou shouldst come thus to see me every month, on the +fifteenth of the month, is good; but that thou shouldst go away and +leave me all alone again, this is sad, very sad. Why canst thou not +come back and stay with us altogether, without going away any more?" + +And he made answer: "Of a truth there would be one way, but it is +difficult and terrible, and it is not given to woman to endure so +much fear and pain." + +But she replied, "If there were but any means to have thee back, +always by my side, I would find strength to endure any terror or pain, +even to the tearing out of the bones from the midst of my flesh." + +"This is the means that must be taken then," said the Khan: "Next +month, on the fifteenth of the month, thou must rise when the moon's +light is at the full, and go forth abroad a mile's distance towards +the regions of the South. There shalt thou meet with an ancient man of +iron, standing on the watch, who, when he shall have drank much molten +metal, shall yet cry, 'Yet am I thirsty.' To him give rice-brandy and +pass on. Farther on thou shalt find two he-goats fighting together +mightily, to them give barm-cakes to eat and pass on. Farther along +thou shalt find a band of armed men who shall bar thy way; to them +distribute meat and pass on. Farther on thou shalt come to a frightful +massive black building round which runs a moat filled with human +blood, and from its portal waves a man's skin for a banner. At its +door stand on guard two terrible erliks (3), servants of Erlik Khan +(4); to each, offer an offering of blood and pass within the building. + +"In the very midst of the building thou shalt find a Mandala (5) +formed by eight awful sorcerers, and at the feet of each will lie +a heart which will cry to thee, 'Take me! take me!' In the midst of +all will be a ninth heart which must cry 'Take me not!' + +"If thou fortified by thy love shall be neither rendered afraid by +the aspect of the place, nor terrified by the might of the sorcerers, +nor confounded by the wailing of the voices, but shalt take up and +bear away that ninth heart, neither looking backwards nor tarrying +by the way, then shall it be granted us to live for evermore on +earth together." + +Thus he spoke; and the morning light breaking, she saw him no +more. The wife, however, laid up all his words in her heart; and on +the fifteenth of the next month, when the moon shone, she went forth +all alone without seeking help or counsel from any one, content to +rely on her husband's words. Nor letting her heart be cast down by +fear or pain, she distributed to each of those she met by the way +the portion he had appointed. At last she reached the Mandala of +sorcerers, and, regardless of the conflicting cries by which she +was assailed, boldly carried off the ninth heart, though it said, +"Take me not!" No sooner had she turned back with her prize than the +eight sorcerers ran calling after her, "A thief has been in here, +and has stolen the heart! Guards! Up, and seize her!" But the Erliks +before the door answered, "Us she propitiated with a blood-offering; +we arrest her not. See you to it." So the word was passed on to the +company of armed men who had barred her passage; but they answered, +"Us hath she propitiated with a meat-offering; we arrest her not. See +you to it." Then the word was passed on to the two he-goats. But the +he-goats answered, "Us hath she propitiated with a barm-cake-offering; +we arrest her not. See you to it." Finally, the word was passed on +to the ancient man of iron; but he answered, "Me hath she propitiated +with a brandy-offering; I arrest her not." + +Thus with fearless tread she continued all the way to the palace. On +opening the door of his apartment, the Khan himself came forward to +meet her in his beauty and might, and in tenfold glory, never to go +away from her again any more, and they fell into each other's arms +in a loving embrace. + + + +"Scarcely could a man have held out as bravely as did this +woman!" exclaimed the Khan. + +And as he uttered these words, the Siddhî-kür replied, "Forgetting his +health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened his lips." And with +the cry "To escape out of this world is good!" he sped him through +the air, swift, out of sight. + + + +Of the Adventures of the Well-and-wise-walking Khan the first chapter, +concerning the Woman who brought back her Husband from the palace +of Erlik-Khan. + + + + + + +TALE II. + + +When the Well-and-wise-walking Khan found that he had missed the end +and object of his journey, he forthwith set out again, without loss of +time, or so much as returning to his Master and Teacher, Nâgârg'una, +but taking only a meal of his cake which never diminished; thus, +with similar toils and fears as the first time, he came again at +last to the cool grove where lay the child-dead, and among them the +Siddhî-kür. And the Siddhî-kür rose up before him, and clambered up +the mango-tree. And when the Well-and-wise-walking Khan had summoned +him with proud sounding words to come down, threatening that otherwise +he would hew down the tree with his axe "White Moon," the Siddhî-kür +came down, rather than that he should destroy the mango-tree. Then +he bound him again in his bag of many colours, in which was place +to stow away an hundred, and bound the mouth thereof with the cord +woven of an hundred threads of different tints, and bore him along +to offer to his Master and Teacher, Nâgârg'una. + +But at the end of many days' journey, the Siddhî-kür said,-- + +"Now, in truth, is the length of this journey like to weary us even to +death, as we go along thus without speaking. Wherefore, O Prince! let +me entreat thee beguile the way by telling a tale." + +But the Well-and-wise-walking Khan, remembering the words of his +Master and Teacher Nâgârg'una, which he spoke, saying, "See thou open +not thy lips to speak by the way," remained silent, and answered him +never a word. Then the Siddhî-kür, when he found that he could not be +brought to answer him, spake again in this wise: "If thou wilt not +tell a tale, then, at least, give some token by which I may know if +thou willest that I should tell one, and if thou speak not, at least +nod thine head backwards towards me; then will I tell a tale." + +So the Well-and-wise-walking Khan nodded his head backwards towards +the Siddhî-kür, and the Siddhî-kür told this tale, saying,-- + + + +THE GOLD-SPITTING PRINCE. + +Long ages ago there was a far-off country where a mighty Khan +ruled. Near the source of the chief river of this country was a pool, +where lived two Serpent-gods (1), who had command of the water; and +as they could shut off the water of the river when they pleased, and +prevent it from overflowing and fertilizing the country, the people +were obliged to obey their behest, be it what it might. Now, the +tribute they exacted of the country was that of a full grown man, to +be chosen by lot, every year; and on whoso the lot fell, he had to go, +without redemption, whatever his condition in life. Thus it happened +one year that the lot fell on the Khan himself. In all the kingdom +there was no one of equal rank who could be received instead of him, +unless it had been his only son. When his son would have gone in his +stead, he answered him, "What is it to me if the Serpents devour +me, so that thou, my son, reignest in peace?" But the son said, +"Never shall it be that thou, my Khan and father, shouldst suffer +this cruel death, while I remain at home. The thought be far from +me. Neither will the land receive harm by my death; is not my mother +yet alive? and other sons may be born to thee, who shall reign over +the land." So he went to offer himself as food to the Serpent-gods. + +As he went along, the people followed him for a long stretch of the +way, bewailing him; and then they turned them back. But one there +was who turned not back: it was a poor man's son whom the Prince had +all his life had for his friend; he continued following him. Then the +Prince turned and said to him, "Walk thou according to the counsels of +thy father and thy mother, and be prosperous and happy on the earth. To +defend this noble, princely country, and to fulfil the royal word of +the Khan, my father, I go forth to be food to the Serpent-gods." + +But the poor man's son refused to forsake him. "Thou hast loaded +me with goodness and favours," he said, as he wept; "if I may not +go instead of thee, at least I will go with thee." And he continued +following the Prince. + +When they got near the pool, they heard a low, rumbling, horrible +sound: it was the two Serpent-gods talking together, and talking about +them, for they were on the look-out to see who would be sent to them +this year for the tribute. The old gold-yellow Serpent was telling +the young emerald-green Serpent how the Prince had come instead of +his father, and how the poor man, who had no need to come at all, +had insisted on accompanying him. + +"And these people are so devoted in giving their lives for one +another," said the young emerald-green Serpent, "and have not the +courage to come out and fight us, and make an end of paying this +tribute at all." + +"They don't know the one only way to fight us," answered the +gold-yellow old Serpent; "and as all the modes they have tried have +always failed, they imagine it cannot be done, and they try no more." + +"And what is the one only way by which they could prevail against +us?" inquired the young emerald-green Serpent. + +"They have only to cut off our heads with a blow of a stout +staff," replied the old gold-yellow Serpent, "for so has Shêsa, +the Serpent-dæmon, appointed." + +"But these men carry shining swords that look sharp and fearful," +urged the young emerald-green Serpent. + +"That is it!" rejoined the other: "their swords avail nothing against +us, and so they never think that a mere staff should kill us. Also, +if after cutting off our heads they were to eat them, they would be +able to spit as much gold and precious stones as ever they liked. But +they know nothing of all this," chuckled the old gold-yellow Serpent. + +Meantime, the Prince had not lost a word of all that the two Serpents +had said to each other, for his mother had taught him the speech +of all manner of creatures. So when he first heard the noise of the +Serpents talking together, he had stood still, and listened to their +words. Now, therefore, he told it all again to his follower, and they +cut two stout staves in the wood, and then drew near, and cut off the +heads of the Serpents with the staves--each of them one; and when +they had cut them off, the Prince ate the head of the gold-yellow +Serpent, and, see! he could spit out as much gold money as ever he +liked; and his follower ate the head of the emerald-green Serpent, +and he could spit out emeralds as many as ever he pleased. + +Then spoke the poor man's son: "Now that we have killed the Serpents, +and restored the due course of the water to our native country, +let us return home and live at peace." + +But the Khan's son answered, "Not so, for if we went back to our own +land, the people would only mock us, saying, 'The dead return not to +the living!' and we should find no place among them. It is better we +betake ourselves to another country afar off, which knows us not." + +So they journeyed on through a mountain pass. + +At the foot of the mountains they came to the habitation of a beautiful +woman and her daughter, selling strong drink to travellers. Here they +stopped, and would have refreshed themselves, but the women asked +them what means they had to pay them withal, for they saw they looked +soiled with travel. "We will pay whatever you desire," replied the +Prince; and he began to spit out gold coin upon the table. When the +women saw that he spat out as much gold coin as ever he would, they +took them inside, and gave them as much drink as they could take, +making them pay in gold, and at many times the worth of the drink, +for they no longer knew what they did; only when they had made them +quite intoxicated, and they could not get any thing more from them, +in despite of all sense of gratitude or hospitality, they turned them +out to pass the night on the road. + +When they woke in the morning, they journeyed farther till they came +to a broad river; on its banks was a palm-grove, and a band of boys +were gathered together under it quarrelling. + +"Boys! what are you disputing about?" inquired the Prince. + +"We found a cap on this palm-tree," answered one of the boys, "and +we are disputing whose it shall be, because we all want it." + +"And what use would the cap be to you? What is it good for?" asked +the Prince. + +"Why, that whichever of us gets it has only to put it on," replied the +boy, "and he immediately becomes invisible to gods, men, and dæmons." + +"I will settle the dispute for you," rejoined the Prince. "You all of +you get you to the far end of this palm-grove, and start back running, +all fair, together. Whichever wins the race shall be reckoned to have +won the cap. Give it to me to hold the while." + +The boys said, "It is well spoken;" and giving the cap to the Prince, +they set off to go to the other end of the grove. But they were no +sooner well on their way, than the Prince put on the cap, and then +joining hands with his companion, both became invisible to gods, men, +and dæmons; so that when the boys came back at full speed, though +they were both yet standing in the same place, none of them could +see them. After wandering about to look for them in vain, they at +last gave it up in despair, and went away crying with disappointment. + +The Prince and his follower continued their journey by the side of +the stream till they came to a broad road, and here at the cross-way +was a crowd of dæmons assembled, who were all chattering aloud, +and disputing vehemently. + +"Dæmons! What are you quarrelling about?" asked the Prince. + +"We found this pair of boots here," answered the dæmons, "and whoever +puts these boots on has only to wish that he might be in a particular +place, and immediately arrives there; and we cannot agree which of +us is to have the boots." + +"I will settle the dispute for you," replied the Prince. "You all go +up to the end of this road, and run back hither all of you together, +and whichever of you wins the race, he shall be reckoned to have won +the boots. Give them to me to hold the while." + +So the dæmons answered, "It is well spoken;" and giving the boots +to the Prince, they set off to go to the far end of the road. But +by the time they got back the Prince had put on the invisible cap, +and joining hands with his companion had become invisible to gods, +men, and dæmons, so that for all their looking there was no trace of +them to be found. Thus they had to give up the lucky boots, and went +their way howling for disappointment. + +As soon as they were gone the Prince and his follower began to examine +the boots, and to ponder what they should do with their treasure. + +"A great gift and a valuable," said the latter, "hath been given +thee, O Prince, by the favour of fortune, and thy wisdom in acquiring +it. Wish now to reach a prosperous place to be happy; but for me I +shall not know where thou art gone, and I shall see thy face no more." + +But the Prince said, "Nay, but wheresoever I go, thou shalt go +too. Here is one boot for me, and the other for thee, and when we have +both put them on we will wish to be in the place where at this moment +there is no Khan, and we will then see what is further to be done." + +So the Prince put on the right boot, and his follower the left boot, +and they laid them down to sleep, and both wished that they might +come to a land where there was no Khan. + +When they woke in the morning they found themselves lying in +the hollow of an ancient tree, in the outskirts of a great city, +overshadowing the place where the election of the Khan was wont +to be made. As soon as day broke the people began to assemble, +and many ceremonies were performed. At last the people said, +"Let us take one of the Baling-cakes out of the straw sacrifice, +and throw it up into the air, and on to whosoever's head it falls +he shall be our Khan. So they took the Baling-cake out of the straw +sacrifice, and it fell into the hollow tree. And the people said, +"We must choose some other mode of divination, for the Baling-cake +has failed. Shall a hollow tree reign over us?" + +But others said, "Let us see what there may be inside the hollow tree." + +Thus when they came to look into the tree they found the Prince and +his follower. So they drew them out and said, "These shall rule over +us." But others said, "How shall we know which of these two is the +Khan?" While others again cried, "These men are but strangers and +vagabonds. How then shall they reign over us?" + +But to the Prince and his follower they said, "Whence are ye? and +how came ye in the hollow tree?" + +Then the Prince began spitting gold coin, and his follower precious +emeralds. And while the people were busied in gathering the gold +and the emeralds they installed themselves in the palace, and made +themselves Khan and Chief Minister, and all the people paid them +homage. + +When they had learned the ways of the kingdom and established +themselves well in it, the new Khan said to his Minister that he +must employ himself to find a wife worthy of the Khan. To whom the +Minister made answer,-- + +"Behold, beautiful among women is the daughter of the last Khan. Shall +not she be the Khan's wife?" + +The Khan found his word good, and desired that she should be brought to +him; when he found she was fair to see, he took her into the palace, +and she became his wife. But she was with him as one whose thoughts +were fixed on another. + +Now on the outskirts of the city was a noble palace, well kept and +furnished, and surrounded with delicious gardens; but no one lodged +there. Only the Minister took note that every third day the Khan's +wife went out softly and unattended, and betook herself to this palace. + +"Now," thought the Minister to himself, "wherefore goes the Khan's +wife every third day to this palace, softly and unattended? I must +see this thing." + +So he put on the cap which they had of the boys in the palm-grove, +and followed the Khan's wife as he saw her go the palace, and having +found a ladder he entered by a window as she came up the stairs. Then +he followed her into a sumptuous apartment all fitted with carpets +and soft cushions, and a table spread with delicious viands and +cooling drinks. The Khan's wife, however, reclined her on none of +these cushions, but went out by a private door for a little space, +and when she returned she was decked as never she had been when +she went before the Khan. The room was filled with perfume as she +approached, her hair was powdered with glittering jewels, and her +attire was all of broidered silk, while her throat, and arms, and +ankles were wreathed with pearls. The Minister hardly knew her again; +and with his cap, which made him invisible to gods, men, and dæmons, +he approached quite near to look at her, while she, having no suspicion +of his presence, continued busy with preparations as for some coming +event. On a vast circle of porphyry she lighted a fire of sandal wood, +over which she scattered a quantity of odoriferous powders, uttering +words the while which it was beyond the power of the Minister to +understand. While she was thus occupied, there came a most beautiful +bird with many-coloured wings swiftly flying through the open window, +and when he had soared round three times in the soft vapour of the +sweet-scented gums the Princess had been burning, there appeared a bird +no longer, but Cuklaketu, the beautiful son of the gods, surpassing +all words in his beauty. The transformation was no sooner effected, +than they embraced each other, and reclining together on the silken +couches, feasted on the banquet that was laid out. + +After a time, Cuklaketu rose to take leave, but before he went, he +said, "Now you are married to the husband heaven has appointed you, +tell me how it is with him." + +At these words the Minister, jealous for his master, grew very +attentive that he might learn what opinion the Khan's wife had of his +master and what love she had for him. But she answered prudently, +"How it will be with him I know not yet, for he is still young; +I cannot as yet know any thing of either his merits or defects." + +And with that they parted; Cuklaketu flying away in the form of +a beautiful bird with many-coloured wings as he had come, and the +Khan's wife exchanging her glittering apparel for the mantle in which +she came from the Khan's palace. + +The next time that she went out to this palace, the Minister put +on his cap and followed her again and witnessed the same scene, +only when Cuklaketu was about to take leave this time, he said, +"To-morrow, I shall come and see what your husband is like." And +when she asked him, "By what token shall I know you?" he answered, +"I will come under the form of a swallow, and will perch upon his +throne." With that they parted; but the Minister went and stood before +the Khan and told him all that he had seen. + +"But thou, O Khan," proceeded the Minister, "Cause thou a great fire +to be kept burning before the throne; and I, standing there with the +cap rendering me invisible to gods, men, and dæmons, on my head, will +be on the look out for the swallow, and when he appears, I will seize +him by the feathers of his tail and dash him into the fire; then must +thou, O Khan, slay him, and hew him in pieces with thy sword." + +And so it was, for the next morning early, while the Khan and his +Consort were seated with all their Court in due order of rank, +there came a swallow, all smirk and sprightly, fluttering around +them, and at last it perched on the Khan's throne. The Princess +watched his every movement with delighted eyes, but the Minister, +who waited there wearing his cap which made him invisible to gods, +men, and dæmons, no sooner saw him perch on the throne, than he seized +him by the feathers of his tail and flung him on the fire. The swallow +succeeded in fluttering out of the fire, but as the Khan had drawn his +sword to slay him and hew him in pieces, the Princess caught his arm +and held it tight, so that the swallow just managed to fly away with +his singed wings through the open window. Meantime, the Princess was +so overcome with fear and excitement that she fainted away into the +arms of the attendants, who were struck with wonder that she should +care so much about an injury done to a little bird. + +As soon as the day came round for her to go to the palace in the +outskirts of the city, again the Minister did not fail to follow +closely on her steps. He observed that she prepared every thing +with greater attention than before and decked herself out with more +costly robes and more glittering gems. But when the minutes passed by +and the beautiful bird still appeared not, her fear waxed stronger +and stronger, and she stood gazing, without taking her eyes off the +sky. At last, and only when it was already late, Cuklaketu came flying +painfully and feebly, and when he had exchanged his bird disguise for +the human form, the traces of the treatment the Minister had given +him were plainly visible in many frightful blisters and scars. + +When the Princess saw him in this evil plight, she lifted up her +voice, and wept aloud. But the Prince comforted her with his great +steadfastness under the infliction, only he was obliged to tell her +that both his human body and his bird feathers being thus marred, it +would be impossible for him to come and visit her more. "But," he said, +"the Khan, thy husband, has proved himself to exceed me in his might, +therefore he has won thee from me." So after much leave-taking, they +parted; and Cuklaketu flew away as well as his damaged wings would +carry him. + +It was observed that after this the Princess grew much more attached +to her husband, and the Khan rejoiced in the sagacity and faithfulness +of his Minister. + +Nor was this the only use the Minister made of his cap, which made him +invisible to gods, men, and dæmons. He was enabled by its means to see +many things that were not rightly conducted, to correct many evils, +punish many offenders who thought to escape justice, and learn many +useful arts. + +One day as he was walking with this cap upon his head, he came to a +temple where, the door being closed, a servant of the temple, thinking +himself alone, began disporting himself after the following manner: +First, he took out from under a statue of Buddha a large roll of paper, +on which was painted a donkey. Having spread it out flat on the floor +of the temple, he danced round it five times; and immediately on +completing the fifth turn, he became transformed into a donkey like +the one that was painted on the paper. In this form he pranced about +for some time, and brayed till he was tired, then he got on to the +paper again, on his hind legs, and danced round five times as before, +and immediately he appeared again in his natural form. When at last he +grew tired of the amusement he rolled up his paper, and replaced it +under the image of Buddha, whence he had taken it. He had no sooner +done so than the Minister, under cover of his cap, which made him +invisible to gods, men, and dæmons, possessed himself of the paper +which had such mysterious properties, and betook himself with it to +the dwelling of the beautiful woman and her daughter who sold strong +drink to travellers, who had treated his master and him so shamefully +at the outset of their travels. + +When they saw him approach, for he now no longer wore the invisible +cap, they began to fear he had come to bring them retribution, and +they asked him with the best grace they could assume what was his +pleasure. But he, to win their confidence, that he might the better +carry out his scheme, replied,-- + +"To reward you for your handsome treatment of me and my companion, +therefore am I come." And at the same time he gave them a handful of +gold coin. + +And they, recollecting what profit they had derived from his companion +before, and deeming it likely there might be means for turning the +present visit to similar good account, asked him what were his means +for being able to be so lavish of the precious metal. + +"Oh, that is easily told," replied the Minister. "It is true I have not +the faculty of spitting gold coin out of my mouth like my companion, +as you doubtless remember, but I have another way, equally efficacious, +of coming into possession of all the money I can possibly desire." + +"And what may that way be?" inquired mother and daughter together in +their eagerness. + +"I have only to spread out this roll of paper on the ground," and he +showed them the roll that he had taken from under the image of Buddha +in the temple, "and dance five times round it, and immediately I find +myself in possession of as much gold as I can carry." + +"What a treasure to possess is that same roll of paper," cried the +women, and they exchanged looks expressing the determination each +had immediately conceived, of possessing themselves of it. + +"But now," proceeded the Minister, not appearing to heed their mutual +signs, though inwardly rejoicing that they had shown themselves so +ready to fall into his snare," but now pour me out to drink, for I +am weary with the journey, and thirsty, and your drink I remember +is excellent." + +The women, on their part, were equally rejoiced that he had given them +the opportunity of plying him, and did not wait to be asked twice. The +Minister continued to drink, and the women to pour out drink to him, +till he was in a state of complete unconsciousness. + +They no sooner found him arrived at this helpless condition than they +took possession of the mysterious roll, and forthwith spreading it +out on the ground, proceeded to dance round it five times after the +manner prescribed. + +When the Minister came to himself, therefore, he found his scheme +had fully taken effect, and the woman and her daughter were standing +heavy and chapfallen in the form of two asses. The Minister put a +bridle in their mouth, and led them off to the Khan, saying,-- + +"These, O Khan, are the women who sell strong drink to travellers, +and who entreated us so shamefully at the time when having slain +the dragons we went forth on our travels. I have transformed them +by my art into two asses. Now, therefore, shall there not be given +them burdens of wood, and burdens of stone to carry, heavy burdens, +so that they may be punished for their naughtiness?" + +And the Khan gave orders that it should be done as he had said. But +when at the end of five years, they were well weighed down with the +heavy burdens, and the Khan saw them wearied and trembling, and human +tears running down from their eyes, he called the Minister to him, +and said,-- + +"Take these women, and do them no more harm, for their punishment +is enough." + +So the Minister fetched the paper, and having spread it out on the +ground, placed the women on it, making them stand on their hind legs, +and led them round it five several times till they resumed their +natural form. But with the treatment they had undergone, both were +now so bowed, and shrunk, and withered, that no one could know them +for the beautiful women they had been. + + + +"As well might he have left them under the form of asses, as restore +their own shape in such evil plight," here exclaimed the Khan. + +And as he let these words escape him, the Siddhî-kür replied,-- + +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips." And with the cry, "To escape out of this world is good!" he +sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + +Thus far of the Adventures of the Well-and-wise-walking Khan the +second chapter, concerning the deeds of the Gold-spitting Prince and +his Minister. + + + + + + +TALE III. + + +When the Well-and-wise-walking Khan found that once again he had +missed the end and object of his labour, he set out anew without +loss of time and without hesitation, and journeyed through toil and +terror till he came to the cool grove where rested the bodies of the +dead. The Siddhî-kür at his approach ran away before his face, and +clambered up the mango-tree; but when the Well-and-wise-walking Khan +had threatened to fell it, the Siddhî-kür came down to him rather +than that he should destroy the precious mango-tree. Then he bound +him in his bag and laded him on to his shoulder, and bore him away +to offer to the Master and Teacher Nâgârg'una. + +But after they had journeyed many days and spoken nothing, the +Siddhî-kür said, "See, we are like to die of weariness if we go +on journeying thus day by day without conversing. Tell now thou, +therefore, a tale to relieve the weariness of the way." + +The Well-and-wise-walking Khan, however, mindful of the word of his +Master and Teacher Nâgârg'una, saying, "See thou speak never a word +by the way," answered him nothing, neither spake at all. + +Then said the Siddhî-kür, "If thou wilt not tell a tale, at least +give me some token by which I may know that thou willest I should +tell one, and without speaking, nod thy head backwards towards me, +and I will tell a tale." + +So the Well-and-wise-walking Khan nodded his head backwards, and the +Siddhî-kür told this tale saying,-- + + + +HOW THE SCHIMNU-KHAN WAS SLAIN. + +Long ages ago there lived on the banks of a mighty river a man who +had no wife, and no family, and no possessions, but only one cow; and +when he mourned because he had no children, and his cow had no calf, +and that he had no milk and no butter to live upon, his cow one day +gave birth, not to a calf, but to a monster, which seemed only to be +sent to mock him in his misery and distress; for while it had the head, +and horns, and long tail of a bull, it had the body of a man. Never was +such an ugly monster seen, and when the poor man considered it he said, +"What shall I now do with this monster? It is not good for him to live; +I will fetch my bow and arrows, and will make an end of him." But +when he had strung his bow and fixed his arrow, Massang of the bull's +head, seeing what he was going to do, cried out, "Master, slay me not; +and doubt not but that your clemency shall have its reward." + +At these words the poor man was moved to clemency, and he put up his +arrows again, and let Massang live, but he turned away his face from +beholding him. When Massang saw that his master could not look upon +him, he turned him and fled into the woods, and wandered on till he +came to a place where was a black-coloured man sitting at the foot +of a tree. Seeing him, Massang said, "Who and whence art thou?" + +And the black-coloured man made answer, "I am a full-grown man of +good understanding, born of the dark woods." + +And Massang said, "Whither goest thou? I will go with thee and be +thy companion." + +And the black-coloured man got up, and they wandered on together +till they came to a place in the open meadow, where they saw a +green-coloured man sitting on the grass. Seeing him, Massang said, +"Who and whence art thou?" + +And the green-coloured man replied, "I am a full-grown man of good +understanding, born of the green meadows; take me with you too, +and I will be your companion." + +And he wandered on with the other two, Massang and the black-coloured +man, till they came to a place where was a white-coloured man sitting +on a crystal rock. Seeing him, Massang said, "Who and whence art thou?" + +And the white-coloured man replied, "I am a full-grown man of good +understanding, born of the crystal rock; take me with you, and let +me be your companion." + +And he wandered on with the other three, Massang, and the +black-coloured man, and the green-coloured man, till they came to a +stream flowing between barren sandy banks; and farther along was a +grass-clad hill with a little dwelling on the top. Of this dwelling +they took possession, and inside it they found provisions of every +kind; and in the yard cattle and all that was required to maintain +life. Here, therefore, they dwelt; three of them going out every day +to hunt, and one staying at home to keep guard over the place. + +Now the first day, Massang went to the hunt, and took with him the +white-coloured man and the green-coloured man; the black-coloured +man being thus left in charge of the homestead, set himself to +prepare the dinner. He had made the butter, and sat with the milk +simmering, cooking the meat (1), when he heard a rustling sound as of +one approaching stealthily. Looking round to discover who came there, +he saw a little old woman not more than a span high, carrying a bundle +no bigger than an apple on her back, coming up a ladder she had set +ready for herself, without asking leave or making any sort of ceremony. + +"Lackaday!" cried the little old woman, speaking to herself, +"methinks I see a youngster cooking good food." But to him she said +in a commanding tone, "Listen to me now, and give me some of thy milk +and meat to taste." + +Though she was so small, she wore such a weird, uncanny air that the +black-coloured man, though he had boasted of being a full-grown man +of good understanding, durst not say her "Nay;" though he contented +himself with keeping to the letter of her behest, and only gave her +the smallest possible morsel of the food he had prepared, only just +enough, as she had said, "to taste." But lo and behold! no sooner had +she put the morsel to her lips than the whole portion disappeared, +meat, milk, pot and all; and, more marvellous still, the little old +wife had disappeared with them. + +Ashamed at finding himself thus overmatched by such a little old +wench, he reasoned with himself that he must invent something to +tell his companions which should have a more imposing sound than +the sorry story of what had actually occurred. Turning over all his +belongings to help himself to an idea, he found two horse's-hoofs, +and with these he made the marks as of many horsemen all round the +dwelling, and then shot his own arrow into the middle of the yard. + +He had hardly finished these preparations when his companions came +home from the hunt. + +"Where is our meal?" inquired they. "Where is the butter you were to +have made, and the meat you were to have cooked?" + +"Scarcely had I made all ready," replied the black-coloured man, +"than a hundred strange men, on a hundred wild horses, came tearing +through the place; and what could I do to withstand a hundred? Thus +they have taken all the butter, and milk, and meat, and me they beat +and bound, so that I have had enough to do to set myself free, and +scarcely can I move from the effect of their blows. Go out now and +see for yourselves." + +So they went out; and when they saw the marks of the horses'-hoofs +all round the dwelling, and the arrow shot into the middle of the +courtyard, they said, "He hath spoken true things." + +The next day Massang went to the hunt, and took with him the +black-coloured man and the white-coloured man. The green-coloured man +being thus left in charge of the homestead, set himself to prepare the +dinner; and it was no sooner ready than the little old wife came in, +as she had done the day before, and played the same game. + +"This is doubtless how it fell out with the black-coloured man," +said he to himself, as soon as she was gone; "but neither can I own +that I was matched by such a little old wife, nor yet can I tell the +same story about the horsemen. I know what I will do: I will fetch +up a yoke of oxen, and make them tramp about the place, and when the +others come home, I will say some men came by with a herd of cattle, +and, overpowering me, carried off the victuals." All this he did; +and when his companions came home, and saw for themselves the marks +the oxen had made in tramping up the soil, they said, "He hath spoken +true things." + +The day after, Massang went hunting, and took with him the +black-coloured man and the green-coloured man. The white-coloured +man being left in charge of the homestead, set himself to prepare +the dinner. Nor was it long before the same little old woman who had +visited his companions made her appearance; and soon she had made an +end of all the provisions. "This is doubtless how it fell out with +the green-coloured man yesterday, and the black-coloured man the +day before," said the white-coloured man to himself; "but neither +can I own any more than they that I was overmatched by such a little +old wife, nor yet can I tell the same story as they." So he fetched +a mule in from the field, and made it trot all round the dwelling, +that when his companions came in he might tell them that a party of +merchants had been by, with a file of mules carrying their packs of +merchandize, who had held him bound, and eaten up the provisions. + +All this he did; and when his companions came home, and saw for +themselves the marks of the mule-hoofs all round the dwelling, they +said, "He hath spoken true things." + +The next day it was Massang's turn to stay at home, nor did he neglect +the duty which fell upon him of cooking the food against the return +of the rest. As he sat thus occupied, up came the little old woman, +as on all the other days. + +"Lackaday!" she exclaimed, as she set eyes on him. "Methinks I +see a youngster cooking good food!" And to him she cried, in her +imperious tone, "Listen to me now, and give me some of thy milk and +meat to taste." + +When Massang saw her, he said within himself, "Surely now this is she +who hath appeared to the other three; and when they said that strangers +had broken in, and overpowered them, and stolen the food, was it not +that she is a witch-woman and enchanted it away. She only asks to taste +it; but if I do her bidding, who knows what may follow?" So he observed +her, that he might discover what way there was of over-matching her; +thus he espied her bundle, and bethought him it contained the means +of her witcheries. To possess himself of it he had first to devise +the means of getting her to go an errand, and leave it behind her. + +"Belike you could help me to some fresh water, good wife," he said, +in a simple, coaxing tone; and she, thinking to serve her purpose by +keeping on good terms with him, replied,-- + +"That can I; but give me wherewithal to fetch it." + +To keep her longer absent, he gave her a pail with a hole in it, +with which she went out. Looking after her, he saw that she made +her way straight up to the clouds, and squeezed one into her pail, +but no sooner was it poured in, than it ran out again. Meantime, he +possessed himself of her bundle, and turned it over; withal it was +not so big as an apple, it contained many things: a hank of catgut, +which he exchanged for a hank of hempen cord; an iron hammer, which +he exchanged for a wooden mallet; and a pair of iron pincers, which +he exchanged for wooden ones. + +He had hardly tied up the bundle again, when the old woman came back, +very angry with the trick that had been played upon her with the +leaking pail, and exclaiming, "How shall water be brought in a pail +where there is a hole?" Then she added further, and in a yet angrier +key, "If thou wilt not give me to taste of thy food, beware! for then +all that thou hast becomes mine." And when she found that he heeded +her not, but went on with what he was doing, just as if she had not +spoken, she cried out, furiously,-- + +"If we are not to be on good terms, we must e'en match our strength; +if we are not to have peace, we must have war; if I may not eat with +you, I will fight you." + +"That I am ready for," answered Massang, as one sure of an easy +victory. + +"Not so confident!" replied the old one. "Though I am small and thou +so big, yet have I overcome mightier ones than thou." + +"In what shall we match our strength?" said Massang, not heeding +her banter. + +"We will have three trials," replied the old one; "the cord proof, +the hammer proof, and the pincers proof. And first the cord proof. I +will first bind thee, and if thou canst burst my bonds, well; then +thou shalt also bind me." + +Then Massang saw that he had done well to possess himself of her +instruments, but he gave assent to her mode of proof, and let her +bind him as tight as ever she would; but as she had only the hempen +cord to bind him with, which he had put in her bundle in place of +the catgut, he broke it easily with his strength, and set himself +free again. Then he bound her with the catgut, so that she was not +able by any means to unloose herself. + +"True, herein thou hast conquered," she owned, as she lay bound and +unable to move, "but now we will have the pincers proof." And as he +had promised to wage three trials with her, he set her free. + +Then with her pincers she took him by the breast; but, as he had +changed her iron pincers for the wooden ones, he hardly felt the +pinch, and she did him no harm. But when, with her iron pincers, he +seized her, she writhed and struggled so that he pulled out a piece +of flesh as big as an earthen pot, and she cried out in great pain.-- + +"Of a truth thou art a formidable fellow, but now we will have the +hammer proof," and she made Massang lie down; but when she would +have given him a powerful blow on the chest with her iron hammer, +the handle of the wooden mallet Massang had given her in its stead +broke short off, and she was not able to hurt him. But Massang made +her iron hammer glowing hot in the fire, and belaboured her both on +the head and body so that she was glad to escape at the top of her +speed and howling wildly. + +As she flew past, Massang's three companions came in from hunting +and said, "Surely now you have had a trial to endure." And Massang +answered,-- + +"Of a truth you are miserable fellows all, and moreover have +spoken that which is not true. Was it like men to let yourselves +be overmatched by a little old wife? But now I have tamed her, let +be. Let us go and seek for her corpse; maybe we shall find treasure +in the place where she lays it." + +When they heard him speak of treasure they willingly went out after +him, and, following the track of blood which had fallen from the +witch-woman's wounds as she went along, they came to a place where +was an awful cleft in a mighty rock, and peeping through they saw, far +below, the bloody body of the old witch-woman, lying on a heap of gold +and jewels and shining adamant armour and countless precious things. + +Then Massang said, "Shall you three go down and hand me up the spoil +by means of a rope of which I will hold the end, or shall I go down +and hand it up to you?" + +But they three all made answer together, "This woman is manifestly +none other but a Schimnu (2). We dare not go near her. Go you down." + +So Massang let himself down by the rope, and sent up the spoil by the +same means to his companions, who when they had possession of it said +thus to one another,-- + +"If we draw Massang up again, we cannot deny in verity that the spoil +is his, as he has won it in every way, but if we leave him down below +it becomes ours." So they left him below, and when he looked that +they should have hauled him up they gave never a sign or sound. When +he saw that, he said thus to himself, "My three companions have left +me here that they may enjoy the spoil alone. For me nothing is left +but to die!" + +But as it grieved him so to die in his health and strength, he cast +about him to see whether in all that cave which had been so full +of valuables there was not something stored that was good for food, +yet found he nothing save three cherry-stones. + +So he took the cherry-stones and planted them in the earth, saying, +"If I be truly Massang, may these be three full-grown cherry-trees by +the time I wake; but if not, then let me die the death." And with that +he laid him down to sleep with the body of the Schimnu for a pillow. + +Being thus defiled by contact with the corpse, he slept for many +years. When at last he woke, he found that three cherry-trees had +sprung up from the seeds he planted and now reached to the top of +the rock. Rejoicing greatly therefore, he climbed up by their means +and reached the earth. + +First he bent his steps to his late dwelling, to look for his +companions, but it was deserted, and no one lived therein. So, taking +his iron bow and his arrows, he journeyed farther. + +Presently he came to a place where there were three fine houses, +with gardens and fields and cattle and all that could be desired by +the heart of man. These were the houses which his three companions +had built for themselves out of the spoil of the cave. And when he +would have gone in, their wives said--for they had taken to them wives +also--"Thy companions are not here; they are gone out hunting." So he +took up his iron bow and his arrows again, and went on to seek them, +and as he went by the way he saw them coming towards him with the +game they had taken with their bows. Then he strung his iron bow and +would have shot at them; but they, falling down before him, cried out, +"Slay us not. Only let us live, and behold our houses, and our wives, +and our cattle, and all that we have is in thine hand, to do with it +as it seemeth good to thee." + +Then he put up his arrows again, and said to them only these words, +"In truth, friends, ye dealt evilly with me in that ye left me to +perish in the cave." + +But they, owning their fault, again begged him that he would stay with +them and let their house be his house, and they entreated him. But +he would not stay with them, saying,-- + +"A promise is upon me, which I made when my master would have killed +me and I entreated him to spare my life, for I said to him that I +would repay his clemency to him if he spared me. Now, therefore, +let me go that I may seek him out." + +Then, when they heard those words, they let him go, and he journeyed +on farther to find out his master. + +One day of his journey, as he was wearied with walking, he sat down +towards evening by the side of a well, and as he sat an enchantingly +beautiful maiden came towards the well as if to draw water, and as +she came along he saw with astonishment that at every footstep as she +lifted up her feet a fragrant flower sprang up out of the ground (3), +one after another wherever she touched the ground. Massang stretched +out his hand to offer to draw water for her, but she stopped not at +the fountain but passed on, and Massang, in awe at her beauty and +power, durst not speak to her, but rose up and followed behind her +the whole way she went. + +On went the maiden, and ever on followed Massang, over burning plain +and through fearful forest, past the sources of mighty rivers and over +the snow-clad peaks of the everlasting mountains (4), till they reached +the dwelling of the gods and the footstool of dread Churmusta (5). + +Then spoke Churmusta,-- + +"That thou art come hither is good. Every day now we have to sustain +the fight with the black Schimnu; to-morrow thou shalt be spectator +of the fray, and the next day thou shall take part in it." + +The next day Massang stood at the foot of Churmusta's throne, and +the gods waited around in silence. Massang saw a great herd as of +black oxen, as it were early in the morning, driven with terror to +the east side by a herd as of white oxen; and again he saw as it +were late in the evening, the herd as of white oxen driven to the +west side by the herd as of black oxen. + +Then spoke the great Churmusta,-- + +"Behold the white oxen are the gods. The black oxen are the +Schimnus. To-morrow, when thou seest the herd as of black oxen driving +back the white, then string thine iron bow, and search out for thy +mark a black ox, bearing a white star on his forehead. Then send +thine arrow through the white star, for he is the Schimnu-Khan. + +Thus spoke the dread Churmusta. + +The next day Massang stood ready with his bow, and did even as +Churmusta had commanded. With an arrow from his iron bow he pierced +through the white star on the forehead of the black ox, and sent him +away roaring and bellowing with pain. + +Then spake the dread Churmusta,-- + +"Bravely hast thou dealt, and well hast thou deserved of me. Therefore +thou shalt have thy portion with me, and dwell with me for ever." + +But Massang answered,-- + +"Nay, for though I tarried at thy behest to do thy bidding, a promise +is upon me which I made when my master would have taken my life. For +I said, 'Spare me now, and be assured I will repay thy clemency.'" + +Then Churmusta commended him, and bid him do even as he had +said. Furthermore he gave him a talisman to preserve him by the way, +and gave him this counsel,-- + +"Journeying, thou shalt be overcome by sleep, and having through +sleeping forgotten the way, thou shalt arrive at the gate +of the Schimnu-Khan. Then beware that thou think not to save +thyself by flight. Knock, rather, boldly at the door, saying, +'I am a physician.' When they hear that they will bring thee to the +Schimnu-Khan that thou mayest try thine art in drawing out the arrow +from his forehead. Then place thyself as though thou wouldst remove it, +but rather with a firm grasp drive it farther in, so that it enter +his brain, first offering up with thine hand seven barley-corns to +heaven; and after this manner thou shalt kill the Schimnu-Khan." + +Thus commanded the dread Churmusta. + +Then Massang came down from the footstool of Churmusta and the +dwelling of the gods, and went forth to seek out his master. But +growing weary with the length of the day, and lying down to sleep, +when he woke he had forgotten the direction he had to take, so he +pursued the path which lay before him, and it led him to the portal +of the Schimnu palace. + +When he saw it was the Schimnu palace, he would have made good his +escape from its precincts, but remembering the words of Churmusta, he +knocked boldly at the door. Then the Schimnus flocked round him, and +told him he must die unless he could do some service whereby his life +might be redeemed; and Massang made answer, "I am a physician." Hearing +that, they took him in to the Schimnu-Khan, that he might pluck the +arrow out of his forehead. + +Massang stood before the Schimnu-Khan; but when he should have +pulled out the arrow, he only pulled it out a little way, and the +Schimnu-Khan said,-- + +"Thus far is the pang diminished." + +Then, however, first casting seven barley-corns on high towards heaven, +he plunged it in again even to the centre of his brain, so that he +fell down at his feet dead. And as the seven barley-corns reached +the heavens, there came down by their track an iron chain with a +thundering clang which the dread Churmusta sent down to Massang, +and Massang climbed up by the chain to the dwelling of the gods. But +there stood by the throne of the Schimnu-Khan a female Schimnu, out +of whose mouth came forth forked flames of fire, and when she saw +Massang ascending to heaven by the chain, she raised an iron hammer +high in air to strike it, and cleave it in two. But when she struck +it, there issued seven bright sparks, which floated up to heaven, +and remained fixed in the sky; and men called them the constellation +of the Pleiades. + + + +"Thus, for all his promise, and after all his sacrifices, Massang +never went back to repay his master's clemency!" exclaimed the Khan. + +And as he let these words escape him the Siddhî-kür replied, +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips!" And with the cry, "To escape out of this world is good!" he +sped him through the air, swift, out of sight. + + + +Thus far of the Adventures of the Well-and-wise-walking Khan the +third chapter, showing how the Schimnu-Khan was slain. + + + + + + +TALE IV. + + +Then, when he saw he had again missed the end and object of his +journey, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan again set out as at the first, +till with toil and terror he reached the cool grove where lay the +dead. At his approach the Siddhî-kür clambered up into the mango-tree, +but rather than let the tree be destroyed he came down at the word +of the Khan threatening to fell it. Then the Khan bound him in his +bag and bore him away to offer to the Master and Teacher Nâgârg'una. + +But when they had proceeded many days the Siddhî-kür said, "Tell, now, +a tale, seeing the way is long and weary, and we are like to die of +weariness if we go on thus speaking never a word between us." But the +Khan, mindful of the monition of his Master and Teacher Nâgârg'una, +answered him nothing. Then said the Siddhî-kür, "If thou wilt not +tell a tale, at least give me the token by which I may know that thou +willest I should tell one." + +So the Well-and-wise-walking Khan nodded his head backwards towards +him, and the Siddhî-kür told this tale, saying,-- + + + +THE PIG'S HEAD SOOTHSAYER. + +Long ages ago a man and his wife were living on the borders of a +flourishing kingdom. The wife was a good housewife, who occupied +herself with looking after the land and the herds; but the husband +was a dull, idle man, who did nothing but eat, drink, and sleep from +morning to night and from night to morning. One day, when his wife +could no longer endure to see him going on thus indolently, she cried +out to him, "Leave off thus idling thyself; get up and gird thyself +like a man, and seek employment. Behold, thy father's inheritance +is well nigh spent; the time is come that thou find the means to eke +it out." + +And when he weakly asked her in return, "Wherein shall I seek to eke +it out?" she answered him, "How should I be able to tell this thing, +but at least get thee up and make some endeavour; get thee up and +look round the place and see what thou canst find," and with that +she went out to her work in the field. + +When she had repeated these words many days, he at last went out one +day, and, not taking the trouble to bethink him what he should do, +he did just what his wife had said, and went to look round the place +to see what he could find. As he wandered about, he came to a spot on +which a tribe of cattle-herds had lately been encamped (1), and a fox, +a dog, and a bird were there fighting about something. Approaching +to see for what they contended, they all escaped in fear, and he was +left in possession of their booty, which was a sheep's paunch full +of butter (2). This he brought home and laid up in store. When his +wife came home and asked him whence it was, he told her he had found +it left on the camping-place of a family of herdsmen who had passed +that way seeking pasturage. + +"Well it is to be a man!" exclaimed his wife. "I may toil all day +without making so much; but you go but out one day of your whole life +for one moment of time, and straightway you find all this wealth." + +When the man heard these words, he took courage and thought he should +be fit to find better fortune still; so he said to his wife, "Give +me now only a good horse and clothes meet, and a dog, and a bow and +arrows, and you shall see what I can do." + +The woman was glad to hear him show so much resolution, so she made +haste and gave him all the things that he required, and added a thick +felt cloak to keep out the rain, and a cap for his head, and helped +him to get on his horse, and slung his bow over his shoulder. + +Thus he rode out over many a broad plain, but without purpose or +knowledge of whither he went, nor did he fall in with any living +creature whatever for many days. At last, riding over a vast steppe, +he espied at some distance a fox. + +"Ha!" he exclaimed, "there is one of my friends of last time. To be +sure, there is no sheep's paunch of butter this time, but if I could +only kill him his skin would make a nice warm cap." + +As he had never learnt to draw a bow, his arrows were of no service, +so he set his horse trotting after the fox; but the fox got away faster +than he could follow, and took refuge in the hole of a marmot (3). + +"Now I have you!" he cried, and, dismounting from his horse, he took +off all his clothes to have freer use of his limbs and bound them on +his saddle; the dog he tied to the bridle of the horse, and stopped +the mouth of the hole with his cap; then he took a great stone and +endeavoured with heavy blows on the earth to crush the fox. + +But the fox, taking fright at the noise, rushed out with such impetus +that it carried off the cap on its head. The dog, seeing it run, +gave chase, and the horse was forced to follow the dog, as they were +both tied together; so off he galloped, carrying on his saddle every +thing the man had in the world, and leaving him stretched on the +ground without a thread of covering. + +Getting up, he wandered on to the banks of a river which formed +the boundary of the kingdom of a rich and powerful Khan. Going into +this Khan's stable, he laid himself down under the straw and covered +himself completely, so that no one could see him. Here he was warmed +and well rested. + +As he lay there the Khan's beautiful daughter came out to take the +air, and before she went in again she dropped the Khan's talisman and +passed on without perceiving her loss. Though the bauble was precious +in itself for the jewels which adorned it, and precious also to the +Khan for its powers in preserving his life (4), and worthy therefore +to claim a reward, the man was too indolent to get up out of the +straw to pick it up, so he let it lie. + +After sunset the Khan's herds came in from grazing, and the cow-wench, +when she had shut them into the stable, swept up the yard without +heeding the talisman, which thus got thrown on to a dung-heap. This +the man saw, but still bestirred him not to recover it. + +The next day there was great stir and noise in the place; the Khan +sent out messengers into every district far and near to say that +the Khan's beautiful daughter had lost his talisman, and promising +rewards to whoso should restore it. + +After this too, he ordered the great trumpet, which was only blown on +occasion of promulgating the laws of the kingdom, to be sounded and +proclamation to be made, calling on all the wise men and soothsayers +of the kingdom to exercise their cunning art, and divine the place +where the talisman should lay concealed. + +All this the man heard as he lay under the straw, but yet he bestirred +him not. Early in the morning, however, men came to litter the +place for the kine with fresh straw; and these men, finding him, +bid him turn out. Now that it became a necessity to stir himself, +he bethought him of the talisman; and when the men asked him whence +he was, he answered "I am a soothsayer come to divine the place where +lies the Khan's talisman." + +Hearing that, they told him to come along to the Khan. "But I have no +clothes," replied the man. So they went and told the Khan, saying, +"Here is a soothsayer lying in the straw of the stable, who is come +to divine where the Khan's talisman lies hid, but he cannot appear +before the Khan because he has no clothes." + +"Take this apparel to him," said the Khan, "and bring him hither +to me." + +When he came before the Khan, the Khan asked him what he required to +perform his divination. + +"Let there be given me," answered the man, "a pig's head, a piece +of silk stuff woven of five colours, (5) and a large Baling (6); +these are the things which I require for the divination." + +All these things being given him, he set up the pig's head on a +pedestal of wood, and adorned it with the silk stuff woven of five +colours, and put the Baling-cake in its mouth. Then he sat down over +against it, as if sunk in earnest contemplation. Then on the day which +had been named in the Khan's proclamation for the day of divination, +which was the third day, all the people being assembled, assuming the +air of a diviner of dreams, he wrapped himself in a long mantle, and +made as though he was questioning the pig's head. As all the people +passed, he seemed to gain the answer from the pig's head,-- + +"The talisman is not with this one," and "The talisman is not with +that one," so that he had many people on his side glad to be thus +pronounced free from all charge of harbouring the Khan's talisman. + +At last he made a sign that this kind of divination was ended; and +pronounced that the Khan's talisman was not in possession of any man. + +"And now," said he, "let us try the divination of the earth." With +that, he set out to make a circuit of the Khan's dwelling. Stepping on +and on from place to place, he continued to seem consulting the pig's +head, till he came to the place in the yard where the dung-heap was; +and here, assuming an imposing attitude, he turned round, and said +mysteriously, "Here somewhere must be found the Khan's talisman." But +when he had turned the heap over, and brought the talisman itself to +light, the people knew not how to contain themselves for wonderment, +and went about crying,-- + +"The Pig's head diviner hath divined wonderful things! The Pig's head +diviner hath divined wonderful things!" + +But the Khan called to him, and said,-- + +"Tell me how I shall reward thee for that thou hast restored my +talisman to me." + +But he, who did not exert himself to think of any thing but just of +what was most present to his mind, answered,-- + +"Let there be given me, O Khan, the raiment, and the horse, the fox, +the dog, and the bow and arrows which I have lost." + +When the Khan heard him ask for nothing save his horse and dog, +and raiment, and a fox, and bows and arrows, he said,-- + +"Of a truth this is a singular soothsayer. Nevertheless, let there +be given him over and above the things that he hath required of us +two elephants laden with meal and butter." + +So they gave him all the things he had required and two elephants +laden with meal and butter to boot. Thus they brought him back unto +his own home. + +Seeing him yet afar, his wife came out to meet him, carrying +brandy. She opened her eyes when she saw the two elephants laden +with butter and meal; but knowing that he loved to be left at ease, +forbore to question him that night. The next morning she made him +tell her the whole story before they got up; but when she heard what +little demands he had made after rendering the Khan so great a service +as restoring his talisman, she exclaimed,-- + +"If a man would be called a man, he ought to know better how to use +his opportunities." + +And with that she sat to work to write a letter in her husband's name +to the Khan. + +The letter was conceived in these words:-- + +"During the brief moment that thy life-talisman was in my hands, I +well recognized that thou hast a bodily infirmity. It was in order +that I might conjure it from thee that I required at thy hands the +dog and the fox. What reward the Khan is pleased to bestow, this +shall be according to the mind of the Khan." + +This letter she took with her own hands to the Khan. + +When the Khan had read the letter, he was pleased to think the +soothsayer had undertaken to free him of a malady against which he +could never have made provision himself, as he had no knowledge of +its existence; so he ordered two elephant's-loads of treasure to +be given to the woman, who went back to her husband, and they had +therewith enough to live in ease and plenty. + +Now this Khan had had six brethren, and it happened that once they had +gone out to divert themselves, and in a thick wood they saw a most +beautiful maiden playing with a he-goat, whom they stood looking at +till they were tired of standing, for of looking at one so beautiful +they could never be weary. + +At last one of them said to her,-- + +"Whence comest thou, beautiful maiden?" + +And she answered him,-- + +"By following after this he-goat, thus I came hither." + +"Will you come with us seven brethren, and be our wife," rejoined +the brother, who had spoken first; and when she willingly agreed they +took her home with them. + +But they both were evil Râkshasas (7), who had only come out to find +men whose lives to devour; the male Manggus (8), had taken the form +of a he-goat, and the female Manggus that of a beautiful maiden, +the better to deceive. + +When therefore the seven took her home and the goat with her, the +two Manggus had ample scope to carry out their design, and every +year they devoured the life of one of the brothers, till now there +was only the Khan left, and they began to consume the life of him also. + +When the ministers saw that all the brothers were dead, and only the +Khan left, they held a council, and they said, "Behold, all the other +Khans are dead, notwithstanding all the means we have at our command, +and despite the arts of all the physicians of this country." Now +there remains no other means for us but to send for the Pig's head +soothsayer who found the Khan's talisman, and get him to restore +the Khan to health." This counsel was found good, and they all said, +"Let us send for the Pig's head soothsayer." + +Four men were sent off on horseback to call the Pig's head soothsayer, +who laid all the case before him. + +When he heard it he was greatly embarrassed, and knew not what to +answer, but his vacancy passed, with them, for his being immersed in +deep contemplation, and they reverenced him the more. Meantime his +wife bid them put up their horses and stay the night. + +In the night-time she asked of him what the men had come about, +and he told her all his embarrassment. + +"True, last time you exerted yourself a little and had good luck," she +replied, "but now that you have been sitting here doing nothing, and +looking so stupid all this time, whether you will cut as good a figure, +who shall say? But go you must, seeing the Khan has sent for you." + +The next morning he said to the messengers, "In the visions of the +night I have learned even how I may help the Khan, and presently I +will come with you." + +Then he enveloped himself in a mantle, laid his hair over the crown +of his head, took a large string of beads in his left hand, bound the +silk stuff woven of five colours round his right arm, and carrying +the pigs' head set out with them. + +When he arrived with this strange aspect at the Khan's dwelling +both the Manggus were much alarmed. They thought he must be some +cunning soothsayer who knew all about them; they had heard, too, +of his success in finding the Khan's talisman. + +But the man continuing to support his character of soothsayer, ordered +a Baling as big as a man to be brought to the head of the Khan's bed, +and placed the pig's head on top of it, and then sat himself down +over against it, murmuring words of incantation (9). + +The Manggus, thinking all these preparations showed that he was a +cunning soothsayer, went away to take counsel together, and the Khan +being thus delivered for the time from their evil arts, his pains +began to yield and he fell into a tranquil sleep. Seeing this his +attendants thought favourably of the cure, and trusting therefore +the more in the soothsayer's powers they left him in entire charge +of the patient. Being thus freed from observation he ventured to +leave his position of apparent absorption in contemplation, and to +take a stolen glance at the Khan. When he saw him in such a deep +sleep a great fear took him, thinking he must be very bad indeed, +and he did all he could to wake him, crying aloud,-- + +"O great Khan! O mighty Khan!" + +Finding that the Khan remained speechless he thought he must be dead, +and resolved that his best part was to run away. This was not so easy, +for the first open door he found to take refuge in was that of the +Treasury, and the guard called out "Stop thief!" and when from thence +he tried to bestow himself in the store-chamber, the guard sang out +"Stop thief!" At last he went into the stable, to hide himself there, +but close by the door-way stood the he-goat, whom he feared to pass, +lest he should goad him with his horns. However, summoning up all +his courage, he got behind him, and sprang on his back, and gave +him three blows on his head; but instantly, even as the blue smoke +column is carried in a straight direction by the wind, so sped the +he-goat straight off to the Khanin leaving his rider stretched upon +the ground. As soon as he had got up again he ran after the he-goat, +to see whither he went so fast; following him, he came to the door +of the Khanin's apartment, and heard the he-goat talking to her +within. The two Manggus spoke thus:-- + +"The Pig's head soothsayer is a soothsayer indeed," said the he-goat; +"he divined that I was in the stable, and he came there after me, +and sprang upon my back, giving me three mighty blows, by which I +know the weight of his arm. The best thing we can do is to make good +our escape." + +The Khanin made answer, "I, also, am of the same mind. I saw when +he first came in that he recognized us for what we are. We have had +good fortune hitherto, but it has forsaken us now; it were better +we got away. I know what he will do; in a day or two, when he has +cured the Khan by not letting us approach him to devour his life, +he will assemble together all the men of the place with their arms, +and all the women, telling them to bring each a faggot of wood for +burning. When all are assembled he will say, 'Let that he-goat be +brought to me,' so they will bind thee and take thee before him. Then +will he say to thee, 'Lay aside thine assumed form,' and it will be +impossible for thee not to obey. When he has shown thee thus in thine +own shape they will all fall upon thee, and put thee to death with +swords and arrows, and burn thee in the fire. And afterwards with me +will he deal after the same manner. Now, therefore, to-morrow or the +next day we will be beforehand with him, and will go where we shall +be safe from his designs." + +When the man heard all this, he left off from following the goat, +and went back with good courage, to take up his place again over +against the pig's head by the side of the Khan's couch. + +In the morning the Khan woke, refreshed with his slumber; and when +they inquired how he felt, the Khan replied that the soothsayer's +power had diminished the force of the malady. + +"If this be even so," here interposed the soothsayer, "and if the Khan +has confidence in the word of his servant, command now thy ministers +that they call together all thy subjects--the men with their arms, +and the women each with a faggot of wood for burning." Then the Khan +ordered that it should be done according to his word. When they were +all assembled, the pretended soothsayer, having set up his pig's +head, commanded further that they should bring the he-goat out of +the stable before him; and when they had bound him and brought him, +that they should put his saddle on him. Then he sprang on to his back, +and gave him three blows with all his strength, and dismounted. Then +with all the power of voice he could command, he cried out to him, +"Lay aside thine assumed form!" + +At these words the he-goat was changed before the eyes of all present +into a horrible Manggus, deformed and hideous to behold. With swords +and sticks, lances and stones, the whole people fell upon him, and +disabled him, and then burnt him with fire till he was dead. + +Then said the soothsayer, "Now, bring hither the Khanin." So they +went and dragged down the Khanin to the place where he stood, with +yelling and cries of contempt. + +With one hand on the pig's head, as if taking his authority from it, +the soothsayer cried out to her, in a commanding voice,-- + +"Resume thine own form!" + +Then she too became a frightful Manggus, and they put her to death +like the other. + +The soothsayer now rode back to the Khan's palace, all the people +making obeisance to him as he went along--some crying, "Hail!" some +strewing the way with barley, and some bringing him rich offerings. It +took him nearly the space of a day to make his way through such +a throng. + +When at last he arrived, the Khan received him with a grateful welcome, +and asked him what present he desired of him. The soothsayer answered, +with his usual simplicity, "In our part of the country we have none +of those pieces of wood which I see you put here into the noses of +the oxen: let there be given me a quantity of them to take back with +me." The Khan then ordered there should be given him three sacks of +the pieces of wood for the oxen, and seven elephants laden with meal +and butter to boot. + +When he arrived home, his wife came out to meet him with brandy, and +when she saw the seven elephants with their loads, she extolled him +highly; but when she came to learn how great was the deliverance he +had rendered to the Khan, she was indignant that he had not asked for +higher reward, and determined to go the next day herself to the Khan. + +The next day she went accordingly, disguised, and sent in a letter +of the following purport to the Khan:-- + +"Although I, the Pig's head soothsayer, brought the Khan round from +his malady, yet some remains of it still hang about him. It was in +order to remove these that I asked for the pieces of wood for the +oxen; what guerdon has been earned by this further service it is for +the Khan to decide." + +Such a letter she sent in to the Khan. + +"The man has spoken the truth," said the Khan, on reading the +letter. "For his reward, let him and his wife, his parents and friends, +all come over hither and dwell with me." + +When they arrived, the Khan said, "When one has to show his gratitude, +and dismisses him to whom he is indebted with presents, that does not +make an end of the matter. That I was not put to death by the Manggus +is thy doing; that the kingdom was not given over to destruction was +thy doing; that the ministers were not eaten up by the Manggus was thy +doing: it is meet, therefore, that we share between us the inheritance, +even between us two, and reign in perfect equality." With such words +he gave him half his authority over the kingdom, and to all his family +he gave rich fortunes and appointments of state. And thus his wife +became Khanin; so that while he could indulge himself in the same +idle life as before, she also enjoyed rest from her household and +pastoral cares (10). + + + +"Though the woman despised her husband's understanding," exclaimed +the Khan, "yet was it always his doings which brought them wealth +after all!" + +And as he let these words escape him, the Siddhî-kür replied, +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips. "And with the cry, "To escape out of this world is good!" he +sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + + + + +TALE V. + + +When the Well-and-wise-walking Khan found that he had again missed +the end and object of his journey, without hesitation or loss of +time he once more betook himself to the cool grove, and summoned the +Siddhî-kür to come with him, threatening to hew down the mango-tree. + +But as he bore him along, bound in his bag of many colours, in which +was place to stow away an hundred, the Siddhî-kür spoke thus, saying, +"Tell thou now a tale to beguile the weariness of the way." But +the Well-and-wise-walking Khan answered him nothing. Then said the +Siddhî-kür again, "If thou wilt not tell a tale, at least give the +token that I may know thou willest I should tell one." + +So the Khan nodded his head backwards and the Siddhî-kür told this +tale, saying,-- + + + +HOW THE SERPENT-GODS WERE PROPITIATED. + +Long ages ago there reigned over a flourishing province, a Khan named +Kun-snang (1). He had a son named "Sunshine" by his first wife who +afterwards died. He also had a second son named "Moonshine," by his +second wife. Now the second wife thought within herself, "If Sunshine +is allowed to live, there is no chance of Moonshine ever coming to the +throne. Some means must be found of putting Sunshine out of the way." + +With this object in view she threw herself down upon her couch and +tossed to and fro as though in an agony of pain. All the night through +also instead of sleeping, she tossed about and writhed with pain. Then +the Khan spake to her, saying, "My beautiful one! what is it that +pains thee, and with what manner of ailment art thou stricken?" And +she made answer,-- + +"Even when I was at home I suffered oftwhiles after the same manner, +but now is it much more violent; all remedies have I exhausted previous +times, there remains only one when the pain is of this degree, and +that means is not available." + +"Say not that it is not available," answered the Khan, "for all +means are available to me. Speak but what it is that is required, and +whatever it be shall be done, even to the renouncing of my kingdom. For +there is nothing that I would not give in exchange for thy life." + +But for a long time she made as though she would not tell him, then +finally yielding to his repeated inquiries, she said, "If there were +given me the heart of a Prince, stewed in sesame-oil (2), I should +recover: it matters not whether the heart of Sunshine or of Moonshine, +but that Moonshine being my own son, his heart would not pass through +my throat. This means, O Khan, is manifestly not available, for how +should it be done to take the life of Prince Sunshine? Therefore say +no more, and let me die." + +But the Khan answered, "Of a truth it would grieve me to take the +life of Prince Sunshine. Nevertheless, if there be no other means of +saving thy life, the thing must be done. I have not to consider 'Shall +the life of the Prince be spared or not?' but, 'Which shall be spared, +the life of the Prince, or the life of the Khanin?' And in this strait +who could doubt, but that it is the life of the Khanin that must be +spared by me? Therefore, be of good cheer, beautiful one, for that +the heart of Prince Sunshine shall be given thee cooked in sesame-oil." + +This, he said, intending in his own mind to have the heart of a kid +of the goats prepared for her in sesame-oil, saying, "Behold, here +is the heart of Prince Sunshine," but to send away the Prince into a +far country that she might not know he was not dead. Only when she was +restored to health again, then he purposed to fetch back his son. But +Moonshine being in his mother's apartments overheard this promise which +the Khan had given, and he ran and told his brother all that the Khan, +his father, had said, saying, "When the Khan rises he will give the +order to put thee to death; how shall this thing be averted?" and he +wept sore, for he loved his brother Sunshine even as his own life. + +Then Sunshine answered, saying, "Seeing this is so, remain thou with +our parents, loving and honouring them, and being loved by them. For +me, it is clear the time is come that I must get me away to a far +country. Farewell, my brother!" + +But Moonshine answered, "Nay, brother, for if thou goest, I +also go with thee. How should I live alone here, without thee, +my brother?" Therefore they rose quickly before the Khan could +get up, and going privately to a priest in a temple hard by, that +no one else might hear of their design and betray it to the Khan, +they begged of him a good provision of baling-cakes (3), to support +life by the way; and he gave them a good provision, even a bag-full, +and they set out on their journey while it was yet night. It was the +fifteenth of the month, while the moon shed abroad her light, and they +journeyed towards the East, not knowing whither they went. But after +they had journeyed many days over mountain and plain, and come to a +land where was no water, but a muddy river the water whereof could +not be drunk, and where was no habitation of man, Moonshine fell down +fainting by the way. Sunshine therefore ran to the top of a high hill +to see if he could discern any stream of water, but found none. When +he came back Moonshine was dead! Then he fell down on the ground, +and wept a long space upon his body, and at nightfall he buried it +with solicitude under a heap of stones, crying, "Ah! my brother, +how shall I live without thee, my brother?" And he prayed that at +Moonshine's next re-birth (4) they might again live together. + +Journeying farther on, he came to a pass between two steep rocks, +and in one of them was a red door. Going up to the door, he found an +ancient Hermit living in a cave within, who addressed him, saying, +"Whence art thou, O youth, who seemest oppressed with recent +grief?" And Sunshine told him all that had befallen him. Without +again speaking the Hermit put into the folds of his girdle a bottle +containing a life-restoring cordial, and going to the spot where +Moonshine lay buried, restored him to life. Then said he to the two +princes, "Live now with me, and be as my two sons." So they lived +with him, and were unto him as his two sons. + +The desert where this Hermit lived belonged to the kingdom of a Khan +dazzling in his glory and resistless in might. Now it was about the +season when the Khan and his subjects went every year to direct the +flowing of water over the country for fructifying the grain-seeds; +but it was the custom every year at this season first, in order to +make the Serpent-gods (5) who lived at the water-head propitious, +to sacrifice to them a youth of a certain age; and on this occasion +it fell to the lot of a youth born in the Tiger-year (6). When the +Khan had caused search to be made through all the people no youth was +found among them all born in the Tiger-year. At last certain herdsmen +came before him, saying, "While we were out tending our cattle, behold +we saw in a cave nigh to a pass between two steep rocks a Hermit who +has with him two sons, and one of them born in the Tiger-year." + +When the Khan had listened to their word he immediately sent three +envoys to fetch the Hermit's son for the sacrifice (7). + +When the three envoys of the Khan had come and stood knocking before +the red door of the Hermit's cave, the Hermit cried out to them, +asking what they wanted of him. Then answered the chief of them, +"Because thou hast a son living with thee born in the Tiger-year, and +the Khan hath need of him for the sacrifice; therefore are we come, +even that we may bring him to the Khan." + +When the Hermit had heard their embassage, he answered them, "How +should a Hermit have a son with him out here in the desert?" But he +took Sunshine, who was the youth born in the Tiger-year, and motioned +him into a farther hole of the cave where was a great vessel of +pottery; into this vessel he made him creep, then fastening the +mouth of the vessel with earth, he made it to appear like to a jar of +rice-brandy (8). Meantime, however, the Khan's envoys had broken down +the door, and began searching through every recess of the cave. Finding +nothing, they were filled with fury, and in their anger beat the +Hermit on whose account they had come a bootless errand. But when +Sunshine heard the men ill-treating the Hermit who had been to him +as a father, he could not refrain himself, and called out from within +the brandy-jar, "Unhand my father!" Then the envoys immediately left +off beating his father, but they turned and seized him and carried +him off to the Khan, while the Hermit was left weeping with great +grief at the loss of his adopted son, even as one like to die. + +As the envoys dragged Sunshine along before the palace, the Khan's +daughter was looking out of window, and when she heard that the +handsome youth was destined for the Serpent-sacrifice, she was filled +with compassion. She went therefore to the men who had the charge to +throw him into the water, saying, "See how comely he is! He is worthy +to be saved, throw him not into the water. Or else if you will throw +him in, throw me in also with him." Then the men went and showed the +Khan her words; whereupon the king was wroth, and said, "She is not +worthy to be called the Khan's daughter; let them therefore be both +sewn up into one bullock's skin, and so cast into the water." The +men therefore did according to the Khan's bidding, and sewing them +both up in one bullock-hide together, cast them into the water to +the Serpent-gods. + +Then began Sunshine to say, "That they should throw me to the +Serpent-gods, because I was the only youth to be found who was born +in the Tiger-year, was not so bad; but that this beautiful maiden, +who hath deigned to lift her eyes on me, and to love me, should be +so sacrificed also, this is unbearable!" + +And the Khan's daughter in like manner cried, "That I who am only +a woman should be thrown to the Serpent-gods, is not so bad; but +that this noble and beautiful youth should be so sacrificed also, +this is unbearable!" + +When the Serpent-gods heard these laments, and saw how the prince and +the maiden vied with each other in generosity, they sent and fetched +them both out of the water, and gave them freedom. Also as soon as +they were set free, they let the water gently flow over the whole +country, just as the people desired for their rice irrigation. + +Meantime, Sunshine said to the Khan's daughter, "Princess, let us each +now return home. Go thou to thy father's palace, while I go back to the +Hermitage, and visit my adopted father, who is like to die of grief +for the loss of me. After I have fulfilled this filial duty, I will +return to thee, and we will live for ever after for each other alone." + +The princess then praised his filial love, and bid him go console his +father, only begging him to come to her right soon, for she should +have no joy till he came back. + +Sunshine went therefore to the Hermit, whom he found so worn with +grief, that he was but just in time to save him from dying; so having +first washed him with milk and water, he consoled him with many words +of kindness. + +The princess, too, went home to the palace, where all were so +astonished at her deliverance that at first she could hardly obtain +admission. When they had made sure it was herself in very truth, +the people all came round her, and congratulated her with joy, +for never had any one before been delivered from the sacrifice to +the Serpent-gods. + +Then said the Khan, "That the Khan's daughter should be spared by +the Serpent-gods was to be expected. They have the youth born in the +Tiger-year for their sacrifice." + +But the princess answered, "Neither has he fallen sacrifice. Him also +they let free; and indeed was it in great part out of regard for his +abnegation and distress over my suffering that we were both let free." + +Then answered the Khan, "In that case is our debt great unto this +youth. Let him be sought after, and besought that he come to visit +us in our palace." + +So they went again to the cave in the rocky pass, and fetched Sunshine; +and when he came near, the Khan went out to meet him, and caused +costly seats to be brought, and made him sit down thereon beside him. + +Then he said to him, "That thou hast delivered this country from the +fear of drought, is matter for which we owe thee our highest gratitude; +but that thou and this my daughter also have escaped from death is +a marvellous wonder. Tell me now, art thou in very truth the son of +the Hermit?" + +"No," replied Sunshine, "I am the son of a mighty Khan; but my +step-mother, seeking to make a difference between me and this my +brother standing beside me, who was her own born son, and to put me +to death, we fled away both together; and thus fleeing we came to +the Hermit, and were taken in by his hospitality." + +When the Khan had heard his words, he promised him his daughter +in marriage, and her sister, to be wife to Moonshine. Moreover, he +endowed them with immeasurable riches, and gave them an escort of +four detachments of fighting-men to accompany them home. When they +had arrived near the capital of the kingdom, they sent an embassage +before them to the Khan, saying,-- + +"We, thy two sons, Sunshine and Moonshine, are returned to thee." + +The Khan and the Khanin, who had for many years past quite lost +their reason out of grief for the loss of their children, and held no +more converse with men, were at once restored to sense and animation +at this news, and sent out a large troop of horsemen to meet them, +and conduct them to their palace. Thus the two princes returned in +honour to their home. + +When they came in, the Khan was full of joy and glory, sitting on his +throne; but the Khanin, full of remorse and shame at the thought of +the crime she had meditated, fell down dead before their face. + + + +"That wretched woman got the end that she deserved!" exclaimed +the Khan. + +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips," said the Siddhî-kür. And with the cry, "To escape out of +this world is good!" he sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + +Thus far of the Adventures of the Well-and-wise-walking Khan the +fifth chapter, showing how the Serpent-gods were appeased. + + + + + + +TALE VI. + + +When the Well-and-wise-walking Khan found that he had again missed +the end and object of his journey, he proceeded once more by the same +manner and means to the cool grove. And, having bound the Siddhî-kür +in his bag, bore him on his shoulder to present to his Master and +Teacher Nâgârg'una. + +But by the way the Siddhî-kür asked him to tell a tale, and when he +would not answer begged for the token of his assent that he should +tell one, which when the Khan had given he told this tale, saying,-- + + + +THE TURBULENT SUBJECT. + +Long ages ago there lived in a district called Brschiss (1) a haughty, +turbulent man. As he feared no man and obeyed no laws, the Khan of +that country sent to him, saying, "Since thou wilt obey no laws, +thou canst not remain in my country. Get thee gone hence, or else +submit to the laws!" + +But the turbulent man chose rather to go forth in exile than submit +to the laws. So he went wandering forth till he came to a vast plain +covered with feather-grass, and a palm-tree standing in the midst, +with a dead horse lying beneath it. Under the shade of the palm-tree +(2) he sat down, saying, "The head of this horse will be useful +for food when my provisions are exhausted." So he bound it into his +waist-scarf and climbed up into the palm-tree to pass the night. + +He had scarcely composed himself to sleep when there was a great noise +of shouting and yelling, which woke him up; and behold there came +thither towards the palm-tree, from the southern side of the steppe, +a herd of dæmons, having ox-hide caps on their heads, and riding on +horses covered with ox-hides. Nor had they long settled themselves +before another herd of dæmons came trooping towards the palm-tree +from the northern side of the steppe, and these wore paper caps and +rode on horses wearing paper coverings. + +All these dæmons now danced and feasted together with great howling +and shouting. The man looked down upon them from the tree-top full +of terror, but also full of envy at their enjoyment. As he leant +over to watch them, the horse's head tumbled out of his girdle right +into their midst and scattered them in dire alarm in every direction, +not one of them daring to look up to see whence it came. It was not +till the morning light broke, however, that the man ventured to come +down. When he did so, he said, "Last night there was much feasting +and drinking going on here, surely there must be something left from +such a banquet." Searching through the long feather-grass all about, +he discovered a gold goblet full of brandy (3), from which he drank +long draughts, but it continued always full. At last he turned it +down upon the ground, and immediately all manner of meats and cakes +appeared. "This goblet is indeed larder and cellar!" said the man, +and taking it with him he went on his way. + +Farther on he met a man brandishing a thick stick as he walked. + +"What is your stick good for that you brandish it so proudly?" asked +the turbulent man. + +"My stick is so much good that when I say to it, 'Fly, that man has +stolen somewhat of me, fly after him and kill him and bring me back +my goods,' it instantly flies at the man and brings my things back." + +"Yours is a good stick, but see my goblet; whatsoever you desire of +meat or drink this same goblet provides for the wishing. Will you +exchange your stick against my goblet?" + +"That will I gladly," rejoined the traveller. + +But the turbulent man, having once effected the exchange, cried to +the stick, "Fly, that man has stolen my goblet, fly after him and kill +him and bring me back my goblet! "Before the words had left his lips +the stick flew through the air, killed the man, and brought back the +goblet. Thus he had both the stick and the goblet. + +Farther on he saw a man coming who carried an iron hammer. + +"What is your hammer good for?" inquired he as they met. + +"My hammer is so good," replied the traveller, "that when I strike +it nine times on the ground immediately there rises up an iron tower +nine storeys high." + +"Yours is a good hammer," replied the turbulent man, "but look at my +goblet; whatever you desire of meat or drink this same goblet provides +for the wishing. Will you change your hammer against my goblet?" + +"That will I gladly," replied the wayfarer. + +But the turbulent man, having once effected the exchange, cried to +the stick, "Fly, that man has stolen my goblet, fly after him and +kill him and bring me back the goblet." The command was executed as +soon as spoken, and the turbulent man thus became possessed of the +hammer as well as the stick and the goblet. + +Farther on he saw a man carrying a goat's leather bag. + +"What is your bag good for?" inquired he as they met. + +"My bag is so good that I have but to shake it and there comes a +shower of rain, but if I shake it hard then it rains in torrents." + +"Yours is a good bag," replied the turbulent man, "but see my goblet; +whatsoever you desire of meat or drink it provides you for the +wishing. Will you exchange your bag against my goblet?" + +"That will I gladly," answered the traveller. + +But no sooner had the turbulent man possession of the bag than he +sent his stick as before to recover the goblet also. + +Provided with all these magic articles, he had no fear in returning +to his own country in spite of the prohibition of the Khan. Arrived +there about midnight, he established himself behind the Khan's +palace, and, striking the earth nine times with his iron hammer, +there immediately appeared an iron fortress nine storeys high, +towering far above the palace. + +In the morning the Khan said, "Last night I heard 'knock, knock, +knock,' several times. What will it have been?" So the Khanin rose and +looked out and answered him, saying, "Behold, a great iron fortress, +nine storeys high, stands right over against the palace." + +"This is some work of that turbulent rebel, I would wager!" replied +the Khan, full of wrath. "And he has brought it to that pass that +we must now measure our strength to the uttermost." Then he rose and +called together all his subjects, and bid them each bring their share +of fuel to a great fire which he kindled all round the iron fortress; +all the smiths, too, he summoned to bring their bellows and blow it, +and thus it was turned into a fearful furnace. + +Meantime the turbulent man sat quite unconcerned in the ninth storey +with his mother and his son, occupied with discussing the viands +which the golden goblet provided. When the fire began to reach the +eighth storey, the man's mother caught a little alarm, saying, "Evil +will befall us if this fire which the Khan has kindled round us be +left unchecked." But he answered, "Mother! fear nothing; I have the +means of settling that." Then he drew out his goat's-leather bag, +went with it up to the highest turret of the fortress, and shook it +till the rain flowed and pretty well extinguished the fire; but he +also went on shaking it till the rain fell in such torrents that +presently the whole neighbourhood was inundated, and not only the +embers of the fire but the smiths' bellows were washed away, and +the people and the Khan himself had much ado to escape with their +lives. At last the gushing waters had worked a deep moat round the +fortress, in which the turbulent man dwelt henceforth secure, and +the Khan durst admonish him no more. + + + +"Thus the power of magic prevailed over sovereign might and majesty," +exclaimed the Khan; and as he uttered these words the Siddhî-kür said, +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips." And with the cry, "To escape out of this world is good!" he +sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + +Of the Adventures of the Well-and-wise-walking Khan the sixth chapter, +of how it fell out with the Turbulent Subject. + + + + + + +TALE VII. + +When the Well-and-wise-walking Khan found that he had again missed +the end and object of his labour, he proceeded again by the same +manner and means to the cool grove, and having bound the Siddhî-kür +in his bag, bore him on his shoulder to present to his Master and +Teacher Nâgârg'una. + +But by the way the Siddhî-kür asked him to tell a tale; and when he +would not answer, craved the token of his assent that he should tell +one, which when the Khan had given, he told this tale, saying,-- + + + +THE WHITE BIRD AND HIS WIFE. + +Long ages ago, there lived in a land called Fair-flower-garden, +a man, who had three daughters, who minded his herds of goats (1), +the three alternately. + +One day, when it was the turn of the eldest sister to go with them, +she fell asleep during the mid-day heat, and when she awoke, she +found that one of the goats was missing. While she wandered about +seeking it, she came to a place where was a great red door. When she +had opened this, she found behind it, a little farther on, a great +gold door. And when she had opened this, she found farther on another +door all of shining mother-o'-pearl. She opened this, and beyond it +again there was an emerald door, which gave entrance to a splendid +palace full of gold and precious stones, dazzling to behold. Yet in +all the whole palace there was no living thing save one white bird +perched upon a costly table in a cage. + +The bird espying the maiden, said to her, "Maiden, how camest thou +hither?" And she replied, "One of my father's goats has escaped +from the flock, and as I dare not go home without it, I have been +seeking it every where; thus came I hither." Then the White Bird said, +"If thou wilt consent to be my wife (2), I will not only tell thee +where the goat is, but restore it to thee. If, however, thou refuse +to render me this service, the goat is lost to thy father's flock +for ever." But the maiden answered, "How can I be thy wife, seeing +thou art a bird? Therefore is my father's goat lost to his flock for +ever." And she went away weeping for sorrow. + +The next day, when the second daughter took her turn with the herds, +another goat escaped from the flock; and when she went to seek it, she +also came to the strange palace and the white bird; but neither could +she enter into his idea of her becoming his wife; and she therefore +came home, sorrowing over the loss to the herd under her care. + +The day following, the youngest daughter went forth with the goats, +and a goat also strayed from her. But she, when she had come to the +palace, and the white bird asked her to become his wife, with the +promise of restoring her goat in case of her consent, answered him, "As +a rule, creatures of the male gender keep their promises; therefore, +O bird! I accept thy conditions." Thus she agreed to become his wife. + +One day there was to be a great gathering, lasting thirteen days, in +a temple in the neighbourhood. And when all the people were assembled +together, it was found that it was just this woman, the wife of the +white bird, who was more comely than all the other women. And among +the men there was a mighty rider, mounted on a dappled grey horse, +who was so far superior to all the rest, that when he had trotted +thrice round the assembly and ridden away again, they could not cease +talking of his grace and comeliness, and his mastery of his steed. + +When the wife came back home again to the palace in the rock, the +white bird said to her, "Among all the men and women at the festival, +who was regarded to have given the proofs of superiority?" And she +answered, "Among the men, it was one riding on a dappled grey horse; +and among the women, it was I." Thus it happened every day of the +festival, neither was there any, of men or women, that could compete +with these two. + +On the twelfth day, when the woman that was married to the white +bird went again to the festival, she had for her next neighbour an +ancient woman, who asked her how it had befallen the other days of +the feast; and she told her, saying, "Among all the women none has +overmatched me; but among the men, there is none to compare with the +mighty rider on the dappled grey horse. If I could but have such a +man for my husband, there would be nothing left to wish for all the +days of my life!" Then said the ancient woman, "And why shouldst +thou not have such a man for thy husband?" But she began to weep, +and said, "Because I have already promised to be the wife of a white +bird." "That is just right!" answered the ancient woman. "Behold, +to-morrow is the thirteenth day of the assembly; but come not thou to +the feast, only make as though thou wert going: hide thyself behind the +emerald door. When thou seemest to be gone, the white bird will leave +his perch, and assuming his man's form, will go into the stable, and +saddle his dappled grey steed, and ride to the festival as usual. Then +come thou out of thy hiding-place, and burn his perch, and cage, and +feathers; so will he have henceforth to wear his natural form." Thus +the ancient woman instructed the wife of the white bird. + +The next day the woman did all that she had been told, even according +to the words of the ancient woman. But as she longed exceedingly to see +her husband return, she placed herself behind a pillar where she could +see him coming a long way. At last, as the sun began to sink quite red +towards the horizon, she saw him coming on his dapple-grey horse. "How +is this?" he exclaimed, as he espied her. "You got back sooner than I, +then?" And she answered, "Yes, I got home the first." Then inquired he +further, "Where is my perch and cage?" And she made answer, "Those have +I burned in the fire, in order that thou mightest henceforth appear +only in thy natural form." Then he exclaimed, "Knowest thou what thou +hast done? In that cage had I left not my feathers only, but also my +soul (3)!" And when she heard that, she wept sore, and besought him, +saying, "Is there no means of restoration? Behold there is nothing +that I could not endure to recover thy soul." And the man answered, +"There is one only remedy. The gods and dæmons will come to-night to +fetch me, because my soul is gone from me; but I can keep them in +perpetual contest for seven days and seven nights. Thou, meantime, +take this stick, and with it hew and hew on at the mother-o'-pearl +door without stopping or resting day or night. By the close of the +seventh night thou shalt have hewn through the door, and I shall be +free from the gods and dæmons; but, bear in mind, that if thou cease +from hewing for one single instant, or if weariness overtake thee for +one moment, then the gods and dæmons will carry me away with them--away +from thee." Thus he spoke. Then the woman went and fetched little +motes of the feather-grass, and fixed her eyelids open with them, +that she might not be overtaken by slumber; and with the stick that +her husband had given her she set to work, when night fell, to hew +and hew on at the mother-o'-pearl door. Thus she hewed on and on, +nor wearied, seven days and seven nights: only the seventh night, +the motes of grass having fallen out of one of her eyes so that she +could not keep the lid from closing once, in that instant the gods +and dæmons prevailed against her husband, and carried him off. + +Inconsolable, she set forth to wander after him, crying, "Ah! my +beloved husband. My husband of the bird form!" Notwithstanding that +she had not slept or left off toiling for seven days and seven nights, +she set out, without stopping to take rest, searching for him every +where in earth and heaven (4). + +At last, as she continued walking and crying out, she heard his voice +answering her from the top of a mountain. And when she had toiled up to +the top of the mountain, crying aloud after him, she heard him answer +her from the bottom of a stream. When she came down again to the banks +of the stream, still calling loudly upon him, there she found him by +a sacred Obö, raised to the gods by the wayside (5). He sat there with +a great bundle of old boots upon his back, as many as he could carry. + +When they had met, he said to her, "This meeting with thee once +more rejoices my heart. The gods and dæmons have made me their +water-carrier; and in toiling up and down from the river to their +mountain (6) so many times, I have worn out all these pairs of boots." + +But she answered, "Tell me, O beloved, what can I do to deliver thee +from this bondage?" + +And he answered, "There is only this remedy, O faithful one. Even +that thou return now home, and build another cage like to the one +that was burned, and that having built it, thou woo my soul back +into it. Which when thou hast done, I myself must come back thither, +nor can gods or dæmons withhold me." + +So she went back home, and built a cage like to the one that was +burned, and wooed the soul of her husband back into it; and thus +was her husband delivered from the power of the gods and dæmons, +and came back to her to live with her always. + + + +"In truth that was a glorious woman for a wife!" exclaimed the Khan. + +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips," replied the Siddhî-kür. And with the cry, "To escape out of +this world is good!" he sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + +Thus far of the Adventures of the Well-and-wise-walking Khan the +seventh chapter, of how it befell the White Bird and his Wife. + + + + + + +TALE VIII. + + +When the Well-and-wise-walking Khan found that he had again missed the +end and object of his labour, he proceeded yet again as heretofore +to the cool grove, and having taken captive the Siddhî-kür bore him +along to present to the Master and Teacher Nâgârg'una. But by the way +the Siddhî-kür asked him to tell a tale, and when he would not speak, +craved of him the token that he willed he should tell one; which, +when he had given, he told this tale, saying,-- + + + +HOW ÂNANDA THE WOOD-CARVER AND ÂNANDA THE PAINTER STROVE AGAINST +EACH OTHER. + +Long ages ago there lived in a kingdom which was called Kun-smon +(1), a Khan named Kun-snang (2). When this Khan departed this life +his son named Chamut Ssakiktschi (3) succeeded to the throne. + +In the same kingdom lived a painter named Ânanda (4), and a wood-carver +also named Ânanda. These men were friends of each other apparently, +but jealousy reigned in their hearts. + +One day, now, it befell that Ânanda the painter, whom to distinguish +from the other, we will call by his Tibetian name of Kun-dgah instead +of by his Sanskrit name of Ânanda, appeared before the Khan, and spoke +in this wise: "O Khan, thy father, born anew into the kingdom of the +gods, called me thither unto him, and straightway hearing his behest, +I obeyed it." As he spoke he handed to "All-protecting" the Khan, +a forged strip of writing which was conceived after this manner:-- + +"To my son Chotolo (5) Ssakiktschi! + +"When I last parted from thee, I took my flight out of the lower life, +and was born again into the kingdom of the gods (6). Here I have my +abode in plenitude, yea, superabundance of all that I require. Only +one thing is wanting. In order to complete a temple I am building, +I find not one to adorn it cunning in his art like unto Ânanda our +wood-carver. Wherefore, I charge thee, son Chotolo-Ssakiktschi, call +unto thee Ânanda the wood-carver, and send him up hither to me. The +way and means of his coming shall be explained unto thee by Kun-dgah +the painter." + +Such was the letter that Kun-dgah the painter, with crafty art, +delivered to Kun-tschong (7), the Khan. Which when the Khan had read +he said to him--"That the Khan, my father, is in truth born anew into +the gods' kingdom is very good." + +And forthwith he sent for Ânanda the wood-carver, and spoke thus to +him: "My father, the Khan, is new born into the gods' kingdom, and is +there building a temple. For this purpose he has need of a wood-carver; +but can find none cunning in his art like unto thee. Now, therefore, +he has written unto me to send thee straightway above unto him." With +these words he handed the strip of writing into his hands. + +But the Wood-carver when he had read it thought within himself, +"This is indeed contrary to all rule and precedent. Do I not scent +here some craft of Kun-dgah the painter? Nevertheless, shall I not +find a means to provide against his mischievous intent?" Then he +raised his voice, and spoke thus aloud to the Khan:-- + +"Tell me, O Khan, how shall I a poor Wood-carver attain to the gods' +kingdom?" + +"In this," replied the Khan, "shall the Painter instruct thee." + +And while the Wood-carver said within himself, "Have I not smelt +thee out, thou crafty one?" the Khan sent and fetched the Painter +into his presence. Then having commanded him to declare the way and +manner of the journey into the gods' kingdom, the Painter answered +in this wise,-- + +"When thou hast collected all the materials and instruments +appertaining to thy calling, and hast gathered them at thy feet, thou +shalt order a pile of beams of wood well steeped in spirit distilled +from sesame grain to be heaped around thee. Then to the accompaniment +of every solemn-sounding instrument kindle the pile, and rise to the +gods' kingdom borne on obedient clouds of smoke as on a swift charger." + +The Wood-carver durst not refuse the behest of the Khan; but obtained +an interval of seven days in order to collect the materials and +instruments of his calling, but also to consider and find out a +means of avenging the astuteness of the Painter. Then he went home, +and told his wife all that had befallen him. + +His wife, without hesitating, proposed to him a means of evading while +seeming to fulfil the decree. In a field belonging to him at a short +distance from his house, she caused a large flat stone to be placed, +on which the sacrifice was to be consummated. But under it by night +she had an underground passage made, communicating with the house. + +When the eighth day had arrived the Khan rose and said, "This is +the day that the Wood-carver is to go up to my father into the gods' +kingdom." + +And all the people were assembled round the pile of wood steeped in +spirit distilled from sesame grain, in the Wood-carver's field. It +was a pile of the height of a man, well heaped up, and in its midst +stood the Wood-carver calm and impassible, while all kinds of musical +instruments sent up their solemn-sounding tones. + +When the smoke of the spirit-steeped wood began to rise in concealing +density, the Wood-carver pushed aside the stone with his feet, and +returned to his home by the underground way his wife had had made +for him. + +But the Painter, never doubting but that he must have fallen a prey +to the flames, rubbed his hands and pointing with his finger in joy +and triumph to the curling smoke, cried out to the people,-- + +"Behold the spirit of our brother Ânanda the wood-carver, ascending on +the obedient clouds as on a swift charger to the kingdom of the gods!" + +And all the people followed the point of his finger with their eyes +and believing his words, they cried out,-- + +"Behold the spirit of Ânanda the wood-carver, ascending to adorn the +temple of the gods' kingdom." + +And now for the space of a whole month the Wood-carver remained closely +at home letting himself be seen by no one save his wife only. Daily +he washed himself over with milk, and sat in the shade out of the +coloured light of the sun. At the end of the month his wife brought him +a garment of white gauze, with which he covered himself; and he wrote, +he also, a feigned letter, and went up with it to "All-protecting" +the Khan. + +As soon as the Khan saw him he cried out,-- + +"How art thou returned from the gods' kingdom? And how didst thou +leave my father 'All-knowing' the Khan?" + +Then Ânanda the wood-carver handed to him the forged letter which he +had prepared, and he caused it to be read aloud before the people in +these words:-- + +"To my son, Chotolo-Ssakiktschi. + +"That thou occupiest thyself without wearying in leading thy people in +the way of prosperity and happiness is well. As regards the erection of +the temple up here, concerning which I wrote thee in my former letter, +Ânanda the wood-carver hath well executed the part we committed to him, +and we charge thee that thou recompense him richly for his labour. But +in order to the entire completion of the same, we stand in need of a +painter to adorn with cunning art the sculpture he hath executed. When +this cometh into thy hands, therefore, send straightway for Kun-dgah +the painter, for there is none other like to him, and let him come +up to us forthwith; according to the same way and manner that thou +heretofore sendedst unto us Ânanda the wood-carver, shall he come." + +When the Khan had heard the letter, he rejoiced greatly, and said, +"These are in truth the words of my father, 'All-knowing' the +Khan." And he loaded Ânanda the wood-carver with rich rewards, but +sent and called unto him Kun-dgah the painter. + +Kun-dgah the painter came with all haste into the presence of the Khan, +who caused the letter of his father to be read out to him; and he as +he heard it was seized with great fear and trembling; but when he saw +Ânanda the wood-carver standing whole before him, all white from the +milk-washing and clad in the costly garment of gauze as if the light +of the gods' kingdom yet clove to him, he said within himself,-- + +"Surely the fire hath not burnt him, as I see him before mine eyes, +so neither shall it burn me; and if I refuse to go a worse death will +be allotted me, while if I accept the charge I shall receive rich +rewards like unto Ânanda," So he consented to have his painter's +gear in readiness in seven days, and to go up to the gods' kingdom +by means of the pile burnt with fire. + +When the seven days were passed, all the people assembled in the +field of Kun-dgah the painter, and the Khan came in his robes of +state surrounded by the officers of his palace, and the ministers of +the kingdom. The pile was well heaped up of beams of wood steeped in +spirit distilled from sesame grain; in the midst they placed Kun-dgah +the painter, and with the melody of every solemn-sounding instrument +they set fire to the pile. Kun-dgah fortified himself for the torture +by the expectation that soon he would begin to rise on the clouds of +smoke; but when he found that, instead of this, his body sank to the +ground with unendurable pain, he shouted out to the people to come +and release him. But the device whereby he had intended to drown the +cries of the Wood-carver prevailed against him. No one could hear +his voice for the noise of the resounding instruments; and thus he +perished miserably in the flames. + + + +"Truly that bad man was rewarded according to his deserts!" exclaimed +the Prince. + +And as he let these words escape him thoughtlessly, the Siddhî-kür +replied, "Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Prince hath +opened his lips." And with the cry, "To escape out of this world is +good!" he sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + + + + +TALE IX. + + +When the Well-and-wise-walking Khan found that he had again missed +the end and object of his labour, he proceeded yet again to the cool +grove, and having in the same manner as heretofore taken captive +the Siddhî-kür, bore him along to present to his Master and Teacher +Nâgârg'una. + +But by the way the Siddhî-kür asked him to tell a tale, and when he +would not speak craved the token that he willed he should tell one, +which when the Prince had given he told this tale, saying,-- + + + +FIVE TO ONE. + +Long ages ago there lived among the subjects of a great kingdom +six youths who were all boon companions. One was a smith's son, and +one was a wood-carver's son; one was a painter's son, and one was a +doctor's son; one was an accountant's son, and one was a rich man's +son, who had no trade or profession, but plenty of money. + +These six determined on taking a journey to find the opportunity of +establishing themselves in life; so they all six set out together, +having taken leave of their friends, and the rich man's son providing +the cost. + +When they had journeyed on a long way together without any thing +particular befalling them, as they were beginning to weary of carrying +on the same sort of life day by day, they came to a place where the +waters of six streams met, flowing thither from various directions, +and they said, "All these days we have journeyed together, and none of +us have met with the opportunity of settling or making a living. Let +us now each go forth alone, each one following back the course of one +of these rivers to its source, and see what befalls us then." So each +planted a tree at the head of the stream he chose, and they agreed that +all should meet again at the same spot, and if any failed to appear, +and his tree had withered away, it should be taken as a token that +evil had befallen him, and that then his companions should follow +his river, and search for him and deliver him. + +Having come to this agreement, each one went his way. + +The rich man's son followed the wanderings of his stream without +falling in with any one till he had reached the very source of the +river-head; here was a meadow skirting a forest, and on the border of +the forest a dwelling. Towards this dwelling the youth directed his +steps. There lived here an ancient man along with his ancient wife, +who when they saw the youth opening the gate cried out to him,-- + +"Young man! wherefore comest thou hither, and whence comest thou?" + +"I come from a far country," answered the youth, "and I am journeying +to find the occasion of settling myself in life; and thus journeying, +my steps have brought me hither." + +When the ancient man and his wife saw that he was a comely youth and +well-spoken, they said, "If this is indeed so, it is well that thy +steps have brought thee hither, for we have here a beautiful daughter, +charming in form and delightful in conversation; take her and become +our son." + +As they said these words the daughter appeared on the threshold of +the dwelling, and when the youth saw her he said within himself, +"This is no common child of earth, but one of the daughters of the +heavenly gods (1). What better can befall me than that I should marry +her and live here the rest of my days in her company?" + +The maiden, too, said to him, "It is well, O youth, that thy steps +have brought thee hither." Thus they began conversing together, and +the youth established himself on the spot and lived with his wife in +peace and happiness. + +This dwelling, however, was within the dominions of a mighty Khan. One +day, as his minions were disporting themselves in the river, they +found a ring all set with curious jewels, in cunning workmanship, +which the rich youth's wife had dropped while bathing, and the stream +had carried it along to where the Khan's minions were. As the ring +was wonderful to behold, they brought it to the Khan. + +The eyes of the Khan, who was a man of understanding, no sooner +lighted on the ring than he turned and said to his attendants,-- + +"Somewhere on the borders of this stream, and higher up its course, +lives a most beautiful woman, more beautiful than all the wives of +the Khan; go fetch her and bring her to me." + +The Khan's attendants set out on their mission, and visited all the +dwellers on the banks of the stream, but they found no woman exceeding +in beauty all the wives of the Khan till they came to the wife of +the rich youth. When they saw her, they had no doubt it must be she +that the Khan had meant. Saying, therefore, "The Khan hath sent for +thee," they carried her off to the palace; but the rich youth followed +mourning, as near as he could approach. + +When the Khan saw her, he said, "This is of a truth no child of earth; +she must be the daughter of the heavenly gods. Beside of her all my +other wives are but as dogs and swine," and he took her and placed her +far above them all. But she only wept, and could think of nothing but +the rich youth. When the Khan saw how she wept and thought only of the +rich youth, he said to his courtiers, "Rid me of this fellow." And so, +to please the Khan, they treacherously invited him to a lone place +on the bank of the river, as if to join in some game; but when they +had got him there they thrust him into a hole in the ground, and then +rolled a piece of rock on the top of it, and so put him to death. + +In the meantime, the day came round on which the six companions +had agreed to come together at the spot where the six streams met; +and there the five others arrived in due course, but the rich youth +came not; and when they looked at the tree he had planted by the +side of his stream, behold, it had withered away. In accordance with +their promise, therefore, they all set out to follow the course of his +stream and to search him out. But when they had wandered on a long way +and found no trace of him, the accountant's son sat down to reckon, +and by his reckoning he discovered that he must have gone so far into +such a kingdom, and that he must lie buried under a rock. Following +the course of his reckoning, the five soon came upon the spot where +the rich youth lay buried under the rock. But when they saw how big +the rock was, they said, "Who shall suffice to remove the rock and +uncover the body of our companion?" + +"That will I!" cried the smith's son, and, taking his hammer, he +broke the rock in pieces and brought to light the body of the rich +youth. When his companions saw him they were filled with compassion +and cried aloud, "Who shall give back to us our friend, the companion +of our youth?" + +"That will I!" cried the doctor's son, and he mixed a potion which, +when he had given it to the corpse to drink, gave him power to rise +up as if no harm had ever befallen him. + +When they saw him all well again, and free to speak, they every one +came round him, assailing him with manifold questions upon how he +had fallen into this evil plight, and upon all that had happened to +him since they parted. But when he had told them all his story from +beginning to end, they all agreed his wife must have been a wonderful +maiden indeed, and they cried out, "Who shall be able to restore his +wife to our brother?" + +"That will I!" cried the wood-carver's son. "And I!" cried the +painter's son. + +So the wood-carver's son set to work, and of the log of a tree he +hewed out a Garuda-bird (2), and fashioned it with springs, so that +when a man sat in it he could direct it this way or that whithersoever +he listed to go; and the painter's son adorned it with every pleasant +colour. Thus together they perfected a most beautiful bird. + +The rich youth lost no time in placing himself inside the beautiful +garuda-bird, and, touching the spring, flew straight away right over +the royal palace. + +The king was in the royal gardens, with all his court about him, and +quickly espied the garuda-bird, and esteemed himself fortunate that +the beautiful garuda-bird, the king of birds, the bearer of Vishnu, +should have deigned to visit his residence; and because he reckoned +no one else was worthy of the office, he appointed the most beautiful +of his wives to go up and offer it food. + +Accordingly, the wife of the rich youth herself went up on to the +roof of the palace with food to the royal bird. But the rich youth, +when he saw her approach, opened the door of the wooden garuda and +showed himself to her. Nor did she know how to contain herself for +delight when she found he was therein. + +"Never had I dared hope that these eyes should light on thee again, +joy of my heart!" she exclaimed. "How madest thou then the garuda-bird +obedient to thy word to bring thee hither?" + +But he, full only of the joy of finding her again, and that she still +loved him as before, could only reply,-- + +"Though thou reignest now in a palace as the Khan's wife in splendour +and wealth, if thine heart yet belongeth to me thine husband, come +up into the garuda-bird, and we will fly away out of the power of +the Khan for ever." + +To which she made answer, "Truly, though I reign now in the palace as +the Khan's wife in splendour and wealth, yet is my heart and my joy +with thee alone, my husband. Of what have my thoughts been filled +all through these days of absence, but of thee only, and for whom +else do I live?" + +With that she mounted into the wooden garuda-bird into the arms of +her husband, and full of joy they flew away together. + +But the Khan and his court, when they saw what had happened, were +dismayed. + +"Because I sent my most beautiful wife to carry food to the +garuda-bird, behold she is taken from me," cried the Khan, and he +threw himself on the ground as if he would have died of grief. + +But the rich youth directed the flight of the wooden garuda-bird, +so that it regained the place where his five companions awaited him. + +"Have your affairs succeeded?" inquired they, as he descended. + +"That they have abundantly," answered the rich youth. + +While he spoke, his wife had also descended out of the wooden +garuda-bird, whom when his five companions saw, they were all as madly +smitten in love with her as the Khan himself had been, and they all +began to reason with one another about it. + +But the rich youth said, "True it is to you, my dear and faithful +companions, I owe it that by means of what you have done for me, +I have been delivered from the power of cruel death, and still more +that there has been restored to me my wife, who is yet dearer far to +me. For this, my gratitude will not be withheld; but what shall all +this be to me if you now talk of tearing her from mine arms again?" + +Upon which the accountant's son stood forward and said, "It is to me +thou owest all. What could these have done for thee without the aid +of my reckoning? They wandered hither and thither and found not the +place of thy burial, until I had reckoned the thing, and told them +whither to go. To me thou owest thy salvation, so give me thy wife +for my guerdon." + +But the smith's son stood forward and said, "It is to me thou owest +all. What could all these have done for thee without the aid of mine +arm? It was very well that they should come and find the spot where +thou wert held bound by the rock; but all they could do was to stand +gazing at it. Only the might of my arm shattered it. It is to me thou +owest all, so give me thy wife for my guerdon." + +Then the doctor's son stood forward and said, "It is to me thou owest +all. What could all these have done without the aid of my knowledge? It +was well that they should find thee, and deliver thee from under the +rock; but what would it have availed had not my potion restored thee to +life? It is to me thou owest all, so give me thy wife for my guerdon." + +"Nay!" interposed the wood-carver's son, "nay, but it is to my craft +thou owest all. The woman had never been rescued from the power of the +Khan but by means of my wooden garuda-bird. Behold, are we six unarmed +men able to have laid siege to the Khan's palace? And as no man is +suffered to pass within its portal, never had she been reached, but +by means of my bird. So it is I clearly who have most claim to her." + +"Not so!" cried the painter's son. "It is to my art the whole is +due. What would the garuda-bird have availed had I not painted it +divinely? Unless adorned by my art never had the Khan sent his most +beautiful wife to offer it food. To me is due the deliverance, and +to me the prize, therefore." + +Thus they all strove together; and as they could not agree which should +have her, and she would go with none of them but only the rich youth, +her husband, they all seized her to gain possession of her, till in +the end she was torn in pieces. + + + +"Then if each one had given her up to the other he would have been no +worse off," cried the Prince. And as he let these words escape him, the +Siddhî-kür replied, "Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking +Khan hath opened his lips." And with the cry, "To escape out of this +world is good!" he sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + +Of the Adventures of the Well-and-wise-walking Khan the ninth chapter, +of the story of Five to One. + + + + + + +TALE X. + + +When the Well-and-wise-walking Khan found that the Siddhî-kür had +once more escaped, he went forth yet another time to the cool grove, +and sought him out as before; and having been solicited by him to give +the sign of consent to his telling a tale, the Siddhî-kür commenced +after the following manner:-- + + + +THE BITING CORPSE. + +Long ages ago, there lived two brothers who had married two +sisters. Nevertheless, from some cause, the hearts of the two +brothers were estranged from each other. Moreover, the elder brother +was exceeding miserly and morose of disposition. The elder brother +also had amassed great riches; but he gave no portion of them unto +his younger brother. One day the elder brother made preparations +for a great feast, and invited to it all the inhabitants of the +neighbourhood. The younger brother said privately to his wife on this +occasion, "Although my brother has never behaved as a brother unto +us, yet surely now that he is going to have such a great gathering +of neighbours and acquaintances, it beseemeth not that he should fail +to invite also his own flesh and blood." + +Nevertheless he invited him not. The next day, however, he said again +to his wife, "Though he invited us not yesterday, yet surely this +second day of the feast he will not fail to send and call us." + +Nevertheless he invited him not. Yet the third day likewise he expected +that he should have sent and called him; but he invited him not the +third day either. When he saw that he invited him not the third day +either, he grew angry, and said within himself, "Since he has not +invited me, I will even go and steal my portion of the feast." + +As soon as it was dark, therefore--when all the people of his brother's +house, having well drunk of the brandy he had provided, were deeply +sunk in slumber,--the younger brother glided stealthily into his +brother's house, and hid himself in the store-chamber. But it was so, +that the elder brother, having himself well drank of the brandy, and +being overcome with sound slumbers (1), his wife supported him along, +and then put herself to sleep with him in the store-chamber. After a +while, however, she rose up again, chose of the best meat and dainties, +cooked them with great care, and went out, taking with her what she +had prepared. When the brother saw this, he was astonished, and, +abandoning for the moment his intention of possessing himself of a +share of the good things, went out, that he might follow his brother's +wife. Behind the house was a steep rock, and on the other side of the +rock a dismal, dreary burying-place. Hither it was that she betook +herself. In the midst of a patch of grass in this burying-place was +a piece of paved floor; on this lay the body of a man, withered and +dried--it was the body of her former husband (2); to him, therefore, +she brought all these good dishes. After kissing and hugging him, +and calling upon him by name, she opened his mouth, and tried to +put the food into it. Then, see! suddenly the dead man's mouth was +jerked to again, breaking the copper spoon in two. And when she had +opened it again, trying once more to feed him, it closed again as +violently as before, this time snapping off the tip of the woman's +nose. After this, she gathered her dishes together, and went home, +and went to bed again. Presently she made as though she had woke up, +with a lamentable cry, and accused her husband of having bitten off +her nose in his sleep. The man declared he had never done any such +thing; but as the woman had to account for the damage to her nose, +she felt bound to go on asseverating that he had done it. The dispute +grew more and more violent between them, and the woman in the morning +took the case before the Khan, accusing her husband of having bitten +off the tip of her nose. As all the neighbours bore witness that +the nose was quite right on the previous night, and the tip was now +certainly bitten off, the Khan had no alternative but to decide in +favour of the woman; and the husband was accordingly condemned to +the stake for the wilful and malicious injury. + +Before many hours it reached the ears of the younger brother that +his elder brother had been condemned to the stake; and when he had +heard the whole matter, in spite of his former ill-treatment of him, +he ran forthwith before the Khan, and gave information of how the +woman had really come by the injury, and how that his brother had no +fault in the matter. + +Then said the Khan, "That thou shouldst seek to save the life of +thy brother is well; but this story that thou hast brought before +us, who shall believe? Do dead men gnash their teeth and bite the +living? Therefore in that thou hast brought false testimony against the +woman, behold, thou also hast fallen into the jaws of punishment." And +he gave sentence that all that he possessed should be confiscated, +and that he should be a beggar at the gate of his enemies (3), with +his head shorn (4). "Let it be permitted to me to speak again," said +the younger brother, "and I will prove to the Khan the truth of what +I have advanced." And the Khan having given him permission to speak, +he said, "Let the Khan now send to the burying-place on the other side +of the rock, and there in the mouth of the corpse shall be found the +tip of this woman's nose." Then the Khan sent, and found it was even +as he had said. So he ordered both brothers to be set at liberty, +and the woman to be tied to the stake. + + + +"It were well if a Khan had always such good proof to guide his +judgments," exclaimed the Well-and-wise-walking Khan. + +And as he let these words escape him, the Siddhî-kür replied, +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips." And with the cry, "To escape out of this world is good," +he sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + + + + +TALE XI. + + +Wherefore the Well-and-wise-walking Khan went forth yet again, and +fetched the Siddhî-kür. And as he brought him along, the Siddhî-kür +told this tale:-- + + + +THE PRAYER MAKING SUDDENLY RICH. + +Long ages ago, there was situated in the midst of a mighty kingdom +a god's temple, exactly one day's journey distant from every part +of the kingdom. Here was a statue of the Chongschim Bodhisattva (1) +wrought in clay. Hard by this temple was the lowly dwelling of an +ancient couple with their only daughter. At the mouth of a stream +which watered the place, was a village where lived a poor man. One +day this man went up as far as the source of the stream to sell his +fruit, which he carried in a basket. On his way home he passed the +night under shelter of the temple. As he lay there on the ground, +he overheard, through the open door of the lowly dwelling, the aged +couple reasoning thus with one another: "Now that we are both old and +well-stricken in years, it were well that we married our only daughter +to some good man," said the father. "Thy words are words of truth," +replied the mother. "Behold, all that we have in this world is our +daughter and our store of jewels. Have we not all our lives through +offered sacrifice at the shrine of the Chongschim Bodhisattva? have we +not promoted his worship, and spread his renown? shall he not therefore +direct us aright in our doings? To-morrow, which is the eighth day +of the new moon, therefore, we will offer him sacrifice, and inquire +of him what we shall do with our daughter Suvarnadharî (2): whether +we shall devote her to the secular or religious condition of life." + +When the man had heard this, he determined what to do. Having found a +way into the temple, he made a hole in the Buddha-image, and placed +himself inside it. Early in the morning, the old man and his wife +came, with their daughter, and offered their sacrifice. Then said the +father, "Divine Chongschim Bodhisattva! let it now be made known to +us, whether is better, that we choose for our daughter the secular +or religious condition of life? And if it be the secular, then show +us to whom we shall give her for a husband." + +When he had spoken these words the poor man inside the Buddha-image +crept up near the mouth of the same, and spoke thus in solemn tones:-- + +"For your daughter the secular state is preferable. Give her for wife +to the man who shall knock at your gate early in the morning." + +At these words both the man and his wife fell into great joy, +exclaiming, "Chutuktu (3) hath spoken! Chutuktu hath spoken!" + +Having watched well from the earliest dawn that no one should call +before him, the man now knocked at the gate of the old couple. When +the father saw a stranger standing before the door, he cried, "Here +in very truth is he whom Buddha hath sent!" So they entreated him to +come in with great joy; prepared a great feast to entertain him, and, +having given him their daughter in marriage, sent them away with all +their store of gold and precious stones. + +As the man drew near his home he said within himself, "I have got all +these things out of the old people, through craft and treachery. Now I +must hide the maiden and the treasure, and invent a new story." Then +he shut up the maiden and the treasure in a wooden box, and buried +it in the sand of the steppe (4). + +When he came home he said to all his friends and neighbours, "With +all the labour of my life riches have not been my portion. I must +now undertake certain practices of devotion to appease the dæmons +of hunger; give me alms to enable me to fulfil them." So the people +gave him alms. Then said he the next day, "Now go I to offer up +'the Prayer which makes suddenly rich.'" And again they gave him alms. + +While he was thus engaged it befell that a Khan's son went out hunting +with two companions, with their bows and arrows, having with them a +tiger as a pastime to amuse them while journeying. They rode across +the steppe, just over the track which the poor man had followed; and +seeing there the sand heaped up the Prince's attention fell on it, +and he shot an arrow right into the midst of the heap. But the arrow, +instead of striking into the sand, fell down, because it had glanced +against the top of the box. + +Then said the Khan's son, "Let us draw near and see how this befell." + +So they drew near; and when the servants had dug away the sand they +found the wooden box which the man had buried. The Khan's son then +ordered the servants to open the box; and when they had opened it +they found the maiden and the jewels. + +Then said the Khan's son, "Who art thou, beautiful maiden?" + +And the maiden answered, "I am the daughter of a serpent-god." + +Then said the Khan's son, "Come out of the box, and I will take thee +to be my wife." + +But the maiden answered, "I come not out of the box except some other +be put into the same." + +To which the Prince replied, "That shall be done," and he commanded +that they put the tiger into the box; but the maiden and the jewels +he took with him. + +Meantime the poor man had completed the prayers and the ceremonies +'to make suddenly rich,' and he said, "Now will I go and fetch the +maiden and the treasure." With that he traced his way back over the +steppe to the place where he had buried the box, and dug it out of +the sand, not perceiving that the Prince's servants had taken it up +and buried it again. Then, lading it on to his shoulder, he brought +the same into his inner apartment. But to his wife he said, "To-night +is the last of the ceremony 'for making suddenly rich.' I must shut +myself up in my inner apartment to perform it, and go through it all +alone. What noise soever thou mayst hear, therefore, beware, on thy +peril, that thou open not the door, neither approach it." + +This he said, being minded to rid himself of the maiden, who might have +betrayed the real means by which he became possessed of the treasure, +by killing her and hiding her body under the earth. + +Then having taken off all his clothes, that they might not be soiled +with the blood he was about to spill, and prepared himself thus to +put the woman to death, he lifted up the lid of the box, saying, +"Maiden, fear nothing!" But on the instant the tiger sprang out upon +him and threw him to the ground. In vain he cried aloud with piteous +cries. All the time that his bare flesh was delivered over to the +teeth and claws of the unpitying tiger his wife and children were +laughing, and saying, "How is our father diligent in offering up +'the Prayer which makes suddenly rich!'" + +But when, the next morning, he came not out, all the neighbours came +and opened the door of the inner apartment, and they found only his +bones which the tiger had well cleaned; but having so well satisfied +its appetite, it walked out through their midst without hurting any +of them. + +In process of time, however, the maiden whom the Khan's son had +taken to his palace had lived happily with him, and they had a +family of three children; and she was blameless and honoured before +all. Nevertheless, envious people spread the gossip that she had come +no one knew whence; and when they brought the matter before the king's +council it was said, "How shall a Khan's son whose mother was found +in a box under the sand reign over us? And what will be thought of +a Khan's son who has no uncles?" + +These things reached the ears of the Khanin, and, fearing lest they +should take her sons from her and put them to death that they might not +reign, she resolved to take them with her and go home to her parents. + +On the fifteenth of the month, while the light of the moon shone +abroad, she took her three sons and set out on her way. + +When it was about midday she had arrived nigh to the habitation of +her parents; but at a place where formerly all had been waste she +found many labourers at work ploughing the land, directing them was +a noble youth of comely presence. When the youth saw the Khan's wife +coming over the field he asked her whence she came; answering, she +told him she had journeyed from afar to see her parents, who lived by +the temple of Chongschim Bodhisattva on the other side of the mountain. + +"And you are their daughter?" pursued the young man. + +"Even so; and out of filial regard am I come to visit them," answered +the Khanin. + +"Then you are my sister," returned the youth, "for I am their son; and +they have always told me I had an elder sister who was gone afar off." + +Then he invited her to partake of his midday meal, and after +they had dined they set out together to find the lowly dwelling +of their parents. But when they had come round to the other side +of the mountain in the place where the lowly habitation had stood, +behold there was now a whole congeries of palaces, each finer than the +residence of the husband of the Khanin! All over they were hung with +floating streamers of gay-coloured silks. The temple of the Chongschim +Bodhisattva itself had been rebuilt with greater magnificence than +before, and was resplendent with gold, and diamonds, and streamers +of silk, and furnished with mellow-toned bells whose sound chimed +far out into the waste. + +"To whom does all this magnificence belong?" inquired the Khanin. + +"It all belongs to us," replied the youth. "Our parents, too, are +well and happy; come and see them." + +As they drew near their parents came out to meet them, looking hale and +hearty and riding on horses. Behind them came a train of attendants +leading horses for the Khanin and her brother. They all returned to +the palace where the parents dwelt, all being furnished with elegance +and luxury. When they had talked over all the events that had befallen +each since they parted, they went to rest on soft couches. + +When the Khanin saw the magnificence in which her parents were living +she bethought her that it would be well to invite the Khan to come +and visit them. Accordingly she sent a splendid train of attendants +to ask him to betake himself thither. Soon after, the Khan arrived, +together with his ministers, and they were all of them struck with +the condition of pomp and state in which the Khanin was living, +far exceeding that of the Khan himself, the ministers owned, saying, +"The report we heard, saying that the Khanin had no relations but the +poor and unknown, was manifestly false;" and the Khan was all desire +that she should return home. To this request she gave her cordial +assent, only, as her parents were now well-stricken in years, and it +was not likely she should have the opportunity of seeing them more, +she desired to spend a few days more by their side. It was agreed, +therefore, that the Khan and his ministers should return home, and +that after three days the Khanin also should come and join him. + +Having taken affectionate leave of the Khan and seen him depart, +she betook herself to rest on her soft couch. + +When she woke in the morning, behold, all the magnificence of the +place was departed! There were no stately palaces; the temple of +the Chongschim Bodhisattva was the same unpretending structure it +had always been of old, only a little more worn down by time and +weather; the lowly habitation of her parents was a shapeless ruin, +and she was lying on the bare ground in one corner of it, with a +heap of broken stones for a pillow. Her parents were dead long ago, +and as for a brother there was no trace of one. + +Then she understood that the devas had sent the transformation to +satisfy the Khan and his ministers, and, that done, every thing had +returned to its natural condition. + +Grateful for the result, she now returned home, where the Khan received +her with greater fondness than before. The ministers were satisfied +as to the honour of the throne, all the gossips were put to silence +from that day forward, and her three sons were brought up and trained +that they might reign in state after the Khan their father. + + + +"Truly, that was a woman favoured by fortune beyond +expectation!" exclaimed the Khan. And as he let these words +escape him the Siddhî-kür replied, "Forgetting his health, the +Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened his lips." And with the cry, +"To escape out of this world is good!" he sped him through the air, +swift out of sight. + + + +Thus far of the adventures of the Well-and-wise-walking Khan the +eleventh chapter, concerning "The Prayer making suddenly Rich." + + + + + + +TALE XII. + + +Wherefore the Well-and-wise-walking Khan went forth yet again and +fetched the Siddhî-kür; and as he brought him along the Siddhî-kür +told this tale:-- + + + +"CHILD-INTELLECT" AND "BRIGHT-INTELLECT." + +Long ages ago there lived a Khan who was called Küwôn-ojôtu +(1). He reigned over a country so fruitful that it was surnamed +"Flower-clad." All round its borders grew mango-trees and groves of +sandalwood (2), and vines and fruit-trees, and within there was of +corn of every kind no lack, and copious streams of water, and a mighty +river called "The Golden," with flourishing cities all along its banks. + +Among the subjects of this Khan was one named Gegên-uchâtu (3), +renowned for his wit and understanding. For him the Khan sent +one day, and spoke to him, saying, "Men call thee 'him of bright +understanding.' Now let us see whether the name becomes thee. To this +end let us see if thou hast the wit to steal the Khan's talisman, +defying the jealous care of the Khan and all his guards. If thou +succeedest I will recompense thee with presents making glad the +heart; but if not, then I will pronounce thee unworthily named, and +in consequence will lay waste thy dwelling and put out both thine +eyes." Although the man ventured to prefer the remark, "Stealing have +I never learned," yet the Khan maintained the sentence that he had +set forth. + +In the night of the fifteenth of the month, therefore, the man made +himself ready to try the venture. + +But the king, to make more sure, bound the talisman fast to a marble +pillar of his bed-chamber, against which he lay, and leaving the +door open the better to hear the approach of the thief, surrounded +the same with a strong watch of guards. + +Gegên-uchâtu now took good provision of rice-brandy, and going in to +talk as if for pastime with the Khan's guards and servants, gave to +every one of them abundantly to drink thereof, and then went his way. + +At the end of an hour he returned, when the rice-brandy had done its +work. The guards before the gate were fast asleep on their horses; +these he carried off their horses and set them astride on a ruined +wall. In the kitchen were the cooks waiting to strike a light to +light the fire: over the head of the one nearest the fire he drew a +cap woven of grass (4), and in the sleeve of the other he put three +stones. Then going softly on into the Khan's apartment, without +waking him, he put over his head and face a dried bladder as hard +as a stone; and the guards that slept around him he tied their hair +together. Then he took down the talisman from the marble pillar to +which it was bound and made off with it. Instantly, the Khan rose +and raised the cry, "A thief has been in here!" But the guards could +not move because their hair was tied together, and cries of "Don't +pull my hair!" drowned the Khan's cries of "Stop thief!" As it was +yet dark the Khan cried, yet more loudly, "Kindle me a light!" And +he cried, further, "Not only is my talisman stolen, but my head is +enclosed in a wall of stone! Bring me light that I may see what it +is made of." When the cook, in his hurry to obey the Khan, began to +blow the fire, the flame caught the cap woven of grass and blazed up +and burnt his head off; and when his fellow raised his arm to help +him put out the fire the three stones, falling from his sleeve, hit +his head and made the blood flow, giving him too much to attend to +for him to be able to pursue the thief. Then the Khan called through +the window to the outer guards, who ought to have been on horseback +before the gate, to stop the thief; and they, waking up at his voice, +began vainly spurring at the ruined wall on which Gegên-uchâtu had set +them astride, and which, of course, brought them no nearer the subject +of their pursuit, who thus made good his escape with the talisman, +no man hindering him, all the way to his own dwelling. + +The next day he came and stood before the Khan. The Khan sat on his +throne full of wrath and moody thoughts. + +"Let not the Khan be angry," spoke the man of bright understanding, +"here is the talisman, which I sought not to retain for myself, +but only to take possession of according to the word of the Khan." + +The Khan, however, answered him, saying, "The talisman is at thy +disposition, nor do I wish to have it back from thee. Nevertheless, +thy dealings this night, in that thou didst draw a stone-like bladder +over the head of the Khan, were evil, for the fear came therefrom upon +me lest thou hadst even pulled off my head; therefore my sentence +upon thee is that thou be taken hence to the place of execution and +be beheaded by the headsman." + +Hearing this sentence, Gegên-uchâtu said, within himself, "In this +sentence that he hath passed the Khan hath not acted according to +the dictates of justice." Therefore he took the Khan's talisman in +his hand and dashed it against a stone, and, behold, doing so, the +blood poured out of the nose of the Khan until he died! + + + +"That was a Khan not fit to reign!" exclaimed the Well-and-wise-walking +Khan. + +And as he let these words escape him the Siddhî-kür replied, +"Forgetting his health the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened his +lips." And with the cry, "To escape out of this world is good!" he +sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + + + + +TALE XIII. + + +Wherefore the Well-and-wise-walking Khan went forth yet again and +fetched the Siddhî-kür, and as he brought him along the Siddhî-kür +told him, according to the former manner, this tale, saying,-- + + + +THE FORTUNES OF SHRIKANTHA. + +Long ages ago there was a Brahman's son whose name was Shrikantha +(1). This man sold all his inheritance for three pieces of +cloth-stuff. Lading the three pieces of cloth-stuff on to the back of +an ass, he went his way into a far country to trade with the same (2). + +As he went along he met a party of boys who had caught a mouse and +were tormenting it. Having tied a string about its neck, they were +dragging it through the water. The Brahman's son could not bear to +see this proceeding and chid the boys, but they refused to listen to +his words. When he found that they would pay no heed to his words, +he bought the mouse of them for one of his pieces of stuff, and +delivered it thus out of their hands. + +When he had gone a little farther he met another party of boys who +had caught a young ape (3) and were tormenting it. Because it did not +understand the game they were playing, they hit it with their fists, +and when it implored them to play in a rational manner and not be so +hasty and revengeful, they but hit it again. At the sight the Brahman +was moved with compassion and chid the boys, and when they would not +listen to him he bought it of them for another of his pieces of stuff, +and set it at liberty. + +Farther along, in the neighbourhood of a city, he met another party of +boys who had caught a young bear and were tormenting it, riding upon +it like a horse and otherwise teasing it; and when by his chiding he +could not induce them to desist, he bought it of them for his last +piece of stuff, and set it at liberty. + +By this means he was left entirely without merchandize to trade +with, and he thought within himself, as he drove his donkey along, +what he should do; and he found in his mind no better remedy than to +steal something out of the palace of the Khan wherewith to commence +trading. Having thus resolved, he tied his donkey fast in the thick +jungle and made his way with precaution into the store-chambers of +the Khan's palace. Here he possessed himself of a good provision of +pieces of silk-stuff, and was well nigh to have escaped with the same +when the Khan's wife, espying him, raised the cry, "This fellow hath +stolen somewhat from the Khan's store-chamber!" + +At the cry the people all ran out and stopped Shrikantha and brought +him to the Khan. As he was found with the stuffs he had stolen still +upon him, there was no doubt concerning his guilt, so the Khan ordered +a great coffer to be brought, and that he should be put inside it, +and, with the lid nailed down, be cast into the water. + +The force of the current, however, carried the coffer into the midst +of the branches of an overhanging tree on an island, where it remained +fixed; nevertheless, as the lid was tightly nailed down, it soon became +difficult to breathe inside the box. Just as Shrikantha was near to +die for want of air, suddenly a little chink appeared, through which +plenty of air could enter. It was the mouse he had delivered from +its tormentors who had brought him this timely aid (4). "Wait a bit," +said the mouse, as soon as he could get his mouth through the aperture, +"I will go fetch the ape to bring better help." + +The ape came immediately on being summoned, and tore away at the box +with all his strength till he had made a hole big enough for the man to +have crept out; but as the box was surrounded by the water he was still +a prisoner. "Stop a bit!" cried the ape, when he saw this dilemma; +"I will go and call the bear." + +The bear came immediately on being summoned, and dragged the coffer +on to the bank of the island, where Shrikantha alighted, and all +three animals waited on him, bringing him fruits and roots to eat. + +While he was living here water-bound, but abundantly supplied by +the mouse, the ape, and the bear with fruits to sustain life, he one +day saw shining in a shallow part of the water a brilliant jewel as +big as a pigeon's egg. The ape soon fetched it at his command, and +when he saw how big and lustrous it was he resolved that it must be a +talisman. To put its powers to the test, he wished himself removed to +terra firma. Nor had he sooner uttered the wish than he found himself +in the midst of a fertile plain. Having thus succeeded so well, he next +wished that he might find on waking in the morning a flourishing city +in the plain, and a shining palace in its midst for his residence, +with plenty of horses in the stable, and provisions of all kinds in +abundance in the store-chamber; shady groves were to surround it, +with streams of water meandering through them. + +When he woke in the morning he found all prepared even as he had +wished. Here, therefore, he lived in peace and prosperity, free +from care. + +Before many months had passed there came by that way a caravan of +merchants travelling home who had passed over the spot on their +outward-bound journey. + +"How is this!" exclaimed the leader of the caravan. "Here, where a +few months ago grew nothing but grass; here is there now sprung up a +city in all this magnificence!" So they came and inquired concerning +it of the Brahman's son. + +Then Shrikantha told them the whole story of how it had come to pass, +and moreover showed them the talisman. Then said the leader of the +caravan, "Behold! we will give thee all our camels and horses and +mules, together with all our merchandize and our stores, only give +us thou the talisman in exchange." So he gave them the talisman in +exchange, and they went on their way. But the Brahman's son went to +sleep in his palace, on his soft couch with silken pillows. + +In the morning, when he woke, behold the couch with the silken pillows +was no more there, and he was lying on the ground in the island in +the midst of the water! + +Then came the mouse, the ape, and the bear to him, saying-- + +"What misfortune is this that hath happened to thee this second +time?" So he told them the whole story of how it had come to pass. And +they, answering, said to him, "Surely now it was foolish thus to part +with the talisman; nevertheless, maybe we three may find it." And they +set out to follow the track of the travelling merchants. They were not +long before they came to a flourishing city with a shining palace in +its midst, surrounded by shady groves, and streams meandering through +them. Here the merchants had established themselves. + +When night fell, the ape and the bear took up their post in a grove +near the palace, while the mouse crept within the same, till she came +to the apartment where the leader of the caravan slept--here she crept +in through the keyhole. The leader of the caravan lay asleep on a soft +couch with silken pillows. In a corner of the apartment was a heap of +rice, in which was an arrow stuck upright, to which the talisman was +bound, but two stout cats were chained to the spot to guard it. This +report the mouse brought to the ape and the bear. "If it is as thou +hast said," answered the bear, "there is nothing to be done. Let +us return to our master." "Not so!" interposed the ape. "There is +yet one means to be tried. When it is dark to-night, thou mouse, +go again to the caravan leader's apartment, and, having crept in +through the keyhole, gnaw at the man's hair. Then the next night, to +save his hair, he will have the cats chained to his pillow, when the +talisman being unguarded, thou canst go in and fetch it away." Thus +he instructed the mouse. + +The next night, therefore, the mouse crept in again through the +keyhole, and gnawed at the man's hair. When the man got up in the +morning, and saw that his hair fell off by handfuls, he said within +himself, "A mouse hath done this. To-night, to save what hair remains, +the two cats must be chained to my pillow." And so it was done. When +the mouse came again, therefore, the cats being chained to the caravan +leader's pillow, she could work away at the heap of rice till the arrow +fell; then she gnawed off the string which bound the talisman to it, +and rolled it before her all the way to the door. Arrived here, she +was obliged to leave it, for by no manner of means could she get it +up to the keyhole. Full of sorrow, she came and showed this strait +to her companions. "If it is as thou hast said," answered the bear, +"there is nothing to be done. Let us return to our master." + +"Not so!" interposed the ape; "there is yet one means to be tried. I +will first tie a string to the tail of the mouse, then let her go +down through the keyhole, and hold the talisman tightly with all her +four feet, and I will draw her up through the keyhole." This they did; +and thus obtained possession of the talisman. + +They now set out on the return journey, the ape sitting on the back +of the bear, carrying the mouse in his ear and the talisman in his +mouth. Travelling thus, they came to a place where there was a stream +to cross. The bear, who all along had been fearing the other two +animals would tell the master how little part he had had in recovering +the talisman, now determined to vaunt his services. Stopping therefore +in the midst of the stream, he said, "Is it not my back which has +carried ye all--ape, mouse, and talisman--over all this ground? Is +not my strength great? and are not my services more than all of +yours?" But the mouse was asleep snugly in the ear of the ape, and +the ape feared to open his mouth lest he should drop the talisman; +so there was no answer given. Then the bear was angry when he found +there was no answer given, and, having growled, he said, "Since +it pleases you not, either of you, to answer, I will even cast you +both into the water." At that the ape could not forbear exclaiming, +"Oh! cast us not into the water!" And as he opened his mouth to speak, +the talisman dropped into the water. When he saw the talisman was lost, +he was full dismayed; but for fear lest the bear should drop him in +the water, he durst not reproach him till they were once more on land. + +Arrived at the bank, he cried out, "Of a surety thou art a +cross-grained, ungainly sort of a beast; for in that thou madest me +to answer while I had the talisman in my mouth, it has fallen into +the water, and is more surely lost to the master than before." "If +it is even as thou hast said," answered the bear, "there is nothing +to be done. Let us return to the master." But the mouse waking up at +the noise of the strife of words, inquired what it all meant. When +therefore the ape had told her how it had fallen out, and how that they +were now without hope of recovering the talisman, the mouse replied, +"Nay, but I know one means yet. Sit you here in the distance and wait, +and let me go to work." + +So they sat down and waited, and the mouse went back to the edge of +the stream. At the edge of the stream she paced up and down, crying +out as if in great fear. At the noise of her pacing and her cries, +the inhabitants of the water all came up, and asked her the cause of +her distress. "The cause of my distress," replied the mouse, "is my +care for you. Behold there is even now, at scarcely a night's distance, +an army on the march which comes to destroy you all; neither can you +escape from it, for though it marches over dry land, in a moment it +can plunge in the water and live there equally well." "If that is so," +answered the inhabitants of the water, "then there is no help for +us." "The means of help there is," replied the mouse. "If we could +between us construct a pier along the edge of the water, on which you +could take refuge, you would be safe, for half in and half out of the +water this army lives not, and could not pursue you thither." So the +inhabitants of the water replied, "Let us construct a pier." "Hand +me up then all the biggest pebbles you can find," said the mouse, +"and I will build the pier." So the inhabitants of the water handed up +the pebbles, and the mouse built of the pebbles a pier. When the pier +was about a span long, there came a frog bringing the talisman, saying, +"Bigger than this one is there no pebble here!" So the mouse took the +talisman with great joy, and calling out, "Here it is!" brought the +same to the ape. The ape put the talisman once more in his mouth, +and the mouse in his ear; and having mounted on to the back of the +bear, they brought the talisman safely to Shrikantha (5). + +Shrikantha not having had his three attendants to provide him with +fruits for so many days was as one like to die; nevertheless, when +he saw the talisman again, he revived, and said, "Truly the services +are great that I have to thank you three for." No sooner, however, +had he the talisman in his hand, than all the former magnificence came +back at a word--a more flourishing city, a more shining palace, trees +bending under the weight of luscious fruits, and birds of beautiful +plumage singing melodiously in the branches. + +Then said Shrikantha again to his talisman, "If thou art really a good +and clever talisman, make that to me, who have no wife, a daughter of +the devas should come down and live with me, and be a wife to me." And, +even as he spoke, a deva maiden came down to him, surrounded with a +hundred maidens, her companions, and was his wife, and they lived a +life of delights together, and a hundred sons were born to him." + + + +"Of a truth that was a Brahman's son whom fortune delighted to honour," +exclaimed the Well-and-wise-walking Khan. And as he had marched fast, +and they were already far on their journey when the Siddhî-kür +began his tale, they had reached even close to the precincts of +the dwelling of the great Master and Teacher Nâgârg'una, when he +spoke these words. Nevertheless, the Siddhî-kür had time to exclaim, +"Excellent! Excellent!" and to escape swift out of sight. + + + +But the Well-and-wise-walking Khan stood before Nâgârg'una. + +Then spoke the great Master and Teacher Nâgârg'una, unto him, saying,-- + +"Seeing thou hast not succeeded in thine enterprise, thou hast +not procured the happiness of all the inhabitants of Gambudvîpa, +nor promoted the well-being of the six classes of living beings +(6). Nevertheless, seeing thou hast exercised unexampled courage and +perseverance, and through much terror and travail hast fetched the +Siddhî-kür these thirteen times, behold, the stain of blood is removed +from off thee, though thou fetch him not again. Moreover, this that +thou hast done shall turn to thy profit, for henceforth thou shalt +not only be called the Well-and-wise-walking Khan, but thou shalt +exceed in good fortune and in happiness all the Khans of the earth." + + + + + + +TALE XIV. + + +Notwithstanding this generous promise and bountiful remission of his +master Nâgârg'una, the Khan set out on his journey once again, even as +before, determined this time to command his utterance and fulfil his +task to the end. Treading his path with patience and earnestness he +arrived at the cool grove, even to the foot of the mango-tree. There +he raised his axe "White Moon," as though he would have felled it. + +Then spoke the Siddhî-kür, saying, "Spare the leafy mango-tree, +and I will come down to thee." + +So the Khan put up his axe again and bound the Siddhî-kür on his back, +to carry him off to Nâgârg'una. + +Now as the day was long, and the air oppressive, so that they were +well weary, the Siddhî-kür began to tempt the Khan to speak, saying,-- + +"Lighten now the journey by telling a tale of interest." + +But how weary soever the Khan was, he pressed his lips together and +answered him never a word. + +Then the Siddhî-kür finding he could not make him speak, continued, +"If thou wilt not lighten the journey by telling a tale of interest, +tell me whether I shall tell one to thee." + +And when he found that he still answered him not, he said, "If thou +wilt that I tell the tale, make me a sign of consent by nodding thine +head backwards." + +Then the Well-and-wise-walking Khan nodded his head backwards, and +the Siddhî-kür proceeded to tell the tale in these words:-- + + + +THE AVARICIOUS BROTHER. + +Long ages ago there dwelt in a city of Western India two brothers. + +As the elder brother had no inheritance, and made a poor living by +selling herbs and wood, he suffered the common fate of those in needy +circumstances, and received no great consideration from his fellow-men. + +The younger brother on the other hand was wealthy, yet gave he no +portion of his riches to his brother. + +One day he gave a great entertainment, to which he invited all his rich +neighbours and acquaintances, but to his brother he sent no invitation. + +Then spoke the brother's wife to her husband, saying,-- + +"It were better that thou shouldst die than live thus dishonoured +by all. Behold, now, thou art not even invited to thy brother's +entertainment." + +"Thy words which thou hast spoken are true," replied the husband. "I +will even go forth and die." + +Thus saying, he took up his hatchet and cord, and went out into the +forest, passing over many mountains by the way. On the banks of a +stream, running through the forest, he saw a number of lions and tigers +(1), and other savage beasts, so he forbore to go near that water, +but continued his way till he came to the head of the stream, and here +in the sheltering shade of a huge rock were a number of Dakinis (2), +dancing and disporting themselves to tones of dulcet music. Presently +one of the Dakinis flew up on high out of the midst of those dancing, +and took out of a cleft in the rock a large sack, which she brought +down to the grassy bank where the dancing was going on. Having spread +it out on the ground in the presence of them all, she took a hammer +out of it, and began hammering lustily into the bag. As she did so, +all kinds of articles of food and drink that could be desired presented +themselves at the mouth of the sack. The Dakinis now left off dancing, +and began laying out the meal; but ever as they removed one dish from +the mouth of the bag, another and another took its place. + +When they had well eaten and drank, the first Dakini hammered away +again upon the bag, and forthwith there came thereout gold and silver +trinkets, diadems, arm-bands, nûpuras (3), and ornaments for all +parts of the body. With these the Dakinis decked themselves, till +they were covered from head to foot with pearls and precious stones, +and their hair sparkling with a powdering of gems (4). Then they flew +away, the first Dakini taking care to lay up the bag and hammer in +the cleft of the rock before taking her flight. + +When they were far, far on their way, and only showed as specks in the +distant sky, then the man came forth from his hiding-place, and having +felled several trees with his axe, bound them together one on to the +end of the other with his cord, and by this means climbed up to the +cleft in the rock, where the Dakini had laid up the hammer and bag, +and brought them away. + +He had no sooner got down to the ground again, than to make proof +of his treasure even more than to satisfy his ravenous appetite, he +took the hammer out of the bag, and banged away with it on to the bag, +wishing the while that it might bring him all manner of good things to +eat. All sorts of delicious viands came for him as quickly as for the +Dakinis, of which he made the best meal he had ever had in his life, +and then hasted off home with his treasure. + +When he came back he found his wife bemoaning his supposed death. + +"Weep not for me!" he exclaimed, as soon as he was near enough for +her to hear him; "I have that with me which will help us to live with +ease to the end of our days." And without keeping her in suspense, +he hammered away on his bag, wishing for clothes, and household +furniture, and food, and every thing that could be desired. + +After this they gave up their miserable trade in wood and herbs, +and led an easy and pleasant life. + +The neighbours, however, laid their heads together and said,-- + +"How comes it that this fellow has thus suddenly come into such easy +circumstances?" + +But his brother's wife said to her husband,-- + +"How can thine elder brother have come by all this wealth unless he +hath stolen of our riches?" As she continued saying this often, the +man believed it, and called his elder brother to him and asked him, +"Whence hast thou all this wealth; who hath given it to thee?" And +when he found he hesitated to answer, he added, "Now know I that thou +must have stolen of my treasure; therefore, if thou tell me not how +otherwise thou hast come by it, I will even drag thee before the Khan, +who shall put out both thine eyes." + +When the elder brother had heard this threat, he answered, "Going afar +off to a place unknown to thee, having purposed in my mind to die, +I found in a cleft of a rock this sack and this hammer (5)." + +"And how shall this rusty iron hammer and this dirty sack give thee +wealth?" again inquired his brother; and thus he pursued his inquiries +until by degrees he made him tell the whole story. Nor would he be +satisfied till he had explained to him exactly the situation of the +place and the way to it. No sooner had he acquainted himself well of +this than, taking with him a cord and an axe, he set out to go there. + +When he arrived, he saw an immense number of deformed, ugly spirits, +standing against the rock in eight rows, howling piteously. As he crept +along to observe if there was any thing he could take of them to make +his fortune as his brother had done, one of them happened to look +that way and espied him, after which it was no more possible to escape. + +"Of a surety this must be the fellow who stole our bag and +hammer!" exclaimed the ugly spirit. "Let us at him and put him +to death." + +The Dakinis were thoroughly out of temper, and did not want any +urging. The words were no soon uttered than, like a flock of birds, +they all flew round him and seized him. + +"How shall we kill him?" asked one, as she held him tight by the +hair of his head till every single hair seemed as if forced out by +the roots. + +"Fly with him up to the top of the rock, and then dash him down!" cried +some. "Drop him in the middle of the sea!" cried others. "Cut him in +pieces, and give him to the dogs!" cried others again. But the sharp +one who had first espied him said, "His punishment is too soon over +with killing him; shall we not rather set a hideous mark upon him, +so that he shall be afraid to venture near the habitations of his kind +for ever?" "Well spoken!" cried the Dakinis in chorus, something like +good-humour returning at the thought of such retribution. "What mark +shall we set upon him?" + +"Let us draw his nose out five ells long, and then make nine knots +upon it," answered the sharp-witted Dakini. + +This they did, and then the whole number of them flew away without +leaving a trace of their flight. + +Fully crestfallen and ashamed, the avaricious brother determined +to wait till nightfall before he ventured home, meantime hiding +himself in a cave lest any should chance to pass that way and see +him with his knotted nose. When darkness had well closed in only he +ventured to slink home, trembling in every limb both from remaining +fright at the life-peril he had passed through, and from fear of some +inopportune accident having kept any neighbour abroad who might come +across his path. + +Before he came in sight of his wife he began calling out most +piteously,-- + +"Flee not from before me! I am indeed thine own, very own +husband. Changed as I am, I am yet indeed the very self-same. Yet a +few days I will endeavour to endure my misery, and then I will lay +me down and die." + +When his neighbours and friends found that he came out of his house +no more, nor invited them to him, nor gave entertainments more, they +began to inquire what ailed him; but he, without letting any of them +enter, only answered them from within, "Woe is me! woe is me!" + +Now there was in that neighbourhood a Lama (6), living in contemplation +in a tirtha (7) on the river bank. "I will call in the same," thought +the man, "and take his blessing ere I die." So he sent to the tirtha +and called the Lama. + +When the Lama came, the man bowed himself and asked his blessing, but +would by no means look up, lest he should see his knotted nose. Then +said the Lama, "Let me see what hath befallen thee; show it me." But +he answered, "It is impossible to show it!" + +Then the Lama said again, "Let me see it; showing it will not harm +thee." But when he looked up and let him see his knotted nose, the +sight was so frightful that a shudder seized the Lama, and he ran away +for very horror." However, the man called after him and entreated him +to come back, offering him rich presents; and when he had prevailed +on him to sit down again, he told him the whole story of what had +befallen him. + +To his question, whether he could find any remedy, the Lama made +answer that he knew none; but, remembering his rich presents, he +thought better to turn the matter over in case any useful thought +should present itself to his mind, and said he would consult his books. + +"Till to-morrow I will wait, then, to hear if thy books have any +remedy; and if not, then will I die." + +The next morning the Lama came again. "I have found one remedy," +he said, "but there is only one. The hammer and bag of which your +brother is possessed could loose the knots; there is nothing else." + +How elated so ever he had been to hear that a remedy had been found, +by so much cast down was he when he learnt that he would have to send +and ask the assistance of his brother. + +"After all that I have said to him, I could never do this thing," +he said mournfully, "nor would he hear me." But his wife would not +leave any chance of remedying the evil untried; so she went herself +to the elder brother and asked for the loan of the sack and hammer. + +Knowing how anxious his brother had been to be possessed of such a +treasure, however, the brother thought the alleged misfortune was +an excuse to rob him of it; therefore he would not give it into +her hand. Nevertheless, he went to his brother's house with it, +and asked him what was the service he required of his sack. Then he +was obliged to tell him all that had befallen, and to show him his +knotted nose. "But," said he, "if with thy hammer thou will but loose +the knots, behold the half of all I have shall be thine." + +His brother accepted the terms; but not trusting to the promise of one +so avaricious, he stipulated to have the terms put in order under hand +and seal. When this was done he set to work immediately to swing his +hammer, and let it touch one by one the knots in his brother's nose, +saying as he did so,-- + +"May the knots which the eight rows of evil Dakinis made so strong +be loosed." + +And with each touch and invocation the knots began to disappear one +after the other. + +But his wife began to regret the loss of half their wealth, and she +determined on a scheme to save it, and yet that her husband should +be cured. "If," said she, "I stop him before he has undone the last +knot he cannot claim the reward, because he will not have removed all +the knots, and it will be a strange matter if I find not the means +of obtaining the hammer long enough to remedy one knot myself." As +she reasoned thus he had loosed the eighth knot. + +"Stop!" she cried. "That will do now. For one knot we will not make +much ado. He can bear as much disfigurement as that." + +Then the elder brother was grieved because they had broken the +contract, and went his way carrying the sack, and with the hammer stuck +in his girdle. As he went, the younger brother's wife went stealthily +behind him, and when he had just reached his own door, she sprang upon +him, and snatched the hammer from out his girdle. He turned to follow +her, but she had already reached her own house before he came up with +her, and entering closed the door against him: then in triumph over +her success, she proceeded to attempt loosing the ninth knot. Only +swinging it as she had seen her brother-in-law do, and not knowing how +to temper the force so that it should only just have touched the nose, +the blow carried with it so much moment that the hammer went through +the man's skull, even to his brain, so that he fell down and died. + +By this means, not the half, but the whole of his possessions passed +to his elder brother. + + + +"If the man was avaricious, the woman was doubly avaricious," here +exclaimed the Khan, "and by straining to grasp too much, she lost all." + +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips," cried the Siddhî-kür. And with the cry, "To escape out of +this world is good," he sped him through the air once again, swift +out of sight. + + + + + + +TALE XV. + + +When therefore the Well-and-wise-walking Khan found that he had +once more failed in the end and object of his mission, he once more +took the way of the shady grove, and once more in the same fashion +as before he took the Siddhî-kür captive in his sack. As he bore +him along weary with the journey through the desert country, the +Siddhî-kür asked if he would not tell a tale to enliven the way, +and when he steadfastly held his tongue, the Siddhî-kür bid him, +if he would that he should tell one, but give a token of nodding his +head backwards, without opening his lips. + +Then he nodded his head backwards, and the Siddhî-kür told this tale, +saying,-- + + + +THE USE OF MAGIC LANGUAGE. + +Long ages ago there lived in Western India a King who had a very +clever son. In order to make the best advantage of his understanding, +and to fit him in every way to become an accomplished sovereign, +the King sent him into the Diamond-kingdom (1), that he might be +thoroughly instructed in all kinds of knowledge. He was accompanied +in his journey by the son of the king's chief minister, who was also +to share his studies, but who was as dull as he was intelligent. On +their arrival in the Diamond-kingdom, they gave each of them the sum +with which they had been provided by their parents to two Lamas to +conduct their education, and spent twelve years with them. + +At the end of the twelve years the minister's son proposed to the +king's son that they should now return home, and as the Lamas allowed +that the king's son had made such progress in the five kinds of +knowledge that there was nothing more he could learn, he agreed to +the proposal, and they set out on their homeward way. + +All went well at first; but one day passed, and then another, and yet +another, that they came to no source of water, and being parched nigh +unto death with thirst, the minister's son would have laid him down +to die. As he stood hesitating about going on, a crow passed and made +his cry of "ikerek." The prince now encouraged his companion, saying, +"Come but a little way farther, and we shall find water." + +"Nay, you deceive me not like an infant of days," answered the +minister's son. "How shall we find water? Have we not laboured over +the journey these three days, and found none; neither shall we find +it now? Why should we add to this death of thirst the pangs of useless +fatigue also?" + +But the king's son said again, "Nay, but of a certainty we shall now +find it." + +And when he asked, "How knowest thou this of a certainty?" he replied, +"I heard yon crow cry as he passed, 'Go forward five hundred paces +in a southerly direction, and you will come to a source of pure, +bright fresh water.'" + +The king's son spoke with so much certainty that he had not strength +to resist him; and so they went on five hundred paces farther in a +southerly direction, and then they indeed came upon a pure, bright +spring of water, where they sat down, and drank, and refreshed +themselves. + +As they sat there, the minister's son was moved with jealousy, for, +thought he within himself, in every art this prince has exceeded me, +and when we return to our own country, all shall see how superior +he is to me in every kind of attainment. Then he said aloud to the +king's son,-- + +"If we keep along this road, which leads over the level plain, where +we can be seen ever so far off, may be robbers will see us, and, +coming upon us, will slay us. Shall we not rather take the path which +leads over the mountain, where the trees will hide us, and pass the +night under cover of the wood?" And this he said in order to lead the +prince into the forest, that he might slay him there unperceived. But +the prince, who had no evil suspicion, willingly agreed to his words, +and they took the path of the mountain. When they had well entered +the thick wood, the minister's son fell upon the prince from behind, +and slew him. The prince in dying said nothing but the one word, +"Abaraschika (2)." + +As soon as he had well hidden the body, the minister's son continued +on his way. + +As he came near the city, the King went out to greet him, accompanied +by all his ministers, and followed by much people; but when he found +that his son was not there, he fell into great anxiety, and eagerly +inquired after him. "Thy son," answered the minister's son, "died on +the journey." + +At these words, the King burst into an agony of grief, crying, +"Alas, my son! mine only son! Without thee, what shall all my royal +power and state, what shall all my hundred cities, profit me?" Amid +these bitter cries he made his way back to the palace. As he dwelt +on his grief, the thought came to him, "Shall not my son when dying +at least have left some word expressive of his last thoughts and +wishes?" Then he sent and inquired this thing of his companion, +to which, the minister's son made answer, "Thy son was overtaken +with a quick and sudden malady, and as he breathed out his life, +he had only time to utter the single word, Abaraschika." + +Hearing this the King was fully persuaded the word must have some deep +and hidden meaning; but as he was unable to think it out, he summoned +all the seers, soothsayers, magicians, and astrologers (3) of his +kingdom, and inquired of them what this same word Abaraschika could +mean. There was not, however, one of them all that could help him to +the meaning. Then said the King, "The last word that my son uttered, +even mine only son, this is dear to me. There is no doubt that it is a +word in which by all the arts that he had studied and acquired he knew +how to express much, though he had not time to utter many words. Ye, +therefore, who are also learned in cunning arts ought to be able to +tell the interpretation of the same, but if not, then of what use +are ye? It were better that ye were dead from off the face of the +earth. Wherefore, I give you the space of seven days to search in +all your writings and to exercise all your arts, and if at the end +of seven days ye are none of you able to tell me the interpretation, +then shall I deliver you over to death." + +With that he commanded that they should be all secured in an exceeding +high fortress for the space of seven days, and well watched that they +might not escape. + +The seven days passed away, and not one of them was at all nearer +telling the interpretation of Abaraschika than on the first day. "Of +a certainty we shall all be put to death to-morrow," was repeated all +through the place, and some cried to the devas and some sat still +and wept, speaking only of the relations and friends they would +leave behind. + +Meantime, a student of an inferior sort, who waited on the others and +learned between whiles, had contrived to escape, not being under such +strict guard as his more important brethren. At night-time he took +shelter under a leafy tree. As he lay there a bird and its young +ones came to roost on the boughs above him. One of the young ones +instead of going to sleep went on complaining through the night, "I'm +so hungry! I'm so hungry!" At last the old bird began to console it, +saying, "Cry not, my son; for to-morrow there will be plenty of food." + +"And why should there be more food to-morrow than to-day?" asked the +young bird. + +"Because to-morrow," answered the mother, "the Khan has made +preparations to put a thousand men to death. That will be a feast +indeed!" + +"And why should he put so many men to death?" persisted the young bird. + +"Because," interposed the father, "though they are all wise men, +not one of them can tell him such a simple thing as the meaning of +the word Abaraschika." + +"What does it mean, then?" inquired the young bird. + +"The meaning of the word is this: 'This, my bosom friend, hath enticed +me into a thick grove, and there, wounding me with a sharp knife, +hath taken away my life, and is even now preparing to cut off my +head.'" This the old bird told to his young. + +The young student, however, hearing these words waited to hear no +more, but set off at his best speed towards the tower where all his +companions were confined. About daybreak he reached the gates, and +made his way in all haste in to them. In the midst of their weeping +and lamenting over the morning which they reckoned that of their day +of death, he cried out,-- + +"Weep no more! I have discovered the meaning of the word." + +Just then the Khan's guard came to conduct them to the Khan for +examination preparatory to their being given over to execution. Here +the young student declared to the Khan the meaning of the word +Abaraschika. Having heard which the Khan dismissed them all with rich +presents, but privately bid them declare to no man the meaning of the +word. Then he sent for the minister's son, and without giving him any +hint of his intention, bid him go before him and show him where lay +the bones of his son, which when he had seen and built a tomb over +them, he ordered the minister and his son both to be put to death. + + + +"That Khan's son, so well versed in the five kinds of knowledge, +would have been an honour and ornament to his kingdom, had he not +been thus untimely cut off," exclaimed the Khan. + +And as he let these words escape him, the Siddhî-kür replied, +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips." And with the cry, "To escape out of this world is good!" he +sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + + + + +TALE XVI. + + +When therefore the Well-and-wise-walking Khan saw that he had again +failed in the end and object of his journey, he once more took the +way of the cool grove; and having taken the Siddhî-kür captive as +before in his bag, in which there was place for a hundred, and made +fast the mouth of the same with his cord woven of a hundred threads +of different colours, he bore him along to present to his Master and +Teacher Nâgârg'una. + +And as they went the Siddhî-kür asked him to beguile the way with a +tale, or else give the signal that he should tell one. And when the +Well-and-wise-walking Khan had given the signal that the Siddhî-kür +should tell one, he began after this wise, saying,-- + + + +THE WIFE WHO LOVED BUTTER. + +Long ages ago there dwelt in the neighbourhood of a city in the north +part of India called Taban-Minggan (1) a man and his wife who had +no children, and nine cows (2) for all possessions. As the man was +very fond of meat he used to kill all the calves as soon as they were +born that he might eat them, but the wife cared only for butter. One +day when there were no more calves the man took it into his head to +slaughter one of the cows; "What does it signify," said he to himself, +"whether there are nine or eight?" So he killed one of the cows and ate +it. When the meat of this cow was all at an end, he said to himself, +"What does it matter whether there are eight cows or seven?" And with +that he slaughtered another cow and ate it. When the meat of this cow +had come to an end, he said within himself again, "What does it matter +whether there are seven cows or six?" and with that he slaughtered +another cow and ate it. This he continued doing till there was one +only cow left. At last, when the wife saw that there was but one only +cow left, she could refrain herself no longer. Determined to save this +only cow from being slaughtered, she never let it out of her sight, +but wherever she went led it after her by a string. + +One day, however, when the man had been drinking well of rice-brandy, +and was sound asleep, the wife having to go out to fetch water, +she thought it would be safe to leave the cow behind this once; but +scarcely was she gone out when the man woke up, and, seeing the cow +left alone behind, slaughtered it to eat. + +When the woman came back and found the last remaining cow was killed, +she lifted up her voice and wept, saying, "What is there now left to +me wherewithal to support life, seeing that the last and only cow that +remained to us is killed." As she said these words, she turned her in +anger and went away, and as she went the man cut off one of the teats +of the cow and threw it after her. The woman picked up the teat and +took it along with her; but she went along still crying till she came +to a cave in a mountain side, where she took shelter. There she cast +herself down on the ground, addressing herself in earnest prayer to +the Three Precious Treasures (3) and the Ruler of Heaven and Earth, +saying, "Now that my old man has brought me to the last extremity, +depriving me of all that I had to support life, grant now, ye Three +Precious Treasures, and thou Ruler of Heaven and Earth, that I may +have in some way that which is needful to support life!" Thus she +prayed. Also, she flung from her the teat of the cow which she had +in her hand, and behold! it clove to the side of the cave, and when +she would have removed it, it would no more be removed, but milk ran +therefrom as from the living cow. And the milk thereof was good for +making butter, which her soul loved. + +Thus she lived in the cave, and was provided with all she desired to +support life. One day it befell that the memory of her husband coming +over her, she said within herself, "Perhaps, now that the last cow +is slaughtered and eaten, my old man may be suffering hunger; who +knows!" Thus musing, she filled a sheep's paunch (4) with butter, and +went her way to the place where her husband lived, and having climbed +on to the roof, she looked down upon him through the smoke-hole (5). + +He sat there in his usual place, but nothing was set before him to eat +saving only a pan of ashes, which he was dividing with a spoon, saying +the while, "This is my portion for to-day;" and "That much I reserve +for the portion of to-morrow." Seeing this, the wife threw her paunch +of butter hastily through the roof, and then went back to her cave. + +Then thought the husband within himself, "Who is there in heaven +or earth who would have brought me this butter-paunch but my very +wife? who surely has said within herself, 'Perhaps, now that the last +cow is slaughtered, my old man is suffering hunger.'" And as every +night she thus supplied him with a butter-paunch, he got up at last +and followed her by the track of her feet on the snow till he came to +the cave where she dwelt. Nevertheless, seeing the teat cleaving to +the side of the cave, he could not resist cutting it off to eat the +meat thereof. Then he took to him all the store of butter the woman +had laid up and returned home; but the wife, finding her place of +refuge was known to him, and that he had taken all her store, left +the cave and wandered on farther. + +Presently she came to a vast meadow well watered by streams, and herds +of hinds grazing amid the grass; nor did they flee at her approach, +so that she could milk them at will, and once more she could make +butter as much as ever she would. + +One day it befell that, the memory of her husband coming over her, +she said within herself, "Perhaps, now that he will have exhausted +all the store of cow-milk-butter, my old man may be suffering hunger; +who knows!" So she took a sheep's paunch of the butter made of hind's +milk and went to the place where her husband lived. As she looked down +upon him through the smoke-hole in the roof, she found him once more +engaged sparingly dividing his portions of ashes. So she threw the +butter-paunch to him through the smoke-hole and went her way. When +she had done this several days, her husband rose and followed her by +her track on the snow till he came to where the herd of hinds were +grazing. But when he saw so many hinds, he could not resist satisfying +his love of meat; only when he had slaughtered many of the hinds, +these said one to another, "If we remain here, of a surety we shall +all be put to death;" therefore they arose in the night and betook them +afar, far off, whither neither the man nor his wife could follow them. + +When the wife found her place of refuge was known to her husband, +and that he had dispersed her herd of hinds, she left the grassy +meadow and wandered on farther. + +Presently, a storm coming on, she took shelter in a hole in a rock +where straw was littered down; so she laid herself to sleep amid the +straw. But the hole was the den of a company of lions, tigers, and +bears, and all manner of wild beasts; but they had a hare for watchman +at the opening of the hole. At night, therefore, they all came home +and laid down, but they perceived not the woman in the straw; only +in the night, the woman happening to move, a straw tickled the nose +of the hare. Then said the hare to a tiger who lay near him, "What +was that?" But the tiger said, "We will examine into the matter when +the morning light breaks." When the morning light broke, therefore, +they turned up all the straw and found the woman lying. When the +tiger and the other beasts saw the woman lying in their straw, they +were exceeding wroth, and would have torn her in pieces. But the hare +said, "What good will it do you to tear the woman in pieces? Women are +faithful and vigilant animals; give her now to me, and I will make her +help me watch the cave." So they gave her to the hare, and the hare +bade her keep strict watch over the cave, and by no means let any one +of any sort enter it; and he treated her well and gave her plenty of +game to eat, which the wild beasts brought home to their lair. + +Thus she lived in the den of the wild beasts and did the bidding +of the hare. One day, however, it befell that, the memory of her +husband coming over her, she said within herself, "Perhaps, now that +the hinds are all dispersed, my old man may be suffering hunger; +who knows!" So she took with her a good provision of game, of which +the wild beasts brought in abundance, and went to the place where +her husband lived. He sat as before, dividing his portions of ashes; +so she threw the game she had brought down through the smoke-hole. + +When she had thus provisioned him many days, he said within himself, +"Who is there in heaven or earth who should thus provide for me, +but only my loving wife?" So the next night he rose up and tracked +her by the snow till he came to the den of the wild beasts. + +When the wife saw him, she cried, "Wherefore camest thou hither? This +is even a wild beasts' lair. Behold, seeing thee they will tear thee +in pieces!" But the man would not listen to her word, answering, "If +they have not torn thee in pieces, neither will they tear me." Then, +when she found that he would not escape, she took him and hid him in +the straw. At night, when the wild beasts came home, the hare said +to the tiger, "Of a certainty I perceive the scent of some creature +which was not here before;" and the tiger answered, "When morning +breaks we will examine into the matter." Accordingly, when morning +broke they looked over the place, and there in the straw they found +the woman's husband. When they saw the man they were all exceedingly +wroth, nor could the hare by any means restrain them that they should +not tear them both in pieces. "For," said they, "if of one comes two, +of two will come four, and of four will come sixteen, and in the +end we shall be outnumbered and destroyed, and our place taken from +us." So they tore them both in pieces, both the wife and her husband. + + + +"That woman fell a sacrifice to her devotion to her husband, who +deserved it not at her hand!" exclaimed the Khan. + +And as he let these words escape him, the Siddhî-kür replied, +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips." And with the cry, "To escape out of this world is good!" he +sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + + + + +TALE XVII. + + +Wherefore the Well-and-wise-walking Khan once more took the way of +the cool grove, and brought thence bound the Siddhî-kür, who by the +way told him this story, saying--, + + + +THE SIMPLE HUSBAND AND THE PRUDENT WIFE. + +In the southern part of India lived a man who had a very large fortune +and a very notable wife, but possessing little sense or capacity +himself, nor sufficient understanding to think of trading with his +fortune. One day a caravan of merchants came by, with whom the wife +made some exchanges of merchandize while the husband stood by and +looked on. When they were gone, the wife said to him, "Why should +not you also go forth and trade even as these merchants trade?" And +he willing to do her a pleasure made answer, "Give me wherewithal to +trade, and I will see what I can do." + +"This is but reasonable," thought the wife. "For how shall he trade +except he have some sort of merchandize to trade withal." So she made +ready for him an ass to ride, and a camel's burden of rice to trade +with, and arms to defend him from robbers, and provisions to sustain +him by the way. Thus she sent him forth. + +On he rode till he came to the sea-shore, and as he could go no farther +he laid him down here at the foot of a high cliff to sleep. Just where +he lay was the entrance to a cave which he failed to discover. Towards +evening a caravan of merchants travelling by, took shelter in this +cave, leaving a bugle lying on the ground near the entrance, that +in case of an attack of robbers the first who heard their approach +might warn the others. + +The man's face being turned, as he lay also towards the entrance of +the cave, came very near the mouthpiece of the bugle. About the middle +of the night when he was sleeping very heavily he began also to snore, +and his breath accidentally entering the bugle gave forth so powerful +a note (1), that it woke all the merchants together. "Who sounded +the bugle?" asked each. "Not I," "Nor I," "Nor I," answered one and +all. "Then it must be the thieves themselves who did it in defiance," +said one. "They must be in strong force thus to defy us!" answered +another. "We had better therefore make good our escape before they +really attack us," cried all. And without waiting to look after their +goods, they all ran off for the dear life without so much as looking +behind them. + +In the morning, finding the merchants did not return, the simple +man put together all the merchandize they had left behind them and +returned home with it. All the neighbours ran out to see him pass +with his train of mules and cried aloud, "Only see what a clever +trader! Only see how fortune has prospered him!" + +Quite proud of his success and not considering how little merit he had +had in the matter, he said, "To-morrow I will go out hunting!" But his +wife knowing he had not capacity to have come by all the merchandize +except through some lucky chance, and thinking some equally strange +adventure might befall him when out hunting, determined to be even +with him and to know all that might come to pass. + +Accordingly the next day she provided him with a horse and dog, and +bow and arrows, and provisions for the way. Only as he went forth, she +said, "Beware, a stronger than thou fall not upon thee!" But he, puffed +up by his yesterday's success, answered her, "Never fear! There is none +can stand against me." And she, smiling to see him thus highminded, +made reply, "Nevertheless, the horseman Surja-Bagatur (2) is terrible +to deal with. Shouldst thou meet him, stand aside and engage him not, +for surely he would slay thee." Thus she warned him. But he mounted +his horse and rode away, crying, "Him I fear no more than the rest!" + +As soon as she had seen him start the wife dressed herself in man's +clothes, and mounting a swift horse (3) she rode round till she came +by a different path to the same place as her husband. Seeing him +trot across a vast open plain she bore down right upon him at full +gallop. The man, too much afraid of so bold a rider to recognize that +it was his wife, turned him and fled from before her. Soon overtaking +him, however, she challenged him to fight, at the same time drawing +her sword. "Slay me not!" exclaimed the simple man, slipping off +his horse, "Slay me not, most mighty rider, Surja-Bagatur! Take now +my horse and mine arms, and all that I have. Leave me only my life, +most mighty Surja-Bagatur!" So his wife took the horse and the arms, +and all that he had and rode home. + +At night the simple man came limping home footsore and in sorry +plight. "Where is the horse and the arms?" inquired his wife as she +saw him arrive on foot. + +"To-day I encountered the mighty rider, Surja-Bagatur, and having +challenged him to fight," answered he, "I overcame him and humbled +him utterly. Only that the wrath of the hero at what I had done might +not be visited on us, I propitiated him by making him an offering of +the horse and the arms and all that I had." + +So the woman prepared roasted corn and set it before him; and when +he had well eaten she said to him, "Tell me now, what manner of man +is the hero Surja-Bagatur, and to what is he like (4)?" + +And the simple man made answer, "But that he wore never a beard, +even such a man would he have been as thy father." + +And the wife laughed to herself, but told him nothing of all she +had done. + + + +"That was a prudent woman, who humbled not her husband by triumphing +over him!" exclaimed the Khan. + +And as he let these words escape him, the Siddhî-kür replied, +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips." And with the cry, "To escape out of this world is good!" he +sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + +Of the adventures of the Well-and-wise-walking Khan the seventeenth +chapter, of the Simple Husband and the Prudent Wife. + + + + + + +TALE XVIII. + + +When therefore the Well-and-wise-walking Khan saw that the Siddhî-kür +had again made good his escape, he set out and came to the cool grove, +and took him captive and brought him, bound in his bag. And by the +way the Siddhî-kür told this tale, saying,-- + + + +HOW SHANGGASBA BURIED HIS FATHER. + +Long ages ago, there lived in a city of Northern India a father and +son. Both bore the same name, and a strangely inappropriate name it +was. Though they were the poorest of men without any thing in the +world to call their own, and without even possessing the knowledge +of any trade or handicraft whereby to make a livelihood to support +them at ease, they were yet called by the name of Shanggasba, that is +"Renowned possessor of treasure (1)." + +As I have already said, they knew no trade or handicraft; but to +earn a scanty means of subsistence to keep body and soul together, +they used to lead a wandering sort of life, gathering and hawking wood. + +One day as they were coming down the steep side of a mountain forest, +worn and footsore, bending under the heavy burden of wood on their +backs, Shanggasba, the father, suddenly hastened his tired, tottering +steps, and, leading the way through the thickly-meeting branches to +a little clear space of level ground, where the grass grew green and +bright, called to his son to come after him with more of animation +in his voice than he had shown for many a weary day. + +Shanggasba, the son, curious enough to know what stirred his father's +mind, and glad indeed at the least indication of any glimpse of a new +interest in life, increased his pace too, and soon both were sitting +on the green grass with their bundles of wood laid beside them. + +"Listen, my son!" said Shanggasba, the father, "to what I have here +to impart to thee, and forget not my instructions." + +"Just as this spot of sward, on which we are now seated, is bared of +the rich growth of trees covering the thicket all around it, so are my +fortunes now barren compared with the opulence and power our ancestor +Shanggasba, 'Renowned possessor of treasure,' enjoyed. Know, moreover, +that it was just on this very spot that he lived in the midst of his +power and glory. Therefore now that our wanderings have brought us +hither, I lay this charge upon thee that when I die thou bring hither +my bones, and lay them under the ground in this place. And so doing, +thou too shalt enjoy fulness of might and magnificence like to the +portion of a king's son. For it was because my father's bones were +laid to rest in a poor, mean, and shameful place, that I have been +brought to this state of destitution in which we now exist. But thou, +if thou keep this my word, doubt not but that thou also shalt become +a renowned possessor of treasure." + +Thus spoke Shanggasba, the father; and then, lifting their faggots +on to their shoulder, they journeyed on again as before. + +Not long after the day that they had held this discourse, Shanggasba, +the father, was taken grievously ill, so that the son had to go out +alone to gather wood, and it so befell that when he returned home again +the father was already dead. So remembering his father's admonition, +he laded his bones upon his back, and carried them out to burial in +the cleared spot in the forest, as his father had said. + +But when he looked that the great wealth and honour of which his +father had spoken should have fallen to his lot, he was disappointed +to find that he remained as poor as before. Then, because he was +weary of the life of a woodman, he went into the city, and bought a +hand-loom and yarn, and set himself to weave linen cloths which he +hawked about from place to place. + +Now, one day, as he was journeying back from a town where he had been +selling his cloths, his way brought him through the forest where +his father lay buried. So he tarried a while at the place and sat +down to his weaving, and as he sat a lark came and perched on the +loom. With his weaving-stick he gave the lark a blow and killed it, +and then roasted and ate it. + +But as he ate it he mused, "Of a certainty the words of my father have +failed, which he spoke, saying, 'If thou bury my bones in this place +thou shalt enjoy fulness of might and magnificence.' And because this +weaving brings me a more miserable profit even than hawking wood, +I will arise now and go and sue for the hand of the daughter of the +King of India, and become his son-in-law." + +Having taken this resolution, he burnt his hand-loom, and set out on +his journey. + +Now it so happened that just at this time the Princess, daughter of the +King of India, having been absent for a long time from the capital, +great festivities of thanksgiving were being celebrated in gratitude +for her return in safety, as Shanggasba arrived there; and notably, +on a high hill, before the image of a Garuda-bird (2), the king of +birds, Vishnu's bearer, all decked with choice silk rich in colour. + +Shanggasba arrived, fainting from hunger, for the journey had been +long, and he had nothing to eat by the way, having no money to buy +food, but now he saw things were beginning to go well with him, for +when he saw the festival he knew there would be an offering of baling +cakes of rice-flour before the garuda-bird, and he already saw them +in imagination surrounded with the yellow flames of the sacrifice. + +As soon as he approached the place therefore he climbed up the +high hill, and satisfied his hunger with the baling; and then, as a +provision for the future, he took down the costly silk stuffs with +which the garuda-bird was adorned and hid them in his boots. + +His hunger thus appeased, he made his way to the King's palace, +where he called out lustily to the porter in a tone of authority, +"Open the gate for me!" + +But the porter, when he saw what manner of man it was summoned him, +would pay no heed to his words, but rather chid him and bid him +be silent. + +Then Shanggasba, when he found the porter would pay no heed to his +words, but rather bid him be silent, blew a note on the great princely +trumpet, which was only sounded for promulgating the King's decrees. + +This the King heard, who immediately sent for the porter, and inquired +of him who had dared to sound the great princely trumpet. To whom +the porter made answer,-- + +"Behold now, O King, there stands without at the gate a vagabond +calling on me to admit him because he has a communication to make to +the King." + +"The fellow is bold; let him be brought in," replied the King. So +they brought Shanggasba before the King's majesty. + +"What seekest thou of me?" inquired the King. And Shanggasba, nothing +abashed, answered plainly-- + +"To sue for the hand of the Princess am I come, and to be the King's +son-in-law." + +The ministers of state, who stood round about the King, when they +heard these words, were filled with indignation, and counselled the +King that he should put him to death. But the King, tickled in his +fancy with the man's daring, answered,-- + +"Nay, let us not put him to death. He can do us no harm. A beggar may +sue for a king's daughter, and a king may choose a beggar's daughter, +out of that no harm can come," and he ordered that he should be taken +care of in the palace, and not let to go forth. + +Now all this was told to the Queen, who took a very different view of +the thing from the King's. And coming to him in fury and indignation, +she cried out,-- + +"It is not good for such a man to live. He must be already deprived +of his senses; let him die the death!" + +But the King gave for all answer, "The thing is not of that import +that he should die for it." + +The Princess also heard of it; and she too came to complain to the +King that he should cause such a man to be kept in the palace; but +before she could open her complaint, the King, joking, said to her,-- + +"Such and such a man is come to sue for thy hand; and I am about to +give thee to him." + +But she answered, "This shall never be; surely the King hath spoken +this thing in jest. Shall a princess now marry a beggar?" + +"If thou wilt not have him, what manner of man wouldst thou +marry?" asked the King. + +"A man who has gold and precious things enough that he should carry +silk stuff (3) in his boots, such a one would I marry, and not a +wayfarer and a beggar," answered the Princess. + +When the people heard that, they went and pulled off Shanggasba's +boots, and when they found in them the pieces of silk he had taken +from the image of the garuda-bird, they all marvelled, and said never +a word more. + +But the King thought thereupon, and said, "This one is not after the +manner of common men." And he gave orders that he should be lodged +in the palace. + +The Queen, however, was more and more dismayed when she saw the token, +and thus she reasoned, "If the man is here entertained after this +manner, and if he has means thus to gain over to him the mind of the +King, who shall say but that he may yet contrive to carry his point, +and to marry my daughter?" And as she found she prevailed nothing +with the King by argument, she said, "I must devise some means of +subtlety to be rid of him." Then she had the man called into her, +and inquired of him thus,-- + +"Upon what terms comest thou hither to sue for the hand of my +daughter? Tell me, now, hast thou great treasures to endow her with as +thy name would import, or wilt thou win thy right to pay court to her +by thy valour and bravery?" And this she said, for she thought within +herself, of a surety now the man is so poor he can offer no dowry, +and so he needs must elect to win her by the might of his bravery, +which if he do I shall know how to over-match his strength, and show +he is but a mean-spirited wretch. + +But Shanggasba made answer, "Of a truth, though I be called 'Renowned +possessor of treasure,' no treasure have I to endow her with; but +let some task be appointed me by the King and Queen, and I will win +her hand by my valour." + +The Queen was glad when she heard this answer, for she said, +"Now I have in my hands the means to be rid of him." At this time, +while they were yet speaking, it happened that a Prince of the +Unbelievers advanced to the borders of the kingdom to make war upon +the King. Therefore the Queen said to Shanggasba,-- + +"Behold thine affair! Go out now against the enemy, and if thou canst +drive back his hordes thou shalt marry our daughter, and become the +King's son-in-law. + +"Even so let it be!" answered Shanggasba. "Only let there be given +to me a good horse and armour, and a bow and arrows." + +All this the Queen gave him, and good wine to boot, and appointed +an army in brave array to serve under him. With these he rode out to +encounter the enemy. + +They had hardly got out of sight of the city, however, when the +captain of the army rode up to him and said, "We are not soldiers to +fight under command of a beggar: ride thou forth alone." + +So they went their way, and he rode on alone. He had no sooner come +to the borders of the forest, however, where the ground was rough and +uneven, than he found he could in no wise govern his charger, and after +pulling at the reins for a long time in vain, the beast dashed with him +furiously into the thicket. "What can I do now?" mourned Shanggasba to +himself as, encumbered by the unwonted weight of his armour, he made +fruitless efforts to extricate himself from the interlacing branches; +"surely death hath overtaken me!" And even as he spoke the enemy's +army appeared riding down towards him. Nevertheless, catching hold +of the overhanging bows of a tree, by which to save himself from the +plungings of the horse, and as the soil was loose and the movement of +the steed impetuous, as he clung to the tree the roots were set free +by his struggles, and rebounding in the face of the advancing enemy, +laid many of his riders low in the dust. + +The prince who commanded them when he saw this, exclaimed, "This one +cannot be after the manner of common men. Is he not rather one of the +heroes making trial of his prowess who has assumed this outward form?" + +And a great panic seized them all, so that they turned and fled from +before him, riding each other down in the confusion, and casting away +their weapons and their armour. + +As soon as they were well out of sight, and only the clouds of dust +whirling round behind them, Shanggasba rose from the ground where he +had fallen in his fear, and catching by the bridle one of the horses +whose rider had been thrown, laded on to him all that he could carry +of the spoil with which the way was strewn, and brought it up to the +King as the proof and trophy of his victory. + +The King was well pleased to have so valiant a son-in-law, +and commended him and promised him the hand of the Princess in +marriage. But the Queen, though her first scheme for delivering her +daughter had failed, was not slow to devise another, and she said, +"It is not enough that he should be valiant in the field, but a +mighty hunter must he also be." And thus she said to Shanggasba, +"Wilt thou also give proof of thy might in hunting?" + +And Shanggasba made answer, "Wherein shall I show my might in hunting?" + +And the Queen said, "Behold now, there is in our mountains a great fox, +nine spans in length, the fur of whose back is striped with stripes; +him shalt thou kill and bring his skin hither to me, if thou wouldst +have the hand of the Princess and become the King's son-in-law." + +"Even so let it be," replied Shanggasba; "only let there be given me +a bow and arrow, and provisions for many days." + +All this the Queen commanded should be given to him; and he went out +to seek for the great fox measuring nine spans in length, and the +fur of his back striped with stripes. + +Many days he wandered over the mountains till his provisions were +all used and his clothes torn, and, what was a worse evil, he had +lost his bow by the way. + +"Without a bow I can do nothing," reasoned Shanggasba to himself, +"even though I fall in with the fox. It is of no use that I wait for +death here. I had better return to the palace and see what fortune +does for me." + +But as he had wandered about up and down without knowing his way, it so +happened that as he now directed his steps back to the road, he came +upon the spot where he had laid down to sleep the night before, and +there it was he had left the bow lying. But in the meantime the great +fox nine spans long, with the fur of his back striped with stripes, +had come by that way, and finding the bow lying had striven to gnaw +it through. In so doing he had passed his neck through the string, +and the string had strangled him. So in this way Shanggasba obtained +possession of his skin, which he forthwith carried in triumph to the +King and Queen. The King when he saw it exclaimed, "Of a truth now is +Shanggasba a mighty hunter, for he has killed the great fox nine spans +long, and with the fur of his back striped with stripes. Therefore +shall the hand of the Princess be given to him in marriage." + +But the Queen would not yet give up the cause of her daughter, and she +said, "Not only in fighting and hunting must he give proof of might, +but also over the spirits he must show his power." Then Shanggasba +made answer, "Wherein shall I show my power over the spirits?" + +And the Queen said, "In the regions of the North, among the Mongols, +are seven dæmons who ride on horses: these shalt thou slay and bring +hither, if thou wouldst ask for the hand of the Princess and become +the King's son-in-law." + +"Even so let it be," replied Shanggasba; "only point me out the way, +and give me provisions for the journey." + +So the Queen commanded that the way should be shown him, and appointed +him provisions for the journey, which she prepared with her own hand, +namely, seven pieces of black rye-bread that he was to eat on his way +out, and seven pieces of white wheaten-bread that he was to eat on his +way home. Thus provided, he went forth towards the region of the North, +among the Mongols, to seek for the seven dæmons who rode on horses. + +Before night he reached the land of the Mongols, and finding a hillock, +he halted and sat down on it, and took out his provisions: and it +well-nigh befell that he had eaten the white wheaten-bread first; +but he said, "Nay, I had best get through the black bread first." So +he left the white wheaten-bread lying beside him, and began to eat +a piece of the black rye-bread. But as he was hungry and ate fast, +the hiccups took him; and then, before he had time to put the bread +up again into his wallet, suddenly the seven dæmons of the country +of the Mongols came upon him, riding on their horses. So he rose +and ran away in great fear, leaving the bread upon the ground. But +they, after they had chased him a good space, stopped and took +counsel of each other what they should do with him, and though for +a while they could not agree, finally they all exclaimed together, +"Let us be satisfied with taking away his victuals." So they turned +back and took his victuals; and the black rye-bread they threw away, +but the white wheaten-bread they ate, every one of them a piece. + +The Queen, however, had put poison in the white wheaten-bread, which +was to serve Shanggasba on his homeward journey; and now that the +seven dæmons ate thereof, they were all killed with the poison that +was prepared for him, and they all laid them down on the hillock and +died, while their horses grazed beside them (4). + +But in the morning, Shanggasba hearing nothing more of the trampling +of the dæmons chasing him, left off running, and plucked up courage +to turn round and look after them; and when he saw them not, he +turned stealthily back, looking warily on this side and on that, +lest they should be lying in wait for him. And when he had satisfied +himself the way was clear of them, he bethought him to go back and +look after his provisions. When he got back to the hillock, however, +he found the seven dæmons lying dead, and their horses grazing beside +them. The sight gave him great joy; and having packed each one on +the back of his horse, he led them all up to the King and Queen. + +The King was so pleased that the seven dæmons were slain, that he +would not let him be put on his trial any more. So he delivered the +Princess to him, and he became the King's son-in-law. Moreover, he +gave him a portion like to the portion of a King's son, and erected +a throne for him as high as his own throne, and appointed to him half +his kingdom, and made all his subjects pay him homage as to himself. + + + +"This man thought that his father's words had failed, and owned not +that it was because he buried his bones in a prosperous place that +good fortune happened unto him," exclaimed the Prince. + +And as he let these words escape him, the Siddhî-kür replied, +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips." And with the cry, "To escape out of this world is good!" he +sped him through the air, fleet out of sight. + + + + + + +TALE XIX. + + +Wherefore the Well-and-wise-walking Khan once more took the way of +the cool grove, and having brought thence the Siddhî-kür bound in his +bag, and having eaten of his cake that never diminished to strengthen +him for the journey, as they went along the Siddhî-kür told him this +tale, saying,-- + + + +THE PERFIDIOUS FRIEND. + +Long ages ago there lived in a northern country of India a lioness +who had her den in the side of a snow-capped mountain. One day she had +been so long without food that she was near to have devoured her cub; +determining, however, to make one effort first to spare it, she went +out on a long journey till she came to a fair plain where there were +a number of cows grazing. When she saw the herd of cows she could +not refrain a terrible roar; but the cows, hearing the roar of the +lioness, said one to another, "Let us make haste to escape from the +lioness," and they all went their way. But there was one of the cows +which had a calf, and because she could neither make the calf go fast +enough to escape the lioness, nor could bring herself to forsake it, +she remained behind and fell a prey to the wild beast. The lioness +accordingly made a great feast, chiefly on the blood of the cow, +and carried the flesh and the bones to her den. + +The calf followed the traces of its mother's flesh, and when the +lioness lay down to sleep the calf came along with her own cub to suck, +and the lioness being overcome, and as it were drunken with the blood +she had taken, failed to perceive what the calf did. In the morning, +as the calf had drunk her milk, she forbore to slay it, and the calf +and the cub were suckled together. After two or three days, when there +was nothing left for the lioness to eat but a few bones of the cow, +she devoured them so greedily in her hunger that one big knuckle-bone +stuck in her throat, and as she could by no means get it out again, +she was throttled by it till she died. Before dying she spoke thus +to the calf and the cub, "You two, who have been suckled with the +same milk, must live at peace with each other. If some day an enemy +comes to you and tries to set you one against the other, pay no heed +to his words, but remain at one as before." Thus she charged them. + +When the lioness was dead the cub betook himself into the forest, +and the calf found its way to the sunny slope of a mountain side; +but at the hour of evening they went down to the stream together to +drink, and after that they disported themselves together. + +There was a fox, however, who had been used to feed on the remnants +of the lion's meals, and continued now to profit by those of the cub; +he saw with a jealous eye this growing intimacy with the calf, and +determined to set them at variance (2). + +One day, therefore, when the cub had just killed a beast and lay +sucking its blood, the fox came to him with his tail no longer cockily +curled up on his back, but low, sweeping the ground, and his ears +drooping. When the cub saw him in this plight, he exclaimed, "Fox! what +hath befallen thee? Tell me thy grief, and console thyself the while +with a bite of this hind." But the fox, putting on a doleful tone, +answered him, "How should I, thine uncle, take pleasure in eating flesh +when thou hast an enemy? hence is all pleasure gone from me." But the +cub answered carelessly, "It is not likely any one should be my enemy, +fox; therefore set to and eat this hind's flesh." "If thou refusest in +this lighthearted way to listen to the words of thine uncle," answered +the fox, "so shall the day come when thou wilt berue it." "Who then, +pray, is this mine enemy?" at last inquired the cub. "Who should it +be but this calf? Saith he not always, 'The lioness killed my mother; +therefore when I am strong enough I will kill the cub.'" "Nay, but +we two are brothers," replied the cub; "the calf has no bad thoughts +towards me." "Knowest thou then really not that thy mother killed +his mother?" exclaimed the fox. And the cub thought within himself, +"What the fox says is nevertheless true; and, further, is he not mine +uncle, and what gain should he have to deceive me?" Then said he aloud, +"By what manner of means does the calf purpose to kill me? tell me, +I pray." And the fox made answer, "When he wakes to-morrow morning, +observe thou him, and if he stretches himself and then digs his horns +into the earth, and shakes his tail and bellows, know that it is a sure +token he is minded to kill thee." The cub, his suspicions beginning +to be excited, promised to be upon his guard and to observe the calf. + +Having succeeded thus far the fox went his way, directing his steps to +the sunny side of the mountain slope where the calf was grazing. With +his tail trailing on the ground, and his ears drooping, he stood +before the calf. "Fox! what aileth thee?" inquired the calf cheerily; +"come and tell me thy grief." But the fox answered, "Not for myself +do I grieve. It is because thou, O calf! hast an enemy; therefore +do I grieve." But the calf answered, "Be comforted, fox, for it +is not likely any should be an enemy to me." Then replied the fox, +"Beware thou disregard not my words, for if thou do, of a certainty +a day shall come when thou shalt berue it." But the calf inquired, +saying, "Who then could this enemy possibly be?" And the fox told him, +saying, "Who should it be other than the lion-cub in the forest on +the other side the mountain? Behold! doth he not use to say, 'Even +as my mother killed and devoured his mother, so also will I kill and +devour him.'" "Let not this disturb thee, fox," interposed the calf, +"for we two are brothers; he hath no bad thoughts against me." But +the fox warned him again, saying, "Of a surety, if thou disregard +my words thou shalt berue it. Behold! I have warned thee." Then the +calf began to think within himself, "Is it not true what he says that +the cub's mother killed my mother; and, further, what gain should he, +mine uncle, have in deceiving me?" Then said he aloud, "If thy warning +be so true, tell me further, I pray thee, by what manner of means +doth he design to put me to death?" And the fox told him, saying, +"When he wakes to-morrow morning observe thou him, and if he stretch +himself and shake his mane, if he draws his claws out and in, and +scratches up the earth with them, then know that it is a sure token +he is minded to slay thee." The calf, his suspicions beginning to be +awakened, promised to be upon his guard and to observe the cub. + +The next morning, when they woke, each observed the other as he had +promised the fox, and each by natural habit, which the fox had observed +of old, but they not, gave the signs he had set before them for a +token. At this each was filled with wrath and suspicion against the +other, and when at sunrise they both went down to the stream to drink, +the cub growled at the calf, and the calf bellowed at the cub. Hence +further convinced of each other's bad intentions, they each determined +at the same instant to be beforehand with the other. The calf dug his +horns into the breast of the cub and gored it open, and the cub sprang +upon the calf's throat and made a formidable wound, from whence the +blood poured out. Thus they contended together till all the blood of +both was poured out, and they died there before the face of the fox. + +Then came a voice out of svarga (3), saying, "Put never thy trust +in a false friend, for so doing he shall put thee at enmity with him +who is thy friend in truth." + + + +"Nevertheless, as the cub was killed as well as the calf, the perfidy +of the fox profited him nothing as soon as he had made an end of +eating their flesh!" exclaimed the Khan. + +And as he let these words escape him, the Siddhî-kür replied, +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips." And with the cry, "To escape out of this world is good!" he +sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + + + + +TALE XX. + + +Wherefore the Well-and-wise-walking Khan once more took the way of +the cool grove; and having brought thence the Siddhî-kür bound in his +bag, and having eaten of his cake that never diminished, to strengthen +him for the journey, as they went along the Siddhî-kür told him this +tale, saying,-- + + + +BHIXU LIFE. + +Long ages ago there lived in a country in the north of India, namely +Nepaul, on the banks of a river named the Hiranjâvati (1), an old +man and his old wife, who had no sons, but only one daughter. But +this one daughter was all in all to them; and they had only one care +in life, and that care was, how to establish her safely and well, +that she might not be left alone in the world when they were on it no +more. Nevertheless, though the maiden was fair to see, and wise and +prudent in her ways, and though her parents had laid by a rich dowry +for her portion, it so chanced that no one offered to marry her. Yet +the years went by, and the man and his wife were both growing old, +and they said, "If we marry her not now, soon will she be left all +alone in the world." + +In a hut at some distance lived another aged couple, who were very +poor; but they had one only son. Then said the father of the maiden +to her mother, "We must give our daughter to the son of this poor +couple for a wife, otherwise she will be left alone in the world." + +So they married the maiden to the son of this poor old couple, and +they took him into their house, and he lived together with them. + +After a time, the husband felt a desire to return and see his parents; +so he took his wife with him, and they went to seek his parents. At +home, however, they were not, for they led a Bhixu life, and were +gone on a begging expedition through all the tribes; therefore they +went on, seeking them. About this time, a mighty Khan had given orders +for a great distribution of alms (2). All that any one asked for, it +was given him, whatsoever it might be. Only concerning the measure of +rice-brandy distributed to any one person was there any restriction; +but of all the rest there was no stint. + +The man and his wife therefore came with the rest of the people, +and obtained their portion, according to their desire. When all +had been well served, and had returned every one to his home, the +man said to his wife, "If we would really be rich, and enjoy life, +the way to do it is to go round through all the tribes, living on +alms. So living, we have all we need desire. Moreover we need stand +in no fear of thieves and robbers; our strength will not be brought +down by labour by day, nor our sleep disturbed with anxiety by night; +in drought and murrain we shall have no loss to suffer, for the herds +of which we shall live will not be our own. To travel about ever among +new people is itself no small pleasure. Moreover we shall never be +vexed with paying tribute of that we have earned with the toil of our +arms. If even we go back and take to us the inheritance thy parents +promised to us, in how many days would it be all spent, and we become +again even as now! But by going from tribe to tribe, living on alms, +our store is never diminished, and there is nothing we shall lack (3)." + +Thus they lived many months, begging alms and lacking nothing, even +as the man had said. Nevertheless, in the midst of their wanderings, +a son was born to them. Then said the woman, "These wild tribes among +whom we now are, give us nothing but rice-brandy, which is no food for +me; neither have I strength to carry the child as he gets older." And +as she knew her husband loved a vagabond life, and could not hear +of going to live at home with her parents, she added, "Let us now +go see my parents, and beg of them that they give us of their herds +an ass, on which the infant may ride withal when we go round among +the tribes seeking alms." To this proposition the man did not say +"Nay," and they journeyed towards the house of the woman's parents, +along the bank of the river Hiranjâvati. + +When they arrived at home, they found that the woman's parents were +dead, nor was there the least remnant left of all their possessions: +the herds were dispersed, and the flocks had fallen a prey to the +wolves and the jackals; nothing remained but a few tufts of wool, which +had got caught on the ant-heaps (4). The wife picked up the tufts, +saying, "We will collect all these, and weave a piece of stuff out of +them." But her husband pointed out that, at no great distance, was a +plain with many tents, where, by asking alms, they could have plenty +of barley and rice, without the trouble of weaving. They continued +their way therefore towards the tents; but the woman continued saying, +"When we have woven our piece of stuff, we will sell it, and buy a +bigger piece, and then we will sell that and buy a bigger; and so on, +till we have enough to buy an ass, then we will set our little one +on it instead of carrying him. Then perhaps our ass will have a foal, +and then we shall have two asses." "Certainly," answered her husband, +"if our ass has a foal we shall have two asses." But the child said, +"If our ass has a foal, I will take the foal, and will ride him, going +about among the tribes, I also, asking alms even as you (5)." When +his mother heard him speak thus, she was angry, and bid him hold +his peace; she also went to correct him by hitting him with a stick, +but the boy tried to escape from her, and the blow fell upon his head +and killed him. Thus their child died. + +At the time that the woman's parents died, and the herds were +dispersed, and the flocks devoured by wolves and jackals, one only +lamb had escaped from the destruction, and had taken refuge in a +hole in the ground, where it remained hid all day, and only came out +at night to graze (6). One day a hare came by, and as the lamb was +not afraid of the hare, she did not hide herself from him; therefore +the hare said to her, "O lamb, who art thou?" And the lamb answered, +"I belong to a flock whose master died of grief because his children +went away and forsook him; and when he died, the wolves and the +jackals came and devoured all his flock, and I, even I only, escaped +of them all, and I have hid myself in this hole. Thou, O hare, then, +be my protector." Thus spoke the lamb. + +But the hare answered, "Must not a lamb live in a flock? How shall +a lamb live in a hole all alone? Behold, I will even bring thee to +a place where are flocks of sheep, with whom thou mayest live as +becometh a lamb." + +"It were better we stayed here," replied the lamb trembling; "for if +we meet the wolf in the open country, how shall we escape him?" "For +that will I provide," answered the hare; "only come thou with me." So +they set out, the lamb and the hare together, for to seek a place +where grazed flocks in goodly company. + +As they went along, they saw on the ground a hand-loom, which some +one sitting out there to weave had left behind. The hare bid the lamb +put it on her back, and bring it along with her. The lamb did as she +was bid. A little farther they saw a piece of yellow stuff lying on +the ground: this also the hare bid the lamb pick up and bring with +her. The lamb did as she was bid. And a little farther on they saw a +piece of paper, with something written on it, blown along by the wind; +this likewise the hare bid the lamb bring with her. And the lamb did +as she was bid. + +A little farther on they saw a wolf coming. As he drew near them, +the hare said to the lamb, "Bring me now my throne." Then the lamb +understood that he meant the hand-loom, and she set it in the way. Then +the hare continued, "Spread abroad over me my gold-coloured royal +mantle." Then the lamb understood that he meant the piece of yellow +stuff he had bid her pick up, and she spread it over him as he sat +on the hand-loom for a throne. Then said the hare again "Reach me the +document which the moon sent down to me on the fifteenth of the month +(7)." So the lamb understood that he meant the piece of written paper +he had bid her pick up, and she gave it into his hand. + +By this time the wolf had come up with them, and when he saw the +hare seated so majestically on the hand-loom for a throne, and with +the royal mantle of yellow stuff about him, and the written document +in his hand, the lamb moreover standing quietly by his side, he said +within himself, "These must be very extraordinary beasts, who do not +run away at my approach, after the manner of common beasts." Therefore +he stood still, and said to the hare, "Who and whence art thou?" But +the hare, still holding the piece of written paper in his hand, made +as though he were reading from it as follows:--"This is the all high +command of the god Churmusta (8) unto the most noble and honourable +hare, delivered unto him by the hands of the moon, on the fifteenth +of the month. On the same most noble and honourable hare I lay this +charge, that he do bring me, before the fifteenth of the next moon, +the skins of a thousand rapacious, flock-scattering wolves." And as +the hare read these words, he erected his ears with great importance +and determination of manner, and made as though he would have come +down from his throne to attack the wolf. + +The wolf, still more alarmed at this proceeding, took flight, nor so +much as looked back to see whether the hare was really pursuing him. + +As soon as he was well on his way, the hare and the lamb set out once +more on their journey, taking another direction from the wolf, and +arrived happily at one of the most fertile pastures in the kingdom +of Nepaul. + + + +"The prudence of that hare was equal to his good feeling," exclaimed +the Khan. + +And as he let these words escape him, the Siddhî-kür replied, +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips." And with the cry, "To escape out of this world is good!" he +sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + + + + +TALE XXI. + + +Wherefore the Well-and-wise-walking Khan once more took the way of the +cool grove; and having brought thence the Siddhî-kür bound in his bag, +the Siddhî-kür as they went along told him this tale, saying,-- + + + +HOW THE WIDOW SAVED HER SON'S LIFE (1). + +Long ages ago there lived in Chara Kitad (2), which lieth to the +east of India, a king named Daibang (3), who had one only son. But +this son never showed himself to the people. No one in the whole +empire had once set his eyes on him. Every day he sent and fetched a +handsome youth of the people to come and comb his hair for him, and +immediately that he had made an end of combing him he had him put to +death. Every day one. This went on for many years, and no one dared +to withhold their son from the king's command. At last it came to the +turn of a youth who was a widow's son. The widow, therefore, full of +anguish at the thought of her son, her eldest stay and consolation, +being taken from her and slain, made cakes of dough kneaded with her +own milk, and gave them to her son, saying, "Manage so that while thou +art combing the hair of the Khan, he shall eat one of these cakes." + +The widow's son, therefore, came and stood before the Khan; and as he +combed the Khan's hair with the Khan's golden comb, he saw that the +ears of the Khan were formed like to the ears of an ass, and that it +was that his subjects might not know he had ears like to the ears of +an ass, that he put to death every day the young men, who, combing his +hair, had seen them. Nevertheless, the widow's son went on combing the +Khan's hair, and eating the cakes his mother had given him the while. + +At last the Khan said, "What eatest thou?" + +And he answered, "Cakes kneaded of rice-flour and milk; such cakes +do I eat." + +And when the Khan asked for some to taste, he gave him one, and the +Khan ate it. When the Khan had eaten the cake, he said, "The scent and +the flavour of these cakes is good. How are they composed? tell me." + +The widow's son answered, "My mother made them for me with milk of +her own breast, and kneaded them with rice-flour." + +When the Khan heard that, he said within himself, "How shall I put this +youth to death, seeing he and I have both partaken of one mother's +milk? That were unnatural and unheard of." Then said he aloud, "If +that be so, I will not put thee to death this day; but only take an +oath of thee that thou tell no man that I have ears like to asses' +ears. Shouldst thou, however, break thine oath, then, know that thou +shalt surely be put to death." + +"Unto no man, O Khan," swore the youth, "will I declare this +thing. Neither unto my mother herself." And having thanked the Khan +for sparing his life he went his way. + +Day after day, however, all the youths who went in to comb the Khan's +hair were put to death as before, and all the people wondered greatly +why the widow's son had been spared. Nevertheless, remembering the +oath which he had given the Khan, he told no man how it had befallen +for all their wondering and inquiring, nor even his own mother. + +But as he continued thus keeping his own counsel, and telling no man +the reason why the Khan killed all the other youths who combed his +hair and spared him, the secret vexed his heart, nor could he stand +against the oppression of his desire to speak it, so that he fell ill, +and like to die. Nor were medicaments nor yet offerings in sacrifice +(4) of any avail to heal him of that sickness, though many Lamas +were called to see him. At last a Lama came, who having felt his +pulse said, "In this kind of sickness medicaments avail nothing; +only tell what it is thou hast on thine heart, and as soon as thou +shalt have told it, to whomsoever it may be, thou shalt be relieved, +and be well again. Other remedy is there none." Thus spoke the Lama. + +Then all they that stood by the bed spoke to him, saying, "If it +be that thou hast any thing on thy mind, as the Lama has said, even +though it be the least matter, speak it now and recover. Of what good +shall it be to thee to keep the secret if, after all, thou diest?" + +But neither so would he break his oath to the Khan. But at night +when they were all gone, and his mother only was with him, and she +urged him much, he told her, saying, "Of a truth have I a secret; +but I have sworn to the Khan that I will tell it to no man, nor yet +even to thee, my mother." + +Then spoke his mother again, saying, "If this be so, then go out far +from the habitations of men, and hiding thy face in a crack of the +earth where the soil is parched for want of moisture; or else, in the +hollow of an ancient tree, or in a narrow cleft of the everlasting +rock, and speak it there." + +And the youth listened to her word; and he went out far from the +habitations of men till he came where there was a hole of a marmot +in the ground. Putting his mouth into the hole he cried, "Our Khan, +Daibang, has ears even like to the ears of an ass!" and he repeated +the same four times, and was well again. + +But the marmot living in the hole, had heard the words, and she +repeated them to the echo, and the echo told them to the wind, and +the wind brought them to the Khan. + +So the Khan sent, and called the youth, even the widow's son, before +him, saying, "Charged I thee not that thou told no man this thing, +and swarest thou not unto me that thou wouldst declare it to no man, +nor even to thine own mother? How then hast thou gone and spoken +it abroad?" + +But the youth answered, saying, "To no man either at home or abroad +have I spoken the thing, O Khan!" + +"How then came the words back to me unless it be that thou hast spoken +them, seeing that none other knows the thing save thee?" again asked +the Khan. + +"I know not," replied the youth, "unless it be that through refraining +of myself that I might keep the secret I fell ill, and when all +medicaments and offerings of sacrifice failed, there came a Lama +who said there was no remedy save that I should unburden that which +oppressed my mind. Then to save my life, and yet not betray the +Khan's confidence, I spoke it in the hole of a marmot in the waste, +far from the habitations of men." + +Then when the Khan found he was so faithful and discreet he believed +his word, and forbore to put him to death. Further he said to him, +"Tell me, now, canst thou devise any means by which these asses' +ears may be concealed, so that I may go forth among my subjects like +other Khans?" + +"If the Khan would listen to the word of one so humble, even now a +means of concealment is plain to my mind," replied the youth. + +And the Khan answered him, "Speak, and I will listen to what thou +hast to advise." + +The youth therefore spoke, saying, "O mighty Khan! Let now a +high-fashioned cap be made to cover thine head, and let there be on +either side lappets to the cap, covering the ears. Then shall all +men when they see the Khan wearing such a cap deem it beseeming to +wear such a cap likewise." Thus the youth counselled the Khan. + +And the Khan found the counsel good, and he made him a high-fashioned +cap with lappets covering the ears; and when the ministers of state +and the counsellors and nobles saw the Khan wearing such a cap, +they made to themselves caps like unto it, and all men wore it, and +it was known by the name of "the lappet cap." But no man knew that +the king's ears were like to asses' ears. + +Furthermore, the Khan no longer had need to put to death the youths +who combed his hair, and all the people rejoiced greatly. But for +the youth, even the widow's son, he made him steward over all his +household, and whatsoever he did, he did with prudence and judgment, +his mother advising him. + + + +"The Khan who put so many youths to death to save his own reputation +did not deserve so good a counsel!" exclaimed the Khan. + +And as he let these words escape him, the Siddhî-kür replied, +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips." And with the cry, "To escape out of this world is good!" he +sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + + + + +TALE XXII. + + +Wherefore the Well-and-wise-walking Khan once more took the way of +the cool grove, and, having brought thence the Siddhî-kür as on the +other times, bound in his bag with the cord woven of a hundred threads, +as they went along the Siddhî-kür told him this tale, saying,-- + + + +THE WHITE SERPENT-KING. + +Long ages ago there lived in the east part of India a Khan whose +possessions were so large that he had ten thousand cities, and for +the administration of the affairs of the same he had not less than +thirty ministers. He had also a gold frog that could dance, and a +parrot that spoke wisely. A tamer was also appointed to have care of +them, and every day this keeper brought them before the Khan to divert +him. The frog danced every day a new dance, and the parrot now gave +wise answers to the questions he proposed, now sang melodious songs +with accomplished art. + +One day there came to the court of this King a minstrel from a strange +land, in whose playing and singing the Khan took so great pleasure +that he gave him many rich presents, and the man went about saying, +"In all his dominions the King has no favourite in whom he takes so +great delight as in me who am a stranger; neither is there any other +who knows how to please him as I." When the keeper of the gold frog +and the parrot heard him make this boast, he answered him saying, +"Nay, much greater pleasure hath the Khan in his gold frog and his +parrot, of whom I am keeper." And they strove together. In the end the +minstrel said, "To-morrow we will both go up to the Khan together, and +while your gold frog dances his most elaborate dance, and your parrot +sings his most melodious songs, I also will play and sing my sagas to +the Khan; and behold! to whichever the Khan gives ear while he regards +not the other, he shall be accounted to have most pleased the Khan." + +The next day they did even as the minstrel had said, and when the +minstrel began to sing the Khan paid no more heed at all to the frog +or the parrot, but listened only to the strange minstrel's words. + +Then the tamer who had charge of the frog and the parrot, when he +saw that the strange minstrel was preferred, lost heart and came no +more before the Khan, but went and let fly the parrot, and threw the +gold frog out of a window of the palace. As he threw the gold frog +out of the window of the palace a crow was flying by, and seeing the +frog thrown out, and that it knew not which way to turn, he caught +it in his beak and flew away to a ledge of a rock. As he was about +to devour her, the frog said,-- + +"O crow! if thou art minded to devour me, first wash me in water, +and then come and devour me." + +And the remark pleased the crow, and he said to the frog,-- + +"Well spoken, O frog! What is thy name?" + +And the frog made answer,-- + +"Bagatur-Ssedkiltu (1). That is my name." + +So the crow took her down to wash her in the streamlet which flowed +ceaselessly out of a hole in the rock. But the frog had no sooner +gained the water than she crept into the hole. The crow called +after her,-- + +"Bagatur-Ssedkiltu! Bagatur-Ssedkiltu, come thou here!" + +But the frog answered him,-- + +"I should be foolish indeed if I came of my own account to give up +my sweet life to your voracity. The Three Precious Treasures (2) +may decide whether I have so little courage and pride as that!" + +So saying, she leapt into a cleft of the rock out of reach of the crow. + +Meantime her former tamer had come up, and began searching about, +trying to recover her, having bethought him he might incur the King's +anger in having let her go. And when he saw her not he began digging +up the earth and hewing the rock all round the streamlet. + +When the frog saw him digging up the earth and breaking the rock all +round the streamlet, she cried out to him,-- + +"Dig not up the source of this spring. The King of the same hath +given me charge over it, and I will not that thou lay it bare by +digging round it." She said further, "Though now thou art in sorrow +and distress, I will presently render thee a gift that shall be a +gift of wonder. Listen and I will tell thee. I am the daughter of the +Serpent-king, reigning over the white mother-o'-pearl shells (3). One +day I went out to see the King's daughter bathe, and she, seeing me, +sent and had me fished out of the stream with a mother-o'-pearl pail, +and took me with her." + +Meantime, the King began to notice that the parrot and the frog came +no more to entertain him, so he sent for the tamer, and inquired what +had become of his charges. + +"The frog is gone her way in the stream," answered the man, "and the +parrot must have been taken by a hawk." + +The Khan was wroth at this answer, and ordered that the man should +be taken and put to death. + +Then came the first of the thirty ministers to the Khan, saying,-- + +"If we put this man to death, no more dancers or singers will come +any more to this court." + +And the Khan answered,-- + +"It is well spoken; let him not be put to death." He sent him into +banishment, however, with three men to see him over the border of +his dominions, and a goat to carry his provisions. But he also had +him shod with a pair of shoes made out of stone, forbidding him to +return until the stone shoes should be worn through. + +As soon as his guards had left him, the tamer sat down by the side of +the stream, and after soaking the stone shoes with water, rubbed them +with a piece of rough stone till they were all in holes. Then he came +back to his own country, with the goat that had carried his provisions, +and made him dig roots out of the earth for him to eat. And he lived +upon the roots. + +One day he saw an owl flying by, which held in its mouth a white +serpent. The tamer knew him to be a serpent-prince, and to make +the owl release him, took off his girdle and held it in his mouth, +after the manner in which the owl held the serpent, and, standing over +against the owl, he cried out, "The thing held in the mouth burns with +fire!" at the same time dropping the girdle from his mouth suddenly, +as if it scorched him. + +When the owl had heard his words, she also let the serpent fall out +of her beak. + +Then the tamer took up the serpent, and put it on a piece of +grass near, and covered it with his cap. He had hardly done so, +when there came up out of the water a whole train of princes of the +serpent-dæmons, riding on horses, on to the bank of the stream, where +they dispersed themselves, searching about every where for the white +serpent, which was a serpent-prince. + +After they had searched long and found nothing, there came up out +of the water, riding on a white horse, a white serpent, having on a +white mantle and a white crown (4). + +He, seeing the tamer, said to him,-- + +"I am the Serpent-king, reigning over the white mother-o'-pearl +shells. I have lost my son. O man! say if thine eyes have lighted +on him." + +The tamer asked of him, "What was thy son like?" + +And the Serpent-king answered,-- + +"Even a white serpent was my son." + +"If that is so," answered the tamer, thy son is with me. Even now a +mighty Garuda-bird had him in his beak and prepared to devour him. But +I, who am a tamer of all living creatures, knew how to entreat him +so that he should give the white serpent up to me." + +Then he lifted his cap from off the grass and delivered the White +Serpent-prince unto the Serpent-king, his father. + +The Serpent-king was full of delight at getting back his son, and +called a great feast of all his friends and acquaintance among the +serpent-princes to celebrate his joy. And the tamer he took into his +palace, and he dwelt with him. + +After a time, however, the man desired to return to his own country, +and spoke to the Serpent-king to let him go. Then said the White +Serpent-king, who reigned over the white mother-o'-pearl shells-- + +"Behold, as thou hast dealt well with me, I will not let thee go +without bestowing somewhat on thee, and telling thee what good fortune +shall befall thee. Behold these two times hast thou served me well; +and long time have I sought thee to reward thee, for first thou +didst release my daughter, the Princess Goldfrog, from servitude, +putting her out of the window of the palace, and now thou hast +restored my son, even mine only son, to me. Know, therefore, that of +thee shall be born four sons, every one of whom shall be a king in +Gambudvîpa. Nevertheless, seeing it will befall that, ere that time +come, thou shalt pass through a season of trial, and be in need, +I give unto thee this Mirjalaktschi (5) and this wand. Whensoever +thou wantest for food, touch but this Mirjalaktschi with the wand, +and immediately every kind of viand shall be spread out before thee." + +Then he brought him up to the edge of the water to let him depart, +giving him a brightly painted Mirjalaktschi and a mother-o'-pearl wand; +moreover, he gave him a red-coloured dog also. + +Then the White Serpent-king went his way down under the water again +to his palace, and the tamer turned him towards his own country, +the red-coloured dog following behind him. + + + +"Thus was the promise of Princess Goldfrog fulfilled," exclaimed +the Khan. + +And as he let these words escape him, the Siddhî-kür replied, +"Forgetting his health, the Well-and-wise-walking Khan hath opened +his lips." And with the cry, "To escape out of this world is good!" he +sped him through the air, swift out of sight. + + + + + + +TALE XXIII. + + +Wherefore the Well-and-wise-walking Khan once more took the way of +the cool grove; and having taken the Siddhî-kür, and bound him in his +bag, as at other times, he brought him along to the great Master and +Teacher Nâgârg'una. As they went along by the way, the Siddhî-kür told +him this tale, of how it fell out with the red-coloured dog, saying,-- + + + +WHAT BECAME OF THE RED-COLOURED DOG. + +When it was evening they went, the tamer and the red-coloured dog +together, into a grove to sleep, and by day they journeyed on. One day, +when they made their evening halt, the red-coloured dog laid aside her +dog's form, and appeared as a beautiful maiden, clothed in shining +robes of white, and with a crown of white flowers on her head; and, +when the tamer saw her, he loved her. + +Moreover, she said to him, "Me hath the Serpent-king given to thee to +be thy wife." And he married her, and she was his wife. Every morning +she put on the form of the red-coloured dog again, and they journeyed +on. One morning, however, before she put on the dog form, she went +down to bathe in the river, and while she was gone, the man burnt the +dog form, saying, "Now must she always remain as a beautiful woman." + +But when she came up from bathing, and found what he had done, she +said, with many other moving and sorrowful words, "Now can I no more +walk with thee, and share thy wanderings." + +So they remained in that place. + +Again, another day she went down to bathe in the river, and as she +bathed some of her hairs falling off, were carried down the stream. + +At a place near the mouth of the stream, a maid belonging to the +service of the Khan had gone down to fetch water, and these hairs +came out of the water clinging to her water-jar. And as the hairs +were wonderful to behold, being adorned with the five colours and the +seven precious things (1), she wondered at them, and brought them to +the Khan for him to see. + +The Khan had no sooner examined them than he came to this conclusion, +saying,-- + +"Somewhere along the course of this stream it is evident there must +be living a surpassingly beautiful woman. Only to such an one could +these hairs belong." + +Then he called the captain of his guard, and bid him take of armed +men as many as ever he would, and by all means to bring unto him the +woman to whom these hairs belonged. Thus he instructed him. + +But the woman had knowledge of what was going forward, and she came +weeping to her husband, and showed the thing to him, "And now," +she said, "the Khan's soldiers will surround the place, neither is +there any way of escape, nor any that can withstand the orders of the +Khan. Hadst thou not burnt the red dog form, then had I had a means +of refuge." + +Then the man wept too, and would have persuaded her to escape, but +she said,-- + +"It skills not, for they would pursue us and overtake us, and put you +to death out of revenge. By going at their command without resistance, +at least they will save you alive." + +While they were speaking the captain of the Khan's guard came with +his men-at-arms, and posted them about the place. Then, while they +were taking their measures to completely surround the inclosure that +the woman might by no means break through, she said to her husband,-- + +"The only remedy that remains is that thou wait quietly for the space +of a year, and in the meantime I will arrange a stratagem. Then on the +fifteenth day of the month Pushja (2), I will go up on to the edge +of a mountain with the Khan. But thou, meantime, make to thyself a +garment of magpie's feathers, then come and dance before us, in it; +and I will invent some plan for escaping with thee." + +Thus she advised him. And the soldiers came and took her to the Khan; +the husband making no resistance, even as she had counselled him. + +Also, he let a year pass according to her word; but being alone, and +in distress for the loss of his wife, he neglected his work and his +business, and came to poverty. Then bethought he him of the word of +the White Serpent-king, saying, "There shall come a season when thou +shalt be in poverty." So he took out his Mirjalaktschi, and touched +it with the mother-o'pearl-wand, and it gave him all manner of food, +and he lived in abundance. Then he set snares, and caught magpies, +exceeding many, and made to himself a covering out of their feathers, +and practised himself in dancing grotesque dances. + +On the fifteenth day of the month Pushja, the Khanin arranged to go +with the Khan to visit the mountain. On the same day the husband came +there also, dressed even as she had directed him, in a costume made +of magpie's feathers. Having first attracted the attention of the +Khan by his extraordinary appearance, he began dancing and performing +ludicrous antics. + +The Khan, who was by this time tired of the songs of the foreign +minstrel, nor had found any to replace the gold frog and the parrot, +observed him with great attention. But the Khanin seeing how exact +and expert her husband was in following out her advice for recovering +her, felt quite happy as she had never done before since she was +taken from him; and to encourage him to go on dancing she laughed +loud and merrily. + +The Khan was astonished, when he saw her laugh thus, and he said, +"Although for a whole year past I have devised every variety of +means to endeavour to make thee at least bear some appearance of +cheerfulness, it has profited nothing; for thou hast sat and mourned +all the day long, nor has any thing had power to divert thee. Yet +now that this man, who is more like a monster than a man, has come +and made all these ridiculous contortions, at this thou hast laughed!" + +And she, having fixed in her own mind the part she had to play, +continued laughing, as she answered him,-- + +"All this year, even as thou sayest, thou hast laboured to make me +laugh; and now that I have laughed, it would seem almost that it +pleaseth thee not." + +And the Khan hasted to make answer, "Nay, for in that thou hast laughed +thou hast given me pleasure; but in that it was at a diversion which +another prepared for thee, and not I, this is what pleased me not. I +would that thou hadst laughed at a sport devised for thee by me." + +Then answered the Khanin, "Wouldst thou in very truth prepare for me +a sport at which I would surely laugh?" + +And the Khan hasted to make answer, "That would I in very truth; +thou knowest that there is nothing I would not do to fulfil thy +bidding and desire." + +"If that be so," replied the Khanin. "Know that there is one thing +at which I would laugh in right good earnest; and that is, if it were +thou who worest this monstrous costume. That this fellow weareth it is +well enough, but we know not how monstrous he may be by nature. But if +thou, O Khan, who art so comely of form and stature, didst put it on, +then would it be a sight to make one laugh indeed." + +And her words pleased the Khan. So he called the man aside into a +solitary place that the courtiers and people might not see what he did, +and so become a laughing-stock to them. Then he made the man exchange +his costume of magpie's feathers against his royal attire and mantle, +and went to dance before the Khanin, bidding the man take his place +by her side. + +No sooner, however, did the Khanin see him thus caught in her snare +than she returned with her own husband, habited in the Khan's royal +habiliments, to the palace. She also gave strict charge to her guard, +saying,-- + +"That juggler who was dancing just now upon the hill, dressed in +a fantastic costume of magpie's feathers, has the design of giving +himself out for being the Khan. Should he make the attempt, set dogs +(3) on him and drive him forth out of the country. Of all things, +on peril of your lives, suffer him not to enter the palace." + +Scarcely had she made an end of speaking and conducted her husband into +the palace, when the Khan appeared, still wearing the magpie costume, +because the Khanin's husband had gone off with her, wearing his royal +habiliments, and would have made his way to his own apartments; but +the guards seeing him, and recognizing the man in the magpie disguise +the Khanin had designated, ordered him out. + +The Khan asserted his khanship, and paid no heed to the guards; +but the more he strove to prove himself the Khan, the more were the +guards convinced he was the man the Khanin had ordered them to eject, +and they continued barring the way against him and preventing his +ingress. Then he grew angry and began to strive against them till they, +wearied with his resistance, called out the dogs and set them on him. + +The dogs, taking him for a monstrous wild bird, eagerly ran towards +him, so that he was forced to turn and flee that he might by any means +save his life. But the dogs were swifter than he and overtook him, +and, springing upon him, tore him in pieces and devoured him. + +Thus the husband of the Khanin became installed in all his governments +and possessions. + +Moreover, that night there were born to the Khan four sons, who +were every one exceeding great rulers in Gambudvîpa, even as the +White Serpent-king, reigning over the white mother-o'-pearl shells, +had foretold. + +The eldest of these four was renowned as the spiritual ruler of all +India (4). In one night he translated all the sacred books into a +thousand different languages for the use of devas and men, and in +one other night he erected a hundred thousand sacred temples all over +his dominions. + +The brother next to him was endowed with all kinds of power and +strength in his earliest youth, and with every capacity. This Prince +was renowned as ruler of the Mongols by the name of Barin Tochedaktschi +Erdektu (5), for so expert and mighty was he in the use of the bow +that if he shot his arrow at four men standing side by side together, +every one of them was certain to fall to the earth, transfixed through +the centre of the heart. + +The next brother raised up to himself a mighty host of a hundred +thousand men by pulling out a single hair of his head, and he led +them forth to battle, and was known to the whole earth by the name +of Gesser-Khan (6). + +The fourth brother fitted out four caravans of merchandise all in one +day, and sent them forth to the four quarters of heaven. By these +means he obtained possession of the All-desire-supplying talisman, +Tschin-tâmani, and was Ruler of the Treasures of the earth, with the +title of Barss-Irbiss (7), Shah of Persia. + + + + + + +CONCLUSION OF THE ADVENTURES OF THE WELL-AND-WISE-WALKING KHAN. + + +The Well-and-wise-walking Khan listened till the Siddhî-kür had made +an end of speaking, but opened never his lips. Though he heaped up +wonders upon wonders as a man heaps up faggots on a funeral pile, +yet spake he never a word. + +Therefore the sack remained fast bound with the cord of a hundred +threads of different colours, nor could the Siddhî-kür find means to +escape out of the same; but the Well-and-wise-walking Khan bore him +along to his journey's end, even to the feet of his great Master and +Teacher Nâgârg'una. + +And Nâgârg'una took the mighty dead, even him endowed with perfection +of capacity and fulness of power, and laid him up in the cool grove +on the shining mountain of Southern India, venerated by all men as +the Siddhitu-Altan even unto this day. + +By this means also great prosperity crowned the whole land of +Gambudvîpa. To all the men thereof were given knowledge and length +of days. The laws were obeyed and religion honoured, and happiness +had her abode among them. + + + + + + +THE SAGA OF ARDSCHI-BORDSCHI AND VIKRAMÂDITJA'S THRONE. + + +HISTORICAL NOTICE OF VIKRAMÂDITJA. + + +The name of Vikramâditja is a household word in the epic mythology of +India; and freely it seems to have been adopted by or conferred upon +those who emulated the heroic acts of some first great bearer. But +as the legendary chroniclers are more occupied with extolling the +merits of their favourites, than with establishing their place in +the page of history, it becomes a well-nigh impossible task for the +modern investigator to trace out and fix the times and seasons of +all those who, either in fact or in fiction, have borne the name, +or even to distinguish with certainty how many there have been, +still less, what are the peculiar deeds and attributes of each. + +A writer (1), who has examined painstakingly into the matter, tells +us that the popular mind is only conscious of one Vikramâditja, +so that without troubling itself to consider the insufficiency of +one life to embrace all the aggregate of wonderful works it has +to tell of him, it supposes him rather to have had a prolonged or +recurring existence as marvellous in itself as the events of which it +is composed. On the other hand, he found that native writers made out +the number variously from four to nine, though he could not find that +they determined with precision the existence of more than two. An +additional difficulty arises from this, that the very distinctive +super-appellations derived from their deeds by heroes bearing the +name seem to have passed over to others along with the name itself; +as, for instance, Gardabharâpa = "donkey-form," given to one of them +on account of his being temporarily transformed into a donkey by his +father; the name of Sakjaditja is similarly given indiscriminately +to others who lived at different periods, though the origin of the +word can only be found in an exploit of one of them, who with the +aid of Shêsa, the serpent-god, destroyed an oppressor named Sâkja +(2). While the name Vikramaâditja itself seems rather a descriptive +appellation than a name, being composed of the two Sanskrit words, +vikrama and âditja--the sun, or bright exposition of heroic virtue. + +You may form some idea of the uncertainty thus created if you imagine +the Roman historians to have been silent, and suppose, that nothing +remained to us of the lives of the Emperors, for instance, but certain +panegyrics of bards and traditions of the people, eked out by a little +scanty assistance from inscriptions and coins, and unsystematic and +untrustworthy chronicles. You may then conceive, how with no fixed +dates marked out for determining the period of the reign of each, +and no literary criterion to distinguish incongruities, a fertile +imagination, aiming rather at exciting admiration than conveying +information, could run riot with the mass of the acts and adventures, +the victories and achievements of the whole number, because the names +or titles of "Augustus" and "Cæsar" could be applied to many or all. + +There is also the further difficulty that the heroic myths of India +have travelled on from tribe to tribe, and from province to province +(3), the character of the hero and his exploits incurring many +transformations and fresh identifications under the process (4). + +Not to go into the elaborate discussion which the intricate study +of the Indian dynasties has called forth, it may suffice in this +place to observe that, in the absence of more regular records, the +greatest aid we have in arriving at some fixed knowledge of the +events of a remote age in India is derived from inscriptions and +coins (5). And, as a specimen of the thought and care that has been +brought to bear on the matter, to specify the interesting circumstance +connected with this particular instance, that the nearest approach to +a satisfactory determination of the date of the chief bearer of the +name of Vikramâditja that is likely to be attained has been arrived at +from the observation of the influence of Greek art on the execution +of certain of the coins (6) which have been preserved and collected, +connecting them with the period succeeding Alexander's invasion. A +careful collation of these specimens with the most authentic list +of the kings has given tolerable authority for asserting that the +date of 57 B.C. may be assumed for the date of the first historic +(7) Vikramâditja, whose chief honour lies in having overcome and +superseded the descendants of the foreign race of rulers who had been +in possession of his native country before his time. In pursuing the +history of his dynasty, however, the help so far afforded by the coins +ceases, and the only written records of him are the collections of +popular fables of his deeds. Only one of these collections, and of +that the date is unknown, has any pretension to rank as history; and +even this is full of wonders and manifest exaggerations. Its author, +Ravipati Gurumûrti by name, informs the reader, however, that he had +brought together and compared many Sanskrit manuscripts, and sifted +much oral tradition in its compilation. + +According to this account, Vikramâditja was the son of a Brahman named +Kandrasarman, the fourth son of Vishnusarman, inhabiting a city called +Vedanârâjanapura, a name not found in any other writer. Dissatisfied +with the ordinary occupations on which he was kept employed by +his parents, he ran away from home and after many adventures came +to Uggajini, where he married the daughter of Dhvagakîrti, the +reigning sovereign of Malâva (8). His son Vikramâditja was the more +celebrated hero, and according to another MS. (quoted in W. Taylor's +Examination of the Mackenzie MSS.) the former of these two was not +called Vikramâditja at all, but Govinda. + +Feeling an interior conviction of his great destiny, Vikramâditja +(the son) determined on obtaining supernatural aid in fulfilling it; +and, with this view, he devoted himself to prayer and retirement, until +he had obtained an apparition of the goddess Kali, the chosen wife of +Shiva, who gave him the solemn promise that he should be invulnerable +to all enemies with the exception of one who should be supernaturally +born; and that he should rejoice in a happy reign of a thousand years +(9). By the shrewd advice of his half-brother Bhatti, whom he made +his minister, he contrived to obtain out of this promise double the +length of years actually named, for he arranged to reign for only six +months at a time, spending six months in contemplation in the jungle, +so that it took two thousand years to make up a thousand years' reign +(10). In another account, he is made to reign 949 years; and, on the +other hand, in another (11) only a hundred and six years. + +It might have been expected that a people who raised themselves at +so remote a period to a comparatively high degree of civilization, +and in other departments of mental exertion distinguished themselves +in so marked a manner, should of all things have possessed a copious +historical literature, but there are other things to take into account +which explain why the contrary is the case (12). A German writer +(13) has put the case very summarily. "Their religion," he says, +"has destroyed all history for the Hindus. They are taught to look +on life as a mere passing condition of probation and sorrow, and its +incidents, consequently, as unworthy to be recorded." But this is +a hardly fair statement, and only true to a certain extent. Benfey +(14) perhaps reaches nearer the mark when he says,--"The life of man +was for them but a small portion of the immense divine life pervading +the whole universe. It lay, so to speak, rolled up in a fold of the +mantle of the godhead. Viewed thus, history became a theme so vast that +the infinitesimal human element of it was lost to view. Theosophies, +idealisms, allegories, myths, filled up the place of the record of the +doings of mortals." Troyer (15) takes nearly the same view, but further +calls attention to the influence exercised by the religious teaching +concerning re-births and transmigration of souls in working against +history becoming a science. Historical characters lost their positive +identity, and the effect a man's acts under a previous existence +were taught to exercise on his fate diminished the responsibility +and merit of, and consequently the interest in, his actions. + +To arrive at a more exact view, however, it is necessary to +distinguish between the parts which Brahman and Buddhist teaching +have respectively to bear in the matter. The Brahmanical castes +became subdivided into groups composed of many families, with no +common founder, the preservation of whose name and deeds would have +afforded an instigation to building up the materials of a national +history. Only at a comparatively late period some traditions were +kept up of the heads of these groups, but this in such a way as to +serve rather to throw back attention on to the past and restrain it +from the contemplation and record of contemporary events, Caste took +the place of country, and the interest of the individual was drawn +away from national to local interest. + +Next, the history of the gods possessed a much higher importance in +their eyes than that of the kings of the earth, while at the same +time the humanistic conception of their character rendered the myths +concerning them of a nature to clash with and supersede the records of +earthly notabilities. Their wars and their loves and their undertakings +were indeed often superhuman in scale, but they were yet for the +most part no more exalted in nature, than the occupations of men. But +from this habit of making their divinities actors in gigantic human +incidents, their mind grew used to regard the marvellous and unreal as +possible and true, and was at no pains to fix any data with exactness. + +Then their contemplative mode of life kept them out of actual contact +with what was going on in the world around them. Most Brahmans lived +engrossed by the service of the temple, or else occupied with their +families or their disciples. Very few are the examples of their acting +as ministers or judges, or taking any part in public life. + +Further, many elements of history may be said to have scarcely +existed at all. All changes of manners and customs, all growth of +arts and sciences, were impeded by the appointment of fixed laws, +and remained pretty much the same for long periods. + +Again, the subdivision of the country into multitudinous governments, +and the comparatively short duration of any large union of them +under one dynasty--as, for instance, the Maurja or the Gupta--further +weakened any tendency to the formation of a national spirit. The best +preserved attempts at history are those of Lankâ (Ceylon), Orissa, +Cashmere, the Dekhan, and other kingdoms or provinces which have +all along preserved their identity. Where one country fell under +the empire of another its history naturally lapsed in that of the +conquering state, or became altogether lost; and as such annexations +were mostly effected by violence, it is only to be expected that +the conqueror should discourage any thing that would keep up the +memory of the rulers he had superseded. The Chronicle of Cashmere, +called the Râga Taraginî, or "Stream of Kings," is perhaps the best +written. It was compiled by Kalhana Pandita, who lived, however, as +late as 1150 of our era, and is carried down to the year 1125. He +appears to have laboured to make it as complete and reliable as +the vague and scattered materials at his disposal admitted; yet so +little was even he capable of appreciating the value of accuracy, +that he ascribes to a reign (removed from his own date by no more +remote period than 600 years) a length of 300 years. And this is +but a small fable by comparison with others of his statements. This +Chronicle possesses the peculiarity of being almost the only work of +an historical nature compiled under Brahman influence. + +The only work which has any pretension to universality in its scope +is the Karnâtaka Râgakula. But though it begins with an account of the +creation of the world and the incarnations of Vishnu, and narrates the +deeds of typical heroes like Pandarva and Vikramâditja, it yet only +contains the history of the Dekhan, and is, after all, a modern work +edited at the bidding of English rulers. The only earlier work of the +same character is one professing to give the general history of India +from Ashokja to Pratîtasena, written in the fourteenth century. This, +however, is believed not to have been compiled by a native Indian, +and is, at any rate, not the work of a Brahman, though possibly of +a Buddhist. + +In the matter of historical compilation we have in general more to +thank Buddhism than Brahmanism for. The simple Sûtra, or colloquies +of Shâkjamuni with his disciples, written in masajja, a poetical +prose pleasingly broken into a sort of cadence, themselves form +a kind of history of the country contained in this sort of memoir +of its great religionist. The simple Sûtra are of two classes. The +first class consists of an account of Buddha's own wanderings and +personal dealings both with his disciples and others, and were probably +compiled (16) by the first great Sangha, or Synod, within 100 years +after his death (17), though bearing marks in many places of having +been reconstructed at a later period. The other class takes notice +of events and persons belonging to a subsequent period. Besides +these there are the Mâhajâna-Sûtra, a more detailed and developed +continuation of the same species of chronicle, but bearing marks of +having been compiled at a much more advanced date still, for they +introduce ideas which do not belong to the early teaching of Buddhism, +but to a very late development. + +These writings possess great historical importance, but yet are by no +means free from the faults of inaccuracy of date and arrangement; of +idealizations of the persons treated of; the introduction of fabulous +incidents, transmigrations, and such like. The very desire of the +Buddhists to make their records more complete and useful than the +Brahmans', often led to additional complications, because it induced +all manner of interpolations--as for instance, whole series of kingly +personages, the account of whose lives is not even to be set down to +the exaggerations of ill-preserved tradition, but to pure fabrication +of the imagination. + +More reliance on the whole is to be placed on the great epic poems, +and, chiefly, the Purâna and Mahâ Bhârata. + +The works which we now find extant, with the title of Purâna +(ancient)--eighteen in number,--are, however, at best but the +reproduction of six older compilations, either collected from the +recitations of Sûtas (bards), or themselves reproductions of still +older compilations, which have probably perished for ever. They +contain pretty well all that is known concerning the origin, mode of +life, heroic deeds, and ways of theological thought, of those Indian +nations who acknowledged either Vishnu or Shiva for their highest god; +and traces are to be distinguished by which the statement of earlier +and purer belief has been distorted or biassed according to the tenets +of the later compiler. + +The Mahâ Bhârata concerns itself more exclusively with the deeds of the +gods and heroes, and is itself often referred to in the Purânas. Both +of them bear witness that it was the frequent custom, on occasions +of great gatherings of the people for public sacrifices and popular +festivals, and also in the places of retirement of religious teachers +round whom disciples gathered, that the stories of gods and heroes +should be sung or told, and eagerly listened to. Such stories were +collected into the Mahâ Bhârata by Vjâsa = "the Arranger" (who also +occupied himself with the recompilation of the Vêda), son of Satjavati += "the truthful one," daughter to Vasu, king of Magadha. Vasu +had conferred great benefits on his subjects, and was held in +proportionate honour. His great work was the construction of a canal, +of which mythology has thus preserved the memory. The mountain-god, +Kôlâhola, fell in love with the stream-goddess, Shirktimatî. As she +sported past the tower of Kêdi, he barred her further progress by here +damming her course with a mountain. Vasu saw her distress, and came to +rescue her by striking the mountain with his foot, and thus delivering +her from her imprisonment. The goddess in gratitude devoted her twin +children to his service. He made her son the leader of his armies, +and married her daughter Girikâ, by whom he also had twins--a son, +whom he made king of Matsja; and a daughter, Satjavati, who, as we have +seen, married the father of Yjâsa. This was the Rishi Parâsara who +obtained for her the name of Gandha, and the corresponding character +of "sweet-scented," as heretofore, from the occupation to which she +had been devoted by her father of ferrying people across the Jamuna, +she had acquired a smell of fish. She is also called, Gandhahali = +"the sweet-scented dark one," which latter appellation is explained by +the story that she made Parâsara observe that the other Rishis were in +the habit of watching her from the other side of the river, on which +he constructed a mist to conceal her, or make her "dark" to them. Why +"the Arranger" of legends should have "the truthful one" ascribed +to him for his mother, is easy enough to see. Parâsra was reckoned +his father because he was the inventor of chronology, which ought to +precede any attempt to make chronicles out of traditions. The legend +further says that Parasâra made acquaintance with Satjavati while on +a pilgrimage, which may be taken as an embodiment of the fact that +it was such gatherings which afforded opportunity for collecting Sagas. + +Of somewhat similar nature is the Râmâjana--a collection of Sagas +concerning Rama, sometimes called the brother, and sometimes an +incarnation of Vishnu, but also containing stories of other gods, +as well as a variety of quasi-religious episodes. While displaying +the usual exaggerations common to the Sagas of all nations, these +Indian Sagas have one leading peculiarity in the frequent Avatâra, +or incorporation of Vishnu or Rama in the persons of their heroes (18). + +Lassen (19) reckons both the Mahâ Bhârata and the Râmâjana to have been +compiled about 300--50 B.C.; but it is impossible to fix the dates of +any of them with absolute certainty. One theory for arriving at it +is, that they possess strong inherent evidence of being Brahmanical +productions; and as they contain no allusion to so great an event as +the establishment of Buddhism, while they yet make allusions to certain +predictions of the wane of Brahmanism (seemingly suggested by details +of the mode of the sudden spread of the teaching of Shâkjamuni), it +may be inferred that the latest date for their compilation (which in +any case must have extended over a prolonged period) would be coeval +with the period of the greatest development in Central India of the +latter school. + +It is evident, however, that none of these poems are of a nature +to supply any sound basis for the historiographer. The very lists +of the kings that they supply, carry with them inherent evidence of +untrustworthiness in the readiness with which recourse is had to the +introduction of supernatural means for supplying missing links in +the fabulous periods of their chronology. + +In the tenth century and later, several Muhammedan writers undertook +the history of India; but they are very untrustworthy. For this +place, it may suffice to mention that, by the most important of them, +Vikramâditja is made out to be a grandson of Porus, and his name +transformed into that of Barkamaris (20). + + + +I will now give you a specimen of what are considered the purely +legendary accounts of Vikramâditja's origin, and you will see that +they are barely more extravagant than the historical one I have +introduced above (21). + +In a jungle (22) situated between the rivers Subhramatî and Mahi, +in Gurgâramandala, lived the Rishi Tâmralipta, who gave his daughter +Tamrasena for a wife to King Sadasvasena. They lived happily, and +had a family of six sons, but only one daughter, Madanrekhâ. One day, +when a servant of theirs named Devasarman was working in the forest, +he heard the voice of some invisible being speaking to him, and bidding +him go and demand for it the hand of Madanrekhâ in marriage. When +he hesitated, not daring to ask so great a matter of his master, +the voice threatened him with fearful penalties if he failed to obey +its behest. As the voice continued day after day to admonish him, he +at last begged his master to come and listen to it for himself; who, +recognizing it for that of King Gandharva, whom Indra had transformed +into an ass, he felt constrained to comply, and he accordingly bestowed +his daughter on him. Though proud of the alliance of so great a +king as Gandharva, Tâmrasena was nevertheless distressed that her +daughter's husband should wear so ungainly an appearance. What was +her joy when she one day discovered that, whenever he went to visit +her, he left his donkey's form outside the door, and appeared like +other men. She was not slow to take advantage of the circumstance +by burning the donkey's form: the spell was thus destroyed, and +Gandharva delivered from the operation of the curse. After a time +they had a son, whom Gandharva desired his wife to call Vikramâditja, +telling her at the same time that her handmaid would also have a son, +who was to be called Bhartrihari, and who should devote himself to +his service. Having uttered these counsels, he went up to the deva's +paradise. Meantime, Madanrekhâ, having heard that her father designed +to kill the infant, delivered it to the care of a gardener's wife, with +the charge to conceal it, and then put an end to her own life. The +gardener's wife fled with the young prince to Uggajini, where he +passed his youth. The incidents of the burning of a form temporarily +laid aside, of danger threatening the life of the infant, of a flight +from his birthplace, and of a half-brother, in some way inferior to +himself, yet devoted to him, pervade, not only both these accounts, +but also the more detailed legend which is to follow in the text. + +While all this uncertainty surrounds the circumstances of +Vikramâditja's birth, his mode of attaining the throne, and the +extent and even the locality of his dominions, are narrated with +equal diversity; while, though an important era still in use is +dated from him, extending from 57 B.C. to 319 A.C. when commences the +Ballabhi-Gupta dynasty, the particular event by which he deserved so +distinguished a commemoration has been by no means determined with +certainty (23). + +In a version of his story called Vikramakaritra, it is said simply, +that King Prasena of Uggajinî dying without heirs, Vikramâditja +was chosen king (24). According to another, the last king of the +Greco-Indian dynasty abdicated in his favour out of disgust with +life after the death of his wife. According to the legends a Vetâla +(25) obtained possession of the throne and every night strangled +the king, who had been raised to it in the course of the day by the +ministers, until Vikramâditja undertook to maintain himself in power, +and succeeded in propitiating the Vetâla. It is easy to read under +cover of this imagery the original fact of a hero delivering his +people from an oppressor. + +What people or country it was that Vikramâditja delivered is difficult +to decide, as he is named in the sagas of many nations as belonging +to each (26). We have already seen him seated king in the capital +of Malwa. The more legendary accounts ascribe to him the widest +range of dominion. In the Ganamegaja-Râgavansâvali (27) we find him +in possession of Bengal, Hindostan, the Dekhan, and Western India; +and in the Bhogaprabandha (28) he is reckoned conqueror of the whole +of India; while in the Bhavishja-Purâna (29) it is told that he +had 800 kings tributaries under him, though whether the list could +be authentically made out is more than questionable. What can be +proved with some certainty is, that he reigned over Malwa, Cashmere, +and Orissa, from which it may perhaps be inferred that he was also +master of the intervening country--namely, the Punjaub and the eastern +portion of Rajputana (30). + +Besides his glories as a warrior and deliverer of his country, the +honour is also ascribed to him of being the patron of science and +art. There is reason to think he promoted the study of architecture, +though no monuments actually remain which can with certainty be +ascribed to his reign. He attracted to his court the most distinguished +poets and learned men of his epoch, and an obscure poem concerning +nine jewels said to have adorned his throne is generally understood +to represent the votaries of a certain cycle of the arts and sciences +whom he had under his protection. It is true some of those he is said +to have protected are found to have actually lived at a subsequent +period; but this is only one of the chronological inaccuracies to which +I have already adverted as so common--the fact remains that he did +actually promote the pursuit of letters, not only on the testimony +of these exaggerated accounts, but also in the improvement which +may be observed from his time forward in the condition of public +muniments. One of the most fantastic stories about him, in which +(31) Indra defers to him to decide between the respective claims to +perfection in dancing of two apsarasas, or nymphs, shows at least that +he was considered an authority in matters of taste. The oldest Sanskrit +dictionary extant is reckoned the work of Amarasinha, or Amaradeva, +his minister, and one of the six of the above-named nine jewels who are +believed to have had an historical existence (32); in this dictionary +the Ram and the Bull of the Zodiac are mentioned in such a way that it +may be inferred he was familiar with the present nomenclature of the +twelve signs, giving support to the theory that the Greeks received +that terminology from the Chaldees, and did not originate it, as was +long supposed (33). An inscription found at Buddha-Gaja, and copied +by Wilmot in the year 1783, is preserved in As. Res. i. 284, though +the original stone has since been lost, in which a curious legend +is told of him, showing that as early as A.D. 948 (fixed by experts +for the date of the inscription) an undisputed tradition taught that +the oldest Sanskrit dictionary was written by one of the nine jewels +of Vikramâditja's throne. This legend says, "This Amaradeva, one of +the nine jewels of Vikramâditja's throne, and his first minister, +was a man of great talent and learning. Once, when on a journey, this +famous man found in the uninhabited forest the place where Vishnu was +incarnate in the person of Buddha. Here, therefore, he determined to +remain in prayer till Buddha should show himself to him. At the end +of twelve years of austerities he heard a voice calling to him and +asking what he desired. On his reply that he desired the god should +appear to him, he was told that in the then degenerate condition of +the world such a favour was impossible; but that he might set up an +image of him, which would answer the same purpose as an apparition. In +consequence of this communication he erected a stately temple, which +he furnished with images of Vishnu and his avatars, or incarnations, +Pândava, Brahma, Buddha, and the rest. + +One of the earliest dramatists of India, Kâlidâsa, many of whose +plays possess great literary merit,--though some ascribed to him are +manifestly by inferior hands,--may have been, it is thought, one of +those who wrote under Vikramâditja's protection. In a play called +Maghadûta, he describes his capital of Uggajini with an enthusiasm +which suggests it was his own favourite place of residence. His plays +contain valuable pictures of the manners of the times. And from +these, among other details, it appears it was not only considered +an indispensable qualification of a well-bred man, that he should be +conversant with the great heroic poems, but that they were commonly in +the mouth of the people also. Other details imply the attainment of a +degree of civilization and refinement, which it would probably surprise +most of us to find existing at this date. His two most meritorious +pieces are entitled Abhignana-Shukuntalâ ("The finding of Shukuntalâ"), +and Vikramorvashi-Urvashi ("Urvashi won by Heroism.") We have +also three hundred short poems by Vikramâditja's brother or by some +courtier poet who gave him the honour of the composition; these poems +display unusual powers of description and delicacy of sentiment. The +first shataka, or hundred poems, is entitled shringâra, containing +love-songs; the second, niti, on the government of the world; and the +third, vairâgja, the suppression of human passions. It is probable +that the writer of a justly celebrated drama named Mrikkhakatika, +whose name has been merged in that of King Shûdraka, King of Bidisha +(now Bhilsa), his patron to whose pen he modestly ascribed his work, +lived also not long after this time. + +The length of Vikramâditja's reign is as difficult to fix as any other +circumstance of his history, and it is not clear whether the æra which +dates from him was originally reckoned from the commencement or the end +of his reign; we have already seen the duration which fable ascribes +to it; to this may be added the further fabled promise which, it is +told, the great gods Vishnu and Shiva made concerning him, that he +should come back to earth in the latter times to deliver his people +from the oppression of the Mussulman invaders, just as the Mongols +expect Ghengis Khan and Timour (34), and just as in Europe similar +promises of a future return as a deliverer linger round the memories +of King Arthur, Charlemagne, and Frederick Barbarossa. + +The legend of the Wisdom of Vikramâditja being so mysteriously +connected with his throne, that whosoever sat on it was endowed with +some measure of his excellences; and that the figures with which it +was adorned guarded it from the approach of the unworthy, is brought +forward in the story of more than one Indian sovereign. Travelling +in the wake of Buddhist literature, the myth came to the far East, +where Mongolian bards have worked out of it a saga connected with +one of their own rulers (35), with such variations in the treatment +as might be expected at their hands. + + + + + + +THE SAGA OF ARDSCHI-BORDSCHI AND VIKRAMÂDITJA'S THRONE. + + +THE BOY-KING. + + +Long ages ago there lived a mighty king called Ardschi-Bordschi (1). + +In the neighbourhood of his residence was a hill where the boys who +were tending the calves were wont to pass away the time by racing +up and down. But they had also another custom, and it was, that +whichever of them won the race was king for the day--an ordinary game +enough, only that when it was played in this place the Boy-king thus +constituted was at once endowed with such extraordinary importance +and majesty that every one was constrained to treat him as a real +king. He had not only ministers and dignitaries among his playfellows, +who prostrated themselves before him and fulfilled all his behests, +but whoever passed that way could not choose but pay him homage also. + +At last the report of the matter filled all the land, and came also +to the ears of the King himself. + +Ardschi-Bordschi had the whole matter exposed before him, and he +inquired into all the manners and ways of the boys; then he said,-- + +"If this thing happened every day to one and the same boy, then would +I acknowledge in him a Bodhisattva (2); but as every day a different +boy may win the race, and it would seem that whichever of them is +called king is clothed with equal majesty, it appears manifestly to +me that the virtue is not in the boy, but in the hill of which he +makes his throne." + +Nevertheless the matter troubled the King, and he desired above all +things to obtain some certain knowledge concerning it, not seeing +how to search it out. + + + +THE FALSE FRIEND (1) + +In the meantime, it had come to pass that one of Ardschi-Bordschi's +subjects had gone out over the sea to search for precious stones. Being +detained on his journey beyond the allotted time, he was desirous of +making provision for his wife and children whom he had left behind, +and, finding that a friend of his company purposed to return home, +he trusted to him one of the jewels of which he had become possessed, +saying, "When thou comest to the place, deliver this jewel into the +hands of my wife, that she may be provided withal until the time of +my return. The man, however, sold the jewel and spent the proceeds +on his own purposes. When, therefore, the jewel-merchant came home, +he inquired of his wife, saying, "By a man named Dsük I sent unto +you a jewel so-and-so;" and when he learnt of his wife that the man +had brought no jewel, he took the matter before the King. The King +commanded the man called Dsük to be brought before him. But the man +having got wind that he would have to appear before the King to be +judged for the matter, he gave presents to two chief men of the court, +and agreed with them, saying, "You will stand witness for me that in +presence of you two I delivered the jewel to the man's wife (2)." + +When, therefore, they were all before the King, the King spoke to the +man named Dsük, saying, "Did you, or did you not, give the jewel to +the man's wife?" And he boldly made answer, "In presence of these two +witnesses I delivered the jewel to her;" while the two great men of +the court stood forward and deposed, they also, "Yea, O King! even +in our presence he delivered over the jewel." + +As the King could not gainsay the word of the witnesses, he decided the +case according to their testimony, and the man named Dsük was released +and went away to his home rejoicing at having been so successful in +his stratagem to deceive the King, and the two great men of the court +and the jewel-merchant went down every one to his home. + +It so happened, however, that their way home lay past the hill where +the Boy-king sat enthroned. Now as they passed by, the four together, +the Boy-king sent and called them into his presence, nor could they +fail of compliance with his word. + +When they had paid him their obeisance, bowing themselves many times +before him, the Boy-king, rising in his majesty, thus spoke,-- + +"The decision of your King is hasty, and can never stand. I will +judge your cause. Do you promise to abide by my decision?" + +But the majesty of the Boy-king was upon him, and they could not +choose but accept. + +The Boy-king therefore set the four men apart in four several places, +and to each one of them he gave a lump of clay, saying, "Fashion this +lump of clay like to the form of the jewel which was sent." + +When they had all finished the task, it was found that the model of +the man who sent the jewel and that of the man who was the bearer +of it were alike; but the two great men of the court, who had never +seen the jewel, were thrown into great embarrassment by this means, +and their models were neither like those of the sender and bearer, +nor were they like each other's. + +When the Boy-king saw this he thus pronounced judgment:-- + +"Because both these men saw and knew the jewel, they could make its +image in clay; but it is manifest the two witnesses have never seen +the jewel, but have made up their minds to deceive the King by false +testimony. Such conduct is most unworthy of all in great men of the +King's court." + +Then he ordered the two false witnesses and the man named Dsük to +be secured and taken to the King, all three confessing their crime; +and he sent with them this declaration, written in due form of law:-- + +"According to the principles of earthly might and the sacred maxims of +religion hast thou not decided. O Ardschi-Bordschi! thus should not +an upright and noble ruler deal. Unless it is given thee to discern +good from evil, truth from falsehood, it were better thou shouldst +lay aside thy kingly dignity. But if thou desirest to remain king, +then judge nothing without duly investigating the matter, even as I." + +With such a letter the Boy-king sent the prisoners to Ardschi-Bordschi. + +When the King read the letter, he exclaimed, "What manner of boy is +this who writes thus to the King? He must be a being highly endowed +with wisdom. If it was the same boy who appeared every day so gifted, +I should hold him to be a Bodhisattva, or indeed a very Buddha; but +as on different days different boys attain to the same sagacity, +the source must remain one and the same for all. Shall it not be +that in the foundations of their hill or mound is some stupa (3), +where Buddhas or Bodhisattvas have propounded sacred teaching to +men? Or shall it be that there lies hidden therein some jewel (4), +gifted to impart wisdom to mortals? In some such way, of a certainty, +the spot is endowed with singular gifts." + +Thus he spoke, and concluded the affair of the jewel in accordance +with the Boy-king's judgment, delivering the two witnesses over to +punishment, and condemning the man named Dsük to pay double the value +of the jewel to the merchant whom he had defrauded. + + + +THE PRETENDED SON. + +King Ardschi-Bordschi's minister had one only son. This son went out +to the wars, and returned home again after two years' absence. Just +while the minister was engaged with preparations for a festival of +joy to celebrate the return of his son, there appeared before him +suddenly another son in all respects exactly like his own. In form, +colour, and gait there was no sort of difference to be discerned +between them. Moreover, the horses they rode, their clothing, their +quivers, their mode of speech, were so perfectly similar that none +of the minister's friends, nor the very mother of the young man, +nor yet his wife herself, could take upon them to decide which of +the two was his very son. + +It was not very long before there was open feud in the house between +the two; both youths declaring with equal energy and determination, +"These are my parents, my wife, my children...." Finding the case +quite beyond his own capacity to decide the minister brought the whole +before the King. As the King found himself similarly embarrassed +he sent and called all the relations; and to the mother he said, +"Which of these two is your son?" and to the wife, "Which of these +two is your husband?" and to the children, "Which of these two is +your father?" But they all answered with one consent, "We are not in +a condition to decide, for no man can tell which is which." + +Then King Ardschi-Bordschi thought within himself, "How shall I +do to bring this matter to an end? It is clear not even the man's +nearest relations can tell which of these two is the right man; +how then can I, who never saw either of them before? Yet if I let +them go without deciding the matter, the Boy-king will send and tell +me I am not gifted to discern the true from the false, and counsel +me before all the people to lay aside my kingly dignity. Now then, +therefore, let us prove the matter even as the Boy-king would have +it proved. We will call the men hither before us, and will examine +them concerning their family and ancestors; he that is really the +man's son will know the names of his generations, but he that merely +pretendeth, shall he not be a stranger to these things?" So he sent +and called the men before him again separately and inquired of them, +saying, "Tell me now the names of thy father, and grandfather, and +great-grandfather up to the earliest times, so shall I distinguish +which of you is really this man's son." But the one of them who had +come the last from the wars, was no man but a Schimnu (1), who had +taken the son's form to deceive his parents, he by his demoniacal +knowledge could answer all these things so that the very father was +astonished to hear him, while the real son could go no farther back +than to give the name of his grandfather. + +When Ardschi-Bordschi therefore found how much the Schimnu exceeded +the real son in knowledge of his family, he pronounced that he was +the rightful son, and the wife and parents and friends and all the +people praised the sagacity of the king in settling the matter. + +Thus the Schimnu was taken home with joy in the midst of the gathering +of the family, and the real son not knowing whither to betake himself, +followed afar off, mourning as he went. + +It so happened that their homeward way lay past the mound, where the +Boy-king sat enthroned, who, hearing the feet of many people, and the +voice of the minister's son wailing behind, called them all unto him, +nor could they fail of compliance with the word of the Boy-king in +his majesty. + +When they had paid him their obeisance, bowing themselves many times +before him, the Boy-king, rising in his majesty, thus spoke:-- + +"The decision of your King is hasty, and can never stand. I will +judge your cause. Do you promise to abide by my decision?" + +Then they could not choose but accept; and he made them state their +whole case before him, and explain how Ardschi-Bordschi had decided, +which when he had heard, he said,-- + +"I will set you the proof of whether of you two is the rightful son; +let there be brought me hither a water-jug." And one of the boys who +stood in waiting that day upon the Boy-king's throne, ran and fetched +a water-jug, holding in measure about a pint. + +When he had brought it, the Boy-king ordered him to place it before +the throne; then said he, "Let me see now whether of you two can enter +into this water-jug; then shall we know which is the rightful son." + +Then the rightful son turned away sorrowful and mourned more than +before, "For," said he, "how should I ever find place for so much as +my foot in this water-jug?" + +But the Schimnu, by his demoniacal power easily transformed himself, +and entered the jug. + +The Boy-king, therefore, no sooner saw him enclosed in the water-jug, +than he bound him fast within it by sealing the mouth with the +diamond-seal, which he might not pass (2), undismayed by the appalling +howling with which the Schimnu rent the air, at finding himself thus +taken captive. + +Thus bound he sent him back to Ardschi-Bordschi, together with all +the family concerned in the case, and with them this declaration +written in due form of law:-- + +"According to the principles of earthly might, and the sacred maxims +of religion hast thou not decided, O Ardschi-Bordschi! Thus should +not an upright and noble ruler deal. The wife and children of thine +own subject hast thou given over to the power of a wicked Schimnu; +and sent the rightful and innocent away lamenting. Unless it is given +thee to discern good from evil, truth from falsehood, it were better +thou shouldst lay aside thy kingly dignity. But if thou desirest to +remain king, then judge nothing without duly investigating the matter +even as I." + +With such a letter the Boy-king sent the men back to Ardschi-Bordschi. + +When the King read the letter, he exclaimed, "What manner of boy is +this, who writes thus to the King? He must be a being highly endowed +with wisdom. If it was the same boy who appeared every day so gifted, +I should hold him to be a Bodhisattva or indeed a very Buddha; but +as on different days different boys attain to the same sagacity, the +source must remain one and the same for all. Shall it not be that +on the foundations of this hill or mound is a stupa, where Buddhas +or Bodhisattvas have propounded sacred teaching to men. Or shall it +be that there lies hidden therein some treasure gifted to impart +wisdom to mortals? In some way of a certainty the spot is endowed +with singular gifts." + +Thus he spoke; and concluded the affair of the two sons in accordance +with the Boy-king's judgment, giving over the rightful one to his +family, and delivering the Schimnu to be burned. + + + +ARDSCHI-BORDSCHI DISCOVERS VIKRAMÂDITJA'S THRONE. + +Ardschi-Bordschi could not rest, because of this matter of the +Boy-king. "For," said he, "if there is in my dominions a stupa where +so great wisdom is to be acquired, is it not to the King that it +should belong, that he may rule the people with sagacity? Let Us at +least see this thing, and perhaps We may discover what is the source +of the prodigy." + +Very early in the morning, therefore, he arose, and calling all his +ministers, and counsellors, and all the great men of his court to +him, he went forth to the mound, and there he found all even as it +had been told him. There were the boys tending the calves; and when +they had leisure to play, they all ran a race over the hill, and he +who won the race was installed king on top of the mound, the other +boys paying him homage, and making obeisance to him as to a real king. + +Then the most mighty king, even Ardschi-Bordschi himself, propounded +the question to the Boy-king, saying, "Tell us whence is it that +thou, who art only a boy and a herd of the calves, hast this wisdom, +surpassing the wisdom of the King. The wisdom by which it is given +thee to discern between right and wrong, truth and falsehood, shall +it not also tell thee what is the source of this prodigy?" + +Then the Boy-king, rising in his majesty, made answer,-- + +"Let the King cause labourers to be fetched, and let them dig under +this mound, from the time of the rising of the sun even until the +setting thereof again; thus shall it be found whence ariseth the +prodigy." + +With these words the Boy-king came down from the mound, and +Ardschi-Bordschi caused labourers to be fetched, and they began +digging at the mound as the sun rose above the mountains, and ceased +not till the setting thereof again; but then they came upon a throne +of gold, all dazzling with brightness, and by its light (1) they went +on working through the night, till the whole was delivered from its +covering of earth. So great was its splendour when the morning sun +rose upon it again, that all beholders were struck with awe, and the +people prostrated themselves before it. + +Ardschi-Bordschi was filled with surpassing joy when he saw it, for +now he saw he had attained the desired seat of wisdom, by means of +which he should rule his people aright (2). + +Heading a procession of all that was great and noble in his +realm, he had the throne brought, amid many ceremonies, to his +own residence. Then having called the wise men of the kingdom, and +inquired of them a lucky day, he summoned a great gathering of all +his subjects, to attend his mounting of this throne of prodigy, amid +singing, and offering of incense, and sounding of trumpet-shells (3). + +The throne, which had been set up in his dwelling, meantime, was all +of pure and shining gold. The foundation of it rested on four terrible +lions of gold; and it was reached by sixteen steps of precious stones, +on every one of which were two figures of cunning workmanship--the +one a warrior, the other a Sûta (4)--sculptured in wood, standing to +guard the approach thereof. No such beautiful work had ever before +been seen in all the dominions of Ardschi-Bordschi. + +When therefore the ministers and people were all arranged in order of +rank, and a great silence had been proclaimed on the shell-trumpets, +the King, habited in raiment of state, proceeded to mount the throne. + +Ere he had set foot on the lowest step, however, the two figures +of sculptured wood that stood upon it, abandoning their guardant +attitude, suddenly came forward, and placed themselves before him, +as in defiance--the warrior striking him in the breast, while the +Sûta addressed him thus:-- + +"Surely, O Ardschi-Bordschi! it is not in earnest that thou art minded +to ascend the steps of this sacred throne?" And all the thirty-two +sculptured figures answered together,-- + +"Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi!" + +But the Sûta proceeded,-- + +"Knowest thou not, O Ardschi-Bordschi, that this throne in the days +of old was the seat of the god Churmusta, and that after him it was +given to none to set upon it, till Vikramâditja rose. Wherefore, +O Ardschi-Bordschi, approach not to occupy it. Unless thou also art +prepared to devote thy days, not to thine own pleasure, but to the +service of the six classes of living beings (5), renounce the attempt +to set foot on it." And all the thirty-two sculptured figures answered +together,-- + +"Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi!" + +But the Sûta proceeded,-- + +"Art thou such a king as the great Vikramâditja? then come and sit +upon his throne; but if not, then desist from the attempt." And all +the thirty-two sculptured figures answered together,-- + +"Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi!" + +When they cried the third time, "Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi!" the King +himself, and all who stood there with him, fell on their faces before +the throne, and worshipped it. + +Then spoke another Sûta,-- + +"Listen, O Ardschi-Bordschi, and all ye people give ear, and I will +tell you out of the days of old what manner of king was the hero +Vikramâditja." + + + +THE SÛTA TELLS ARDSCHI-BORDSCHI CONCERNING VIKRAMÂDITJA'S BIRTH. + +Long ages ago there lived a King named Gandharva. To him was wedded +Udsesskülengtu-Gôa-Chatun (1), the all-charming daughter of the mighty +king Galindari. + +Gandharva was a noble King, and ruled the world with justice and +piety. Nevertheless Gandharva had no heir, though he prayed continually +to Buddha that he might have a son. And as he thus prayed and mourned +continually, Udsesskülengtu-Gôa came to him one day, and said, "My +lord, since thou art thus grieved at heart because no heir is given +to us, take now unto thee another wife, even a wife from among thy +people, and perhaps so shalt thou be blessed with succession to the +throne." And her words pleased the King, and he chose a wife of low +degree, and married her, and in due time she bore him a son. + +But when Udsesskülengtu-Gôa, the all-charming one, saw that the heart +of the King was taken from her, and given to the wife of low degree, +because she had borne him a son, while she was less favoured by heaven, +she was grieved in spirit, and said within herself, "What shall I +do now that the heart of my lord is taken from me? Was it not by my +father's aid that he attained the throne? And was it not even by my +advice that he took this wife who has borne him a son? And yet his +heart is taken from me." Nevertheless she complained not to him, +but mourned by herself apart. + +Then one of her maidens, when she saw her thus mourning apart, came to +her, and said, "Is there not living by the kaitja (2), on the other +side of the mountain, a lama, possessed of prodigious powers? Who +shall say but that he might find a remedy for the grief of the Khan's +wife." And Udsesskülengtu-Gôa listened to the maiden's words, and +leaving off from mourning, she rose, and called to her four of the +maidens, and prepared her to make the journey to visit the holy man +at the kaitja, on the other side the mountain, taking with her good +provision of tea (3) and other things needful for the journey. + +Arrived at the kaitja, she made the usual obeisance, and would +have opened her suit; but the hermit was at that moment sunk in his +meditations, and paid her no heed until she had three times changed +(4) her place of kneeling. Then he said, "Exalted Queen! what grief or +what necessity brings thee hither to this kaitja thus devoutly?" And +when she had told him all her story, he replied,-- + +"Mayst thou be blessed with succession to the throne and with many +children to gladden thee." At the same time he gave her a handful +of earth, bidding her boil it in oil--sesame oil (5)--in a porcelain +vessel, and eat it all up. + +The Queen returned home, and, believing in the promise of the hermit, +she boiled the earth in sesame oil in a new porcelain vessel, when +behold it was changed into barley porridge; but she neglected to eat +up the whole of it. Some time after the maiden who had counselled the +visit to the hermit, seeing that some of the porridge still remained +in the porcelain vessel, she also ate of it, saying, "Who knows what +blessing it may bring to me also?" + +Many months had not passed when all manner of propitious tokens +appeared upon the land. Showers of brilliant blossoms fell in place +of rain from heaven, the melodious voice of the kalavinka (6) made +itself heard, and delicious perfumes filled the air. In the midst of +this rejoicing of nature the Queen bore the King a son. + +The gladness of the King knew no bounds that now he had an heir to the +throne who was born of a princess and not of a wife of low degree, and +he ordered public rejoicings throughout the whole kingdom. Further, in +his joy he sent an expedition, with the younger wife at its head, and +many great men of state, to go to the lama of the kaitja, on the other +side of the mountain, and learn what should be the fate of the child. + +When they came to him he was again sunk in his meditations; but +when they had opened their matter to him, almost without looking up, +he replied,-- + +"Tell the King your master that there be got ready for the child +against he grow up fifteen thousand waggon-loads of salt, for that +will be but small compared with what will be required for the use of +his kitchen." + +With such a message the expedition returned to the King. + +When Gandharva heard the prognostics of the hermit, he was struck with +astonishment, and with indignation against the child, not understanding +the intention of the words. Then he called together the people and +announced the thing to them, adding these words, "Of a truth the +child must be a hundredfold a schimnu; how could a man use fifteen +thousand waggon-loads of salt for the seasoning of his food? It is +not good for such an one to live. Let him be taken forth and slain!" + +But his ministers interceded with him and said, "Nay, shall the son +of the King and the heir to his royal throne be slain? Shall we not +rather take him to some solitary place and leave him to his fate in +a thick wood?" + +And the King found their words good; so two of his ministers took +the child a long way off to a solitary place, and left him exposed +in a thick wood. But as they turned to go away, and one of them yet +lingered, the child called after him, saying,-- + +"Wait a little space, sir minister; I have a word to say to you!" + +And the minister stood still in great astonishment. But the child said, +"Bear these words faithfully unto the King:-- + +"It is said that when the young of the peacock are first fledged their +feathers are all of one blue colour, but afterwards, as they increase +in proportions, their plumage assumes the splendid hues admired by +men. Even so when a King's son is born. For a while he remains under +the tutelage of his parents; but if, when he has come to man's estate, +he would be a great king, worthy to be called king of the four parts +of the universe (7), it will behove him to call together the princes +of the four parts of the universe to a great assemblage and prepare +for them a sacred festival (8), at which such may be their number who +may come together to honour it, that fifteen thousand waggon-loads +of salt may even fall short of what is required! + +"So the parrots, when they first break through their egg-shell, appear +very much like any other birds, but when they are full grown they learn +the speech of man and grow in sagacity and wisdom (9). Even so when a +King's son is born. For a while he remains under the tutelage of his +parents; but when he comes to man's estate, if he would be a mighty +king, worthy of being called king of the four parts of the universe, +it will behove him to call together all kings and devas and princes of +the earth, with all the countless Bodhisattvas, and all the priests +of religion, and prepare for them a great religious banquet. At such +a banquet it is well if fifteen thousand waggon-loads of salt suffice +for the seasoning. This for your King." + +The minister took the message of the child word for word to the +Gandharva, who when he heard it clasped his hands in agony and rose +up, saying,-- + +"What is this that I have done! Of a certainty the child was a +Bodhisattva (10). But it is the truth that what I did to him I did in +ignorance. Run now swiftly and fetch me back my son." The minister +therefore set out on his way without stopping to take breath; but +what haste soever he made the King's eagerness was greater, and at +the head of a great body of the people Gandharva himself took his way +in all speed to the place in the thick grove where they had laid the +child. And since he did not find him at the first, he broke out into +loud lamentations, saying,-- + +"0 thou, mine own Bodhisattva! who so young yet speakest words of +wisdom, even young as thou art exercise also mercy and forgiveness. O +how was I mistaken in thee! Set it not down to me that I knew thee +not!" + +While he wandered about searching and thus lamenting, the cry of +a child made itself heard from the depths of a grotto there was in +the grove, which when the King had entered he found eight princes +of the serpent-gods (11) busy tending the child. Some had woven for +him a covering of lotus-blossoms; others were dropping honey into +his mouth; others were on their knees, bowing their foreheads to the +ground before him. Thus he saw them engaged, only when he entered the +cave they all at once disappeared without leaving a trace behind (12). + +Then the King laid the child on a litter borne by eight principal +men, and amid continual lamenting of his fault, saying, "O my son, +Bodhisattva, be merciful; I indeed am thy father," he brought him to +his dwelling, where he proclaimed him before all the people the most +high and mighty Prince Vikramâditja. + + + +When the Sûta had concluded this narrative, he turned to +Ardschi-Bordschi and said,-- + +"Thus was Vikramâditja wise in his earliest youth; thus even in infancy +he earned the homage of his own father; thus was he innately great +and lofty and full of majesty. If thou, O Ardschi-Bordschi! art thus +nobly born, thus indwelt with power and might, then come and mount this +throne; but, if otherwise, then on thy peril desist from the attempt." + +Then Ardschi-Bordschi once more approached to ascend the throne; but +as he did so two other of the sculptured figures, relinquishing their +guardant attitude, stood forward to bar the way, the warrior-figure +striking him on the breast, and the Sûta thus addressing him,-- + +"Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi! as yet hast thou but heard the manner of +the wonderful birth of Vikramâditja; as yet knowest thou not what +was the manner of his youth." + +And all the thirty-two sculptured figures answered and said,-- + +"Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi!" + +But the Sûta continued, saying, "Hearken, O Ardschi-Bordschi! and +ye, O people, give ear, and I will tell you out of the days of old +concerning the youth of Vikramâditja. + + + +THE SÛTA TELLS ARDSCHI-BORDSCHI CONCERNING VIKRAMÂDITJA'S YOUTH. + +Gandharva, the hero's father, was himself also a mighty man of valour, +and a prince devoting himself to the well-being of his people. He not +only carried on wars against the enemies of his country, but exerted +himself to the utmost to deliver his subjects from the onslaught of +the wicked Schimnus. + +One day, therefore, he went forth alone to do battle with a prince of +the Schimnus; and in order that he might be in a condition the better +adapted to match him, he left his body behind him, under shadow of +an image of Buddha. His younger wife, even the wife of low degree, +happening by chance to see him leaving the temple without his body, +was so delighted with the wonderfully beauteous appearance he +thus presented that she went to Udsessküleng-Gôa-Chatun, saying, +"Our master, so long as he went in and out among us, always was +clothed in human form like other men; but to-day, when he started +on his expedition against the Schimnus, he wore such a brilliant and +beautiful appearance that it would be a joy if he looked the same when +he is with us." But Udsessküleng-Chatun replied, "Because you are young +you understand not these things. It is only to preserve his body from +the fine piercing swords of the Schimnus that he left it behind him." + +The younger wife, however, was not satisfied with the explanation, +and said within herself, "If I go and burn the body which the King +has left behind him, then must he wear his beautiful spirit-appearance +when he comes back to us." + +She called together, therefore, all the other maidens, and having +kindled a great fire of sandal-wood, went back to the temple, +and fetched Gandharva's body from beneath the image of Buddha, and +burned it. + +While this was going on the King appeared in his radiant form in the +heavens, and spoke thus to Udsessküleng-Gôa-Chatun, saying,-- + +"From my beloved subjects, for whom I have laboured so untiringly, +and from my dear wives and children and friends, and from my body +which has served me so faithfully that I cannot but love it also--I am +called to part. As my body is burnt, I cannot more visit the earth. My +only concern, however, is this, that I know within seven days the host +of the Schimnus will come down upon you, and I shall not be there to +defend you. Take, therefore, this counsel, giving which is all I can +do for you more, for I go to Nirvâna (1). Get you up then, and escape +with the young prince, even with the Bodhisattva Vikramâditja, within +these seven days, so that the Schimnus' host coming may not find you." + +After these words they saw him no more, for he entered then upon +Nirvâna. + +The officers and ministers and household and subjects gave themselves +to distressful grief when they knew that they should see their good +master Gandharva no more, but Udsessküleng-Chatun said, "If I give +myself over thus to grief it will not bring back my lord the Khan; +it were better that I stir myself to fulfil his all-wise counsel, +and bear his son to a place of safety." Having thus spoken, she called +all her maidens together and the child, and went to seek safety from +the Schimnus in her own country. As they journeyed, the young maiden +who had given her the counsel to visit the hermit of the kaitja, and +who had eaten what was left of the porridge made of earth boiled in +sesame oil in the porcelain vessel, she also had a child, and when +the Khanin was astonished at the thing, the maid confessed that she +had eaten of the porridge which the hermit gave her that was left +behind in the porcelain vessel, and the Khanin remembered that she +had neglected to fulfil the counsel of the hermit, saying to her, +"Eat it all up." + +The other maidens now objected to the burden of having another +infant to take care of on a perilous journey, and would have put it +to death. But the Khanin said, "Nay, but shall a child that came of +the hermit's blessing be slain?" And when she found she could not +prevail with them to take it she bid them not slay it, but leave it +in shelter of a cave which there was by the way. + +Then they journeyed farther amid many dangers and privations till +they came to the capital of the mighty King Kütschün-Tschidaktschi +(2) in the outskirts of which they encamped. All the people gathered, +however, on the other side of the way, struck with admiration by +the wondrous beauty of Udsessküleng-Chatun, all inquiring whence she +could be, and flocking to gain a sight of her (3). + +The Khan, seeing this gathering of people from the terrace of his +palace, sent to inquire what it was, and a man of the train of the +Khanin sent answer, "It is the wife of a mighty King who is escaping +from the fear of the Schimnus, her lord having entered Nirvâna." The +King, therefore, went down, and spoke with the Khanin, and having +learnt from her that such was really the case, the younger wife +having burnt his body, and he having appeared in the sky to bid her +escape with their son from before the fury of the Schimnus, ordered +his ministers to appoint her a dwelling for her and her son, and +her train of followers, and to provide them richly with all things +befitting their rank. + +All this the ministers did, and the Khanin and her son were hospitably +entertained. + +Thus Vikramâditja was brought up in a strange land, but was exercised +in all kinds of arts; and increased in strength, well-favoured in +mind and body. He learned wisdom of the wise, and the use of arms +from men of valour; from the soothsayer learned he cunning arts, +and trading from sagacious traders; from robber bands learned he the +art of robbery, and from fraudulent dealers to lie. + +It happened that while they were yet dwelling in this place, a caravan +of five hundred merchants came by, and encamped on the banks of a +stream near at hand. + +As these men had journeyed along they had found a boy at play in a +wolf's den. + +"How can a child live thus in a wolf's den?" said one of the merchants; +and with that they set themselves to lure the child to them. + +"How canst thou, a child of men, live thus in common with a wolf's +cubs?" inquired they. "It were better thou camest with us." + +But the child answered, "I am in truth a wolf-child, and had rather +remain with my wolf-parents." + +But Galbischa, the chief of the merchants, said, "It must not be. A +child of men must be brought up with men, and not with wolves." So the +merchants took the boy with them, and gave him the name of Schalû (4). + +Thus it came to pass that the child was with them, when they encamped +the night after they had taken him, in the neighbourhood of the city +where Vikramâditja and his mother lived. In the night the wolves came +near, and began to howl (5). Therefore, the merchants asked Schalû +in sport, "What are the wolves saying?" + +But Schalû answered in all seriousness, "These wolves that you hear +are my parents; and they are saying to me, 'Years ago a party of +women passed by this way, and left thee with us as soon as thou wert +born; and we have nurtured thee, and made thee strong and brave; +and thou, without regard to our affection to thee, hast gone away +with strangers. Nevertheless, because we love thee, we will give thee +yet this piece of advice. To-night, there will be heavy torrents of +rain, and the river by which your caravan is encamped, will overflow +its banks. While the merchants, therefore, are engaged in hurry and +confusion seeking shelter, then break thou away from them, darling, +and come back to us. This further warning give we thee, that in the +neighbourhood prowls a robber.'" + +Now it was so that Prince Vikramâditja, having seen the encampment of +the merchants, was lurking in the thicket, to exercise his prowess in +robbing them. Thus when he overheard how Schalû expounded all that +the wolves said, he thought within himself, "This is no ordinary +youth. That torrents of rain are about to fall might be a guess, +even though the sky presents no indication of a coming storm; +but how could he guess that I was prowling about to rob the +caravan? this, at least, shows he has command of some sort of +supernatural knowledge." Determining therefore to discover some +means of possessing himself of the boy, he went away for that night, +because the merchants having been warned by the wolves of his designs, +they would be on the watch to take him had he attempted an attack. + +The merchants, meantime, believing the words of the wolves expounded to +them by Schalû, removed their encampment to a high hill, out of the way +of chances of damage by inundation. When night had fallen thick around, +the rain began to fall in heavy torrents, and the river overflowed its +banks, making particular havock of the very spot on which their tent +had been pitched. When the merchants in the morning saw this part of +the plain all under water, and the floods pouring over it, they said +one to another, "Without Schalû's aid we had certainly all been washed +away (6)," and out of gratitude they loaded him with rich presents. + +At the end of the next day's journey they selected the dry bank +of a small tributary of the river for their camping-place. Prince +Vikramâditja, who, in pursuance of his determination of overnight, +had watched their movements from afar, drew near, under cover of +the shades of evening, and set himself once more to overhear what +Schalû might have to say. By-and-by two wolves approached, and began +howling. Then the merchants asked Schalû, saying, "What do the wolves +say?" And Schalû answered, "These are the wolves who have been to me +from my birth up in the place of parents, and they say, 'Behold, we +have watched over thee ever since thou wast born, and made thee brave +and strong, nevertheless, unmindful of our aid, thou hast forsaken us, +and betaken thyself to men, who are our enemies. This is the last +time that we can come after thee (7); but of our affection we give +thee this counsel: sleep not this night, for there is a robber again +lurking about the camp. Early in the morning also, if thou goest out +to the banks of the stream, thou shalt find a dead body brought down +by the waters; fish it out, and cut it open, for in the right thigh +is enclosed the jewel Tschin-tâmani (8), and whoso is in possession +of this talisman, has only to desire it, and he will become a mighty +King, ruler of the four parts of the earth.'" + +When Vikramâditja had heard these words, he gave up his marauding +intention for that night also, his victims having been set upon +their guard. But he was satisfied with the prospect of having the +talisman for his booty. Going higher up the stream, therefore, +he fished out the dead body as it floated down before it came to +the merchants' encampment, opened the thigh, and took out the jewel, +and then committed it to the waters again, so that when the merchants +and Schalû took it, they found the treasure was gone. But he thought +within himself the while, "This Schalû is no common boy; some pretext +I must find to possess myself of him before the caravan leaves the +neighbourhood." + +The next morning, therefore, before they struck their tents, he came +to them in the disguise of a travelling merchant, he also bringing +with him stuffs and other objects of barter, on which he had set +a private mark. While pretending to trade, he contrived to pick a +quarrel, as also to leave some of his wares unperceived hidden in +one of the tents. Then he went to King Kütschün-Tschidaktschi, and +laid this complaint before him:-- + +"Behold, O King, I was engaged in trading with a company of five +hundred merchants who are encamped outside this city, but a dispute +arising, they fell upon me, and used me contumeliously, and drove me +forth from among them, and, what is worst of all, they have retained +among them the half of my stuffs." + +In answer to this complaint, the King sent two officers of the +court, and an escort of two hundred fighting-men, with instructions +to investigate the matter, and if they found that the five hundred +merchants had really stolen the stuffs, to put them all to the edge +of the sword; but if they found this was not the case, then to bring +Vikramâditja to him for judgment. + +Then Vikramâditja once more prostrated himself before the King, and +said, "Upon all my things have I set a mark (so and so), whereby they +may be recognized, so that clearly may it be established whether they +have my stuffs in possession or not." + +When the King's envoys came to the encampment of the five hundred +merchants, they arraigned them, saying-- + +"Young Vikramâditja lays this complaint against ye before the King, +namely, that you have used him shamefully, driving him away from you +contumeliously, and laying violent hands on his stuffs, wherewith +he sought to trade with you. Know therefore that the command of +our all-powerful King is, that if the stuffs of Vikramâditja are +found in your tents, you be all put to the edge of the sword." And +the merchants answered cheerfully, "Come in and search our tents, +for we have no man's goods with us, saving only our own." + +Then the King's envoys searched through all the tents, no man hindering +them, so persuaded were the good merchants that none of their company +had defrauded any man. As they searched, behold, they found hidden in +one of the tents, where Vikramâditja had concealed them, the stuffs +bearing his marks, so and so, even as he had testified before the King. + +When the merchants saw this they cried, saying, "Surely some evil +demon hath done this thing, for in our company is none who ever took +any man's goods;" and they all began to weep with one accord. + +The King's envoys, however, said, "Weeping will bring you no help; +we must do according to the words of our all-powerful king." And they +called on the two hundred fighting-men to put the whole company of +merchants to the edge of the sword. + +When the commotion was at the highest--the merchants entreating mercy +and protesting their innocence, and the envoys declaring the urgency of +the King's decree, and the fighting-men sharpening their swords--there +stood forward young Vikramâditja, and spoke, saying, "Nay, let not +so many men be put to death. Leave them their lives if they give me +in exchange the boy Schalû, whom they have in their company." + +Then the merchants said to Schalû, "Already hast thou once saved +our lives; go now with this man, and save them for us even this +second time." + +And Schalû made answer, "To have saved the lives of five hundred +men twice over, shall it not bring me good fortune?" So he went with +Vikramâditja, and the merchants loaded him with rich merchandize out +of gratitude, for his reward. + +When Vikramâditja came home, bringing the boy with him, his mother +inquired of him, saying, "Vikramâditja, beloved son, where hast thou +been, and whence hast thou the child which thou hast brought?" + +And Vikramâditja answered, "Beloved mother, when thou wast on thy way +hither fleeing from before the face of the Schimnus, did not one of +thy maidens leave a new-born infant in a wolves' den?" + +And his mother answered, "Even so did one of my maidens, and the +child would now be about this age." So they took Schalû to them, +and he was unto Udsessküleng-Chatun as a son, but unto Vikramâditja +as a brother; and he went with him whithersoever he went. + +One day Vikramâditja came to his mother, and said to her, "Beloved +mother! Live on here in tranquillity, while I, in company with Schalû, +will go to the capital where my father, the immortal Gandharva, +reigned, and see what is the fate of our people, and how I may recover +the inheritance." + +But Udsessküleng-Chatun made answer, "Vikramâditja, beloved son! Is +not the way long, and beset with evil men, who are so many and so +bold? How then wilt thou ever arrive, or escape their wiles?" + +Vikramâditja said to her, "How great soever the distance may be, by +hard walking I will set it behind me; and how many soever the enemy +may be, I shall overcome them, defying the violent with strength, +and the crafty with craftiness." + +Thus he and Schalû set out to go to the immortal Gandharva's +capital. Inquiring by the way what fate had befallen the kingdom, he +found that Gandharva had no sooner entered Nirvâna, than his neighbour +King Galischa, had made the design to obtain possession of his throne; +but that the Schimnus' host had been beforehand with him, and had +already commenced to take possession. They made a compact, however, +by which the government was left to King Galischa, on condition of +his sending to the Schimnus in Gandharva's palace, a tribute of a +hundred men daily with a nobleman at their head. + +Then Vikramâditja was grieved when he learned that it was thus the +usurping prince dealt with his subjects, and he proceeded farther +on his way. When he had come nigh the capital, he heard sounds of +wailing, proceeding from a hut on the outskirts; going in to discover +the cause, Vikramâditja found lying, with her face upon the floor, +a woman all disconsolate, and weeping piteously. + +"Mother! What is thy grief wherewith thou art so terribly +oppressed?" inquired Vikramâditja of her. + +"Ah!" replied the woman, "there is no cure for my grief. This King +Galischa, who has seized the kingdom of the immortal Gandharva, has +entered into a compact with the Schimnus to pay them a tribute of a +hundred men every day with a nobleman at their head. I had two sons, +one of them is gone I know not whither, and now to-day they have come +and taken the other to send in the tribute to the Schimnus, nor can I +by any means resist the will of the King. That is why I wail, and that +is why I am inconsolable." And she went on with her loud lament (9). + +But Vikramâditja bid her arise and be of good cheer, saying, "I will +bring back thy son to thee alive this day, for I will go forth to +the Schimnus in his stead." + +Then the woman said, "Nay, neither must this be. Thou art brave with +the valour of youth, even as a young horse snorting to get him away to +the battle. But when thou art devoured by the Schimnus, then shall thy +mother grieve even as I; and belike she is young and has many years +before her, whereas my life is well-nigh spent, and what matter if +I go down to the grave in sorrow? Who am I that I should bring grief +to the mother of thee, noble youth!" + +But Vikramâditja said, "Leave that to me, and if I send not back +to thee thine own son as I have promised, then will I send back to +thee this youth, Schalû, who is my younger brother, and he shall be +thy son." + +When he drew near the dwelling of King Galischa, the King was just +marshalling one hundred subjects, with a nobleman at their head, who +were to be sent that day to the Schimnus in tribute in Gandharva's +palace. But the King, espying him, inquired who and whence he was. + +Then Vikramâditja answered him, "I am Vikramâditja, son of +Gandharva. When he died, my mother carried me, being an infant of +days, far away for fear of the Schimnus. But now that I have grown +to man's estate, I am come together with my younger brother to see +after the state of my father's kingdom." + +Galischa then said, "It is well for thee that Heaven preserved +thee from coming before, otherwise thou mightest have had all the +travail which has fallen upon me; nevertheless, as I came first, I +am in possession. But I have every day in sorrow and agony to send +a tribute of one hundred subjects, with a nobleman at their head, +to be devoured by the Schimnus." + +"This have I learnt," replied Vikramâditja, "and it is even on that +account that I am here. For have I not seen the grief of a mother +mourning over her son, and it is to take his place, and to go in his +stead, that I came hither to thee." + +And Galischa said, "How canst thou, youth that thou art, defy all +the might of the Schimnus, doubt not now but that they will devour +thee before thou art aware." + +"Then," replied the magnanimous prince, "if I do not prevail against +the Schimnus, this I shall gain, that because I have given my life +for another, I shall in my next birth rise to a higher place (10) +than at present." + +"If that is thy mind," replied the King, "then do even as thou +hast said." + +So Vikramâditja went out with the tribute of blood, and sent back +the youth whom he had come to replace, to his mother. + +When the King saw him go forth with firm step, and as it were dancing +with joy over his undertaking, he said, "There is one case in which he +might turn out to be our deliverer; but if that case does not befall, +then will he but have come to swell the number of victims of the +Schimnus. Let us, however, all wait here together through the day, +to see what may befall." + +Vikramâditja and his companions meantime arrived at Gandharva's +palace; and Vikramâditja, as if he had known the place all his life, +went straight up to the throne-room, where was the great and dazzling +Sinhâsana (11). Ascending it, therefore, he sat himself in it, and, +while his tears flowed down, he cried, "Oh for the days of my father, +the immortal Gandharva; for he reigned gloriously! But since he +hath entered Nirvâna we have had nothing but weariness. What would +my father have said had he seen his subjects made by hundreds at a +time food for the Schimnus? Schimnus, beware! lest I destroy your +whole race from off the face of the earth." + +Thus spoke Vikramâditja, till, inspired by his royal courage, he had +sent all the hundred victims of this tribute back to their homes, +defying the anger of the Schimnus. But to the King he sent word, +"The Schimnus of whom thou standest in mortal dread will I curb +and tame. Meantime, let there be four hundred vessels of brandy +prepared." And the King did as he said, and sent and put out four +hundred vessels filled with strong brandy in the way. + +When, therefore, the Schimnus came that they might devour their +victims as usual, they first came upon the four hundred vessels of +brandy, and seeing them, they set upon them greedily, and drank up +their contents. Overcome by the strong spirit, they lay about on the +ground half-senseless, and Vikramâditja came upon them and slew them, +and hewed them in pieces. + +He had hardly despatched the last of them when their Schimnu-king, +informed of what had been done, came down in wrath and fury, +flourishing his drawn sword. But Vikramâditja said to him, "Halt! King +of the Schimnus; taste first of my brandy, and if it overcome thee, +then shalt thou be my slave; but if not, then will I serve thee. Then +the King of the Schimnus drank up all the brandy, and, overpowered +by the strong spirit, fell down senseless on the earth. + +As he was about to slay him like the others, Vikramâditja thought +within himself, "After all, it will bring greater fame to overcome +him in fair fight than to slay him by stratagem." So he sat down +and waited till he came to himself; then he defied him to combat; +and when he stood up to fight, he raised his sword and cut him in two. + +Then see! of the two halves there arose two men; and when he cut +each of these in two, there were four men; and when he cut these in +two, there were eight men, who all rushed upon him. Then the Prince +transformed himself into eight lions, which roared terribly, and tore +the eight men in pieces, and destroyed them utterly. + +While this terrible combat was going on, there were frightful +convulsions of nature (12): mountains fell in, and in the place where +they had stood were level plains; and plains were raised up, and +appeared as mountains, water gushed out of them and overran the land, +and all the subjects of Gandharva fell senseless on the earth. But +when Vikramâditja had made an end of the Schimnus, and resumed his +own form again, he made a great offering of incense, and the earth +resumed her stability; the people were called back to life, and all +was gladness and thanksgiving. All the people, and King Galischa +at their head, acknowledged Vikramâditja as their lawful sovereign, +and he ascended the throne of his father Gandharva. Then he sent for +the Queen-mother, and made the joy of all his people. + + + +When the Sûta had made an end of the narrative of Vikramâditja's youth, +he addressed himself to Ardschi-Bordschi, saying,-- + +"If thou canst boast of being such a King as Vikramâditja, then come +and ascend this throne; but if not, then beware, at thy peril, that +thou approach it not." + +Ardschi-Bordschi then drew near once more to ascend the throne, +but two other of the sculptured figures, forsaking their guardant +attitude, came forward and warned him back. + +Then another Sûta addressed him, saying, "Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi! As +yet thou hast only heard concerning the birth and the youth of +Vikramâditja; now hearken, and I will tell thee some of his mighty +deeds." + +And all the sculptured figures answered together,-- + +"Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi!" + + + +THE SÛTA TELLS ARDSCHI-BORDSCHI CONCERNING VIKRAMÂDITJA'S DEEDS. + +VIKRAMÂDITJA ACQUIRES ANOTHER KINGDOM. + +While Vikramâditja continued to rule over his subjects in justice, +and to make them prosperous and happy, another mighty king entered +Nirvâna. As he left no son, and as there was no one of his family left, +nor any one with any title to be his heir, a youth of the people was +elected to fill the throne. The same night that he had been installed +on the throne, however, he came to die. The next day another youth +was elected, and he also died the same night. And so it was the next +night, and the next, and yet no one could divine of what malady all +these kings died. + +At last the thing reached the ears of Vikramâditja. + +Then Vikramâditja arose, and Schalû with him, and disguising themselves +as two beggars, they took the way to the capital of this sorely-tried +kingdom, to bring it deliverance. + +When they came near the entrance of the city, they turned in to rest +at a small house by the wayside. Within they found an aged couple, +who were preparing splendid raiment for a handsome youth, who was +their son; but they cried the while with bitter tears. Then said +Vikramâditja,-- + +"Why do you mourn so bitterly, good people?" + +"Our King is dead," replied they, "and as he has left no succession, +one of the people was chosen by lot to fill the office of King, +but he died the same night; and when another was similarly chosen, +he likewise died. Thus it happens every night. Now, to-day the lot +has fallen on our son; he will therefore of a certainty die to-night: +therefore do we mourn." + +Then answered Vikramâditja, "To me and my companion, who are but two +miserable beggars, it matters little whether we live or die. Keep +your son with you, therefore, and we two will ascend the throne this +morning in his place and die to-night in his stead." + +But the parents replied, "It is not for us to decide the thing. Behold, +the matter stands in the hands of three prudent and experienced +ministers, but we will go and bring the proposal before them." + +The parents went, therefore, and laid the proposal of the beggars +before the three prudent and experienced ministers, who answered them, +saying, "If these men are willing to die after reigning but twenty-four +hours why should we say them nay? Let them be brought hither to us." + +Then the beggars were brought in, and the ministers installed them on +the throne, saying to the people, "Hitherto we have been accustomed to +meet together early in the morning to bury our King. But this time, +as we shall have two kings to bury instead of one, see that you come +together right early." + +Vikramâditja meantime set himself to examine all the affairs of the +kingdom, that he might discover to what was to be ascribed the death +of the King every night. And when he had well inquired into every +matter, he found that it had formerly been the custom of the King to +make every night a secret offering (1) to the devas, and to the genii +of earth and water, and to the eight kinds of spirits, but that the +succeeding kings had neglected the sacrifice, and therefore the spirits +had slain them. Then the most high and magnanimous king Vikramâditja +appointed out of the royal treasury what was necessary to pay for +the accustomed offering; then he called upon the spirits and offered +the sacrifice. The spirits, delighted to see their honour return, +made the king a present of a handsome Mongolian tent and went up again. + +The people, too, who had come together early in the morning, with +much wood to make the funeral obsequies of the Kings, were filled +with delight to find the spell broken, and in return they gave him +the jewel Dsching, filling the air with their cries of gladness and +gratitude, calling him the King decreed by fate to rule over them. Thus +Vikramâditja became their King. + + + +VIKRAMÂDITJA MAKES THE SILENT SPEAK. + +While now Vikramâditja reigned over all his people in justice and +equity complaint was brought before him against one of his ministers, +that he oppressed the people and dealt fraudulently with them; and +Vikramâditja, having tried his cause, judged him worthy of death. But +when he was brought before him to receive sentence he pleaded for life +so earnestly that the magnanimous King answered him, "Why should the +life of the most abject be taken? Let him but be driven forth from +the habitation of men." + +So they drove him forth from the habitation of men. Now it had been the +minister's custom, in pursuance of a vow, to observe three fast-days +every month (1). And so it happened, that one day after they had +driven him forth from the habitations of men, on the day succeeding +one of his fasts, he found himself quite without any thing to eat; +nor could he discover any fruit or any herb which could serve as a +means of subsistence. Recollecting, then, that one day he had made +four little offering-tapers out of wax and bread crumbs, he went and +searched out the shrine where he had offered them, that he might take +them to eat. But see! when he stretched forth his hand to take one +of them it glided away from before him and hid itself behind another +of the offering-tapers; and when he would have taken that one, they +both hid themselves behind the third. And when he stretched forth his +hand to have taken the third, the three together, in like manner, +glided behind the fourth. And when he stretched forth his hand to +have taken the four together, they all glided away together from +off the altar and out of the shrine altogether, and so swiftly that +it was as much as he could do to follow after them and keep them in +sight. Going on steadily behind them he came at last to a cave of a +rock, and brushwood growing over it. Herein they disappeared. Then +when he would have crept in after them into the cave of the rock, two +he-goats, standing over the portal of the cave, sculptured in stone, +spoke to him, saying, "Beware, and enter not! for this is a place of +bad omen. Within this cave sits the beauteous Dâkinî (2) Tegrijin Nâran +(3) sunk in deep contemplation and speaketh never. Whoso can make +her open her lips twice to speak to man, to him is the joy given to +bear her home for his own. But let it not occur to thee to make the +bold attempt of inducing her to open her lips to speak, for already +five hundred sons of kings have tried and failed; and behold they all +languish in interminable prison at the feet of the Silent Haughty One, +sunk in deep contemplation." + +And as they spoke they bent low their heads, and pointed their horns +at him, to forbid him the entrance. + +The minister, however, had no mind to try the issue, but rather +seized with a great panic he turned him and fled without so much as +heeding whither his steps led him. Thus running he chanced to come +with his head at full butt against the magnanimous King Vikramâditja, +just then taking his walk abroad. + +"How now, evil man?" exclaimed the magnanimous King. "Whence comest +thou, fleeing as from an evil conscience?" + +Then the minister prostrated himself before him, and told him all +he had learnt from the two he-goats sculptured in stone, concerning +Naran-Dâkinî. + +When Vikramâditja had heard the story, he commanded that the evil +minister should be guarded, to see whether the event proved that he +had spoken the truth; but, taking with him Schalû and three far-sighted +and experienced ministers, he went on till he came to the cave and saw +the two he-goats sculptured in stone standing over the portal. The +he-goats would have made the same discourse to him as to the evil +minister, but he commanded them silence. Then he transformed Schalû +into an aramâlâ (4) in his hand, but the three ministers into the +altar that stood before the Dâkinî, and the lamp that burned thereon, +and the granite vessel for burning incense placed at the foot of the +same (5); laying this charge upon them: "I will come in," said he, +"as though a wayfarer who knew you not, and sitting down I will tell +a saga of olden time. Then all of you four give an interpretation of +my saga quite perverse from the real meaning, and if the Dâkinî be +prudent and full of understanding she will open her lips to speak to +vindicate the right meaning of the story." + +Presently, therefore, after he had completed the transformation of +Schalû and the three far-seeing and experienced ministers, and having +himself assumed the appearance of a king on his travels, he entered +the cave and sat down over against the altar which stood before the +Dâkinî Naran, the Silent Haughty One, sunk in deep contemplation. Then +said he, "In that it was told me in this place dwells the all-fair +Tegrijin Naran-Dâkinî, I, who am King of Gambudvîpa, am come hither to +visit her;" and as he spoke he looked furtively up towards the Dâkinî, +to see whether he had moved her to open her lips to speak. + +But the all-beauteous Naran-Dâkinî, the Silent Haughty One, sat still +and gave forth no sign. + +Then spoke the King again, saying, "On occasion of this my coming, +O Naran-Dâkinî, tell thou me one of the sagas of old; or else, if +thou prefer to hold thy peace, then will I tell one to thee!" + +Again he looked up, but Naran-Dâkinî Tegrijin, the Silent Haughty One, +sat sunk in deep contemplation and gave forth no sign. + +As the King paused, one of the far-seeing and experienced ministers, +even the one whom he had transformed into the altar that stood before +the Dâkinî, spoke, saying,-- + +"While from the lips of the all-beauteous Naran-Chatun (6) no word +of answer proceeds, how should it beseem me, the Altar, a non-souled +object, to speak. Nevertheless, seeing that so great and magnanimous a +King has come hither and has propounded a question, I will yet dare, +even I, to answer him. For, seeing that Naran-Chatun is so immersed +in her own contemplations, she cannot give ear to the words of the +King, I who, standing all the day before her in silence, and hearing +no word of wisdom in any of the sagas of old, even I would fain be +instructed by the words of the King." + +And as the altar thus spoke, Naran Tegrijin Dâkinî cast a glance +of scorn upon it, but the Silent Haughty One opened never her lips +to speak. + +Then the King took up his parable and poured forth one of the sagas +of old after this manner, saying,-- + + + +WHO INVENTED WOMAN? (7) + +"Long ages ago there went forth daily into one place four youths out +of four tribes, to mind their flocks, one youth out of each tribe, +and when their flocks left them leisure they amused themselves with +pastimes together. Now it came to pass that one day one of them rising +earlier than the rest, and finding himself at the place all alone, +said within himself,-- + +"'How is the time weary, being here all alone!' + +"And he took wood and sculptured it with loving care until he had +fashioned a form like to his own, and yet not alike. And when he saw +how brave a form he had fashioned, he cared no more to sport with +the other shepherd youths, but went his way. + +"The next morning the second of the youths rose earlier than the rest, +and, coming to the place all alone, said within himself,-- + +"'How is the time weary, being here all alone!' + +"And he cast about him for some pastime, and thus he found the form +which the first youth had fashioned, and, finding it exceeding brave, +he painted it over with the five colours, and when he saw how fair a +form he had painted he cared no more to sport with the other shepherd +youths, but went his way. + +"The next morning the third of the youths rose earlier than the rest, +and, coming to the place all alone, said within himself,-- + +"'How is the time weary, being here all alone!' + +"And he cast about him for some pastime, and thus he discovered the +form which the first youth had fashioned and the second youth had +painted, and he said,-- + +"'This figure is beautiful in form and colour, but it has no wit or +understanding' So he infused into it wit and understanding. + +"And when he saw how clever was the form he had endowed with wit and +understanding, he cared no more to sport with the shepherd youths, +and he went his way. + +"The fourth morning the fourth of the youths rose up the earliest, and, +finding himself all alone at the trysting-place, said within himself,-- + +"'How is the time weary, being here all alone!' + +"And, casting about to find some pastime, he discovered the form +which the first youth had fashioned so brave, and the second youth +had painted so fair, and the third youth had made so clever in wit +and understanding, and he said,-- + +"'Behold the figure is beautiful in form and fair to behold in colour, +and admirable for wit and understanding, but what skills all this when +it hath not life?' And he put his lips to the lips of the figure and +breathed softly into them, and behold it had a soul (8) that could +be loved, and was woman. + +"And when he saw her he loved her, and he cared no more to sport with +the shepherd youths, but left all for her, that he might be with her +and love her. + +"But when the other shepherd youths saw that the figure had acquired +a soul that could be loved, and was woman, they came back all the +three and demanded possession of her by right of invention. + +"The first youth said, 'She is mine by right of invention, because I +fashioned her out of a block of wood that had had no form but for me.' + +"The second said, 'She is mine by right of invention, because I +painted her, and she had worn no tints fair to behold but for me.' + +"The third said, 'She is mine by right of invention, because I gave her +wit and understanding, and she had had no capacity for companionship +but for me.' + +"But the fourth said, 'She is mine by right of invention, because +I breathed into her a soul that could be loved, nor was there any +enjoyment in her but for me.' + +"And while they all joyed in the thought of possessing her, they +continued to strive on that they might see which should prevail. And +when they found that none prevailed against the rest, they brought +the matter before the King for him to decide. + +"Say now therefore, O Naran-Dâkinî, I charge thee, in favour of which +of these four was the King bound to decide that he had invented woman?" + +And as the King left off from speaking he looked towards Naran-Dâkinî +as challenging her to answer. + +But Naran-Dâkinî, the Silent Haughty One, sat immersed in deep +contemplation and held her peace, speaking never a word. + +Then when the far-sighted and experienced ministers saw that she held +her peace, one of them, even the one whom Vikramâditja had transformed +into the lamp before the altar, spoke, saying,-- + +"It were meet indeed that an unsouled object such as I, the +Lamp, should not venture to speak in presence of our mistress, +Naran-Chatun. But as so great a King has come to visit us, and has +propounded to us a question to which Naran-Chatun does not see fit +to reply, even I, the Lamp, will attempt to answer him. To me, then, +it seems that the answer is clear, for by whom could the figure be +said to be invented saving by the youth who first fashioned it? He +who gave a mere block of wood a beautiful form must be allowed to +have invented it." + +Naran-Dâkinî cast a glance of disgust and scorn upon the lamp, yet +spoke she never a word. + +Then spoke the far-seeing and experienced minister whom Vikramâditja +had transformed into the thurible at the foot of the altar, saying,-- + +"It were meet indeed that an unsouled object such as I, the +Incense-burner, should not venture to speak in presence of our +mistress, Naran-Chatun. But as so great a King has come to visit us, +and has propounded a question to us to which Naran-Chatun does not see +fit to reply, even I, the Thurible, will attempt to answer him. And +to me indeed the answer is plain, for to whom could the figure be +said to belong, if not to the youth who painted it and made a mere +stump beautiful and lifelike with fair tints of colour?" + +At these words of the incense-vessel Naran-Dâkinî cast upon it a look +of scorn and contempt, but opened not her lips to speak. + +Then spoke Schalû, whom Vikramâditja had transformed into his +aramâlâ, with impetuosity, saying, "Nay, but surely he alone could +have the right of invention who endowed a painted log with wit and +understanding. Surely he who made a stump of a tree to think must be +allowed to have invented it." + +When Naran-Dâkinî saw with what a confident air the aramâlâ pronounced +this sentence, even as though he had settled the whole matter, she +could contain herself no longer, and then burst from her lips these +words, while her eyes lighted on the objects that had spoken with +exceeding indignation,-- + +"Of miserable understanding are ye all! How then venture ye, unsouled +objects, to expound the matter when I, a reasonable being, scarcely +dare pronounce upon the question? What other interpretation of +this parable, however, can there be than this:--The youth who first +fashioned the figure of a block of wood, did not he stand in place +of the father? He who painted it with tints fair to behold, did not +he stand in place of the mother? He who gave wit and understanding, +is not he the Lama? But he who gave a soul that could be loved, was +it not he alone who made woman? To whom, therefore, else should she +have belonged by right of invention? And to whom should woman belong +if not to her husband?" + +Thus Tegrijin Naran Dâkinî had been brought to speak once; but the +proposition requiring that the Silent Haughty One should speak twice +to man, the magnanimous King proceeded without making allusion to +his first success, saying,-- + +"Now that I have told a saga of old, it is the turn that one of you +should also tell us a tale to entertain the mind." And as he spoke +he addressed himself to Naran-Dâkinî. Nevertheless Naran-Dâkinî +had entered again into her deep contemplation, and held her peace, +saying never a word. + +Then said the far-seeing and experienced minister whom the King had +transformed into the altar,-- + +"As Naran-Chatun continues to sit in her place and to utter no sound +in answer to the word of the high King who has come so far to visit +us, even I, though I be an unsouled object, will venture to reply, +asking him that he will again open to us the treasures of story." + +At these words Naran-Dâkinî cast a meaning glance upon her altar, +but spoke not. + +Then opened the magnanimous King again the treasures of story. + + + +THE VOICE-CHARMER (9). + +"Long ages ago two were travelling through a mountainous country, a +man and his wife. And behold as they journeyed there reached them from +the other side of a rock a voice of such surpassing sweetness that the +two stood still to listen, the man and his wife; and not they only, but +their very beasts pricked up their ears erect to drink in the sound. + +"Then spoke the woman,-- + +"'A man with a voice so melodious must be a man goodly to see. Shall +we not stop and find him out?'" + +"But the saying pleased not her husband, nor was he minded that she +should see who it was that sang so sweetly; therefore he answered +her,-- + +"'Wherefore should we search him out; is it not enough that we hear +his voice?' + +"When the wife had heard his answer, she said no more about searching +out whence the voice proceeded; only the first time they passed a +mountain-rill she said to her husband,-- + +"'Behold, I faint for thirst in this heat. Now, as thou lovest me, +fetch me a draught of that cool water from the mountain-rill.' So +the man got down from his horse, and, taking his wife's cup (10), +went to the rill to fetch water. + +"While he was thus occupied, the wife slid down from off her horse +also, and, going silently behind him, pushed him over the precipice +and killed him. Then she set out to find out who it was sang so +melodiously. When she had followed up the sound she found herself in +presence, not of a man goodly to behold, but of a wretched, loathsome +object, sunk down against the foot of the rock, deformed in person +and covered with sores. Notwithstanding that the undeception was so +revolting, she yet took him up on her back and carried him with her; +but as the man was heavy and the way steep, the fatigue so wearied +her that at the end of a little time she died. + +"Was this woman to be counted a good woman or a bad?" + +When the King had made an end of telling the tale, he looked towards +Naran-Dâkinî as challenging her to answer. + +But Naran-Dâkinî held her peace and spoke never a word. + +Then, when the far-seeing and experienced minister whom Vikramâditja +had transformed into the lamp saw that she yet held her peace, +he said,-- + +"How should an unsouled being such as I, the Lamp, find out the right +meaning? nevertheless, not to leave the words of the high King without +an answer, I will even venture to suggest that to me it seemeth she +must be counted a good woman; because though she killed her husband, +yet she made atonement for her fault by raising the sick man and +carrying him with her--" + +But before he could make an end of speaking Naran-Dâkinî cast at him +a glance of contempt and scorn, and she exclaimed,-- + +"How should there be any good in a woman who killed her lawful husband, +and that only because her ears were tickled with the artful melody +of an harmonious voice? Of a truth she must have been a veritable +schimnu, and if she took the sick man with her, was it not only that +she might devour him at leisure?" + +Then spoke Vikramâditja,-- + +"Naran-Chatun! being he who hath induced thee to open thy lips to +speak these two times to man, give me my guerdon that thou accompany +me home to be my wife." + +Very willingly coming down from her altar, Tegrijin Naran Dâkinî at +these words gave herself to Vikramâditja to accompany him home to be +his wife. + +Vikramâditja having then given back to Schalû and to his three +far-seeing and experienced ministers their natural shapes, and to the +five hundred sons of kings who had failed in winning Naran-Dâkinî +theirs, with Naran-Dâkinî by his side, and all the rest in a long +procession behind him, the King arrived at his capital. Here he called +together all his people Tai-tsing (11) to a great assembly, where +he promulgated rules of faith and religion. By his good government +he made all his people so happy as no other sovereign ever did, +sitting upon his throne with his consort Tegrijin Naran as the +fate-appointed rulers. + + + +When the Sûta had made an end of this narration of Vikramâditja's +deeds, he addressed himself to Ardschi-Bordschi, saying,-- + +"If thou canst boast, of being such a King as Vikramâditja, then +come and ascend this throne, but if not, then beware at thy peril +that thou approach it not." + +Now Ardschi-Bordschi had seventy-one wives; taking by the hand the +chief of them therefore, he bid her make obeisance before the throne +and ascend it with him. Ere they had set foot on the first step two +other of the sculptured figures came forward, forsaking their guardant +attitude, and warned him back, the warrior smiting him in the breast, +and the Sûta thus addressing him,-- + +"Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi, and thou his wife! nor touch so much as +with thy prostrate heads the sacred steps. But first know what manner +of woman was the chief wife of Vikramâditja. + +"The chief wife of Vikramâditja was Tsetsen Budschiktschi (12), and +she never had a word, or look, or thought but for her husband. If thy +wife be such a princess as she, then draw near to ascend the throne +together, but if otherwise, then at your peril draw not near it. + +"But," he said furthermore, "hearken, and I will tell you, who have +seventy-one wives, the story of what befell seventy-one parrots and +the wife of another high King to whom one of them was counsellor." + +And all the sculptured figures answered together,-- + +"Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi!" + + + +THE SÛTA TELLS ARDSCHI-BORDSCHI CONCERNING THE SEVENTY-ONE PARROTS +AND THEIR ADVISER. + +Long ages ago the wife of a high King was ill with a dire illness, +nor could the art of any physician suffice to cure her till one came +who said, "Let there be given her parrots' brains to eat." + +When, therefore, the high King saw that eating parrots' brains +brought health it seemed good to him to take a tribute of parrots' +brains from his subjects. + +He called unto him, therefore, the governor of a tributary province +and commanded him, saying, "Let there be delivered to me a tribute of +the brains of seventy-one parrots, otherwise thou must die the death." + +That governor went out therefore trembling with fear, and he called +unto him immediately a birdcatcher and agreed with him for the price +of the brains of seventy-one parrots. + +Now the birdcatcher knew a certain tree in which there roosted every +night seventy-one parrots, and he said within himself, "If I could +spread one net over the whole tree, with one haul the whole affair +would be finished." So he went and bought a great net ready to spread +over the whole tree. + +But among these seventy-one parrots was one parrot exceeding wise, who +was always on the watch to see what the birdcatcher was about. When, +therefore, he saw him buy so great a net he said to his companions, +"To what end can the man have bought so big a net if not to spread +round the whole tree? let us, therefore, in future roost on yonder +rock." After this they went to roost on the rock. After they had +roosted four or five nights on the rock the wise parrot caught sight +of the birdcatcher prowling about, having followed them thither +and being engaged in settling in his own mind how he should lay his +nets. Then the wise parrot said to his companions, "The man has come +hither after us even to this rock; let us now, therefore, avoid his +snares by roosting in some other place." + +But his companions, instead of accepting his counsel were provoked, +and answered him, saying, "How are we to endure thus changing our place +of roosting every night. We left our tree which sheltered us well and +came to this rock to please thy fancy; and now thou wouldst have us +make another change. But we will no more listen to thy suspicions." + +They roosted, therefore, still upon the rock, and that night the +birdcatcher came with his nets and encompassed them all. + +When they woke and found themselves imprisoned, loud were their shrieks +of lamentation as they fluttered and beat their wings fruitlessly +against the net; calling also on the wise parrot, saying, "You who +were so wise in foreseeing the danger, have you no means for delivering +us out of it?" + +"Yes," replied the wise parrot, "I have thought of that. Leave off +every one of you from shrieking and fluttering about, and beating +your wings against the net, which is a new one and not the least +likely to give way. On the contrary, lie all of you on your backs +with your heads hanging as if you were dead. The birdcatcher being +satisfied you are dead will not kill you over again. Then observe +and see that the approach to this one rock is very narrow, and when +a man comes up it there is only just room for one foot-hold at the +ledge whence he can reach us, and it is as much as he can do to +get up and down with the use of both his hands as well as his feet; +he will not, therefore, go to carry us down or put us in a bag, but +will throw us one by one over the cliff, and sure enough he will say +out the number as he throws each down. Let, therefore, those who are +thrown down first remain still lying without motion so that he may not +suspect any of the rest are alive, only when he says out the number, +'Seventy-one!' then up and away, as at a signal of a race." + +The other parrots did not venture to dispute the word of the wise +parrot this time, but all did exactly as he had said. When the +birdcatcher came and found what a steep rugged path he had to climb +he vowed all sorts of vengeance on the parrots for giving him so +much fatigue, and swore that he would break all their bones, for +the brain was the only part he cared to keep uninjured. When he had +got up to the ledge of rock by which he could reach them, however, +and found that they seemed already stone dead, seeing that to wreak +any vengeance on creatures that could not feel would be childish, +he contented himself with throwing them below one by one, calling +out as he did so the number to each. In this way he had thrown over +the seventy; last of all there remained the wise parrot, but the net +having fallen upon him he was rather longer loosing him than the rest, +so that he had called out "Seventy-one" before he was ready to throw +him down, moreover, his whetstone happening at that same instant to +tumble out of his girdle, the other parrots took the sound of its +fall for that of the wise parrot, and all of them together they spread +their wings and flew far away. + +The birdcatcher saw this in time before he had let go his hold of +the wise parrot. + +"Ah! vile, cunning parrots," he exclaimed in great wrath and +indignation, "what labour have you given me, and at last I have no +benefit for my exertion! One, at least, of you is still in my power, +and on him will I be avenged for the mischief of all the rest; +I will take him home and torture him at leisure, and then cook him +alive. The wise parrot heard all this, but thought to wait till his +fury was a little spent. But finding as time wore on the man only +got more and more wroth; and the matter beginning to get serious, +as they were coming near his dwelling, the wise parrot at last said, +"What end will it serve that thou kill me? It will not bring the other +parrots back--and, indeed, what grudge hast thou against me? I never +killed thee at any former time (1) that thou shouldst now kill me. Thou +hast attacked my life, and I have defended it by fair dealing. Other +grudge against me hast thou none; then why shouldst thou seek to maim +and injure me? Moreover, if thou do, be sure that the day will come +(2) when I should repay thee. But now, if thou sell me who am a wise +and understanding parrot, thou shalt receive for my price 100 ounces +of silver, and if with seventy-one ounces thou buy seventy-one other +parrots for him who hired thee there will still remain twenty-nine +ounces with which thou mayest make merry with all thy friends and +acquaintance." + +When, therefore, the birdcatcher found he was a wise and understanding +parrot, he took him and sold him to a rich merchant for 100 ounces +of silver. + +The merchant also, who bought the parrot, finding him so wise and full +of understanding, employed him in all sorts of ways to watch over his +belongings. At last, one day he came and said to the parrot, "Hitherto +thou hast done me good service in watching over the merchandize, +and I have regarded thee as my brother, now, therefore, that I go +on a journey of seventy-one days I entreat thee to watch over, as a +sister-in-law, my wife, who is very gay and thoughtless. + +The wise parrot answered, "Be of good heart, brother, all shall be +right in thine absence." + +At which the merchant replied, "If thou sayest so, brother Parrot, +I can go forth on my journey without anxieties." + +He had not been gone long when his young wife rose up, saying, "Now +indeed I am for once my own mistress: I will go out and see all my +friends, and particularly those I dare not visit when my husband +is here." So she arrayed herself in all her gayest attire. But +when she would have gone out the parrot stopped her, saying, "Wait, +sister-in-law. A wife behoves it rather to set her household affairs +in order, than to go abroad paying visits when her husband is absent." + +"Bad parrot!" exclaimed the wife, "what hast thou to do to hinder my +taking a little pleasure?" + +The parrot answered, "Thy husband when he went away gave me strict +charge over thee, saying, 'I command thee that thou hinder her from +going forth alone.' This, however, it is not in me to do, for thou +art greater in might than I; and if I command thee not to go thou +wilt not obey by words. Only now, therefore, before thou goest out +sit down first and listen to the story that I will tell thee." + +When the wife heard him promise to tell a story, she sat down, for +she loved to listen to the stories of the wise parrot. + +Then the parrot began to tell her a story in this wise. + + + +HOW NARAN GEREL SWORE FALSELY AND YET TOLD THE TRUTH. + +"Long ages ago there lived a King named Tsoktu Ilagukssan (3), who had +one only daughter, whom he kept as the apple of his eye, and guarded +so jealously that she never saw any thing or any body. If any man went +near her apartment his legs were immediately broken and his eyes put +out. So relentless was the command of the King. + +"One day Naran Gerel (4), such was the daughter's name, however, came +to her father, saying, "Being shut up here all day seeing nothing +and no man, my life is weariness unto me. Let me now go abroad on +the fifteenth of the month, that I may see something." + +"But the King would not listen to her; only as she continued day by +day urging her request, the King at last gave permission that on +a certain day she might go abroad; but he gave orders also at the +same time that on that day every bazaar should be shut, every window +closed, and that all men, women, and beasts should be shut up close +out of sight of the Princess; and that whoso walked abroad, or but +looked out of window should be punished with death. + +"On the fifteenth of the month, therefore, a new chariot was appointed +to Naran Gerel, and she went forth surrounded by a train of her +maidens, and drove all through the city; every bazaar being shut up, +every window closed, and all men, women, and beasts within doors out +of sight. + +"Nevertheless, the King's minister Ssaran (5), overcome by his +curiosity to see the Princess, had gone up to the highest window of his +house, to obtain a glimpse of her unperceived. But what care soever +he took to be seen of none, the Princess, in her anxiety to make the +best use of her eyes on this her one opportunity of seeing the world, +discerned him. + +"Never having seen any man but her father, who was already well +stricken in years, the appearance of the Minister, who was still young, +so charmed her that she instantly conceived a desire to see more of +him, and accordingly made a sign to him by raising the first finger +of her right hand and marking a circle round it with the other hand; +then clasping both hands tight together and throwing them open again, +finally laying one finger of each hand together and pointing with +them towards the palace. + +"Very much perplexed at finding himself discovered by the Princess, +Ssaran came down; and when his wife saw him looking so bewildered, +she inquired of him, saying, 'Hast thou seen the Princess?' + +"'Not only have I seen the Princess,' replied Ssaran, 'but she hath +seen me; and made all manners of signs, of which I understand nothing, +but that of course they were to threaten some dreadful chastisement.' + +"'And of what nature were the signs, then?' further inquired his wife; +and when he had described them to her, she replied,-- + +"'These signs by no means betoken threatening. Listen, and I will +tell thee the interpretation of the same. In that she raised the +first finger of the right hand on high, she signified that in the +neighbourhood of her dwelling is a shady tree; that with the other +hand she described a circle round it, showed that the garden where +the tree stands is surrounded by a high wall; that she clasped both +hands together and then threw them open again, said, "Come unto me +in the garden of flowers;" and the laying of one finger of each hand +together, said, "May we be able to meet?"' + +"'This were very well,' replied Ssaran, 'were the King's decree not +so terrible, and his wrath so unsparing.' + +"But his wife answered him, 'When a King's daughter calls, can fear +stand in the way? Go now at her bidding, only take this jewel with +thee.' + +"Ssaran accepted his wife's counsel, and, stowing the jewel away in a +safe place in the folds of his robe, betook himself to the shady tree +in the garden of the Princess. Here he found the Princess awaiting him, +and they spent the day happily together. + +"Towards evening, just as Ssaran was about to take leave of the +Princess, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a hundred +armed men, whom the captain that the King had set over the garden +had sent to take them both prisoners. Into a dark dungeon they were +accordingly thrown to await the King's decree saying by what manner +of means they should be put to death. + +"Naran Gerel, who had been used to see every one obey her and bow +before her, desired the men to let her go home to her father; but +the captain said, 'How many men have suffered maiming and death for +nothing but because they have ventured near the precincts of thine +apartment! Now therefore it is thy turn that thou be put to death +also. So will there be an end of this peril to the King's subjects.' + +"When Naran Gerel found she could prevail nothing with the captain, +she turned to Ssaran and entreated him that he should devise some way +of escape; but, sunk in fear and apprehension of the King's terrible +anger, he could not collect his ideas. + +"'How comes it,' then inquired the Princess, 'that if thou hast so +little presence of mind as thou now displayest, thou wert able to +distinguish and unravel, and find courage to follow, the tokens that +I gave thee with my hands as I drove along the way?' + +"'That,' said he, 'I discovered by the sharp wit of my wife, who also +gave me courage to obey thy call.' + +"'And did she furnish thee with knowledge and courage, and yet send +thee forth with no sort of talisman?' said Naran Gerel. + +"'She gave me nothing but this jewel,' replied the minister; 'and of +what use can that be?' + +"The Princess, however, took the jewel, and, throwing it out of window, +cried to the guard, 'Ye men who are set to guard us, give ear. To +persons sentenced to death is a jewel of no further use; take it one +of you to whom it is permitted to live, only let whichever of you +takes it in possession do us this service, that he go to the house +of the minister Ssaran, and knock three times at the door.' + +"One of the guard therefore took the jewel, and went and knocked +three times at the door of the minister Ssaran. But the wife of the +minister, knowing by this token that her husband was thrown into +prison together with Naran Gerel, the King's daughter, made haste +and attired herself in her finest apparel, and filled a basket with +all manner of juice-giving fruits. With these she came to the gate +of the prison where her husband was held bound, and spoke thus to +the captain of the guard,-- + +"'My husband being stricken with the fever, the physician hath ordered +that I take these fruits to him;' and the captain of the guard made +answer, 'If this be so, then take the fruits in to him, but loiter +not; return in all speed.' As soon as the wife entered the prison +she changed dresses hastily with Naran Gerel, bidding her escape and +go hence privately to her own apartment, while she remained beside +her husband. + +"In the meantime morning had come, and the King and all his court +and his judges were astir, and before all other causes the captain of +the guard went to give account of the arrest of Naran Gerel and the +minister Ssaran. The high King was very wroth when he heard what his +daughter had done and the minister, and commanded that they should +instantly be brought before him. So the captain of the guard went +straight to the prison, and without waiting so much as to look at +them brought the two prisoners before the throne of the King. + +"When the King saw the minister and his wife standing before him, +he asked them in a voice of thunder,-- + +"'Where is Naran Gerel?' + +"And the minister's wife made answer,-- + +"'How can we tell thee this thing, seeing we have been kept in durance +all through the night?' + +"'And wherefore have ye been kept in durance all through the +night?' pursued the King. + +"'Concerning that also we know nothing further than that the captain +of the guard told us it was by the King's decree,' replied the woman. + +"'Explain this matter,' then said the King, addressing the +minister. And he, his wife telling him what to say, made answer, +'Most high King, how shall I explain the matter, seeing that I myself +fail to know why we were arrested? My wife desired to see the garden +of the King, and I, thinking it was not beyond a minister's privilege, +took her yesterday to walk there, and we spent the day together under +the shady tree. For this were we put in prison.' + +"The King then spoke to the captain of the guard, saying, 'Shall not +a man pass the day in a garden with his wife? Wherefore should they +be put in prison? Behold, since thou hast done this thing, thy life +is in this man's hand.' And he delivered the captain of the guard to +the minister to deal with him as he listed. + +"But the captain of the guard said, 'For observing the King's decree +am I to be put to death? Before I die, however, let this justice +be done. Let Naran Gerel be summoned hither, and let her say on the +trial of barley-corns whether it was not she whom I arrested in the +King's garden.' + +"So the King sent and called Naran Gerel and bid her say on the trial +of barley-corns whether it were not she whom the captain of the guard +had arrested in the King's garden. + +"But Naran Gerel answered, 'Am I not then the King's daughter? How +should I, then, make the trial of barley-corns like one of the common +herd of the people? But call me an assembly, and before the assembly I +will swear. Shall not that suffice for the King's daughter?' But this +she said because in the trial of barley-corns if one speak falsely +the barley-corns will surely spring into the air and burst with a +loud noise; but if truth, then only they remain quiet. Naran Gerel +therefore feared to make the trial of barley-corns. + +"But the King said, 'The words that Naran Gerel hath spoken are words +of justice. Let an assembly be called.' So they called together an +assembly, Naran Gerel having exchanged glances with the minister's +wife agreeing how they should proceed. + +"Meantime the minister and his wife went home. The wife therefore +stained her husband all over with a black stain so that he looked quite +black, and she said to him, 'When the time comes that the Princess has +to take the oath in the assembly, do thou find thyself there doubled +up and making unmeaning grimaces and uncouth antics with an empty +water-pitcher. Perhaps the Princess will find the means to escape +hereby out of the judgment that threatens her.' + +"The assembly was now gathered. The King was on his throne, and +Naran Gerel stood at its foot; and the minister, under the form of +a crippled beggar, black and loathsome to behold, was there also. + +"Then the King called upon Naran Gerel to take the oath. And first +espying the pretended cripple, he commanded, saying, 'Let that +revolting object be removed;' and all the people loathed him. But the +minister, who acted the part of a cripple, only mouthed and wriggled +the more, and would not be removed, and as he threatened to make a +disturbance the King bid them unhand him again. + +"But Naran Gerel stood forward, saying, 'Whereon shall I take this +oath? On the barley-corns it beseemeth not the King's daughter to +swear even as a common wench. And if I swear on any well-looking man +in this assembly, I shall run danger of having the former accusation +brought against me again. I will therefore swear by this cripple whom +all have loathed. Those who would accuse me to the utmost cannot see +any offence if I swear by an object so ungainly and revolting.' + +"By this means, as she had sworn by a cripple who was no cripple, +she counted that it was no oath, while the King and all the people +were satisfied she had spoken the truth. The captain of the guard +was handed over to the minister's pleasure, who let him go free, +and the minister and Naran Gerel were pronounced innocent." + + + +"The wife of the minister Ssaran was a devoted wife, well-being and +true to her husband," said the wise parrot when he had finished this +tale. "If, therefore, thou art devoted and brave even as the wife +of the minister Ssaran, then go abroad and pay visits according to +thy desire; but if not, then beware that thou set not foot outside +the door." + +After these words the merchant's wife gave up her intention of going +out, and remained at home. And thus the wise parrot dealt with her +every day of the seventy-one days that the merchant was absent. + + + +Then said the Sûta further to Ardschi-Bordschi, "If thy wife, O +Ardschi-Bordschi! is worthy to be compared to the wife of the minister +Ssaran, not to mention the comparison with Tsetsen Büdschiktschi, +wife of the magnanimous King Vikramâditja, then may she prostrate +herself with her forehead upon the foot of this throne; but if not, +then on her peril let her not approach it." + + + + + + +NOTES. + + +PREFACE. + +1. Kalmuck. "The Khalmoucks or Calmuks, are very far from enjoying +in Asia the importance our books of geography assign them. In the +Khalmoukia of our imagining, no one knew of the Khalmouks. At last +we met with a Lama who had travelled in Eastern Tibet, and he told us +that one of the Kolo tribes is called Khalmouk." The Kolos are a nomad +people of Eastern Tibet, of predatory habits, living in inaccessible +gorges of the Bayen Kharet mountains, guarded by impassable torrents +and frightful precipices, towards the sources of the Yellow River; +they only leave their abode to scour the steppes on a mission of +pillage upon the Mongolians. The Mongolians of the Koukou-Noor (Blue +Lake) hold them in such terror, that there is no monstrous practice +they do not ascribe to them. They profess Buddhism equally with the +Mongolians. See "Missionary Travels in Tartary, Tibet, and China," +by Abbé Huc, vol. i. chap. iv. + +2. "The various Dekhan dialects, i.e. of the Tuluvas, Malabars, Tamuls, +Cingalese, of the Carnatic, &c., though greatly enriched from Sanskrit, +would appear to have an entirely independent origin. The same may be +said of the popular traditions." Lassen, vol. i. 362-364. + +3. The Tirolean legend of the Curse of the Marmolata, which I have +given at pp. 278-335 of "Household Stories from the Land of Hofer," +may well be thought to be a reproduction and reapplication of this, +one of the most ancient of myths. + +4. Even the Mahâ Bhârata, however, gives no consecutive and reliable +account of the original settlement in the country. Franz Bopp, one +of the earliest to attempt its translation, thus happily describes +it. He likens it to an Egyptian obelisk covered with hieroglyphics, +"an dem die Grundform von der Erde zum Himmel strebe, aber eine +Fülle von Gestalten, (von denen eine auf die andre deute, eine ohne +die andre räthselhaft bleibe,) neben und durch einander hinziehe und +Irdisches und Himmlisches wundersam verbinde."--The pervading plan of +the work is one straining from earth upwards to heaven, but overlaid +with a multiplicity of figures, each one so intimately related with +the other, that any would be incomprehensible without the rest; +the thread of the life of one interwoven with those of the others, +and all of them together creating a wondrous bond between the things +of this world and the things which are above. + +5. "The only way to gain acquaintance with the early history of India +is by making use of its Sagas." Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, +vol. i., pref. p. vii. But I shall have more to say on this head when +I come to the story of Vikramâditja. + +6. Some, however, seem to go too far, when they labour to prove +that this is the case with every individual European legend, many of +which are manifestly created by Christianity; and write as if every +accidental similarity of incident necessarily implied parentage +or connexion. + +7. See introduction to his Translation of Pantschatantra. I have +thought it worth while to mention this on account of the present +collection being Mongolian. + + + +DEDICATION. + +1. Shâkjamuni--the family name of Buddha, the originator of +Buddhism. It means "Hermit of the tribe of Shâkja," the Shâkja +being one of the earliest Indian dynasties of which there are any +records. His great-grandfather was Gajasena, whose son Sinahânu married +Kâkkanâ, also of the Shâkja lineage. Their son Shuddhodana married +Mahâpragâpatî (more commonly called by her subsequently received name +of Mâja = "the creative power of the godhead") a daughter of Angana, +Kâkkanâ's brother, and became the father of Buddha [4]. + +According to the Mahavansha, Gajasena was descended from Ixvâku, +through the fabulous number of eighty-two thousand ancestors! He was +also wont to call himself Shramana-Gautama, to mark his alliance with a +certain priestly family of Brahmans and thereby disarm any animosity on +their part toward his teaching. He was also called Shâkjasinha = "Lion +of the tribe of Shâkja," to show that he belonged to the warrior caste. + +He was brought up as heir to the crown, and was trained in the use of +arms and in all matters appertaining to the duties of a ruler. At the +age of sixteen he was married, and we have the names of his three +wives--Utpalavarnâ, Jashodharâ, and Bhadrakâkkanâ. Up to the age +of twenty-eight he lived a life entirely devoted to the pursuit of +pleasure, his time being passed between the respective attractions +of three splendid palaces built for him by his father. At about this +age he appears to have grown weary of this desultory kind of life, +and one day, meeting in his walks with an old man, a sick man, a +corpse, and a priest, he was led to turn his thoughts upon the evils +and the evanescence of life. Rambling on instead of returning home he +sat down to rest under the shade of a gambu-tree, and here he found +fresh food for his melancholy reflections in the miserable condition +of the country people living around. The legend says the Devatâ, +or gods, appeared to him in the shape of these suffering people in +order further to instruct him in his new views of existence. In all +probability his previous mode of life never having brought him in +contact with the actual miseries of the needy this sight appeared to +him in the light of an apparition. + +The result of his deliberations was the resolve to withdraw to a +place of solitude, where he might be free to consider by what means +human beings could be relieved from their miseries [5]. + +With this view he forsook his family and his palatial residences, and +having laid aside his rich clothing he wandered forth unknown to all, +begging his food by the way till he found the retirement he sought +in the hermitages of various Brahmans of Gajâshira, a hill in the +neighbourhood of Gaja [6], whence he is sometimes called Gajashiras. + +He first placed himself under the teaching of the Brahman Arâda +Kâlâma, afterwards under that of another called Rudraka, who was so +struck with the progress he made in the acquisition of every kind of +knowledge that he soon associated him with himself in the direction +of his disciples. Five of these (four of them belonging to the royal +Shâkja family), Âgnâta, Ashvagit, Bhadraka, Vashpa, and Mahârâta, +grew so much attached to him and his views that they subsequently +became the first followers of his separate school of teaching. + +Having after some years exhausted the satisfaction he found in the +pursuit of study he set out restlessly on a new search after happiness, +followed by the five disciples I have named, and retired with them to +a more exclusive solitude still, where for six years he gave himself +up to unbroken contemplation amid the most rigid austerities. After +this he seems to have somewhat alienated his companions by relaxing +his severe mode of life, for they forsook him about this time and +took up their abode in the neighbourhood of Vârânasî [7], where they +continued to live as he had shown them at the first [8]. + +This mode of life even he, however, does not appear to have altered +except in the matter of abridging his fasts, for his habitual +meditations went on as before, and they were believed to have so +illumined his understanding that he finally received the appellation +of Buddha = "the enlightened one," while from his favourite habit +of making these meditations under the shade of the ashvattha, +the "trembling leaf" fig-tree, that tree, which has acquired so +prominent a place in Buddhist records, legends, and institutions, +came to be called the bodhiruma, literally, "tree of knowledge," and +it has even been distinguished by naturalists from the ficus indica, +of which it is a variety, by the title of ficus religiosa. It became +so inseparable an adjunct of Buddhism that wherever the teaching of +Shâkjamuni was spread this tree was transplanted too [9]. + +The oppression of solitude appears to have overcome Shâkjamuni at last, +and he consequently took the resolution of journeying to Vâranasî to +seek out his former companions. At their first meeting they were so +scandalized to see him look so well and hearty instead of emaciated +by austerities that they refused to pay him any respect. But +when he showed them that he had attained to the illumination of +a Buddha they accepted his teaching and put themselves entirely +under his guidance. The number of his disciples increased meantime +amazingly. As they lived by alms they received the name of Bhixu as +a term of reproach. Ere long we find him sending out sixty of them, +whom he invested with a certain high dignity he called Arhat [10], +to spread his teaching wherever they came. He himself wandered for +nineteen years over the central and eastern districts of the country, +teaching,--his agreeable presence and benevolence of manner, and, +the legends say, the wonderful things he did, winning him numerous +converts wherever he went [11]. Some gave themselves up to a life +of contemplation in the jungle, others associated themselves with +him in his travels. When the rainy season set in they had to find +shelter for the four months in such colleges of Brahmans or houses of +families as they found well inclined towards them. This Varshavasana, +as it was called, afforded them additional opportunity of making +known their ideas. + +Shâkjamuni himself seems to have won over several kings to his way +of thinking; one of them, king of Pankâla, he made an Arhat; another, +the king of Koshala, stirred himself very much to awaken Shuddodana to +a sense of the merit of his son, sending to congratulate him because +one of whom he was progenitor had found the means by which mortals +might attain to unending happiness. For once, making an exception to +the proverb that a prophet meets with little honour in his own country, +fortune favoured him in this matter also, and his father, who violently +opposed his withdrawal from his due mode of life in the first instance, +sent eight messengers one after the other to beg him to come and adorn +his court with his wisdom. Each one of these, however, was so won by +his teaching that he never returned to the king, but remained at the +feet of Shâkjamuni. Last of all the king sent his minister Karka, who, +though he also adopted his views, prevailed on him to let him take +back the message that he would satisfy his father's requests. The +king meantime built a vihâra for him under a grove of his favourite +Njagrodha, or sacred fig-tree. His return home happened in the twelfth +year after his departure, but when he had made his teaching known +among his kindred he set out on his travels again, only returning at +intervals, as to any other vihâra, for the rainy season. A great many +of his family joined themselves to him, among them his son Râhula, +and his nephew Ânanda, who became one of his most celebrated followers. + +In the twentieth year of his Buddhahood and the fifty-sixth of his +age, he was seized with a serious illness, during which he announced +his conviction that his end, or nirvâna, was at hand, that is, +his entering on that state which was the ultimate object which he +bid his followers strive to attain--the completion of all possible +knowledge and the consequent dissolution of personal individuality +[12]; further, that it should take place at Kushinagara, the capital +of the Malla people [13]. Soon after, he accomplished his prediction +by setting out for this place, visiting by the way many of the spots +where he had establishments of disciples, and arriving there in a +state of utter exhaustion and prostration. On this journey he made +more converts, but after his arrival gave himself up to contemplation +which he considered necessary to perfect his fifth or highest degree +of knowledge, until his death. This took place under a Shala-grove, +or grove of sal-trees. His body was by his own desire treated with the +honours only to be paid to a Kakravartin [14], or supreme ruler. After +burning his body the ashes were preserved in an urn of gold. His death +is reckoned to have taken place in the year 543 B.C. [15], according +to the Buddhists of Ceylon and Southern India generally. Those of the +northern provinces, the Japanese and Mongolians, have a very different +chronology, and place his birth about the year 950 B.C. The Chinese +are divided among themselves about it and say variously, 688, 1070, +and 1122 [16]. + +A great number of claimants demanded his ashes in memorial of him, +and finally, by the advice of a Brahman named Drona, they were +partitioned among eight cities, in each of which a kaitja, or shrine +[17], was erected to receive them. A great gathering of his followers +was held at Kushinagara, of which Kâshjapa was sanghasthavira, or +president, Buddha having himself previously designated him for his +successor. He had been a distinguished Brahman. It is said by one of +the exaggerations common in all Indian records that there were seven +hundred thousand of the new religionists present. Five hundred were +selected from among the most trustworthy to draw up the Sanghiti, or +good laws of Buddha. Then they broke up, determining to travel over +Gambudvîpa, consoling the scattered Bhixu for the loss of their master, +and to meet again at Râgagriha at the beginning of the month Ashâdha +(answering to the end of our June) for the Varshavasana. + +This synod lasted seven months. Its chief work was the compilation of +the Tripitaka--"the three baskets" or "vessels" supposed to contain +all Shâkjamuni's teaching: 1. The Sutra-pitaka, containing the +conversation of Shâkjamuni (of these I have had occasion to speak +in another place [18]); 2. The Vinaja-pitaka, containing maxims by +which the disciple's life was to be guided; and the Ahidharma-pitaka, +containing an exposition of religious and philosophical teaching. The +first was under the revision of Ânanda; the second under that of Upâli; +and the third under that of Kâcjapa. The Tripitaka also bears the name +of Sthavira, because only such took part in its compilation; also "of +the five hundred," because so many were charged with its compilation. + +It is important, however, to bear in mind, because of the monstrous +exaggerations and extravagant incidents subsequently introduced [19] +that these were only compilations preserved by word of mouth; the art +of writing was scarcely known in India at this time. "After the Nirvâna +of Buddha, for the space of 450 years, the text and commentaries and +all the words of the Tathâgato were preserved and transmitted by wise +priests orally. But having seen the evils attendant upon this mode of +transmission, 550 rahats of great authority, in the cave called Alôka +(Alu) in the province of Malaya, in Lankâ, under the guardianship +of the chief of that province caused the sacred books to be written +[20]." As this "text and commentaries" are reckoned to consist of +6,000,000 words, and the Bible of about 500,000, we may form some +idea of the impossibility of so vast a body of language being in any +way faithfully preserved by so treacherous a medium as memory. + +Megasthenes (Fragm. 27, p. 421, b.) and Nearchos (Fragm. 7, +p. 60, b.) particularly mention that the Indians had no written +laws, but their code was preserved in the memory of their judges; +thus testifying to the practice of trusting to memory in the most +important matters. Schwanbeck (Megast. Ind. p. 51) remarks that +the Sanskrit word for a collection of laws--Smriti--means also +memory. J. Prinsep (in his paper on the Inscriptions of the Rocks +of Girnar, in Journ. of As. Soc. of Beng. vii. 271) is inclined to +think some of the rock-cut inscriptions are as early as 500 B.C.; +which would show they had some knowledge of a written character then; +Lassen, however, is of opinion that this is altogether too early; +but there seems no doubt that there are some both of and anterior to +the reign of Ashoka, 246 B.C. Megasthenes indeed mentions that he had +heard they used a kind of indurated cotton for writing on. But the +use, neither of this material nor of a written character, could have +been very common or extended, for Nearchos (Strabo, xvi. § 67) wrote, +"It is said by some, the Indians write on indurated cotton stuff, +but others say they have not even the use of a written alphabet." + +Though thus disfigured and overlaid as time went by, the great +intention which Shâkjamuni himself seems to have had in view in the +preparation of his doctrine was to destroy the exclusiveness of the +Brahmanical castes, and that most especially in its influence on +the future and final condition of every man, and thus he accepted +men of all castes, even the very lowest [21], and the out-caste +too, among not only his disciples but among his priesthood. It was +thus in its origin a system of morals rather than of faith. It was +full of maxims inculcating virtue to be pursued--not indeed out of +obedience to the will of a Divine and all perfect Creator--but with +the object of escaping the necessity of the number of re-births +taught by the Brahmans and of sooner attaining to nirvâna. It set +up, therefore, no mythology of its own [22], nor put forward any +statement of what gods were to be honoured. Nevertheless it was +grafted on to the mythology prevailing at the time, and many of +the gods then honoured are incidentally mentioned in the Sutra as +accepted objects of veneration. The Vêda, or sacred teaching of +the Brahmans, is quoted in almost every page [23]. The gods who +thus come in for mention in the simple Sutra are the following +[24]:--The three gods of the later mythology bear here the names of +(1) Brahmâ and Pelâmaha; (2) Hari, Ganârdana, Nârâjana, and Upêndra +(it is important to note that the name of Krishna does not appear at +this period at all); (3) Shiva and Shankara. Indra was now placed at +the head of gods of the second rank. We have also Shakra, Vâsava, +and Shakipati, called the husband of Shaki. Of the other Lôkapâla, +Kuvera and Varunna are named. It is doubtless only by accident that +more do not find mention. Of the demigods Visvakarman, the Gandharba, +Kinnara, Garuda, Jaxa the Serpent-god, Asura, and Danava, along with +other evil genii and serpent-gods. The most often named--particularly +in the colloquies between Buddha and his disciples--is Indra with +the adjunctive appellation of Kaushika. Indra was at the time of +Shâkjamuni himself the favourite god; the other great gods had +not yet received the importance they afterwards acquired, nor had +any thing like the idea of a trine unity or equality been broached +[25] as we shall presently see; even these allusions were but scanty +[26]. It was long before the whole Brahmanical system of divinities +came to form an integral part of the Buddhist theosophy [27]. + +Hence Shâkjamuni, as well as his contemporary and earliest succeeding +disciples, lived for the most part [28] on good terms with the +Brahmans, some of whom were among the most zealous in securing the +custody of some part of his ashes. But they were not long ere they +perceived that as this new teaching developed itself its tendency +was to supersede their order. Then, a life and death struggle for the +upper-hand ensued which lasted for centuries, for while the Buddhists +were on the one side fighting against the attempted extermination, on +the other side they were spreading their doctrines over an ever-fresh +field by the journeyings of their missionaries, a proceeding the more +exclusive Brahmans had never adopted. This went on till by the one +means and the other Buddhism had been almost entirely banished from +Central India, where it took its rise, but had established itself +on an enduring basis as remote from its original centre as Ceylon, +Mongolia, China, Japan, the Indian Archipelago, and perhaps even Mexico +[29]. This state of things was hardly established before the 14th +century [30]. But from information on the condition of religion in +India preserved by the Chinese pilgrim Fahien, who traversed a great +part of Asia, A.D. 399-414, Buddhism had already at that time suffered +great losses, for at Gaja itself the temple of Buddha was a deserted +ruin. From the writings of another Chinese pilgrim, Hiuen Thsang, +whose travels took place in the 7th century, it would seem that the +greatest Brahmanical persecution of the Buddhists did not take place +before 670 [31]. That it had cleared them out of Central India by the +date I have named above is further confirmed by Mâdhava, a writer of +the 14th century, quoted by Professor Wilson, who "declares that at +his date not a follower of Buddha was to be found in all Hindustan, +and he had only met some few old men of that faith in Kashmir." "At +the present day," adds Wilson, "I never met with a person who had met +with natives of India Proper of that faith, and it appears that an +utter extirpation of the Buddha religion in India Proper was effected +between the 12th and 16th centuries." Nevertheless it is the system +of religion which next after the Catholic Church counts the greatest +number of followers. + +Dr. Gützlaff (in his "Remarks on the Present State of Buddhism," in +"Journ. of R. As. Soc." xvi. 73.) tells us two-thirds of the population +of China is Buddhist. In Ungewitter's Neueste Erdebeschreibung, +the whole population is stated from native official statistics +at 360,000,000; whence it would follow that there are 240,000,000 +Buddhists in China alone; probably, however, the Chinese figures are +to some extent an exaggeration. + +Before concluding this brief notice of Buddhism it remains to say +a few words on the later developments of the system which have too +often been identified with its original utterances. + +It does not appear to have been before the 10th century that Shâkjamuni +was reckoned to be an incarnation of a heavenly being; at least the +earliest record of such an idea is found in an inscription at Gaya, +ascribed to the year 948 [32], while much of his own teaching bears +traces of a lingering belief in a great primeval tradition of the unity +of the Godhead and the promise of redemption [33], as well as the great +primary laws of obedience and sacrifice more perfectly preserved to us +in the inspired writings committed to the Hebrews. The history of the +deluge, as given by Weber from the Mahâ Bhârata, is almost identical +in its leading features with the account in Genesis, bearing of course +some additions. A great ship was laden with pairs of beasts, and seeds +of every kind of plants, and was steered safely through the floods by +Vishnu under the form of a great fish, who ultimately moored it on the +mountain Naubandhana, one of the Himâlajas in Eastern Kashmere. The +early Vêda hymns, too, had thus spoken of the Creation, "At that time +there was neither being nor no being; no world, no air, nor any thing +beyond it. Death was not, neither immortality; nor distinction of +day and night. But It (tad) respired alone, and without breathing; +alone in Its self-consciousness (Svadha, which hence came to be used +for 'Heaven'). Besides It was nothing, only darkness. All was wrapt +in darkness, and undistinguishable fluid. But the bulk thus enveloped +was brought forth by the power of contemplation. Love (Kama) was first +formed in Its mind, and this was the original creative germ [34]." And +the Vêda was, we have seen, adopted in the main by Shâkjamuni; but the +development of his views came to imply that there was no Creator at +all, existences being only a series of necessary evolutions [35]. And +when later a Creator came again to be spoken of, the term was involved +in the most inconceivable contradictions [36]. A distinguished Roman +Orientalist also writes:--"The Vêda, and principally the Jazur-Vêda and +the Isa-Upanishad, contain not only many golden maxims, but distinct +traces of the primitive Monotheism. But these books exercise little +influence on the religion of the people, which is a mass of idolatry +and superstition; moreover, they are themselves filled with the most +absurd stories and fables. The Jazur-Vêda, which is the freest from +these defects, is a comparatively recent production, and the author +has manifestly drawn upon not only both Old and New Testament, but +also the Koran [37]." + +An infusion of the revealed doctrines taught by Christianity was +also received into it from the teaching of the missionaries of the +first ages after the birth of Christ, though similarly disfigured and +overwrought. To distinguish the influence of the one and the other +would be a fascinating study, but one too vast for the limits of the +present pages. When we come presently to the history of Vikramâditja +we shall find it presents us with a striking idea of the facility with +which various ideals can be heaped upon one personality; this will +serve as a key to the mode in which an unenlightened admiration for the +story of our Divine Redeemer's life on earth may be supposed to have +induced the ascribing of His supernatural manifestations to another +being, already accepted as Divine. It is true that certain appearances +of Vishnu and Shiva on earth would seem to have been believed +before the Christian era; and apart from the Indian writings, the +dates of which are so difficult to fix, the testimony of Megasthenes +(the Historian of Seleucus Nicanor, who wrote B.C. 300) is quoted in +proof that at his time such incarnations were already held. But the +passages in Megasthenes, by the very fact that he identifies Vishnu +with Hercules, tend only to demonstrate a belief in a different kind +of manifestation of Divine power. Those who labour most to prove +that the Brahmanical idea of incarnation preceded the Christian have +to allow that it was only subsequently to the spread of Christian +teaching that it was fully developed. Thus Lassen writes, "I have, +therefore (i. e. in consequence of the allusions in Megasthenes), no +hesitation in maintaining that the dogma of Vishnu's incarnations +was in existence 300 years before the birth of Christ; still, +however, it only received its full development at a subsequent period +[38]." And in another place, speaking of the Avatâra (incarnations) +of Vishnu, in the persons of the heroes of the epic poems, he adds, +"this dogma is unknown (fremd) to the Vêda, and the few allusions +to such an idea existing in some of its myths, and which were later +reckoned among the incarnations of Vishnu, show that in the earliest +ages the recurring appearance in man's nature of 'the preserving god' +for the destruction of evil was not yet invented. [39]" And even of +the early epic poems he writes, that though such ideas are introduced, +yet the heroes still maintain their individuality. They are actuated +and indwelt by Vishnu, but they are not he. This, it will be seen, +is very different from the Christian dogma of the Incarnation. + +Whether the extremely interesting and ancient tradition be genuine +(as maintained by Tillemont) or not, that Abgarus, king of Edessa, +sent messengers to our Lord in Judæa, begging Him to come and visit him +and heal him of his sickness, and that our Lord in reply sent him word +that He must do the work of Him Who sent Him and then return to Him +above, but that after His Ascension He would send an Apostle to him, +and that in consequence of this promise St. Thomas received the far +East for the field of his labours--and, however much be chronologically +correct of the mass of records and traditions which tell that this +Apostle travelled over the whole Asian continent, from Edessa to Tibet, +and perhaps China--it would appear to be intrinsically probable and +as well attested as most facts of equally remote date, that both this +Apostle and Thaddæus, one of the seventy-two disciples, preached the +Gospel in countries east of Syria, and that his successors, more or +less immediate, extended their travels farther and farther east. It +is mentioned in Eusebius (Book v. c. 10), that S. Pantæus, going to +India to preach the Gospel early in the 3rd century (Eusebius himself +wrote at the end of the same century), met with Brahmans who showed +him a copy of the Gospel of St. Matthew in Hebrew, which they said +had been given to their forerunners by St. Bartholomew [40]. Lassen +himself allows, that in all probability certain Brahmans, at a very +early date, fell in with Christian teachers, and brought them back +home with them. Further, that the idea of there being any merit in +bhakti, or pious faith, and a development in the teaching concerning +the duty of prayer may be traced to this circumstance. Nor does he +deny that when in 435, Eustathius, Bp. of Antioch, with the help +of Thomas Kama, a rich local merchant, went to found a mission at +Mahâdevapatma (Cranganore), he found Christians who dated their +conversion from St. Thomas living there. His further efforts to +disprove that St. Thomas himself penetrated very far east, and that the +early Christian establishments at Taprobane and Ceylon were founded +by Persian Christians, though far from conclusive, tend as far as +they go but to support all the more the theory of an admixture of +Christian with Brahmanical and Buddhist teaching; because, the less +pure the source of teaching the more likely it was to have resulted in +producing such an admixture in place of actual conversion. Nor does the +circumstance on which he lays much weight, that the Brahmans resented +the inroads of Christian teaching on their domain, even with severe +persecutions, at all afford any proof that there were not Brahmanical +teachers, who either through sincere admiration (for which they were +prepared by their early monotheistic tradition), or from a conviction +of the advantage to be derived in increase of influence by its means, +or other cause, may have thought fit, or been even unconsciously led +to incorporate certain ideas of the new school with their own. + + + +I have only space left to touch upon two of the most important of +these identifications. And first the imitation of the doctrine of +the Holy Trinity. Lassen (i. 784 and iv. 570) fixes as late a date +as 1420-1445 for the introduction of the Trimurti worship, or, as +he expresses it, the bootless attempt to unite various schools by +propounding the equality and unity of the three great rival gods, +Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, who were the chief gods favoured by each +respectively. Devarâja of Vigajanagara erected the first temple to the +Trimurti about this date. Ganesha, the god of wisdom and knowledge, +appeared to his minister Laxmana and bid him build a temple on the +banks of the Penar to the Hiranjagarbha, called Brahma, Vishnu, and +Shiva; this is the first example of any inscription of honour paid +to the Trimurti [41]. + +Secondly, the worship of the god Crishna, whose name and attributes as +well as his substitution for Vishnu, the second god of the Trimurti, +present so many analogies with the teaching concerning our Divine +Lord [42]. Whatever difficulty there may be in fixing the date of the +origin of the great Pânkarâtra sect, there appears none in affirming +that the full development of its teaching in the direction of these +analogies was subsequent to the establishment of Christianity. This +is how A. Weber speaks of it [43]. Brahmans, who had travelled to +Alexandria, and perhaps Asia Minor, at a time when Christianity was +in its first bloom, brought back its teaching respecting a Supreme God +and a Christ whom they identified with and fastened upon their sage or +hero, who had already in some measure received Divine honours--Crishna +Devakiputra (Son of the divine woman). He also dwells on the influence +exercised by the teaching of Christian missionaries. The importance +given to Devaki would point to an incorporation of Christian +teaching concerning the Virgin Mary. Weber, in a paper entitled +"Einige Data auf das Geburtsfest Krishna's," instances many passages +in the Bavrishjottara-Purana (one of the latest Puranas), which it is +impossible to read without being reminded of the place of "the Virgin +and Child" in Christian tradition, and which find no counterpart in +earlier Indian writings. Similarly it was the later schools which +dwelt on the fact of his having Nanda the herdsman for his father, +seemingly suggested by our Lord's character of "the good Shepherd," +because in the earlier Crishna Legends [44] this fact is sunk in the +view that (though sprung from the herdsmen) he was a warrior and a +hero. Nor was the teaching concerning this character of Crishna at all +rapid in its extension. Its chief seat, according to Lassen [45], in +what he expresses as "the earliest times," was Madura; but the first +date he mentions in connexion with it is 1017, when a Crishna temple +was destroyed by Mahmûd of Ghazna, Lalitâditja, king of Cashmere, +built him a temple containing a statue of solid silver, and he reigned +from 695 to 732; but the gold armour the image bore would point to +his warrior character still prevailing down to this time. Lassen even +finds [46] the introduction of the worship of Crishna [47] a subject +of opposition by certain Brahmans as late as the tenth century. The +great epic poem concerning him, the Gitagovinda, by Gajadeva (still +sung at the present day at the Resa festival), was not written till +the end of the 12th century [48]. In an inscription at Gajanagara, +not very far from Madura, Crishna is mentioned as an incarnation of +Vishnu, but the date of this is 1288; and the idea does not seem to +have reached Orissa till the end of the 15th century [49]. + +2. From this exordium we must plainly gather that the original +collector of these Tales was himself a Madhjamika, since he begins his +work with an invocation of Nâgârg'una, founder of that school. He +calls him "second teacher" because his undertaking was, not to +supersede, but to develope and perfect the teaching of Shâkjamuni, +whom he himself reverenced as first teacher [50]. + +Nâgârg'una was the 15th Patriarch in the Buddhist succession, born +in South India, and educated a Brahman; he wrote a Treatise, in 100 +chapters, on the Wisdom of the Buddhist Theology, and died B.C. 212 +(Lassen, "Indische Alterthumskunde," ii., Appendix, p. vi.); but at +p. 887 of the same volume, and again at p. 1072, he tells us he lived +in the reign of Abhimanju, king of Cashmere, and that it was by the +assistance of his sage advice that the Buddhists were enabled for a +while successfully to withstand opposition dictated by the Brahmanical +proclivities of this king, whose date he fixes at 45-65 A.C. The +difference between the two dates arises out of that existing between +the computations of the northern and southern Buddhists [51]. In the +Raga-Tarangini, ii. v. 172-177 (a chronicle of Cashmere, written not +later than A.D. 1148) Nâgârg'una is thus alluded to: "When 150 years +had passed by, since sacred Shâkjamuni had completed his time in this +world of sufferers, there was a Bodhisattva [52], who was supreme head +of all the earth. This was Nâgârg'una, who possessed in himself the +power of six Archats [53].... Protected by Nâgârg'una the Buddhists +obtained the chief influence in the country." + +Among the Chinese Buddhists he is called Lung-shu, which name Abel +Rémusat tells us was given him because after death he was taken up +into the serpent-Paradise [54]. + +The following legend has been told concerning the manner of +his conversion from Brahmanism; but it is probable that what is +historically true in it belongs to the life of another and much later +Buddhist patriarch. + +A Samanaer [55] came wandering by his residence. Seeing it to be nobly +built, and pleasantly situated amid trees and fountains, and provided +with all that was needful and desirable for the life of man, made +up his mind to obtain admission to it. Nâgârg'una, before admitting +him, required to know whence, and what manner of man he was. On his +declaring himself a teacher of Buddhism the door was immediately +closed against him. Determined not to be so easily repulsed the +Samanaer knocked again and again, till Nâgârg'una, provoked by his +pertinacity, appeared on the terrace above, and cried out to him, +"It is useless for you to go on knocking. In this house is nothing." + +"Nothing!" retorted the Samanaer; "what sort of a thing is that, pray?" + +Nâgârg'una saw by this answer the man must be of a philosophical +turn of mind, and was thus induced to break his rule, which forbid +him intercourse with Buddhists, and let him in that he might have +more discourse with him. The Samanaer by degrees fascinated his mind +with the whole Buddhist doctrine, and ultimately told him that Buddha +had left a prophecy, saying, that long years after he had departed +this life there should arise a great teacher out of Southern India, +who by the wisdom of his teaching should renew the face of the earth; +that this prophecy he was destined to accomplish. Nâgârg'una believed +his words, and subsequently fulfilled them. + +His peculiar school received the name of Mâdhjamika, because of +three prevailing interpretations of the earlier Buddhist teaching he +chose the one which steered its course midway (madhjana) between two +extremes, one of which held that the Buddhist nirvâna, implied the +return and absorption of the soul at death into the creative essence +whence it had emanated; and the other, its total annihilation. + +He left his ideas to posterity in a treatise, bearing the name of +Kârikâ, denoting an exposition of a theory in verse [56]. Some idea +of its intricacy may be formed from the fact that the shortest edition +of it contains eight thousand sections; while the most complete has a +hundred thousand. His teaching was followed up by two chief disciples, +Ârjadeva, a Cingalese, and Buddhapâlita, and still holds sway in the +higher schools of Tibet, which accounts for the homage of the editor +of these Mongolian tales. He is honoured almost everywhere where +Buddhism is honoured; near Gajâ is a kaitja, or rock-cut temple, +called Nâgârgunî, probably commemorating some visit of his to the +shrine of Shâkjamuni. + +3. The whole of Buddhist literature is spoken of by its followers as +contained in three "vessels," or "baskets"--tripîtaka (Wassiljew, +p. 118, quoted by Jülg); in Tibetian called samatog (Köppen, Die +Lamaische Hierarchie, p. 57). + +4. Madhjamika. See above, Note 2. + +5. Paramârtha (true, exact, perfect understanding), and sanvrti +(imperfect, dubious understanding), were party words, arising out +of the philosophical disputes of the Madhjamika and Jogâtschârja +schools. Wassiljew, pp. 321-367. + +6. Magadha. The legend is in this instance more precise than often +falls to the lot of works of this nature. Instead of transferring +the scene of action to a locality within the limits of the country +of the narrator however, he makes Nâgârg'una to have lived on the +borders of Magadha [57]. Lassen, speaking in allusion to the kaitja +named after him, mentioned above, says there is no allusion in any +authentic account of him to his ever being in this part of the country; +this Mongolian tradition however corroborates the local tradition of +the kaitja. I have already had occasion to mention how Magadha came +to receive its modern name of Behar [58]. + +The word Magadha is also used to designate a bard; as this meaning +rests on no etymological foundation, it is natural to suppose that +it arises from the fact of the country being rich in sagas, and that +successful bards sprang from its people. The office of the Magadha, +also called Vandin, the Speaker of praises, consisted chiefly in +singing before the king the deeds of his ancestors. In several +places the Magadha is named along with the Sûta [59]. It is quite +in accordance with this view that Vjâsa's [60] mother was reckoned +a daughter of a king of Magadha. + +It is curious that the poetical occupation of bard came to be combined +with the sordid occupation of pedlar, or travelling trader, who is +also called a Magadha in Manu x. 47, and other places. + +7. Krijâvidja. Writings concerning the study of magic.--Jülg. + +8. Bede = Bhota, or Bothanga, the Indian name of Tibet. See Schmidt's +translation of the "History of the Mongols," by the native historian, +sSanang sSetsen. + +Before proceeding farther it is necessary to say a few words +concerning the history, religions, and customs of Tibet and Mongolia, +to illustrate the local colouring the following Tales have received +by passing into Mongolia. + +Buddhism nowhere took so firm a grasp of the popular mind as in Tibet, +where it was established as early as the 7th century by its greatest +king, Ssrong-Tsan-Gampo. No where, except in China, was its influence +on literature so powerful and so useful, for not only have we thus +preserved to us very early translations from the Sanskrit of most of +the sacred writings, but also original treatises of history, geography, +and philosophy. Nowhere, either, did it possess so many colleges and +teachers; it was by means of these that it was spread over Mongolia +in the 13th century; the very indistinct notions of religion there +prevailing previously, with no hierarchy to maintain them, readily +yielding at its approach. Mang-ku, grandson of Ginghis Khan [61], +added to the immense sovereignty his warlike ancestor had left him, +the whole of Tibet about the year 1248. His brother and successor, +Kublai Khan, who reigned from 1259 to 1290, occupied himself with +the internal development of his empire. He appears to have regarded +Christ, Moses, Muhammed, and Buddha as prophets of equal authority, +and to have finally adopted the religion of the last-named, because +he discerned the advantages to be derived in the consolidation of his +power from the assistance of the Buddhist priests already possessing +so great influence in Tibet. He was seconded in his design by the +eager assistance of a young Lama, named sSkja Pandita, and surnamed +Matidhvaga = "the ensign of penetration," whom he not only set over the +whole priesthood of the Mongolian empire, but made him also tributary +ruler of Tibet, with the grandiloquent titles of "King of the great +and precious teaching; the most excellent Lama; King of teaching in the +three countries of the Rhaghân (empire)." Among other rich insignia of +his dignity which he conferred on him was a precious jasper seal. He +is most commonly mentioned by the appellation, Phagss-pa = "the most +excellent," which has hence often been taken erroneously for his +name; his chief office was the coronation of the Emperor. The title, +Dalai Lama [62], the head of Tibetian Buddhism, is half Mongolian, +and half Tibetian. Dalai is Mongolian for "ocean," and Lama Tibetian +for "priest;" making, "a priest whose rule is vast as the ocean." + +Of the four Khânats or kingdoms into which the Mongolian Empire +was divided, that called Juan bordered on Tibet, and to its Khâns +consequently was committed the government of that country; but they +interfered very little with it, so that the power of the people was +left to strengthen itself. The last of them, Shan-ti, or Tokatmar-Khân, +was turned out in 1368 by Hong-vu, the founder of the Ming dynasty, +who sought to extend his power by weakening that of the Lamas. In +order to this he set up four chief ones in place of one. Jong-lo who +reigned from 1403 to 1425, further divided the power among eight; but +this very subdivision tended to a return to the original supremacy of +one; for, while all bore the similar title of Vang = "little king," +or "sub-king," it became gradually necessary that among so many one +should take the lead, and for this one the title of Garma or patriarch +was coined ere long. + +The Tibetians and Mongolians receiving thus late the doctrines of +Shâkjamuni received a version of it very different from his original +teaching. The meditations and mystifications of his followers had +invested him with ever new prerogatives, and step by step he had +come to be considered no longer in the light of an extraordinary +teacher, or even a heaven-sent founder of religion, but as himself +the essence of truth and the object of supreme adoration. Out of +this theory again ramified developments so complicated as almost to +defy condensation. Thus Addi-Buddha, as he was now called, it was +taught was possessed of five kinds of gnâna or knowledge; and by five +operations of his dhjâna or contemplative power he was supposed to +have produced five Dhjâni-Buddhas, each of which received a special +name, and in process of time became personified and deified too, +and each by virtue of an emanation of the supreme power indwelling +him had brought forth a Dhjâni-Bodhisattva. The fourth of these, +distinguished as Dhjâni-Bodhisattva-Padmapâni, was the Creator, not +only of the universe, but also of Brahma and other gods whom Shâkjamuni +or his earlier followers had acknowledged as more or less supreme. And +as if this strange theogony was not perplexing enough, there had come +to be added to the cycle of objects of worship a multitude of other +deifications too numerous even to name here in detail. + +Among all these, Dhjâni-Bodhisattva-Padmapâni is reckoned the chief +god by the Mongolians. The principal tribute of worship paid him +is the endless repetition of the ejaculation, "Om Manipadmi hum" += "Hail Manipadmi O!" Every one has heard of the prayer-machine, +the revolutions of whose wheel set going by the worshipper count +as so many exclamations to his account. "The instrument is called +Tchu-Kor (turning prayer)," writes Abbé Huc. "You see a number of +them in every brook" (in the neighbourhood of a Lamaseri) "turned +by the current.... The Tartars suspend them also over the fireplace +to send up prayer for the peace and prosperity of the household;" +he mentions also many most curious incidents in connexion with this +practice. Another similar institution is printing the formulary an +immense number of times on numbers of sheets of paper, and fixing +them in a barrel similarly turned by running water. Baron Schilling de +Kanstadt has given us (in "Bulletin Hist. Phil. de l'Ac. des Sciences +de S. Petersburg," iv. No. 22) an interesting account of the bargain he +struck with certain Mongolian priests at Kiakhtu, on the Russo-Chinese +frontier. It was their great aim to multiply this ejaculation a hundred +million times, a feat they had never been able to accomplish. They +showed him a sheet which was the utmost reach of their efforts, but +the sum total of which was only 250. The Baron sent to St. Petersburg +and had a sheet printed, in which the words were repeated seventy +times one way and forty-one times the other, giving 2870 times, but +being printed in red they counted for 25 times as many, or 71,750; +then he had twenty-four such sheets rolled together, making 1,793,750, +so that about seventy revolutions of the barrel would give the required +number. In return for this help the Mongolian Lama gave him a complete +collection of the sacred writings in the Tibetian language; Tibetian +being the educated, or at least the sacred, language of Mongolia. + +Concerning the meaning of this ejaculation, Abbé Huc has the +following:--"According to the opinion of the celebrated Orientalist +Klaproth, the 'Om mani padme houm' is merely the Tibetian transcription +of a Sanskrit formula brought from India to Tibet with the introduction +of Buddhism and letters.... This formula has in the Sanskrit a distinct +and complete meaning which cannot be traced in the Tibetian idiom. Om +is among the Hindoos, the mystic name of the Divinity, and all their +prayers begin with it. It is composed of A, standing for Vishnu, O, +for Siva, and M, for Brahma. This mystic particle is also equivalent +to the interjection O! It expresses a profound religious conviction, +and is a sort of act of faith; mani signifies a gem, a precious thing; +padma, the lotus, padme, vocative case. Lastly, houm is a particle +expressing a wish, and is equivalent to the use of the word Amen. The +literal sense then of this phrase is + + + "Om mani padme houm." + O the gem in the lotus. Amen. + + +In the Ramajana, where Vasichta destroys the sons of Visvamitra [63] +he is said to do so by his hungkara, his breathing forth of his desire +of vengeance, but literally by his breathing the interjection 'hum.' + +"The Buddhists of Tibet and Mongolia, however, have tortured their +imagination to find a mystic interpretation of each of these six +syllables. They say the doctrine contained in them is so immense +that a life is insufficient to measure it. Among other things, they +say the six classes of living beings [64] correspond to these six +syllables.... By continual transmigrations according to merit, living +beings pass through these six classes till they have attained the +height of perfection, absorbed into the essence of Buddha.... Those +who repeat the formula very frequently escape passing after death +into these six classes.... The gem being the emblem of perfection, +and the lotus of Buddha, it may perhaps be considered that these +words express desire to acquire perfection in order to be united with +Buddha--absorbed in the one universal soul: "Oh, the gem of the lotus, +Amen," might then be paraphrased thus:--"O may I obtain perfection, +and be absorbed in Buddha, Amen!" making it a summary of a vast system +of Pantheism. + +Buddhism, however, received its greatest and most remarkable +modification in this part of the world from the teaching of an +extraordinary Lama, named bThong-kha-pa, who rose to eminence in the +reign of Jong-lo, and is regarded with greatest veneration among not +only the Tibetians and Mongolians, including the remotest tribes of +the Khalmouks, but also by the more polished Chinese, and more or +less wherever Buddhism prevails. + +Though subsequently pronounced to be an incarnation of Shiva he +was born in the year 1357, in the Lamaseri of ssKu-bun = "a hundred +thousand images," on the Kuku-noor, or Blue Lake, in the south-west +part of the Amdo country, several days' journey from the city of +Sining-fu. In his youth he travelled to gTsang-lschhn, or Lhassa, +in order to gain the most perfect knowledge of Buddhist teaching, and +during his studies there determined on effecting various reforms in +the prevailing ideas. He met with many partisans, who adopted a yellow +cap as their badge, in contradistinction from the red cap heretofore +worn, and styled themselves the dGe-luges-pa = "the Virtuous." Besides +introducing a stricter discipline his chief development of the Buddhist +doctrines consisted in teaching distinctly that Buddha was possessed +of a threefold nature, which was to be recognized, the first in his +laws, the second in his perfections, the third in his incarnations. + +The supreme rule of the Buddhist religion in Tibet also received +its present form under the impulse of his labours. His nephew, +dGe-dun-grub-pa (born circa 1390, died 1475), was the first Dalai +Lama. He built the celebrated Lama Palace of bKra-schiss-Lhun-po, +thirty miles N. of Lhassa, in 1445. Under him, too, was established +the institution of the Pan-tschhen-Rin-po-tsche (the great venerable +jewel of teaching), or Contemplative Lama. Tsching-Hva, the eighth +Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, established their joint authority as +superior to all the eight princely Lamas set up by Jo-long [65]. + +Abbé Huc, in the course of his enterprising missionary travels, +visited all the places I have had occasion to mention, spending a +considerable time at some of them. By local traditions, collected by +word of mouth and from Lamaistic records, he gives us a most fantastic +and entertaining narrative of Tsong-Kaba, as he calls the Buddhist +reformer: of the fables concerning his birth; of the marvellous +tree that grew from his hair when his mother cut it; of his mature +intelligence in his tenderest years; his supernatural call to Lha-sa +(Land of Spirits); and of the very peculiar mode of argument by which +he converted Buddha Chakdja, the Lama of the Red Cap. More important +than all this, however, is the light he throws on the mode in which +the great incorporation of Christian ideas and ceremonial into Buddhist +teaching came about. During his years of retirement Tsong-Kaba became +acquainted with a mysterious teacher "from the far West," almost beyond +question "one of those Catholic missionaries who at this precise period +penetrated in such numbers into Upper Asia." The very description +preserved of his face and person is that of a European. This strange +teacher died, we know not by what means, while Tsong-kaba was yet in +the desert; and he appears to have accepted as much of his doctrine as +either he had only time to learn or as suited his purpose, and this +in the main had reference "to the introduction of a new Liturgy. The +feeble opposition which he encountered in his reformation would seem +to indicate that already the progress of Christian ideas in these +countries had materially shaken the faith in Buddha.... The tribe +of Amdo, previously altogether obscure, has since this reformation +acquired a prodigious celebrity.... The mountain at the foot of +which Tsong-Kaba was born became a famous place of pilgrimage; Lamas +assembled there from all parts to build their cells [66]; and thus +by degrees was formed that flourishing Lamasery, the fame of which +extends to the remotest confines of Tartary. It is called Komboun, +from two Tibetian words, signifying ten thousand images. He died at +the Lamasery of Khaldan ('celestial beatitude'), situated on the top +of a mountain about four leagues east of Lha-Ssa, said to have been +founded by him in 1409. The Tibetians pretend that they still see his +marvellous body there fresh and incorruptible, sometimes speaking, +and by a permanent prodigy always holding itself in the air without +any support. + +"Mongolia is at present divided into several sovereignties, whose +chiefs are subject to the Emperor of China, himself a Tartar, but of +the Mantchu race. These chiefs bear titles corresponding to those of +kings, dukes, earls, barons, &c. They govern their states according +to their own pleasure. They acknowledge as sovereign only the Emperor +of China. Whenever any difference arises between them they appeal +to Pekin and submit to its decisions implicitly. Though the Mongol +sovereigns consider it their duty to prostrate themselves once a year +before the 'Sun of Heaven,' they nevertheless do not concede to him +the right of dethroning their reigning families. He may, they say, +cashier a king for gross misconduct, but he is bound to fill up the +vacant place with one of the superseded prince's sons.... Nothing can +be more vague and indefinite than these relations.... In practice +the will of the Emperor is never disputed.... All families related +to any reigning family form a patrician caste and are proprietors of +the soil.... They are called Taitsi, and are distinguished by a blue +button surmounting their cap. It is from these that the sovereigns of +the different states select their ministers, who are distinguished +by a red button.... In the country of the Khalkhas, to the north +of the desert of Gobi, there is a district entirely occupied by +Taitsi, said to be descendants of Tchen-kis-Khan.... They live in +the greatest independence, recognizing no sovereign. Their wealth +consists in tents and cattle. Of all the Mongolian regions it is +this district in which are to be found most accurately preserved +patriarchal manners, just as the Bible describes them, though every +where also more or less prevailing.... The Tartars who are not Taitsi +are slaves, bound to keep their master's herds, but not forbidden +to herd cattle of their own. The noble families differ little from +the slave families ... both live in tents and both occupy themselves +with pasturing their flocks. When the slave enters the master's tent +he never fails to offer him tea and milk; they smoke together and +exchange pipes. Round the tents young slaves and young noblemen romp +and wrestle together without distinction. We met with many slaves +who were richer than their masters.... Lamas born of slave families +become free in some degree as soon as they enter the sacerdotal life; +they are no longer liable to enforced labour, and can travel without +interference." He further describes the Mongols in general as a hardy, +laborious, peace-loving people, usually simple and upright in their +dealings, devout and punctual in such religious faith and observances +as they have been taught, caring, however, little for mental studies, +occupied only with their flocks and herds, and continually overreached +by the Chinese in all their dealings with them. + +9. Cîtavana, a burying-place.--Jülg. + +10. Siddhî-kür, a dead body endowed with supernatural or magic powers +(Siddhi, Sanskr., perfection of power). + +11. Mango-tree, Mangifera indica. Lassen (Indische Alterthumskunde, +i. 276) calls it "the Indians' favourite tree; their household +companion; rejoicing their existence; the cool and cheerful shade +of whose groves embowers their villages, surrounds their fountains +and pools with freshness, and affords delicious coolness to the +Karavan-halt: one of the mightiest of their kings (Ashôka, 246 +B.C.) makes it his boast (in an Inscription given in "Journal of +Asiatic Soc. of Bengal," vi. 595) that besides the wide-spreading shade +of the fig-tree he had also planted the leafy mango." In Sanskrit, +âmra, kûta, rasâla (rich in juice). Crawford (Ind. Arch. i. 424) +says the fruit is called in Sanskrit mahâphala, "the great fruit," +whence the Telingu word Mahampala and the Malay Mamplans and Manga, +whence the European Mango. It grows more or less all over India from +Ceylon to the Himâlajas, except perhaps in the arid north-east highland +of the Dekhan, but it reaches its most luxuriant development in Malabar +and over the whole west coast. Besides its luxuriant shade its blossoms +bear the most delicious scent, and its glorious gold-coloured fruit +often attains a pound in weight, though its quality is much acted upon +by site and climate. In Malabar it ripens in April; in Bengal, in May; +in Bhotan, not till August. There are also many kinds--some affording +nourishment to the poorest, and some appearing only on the tables of +the opulent. Bp. Heber ("Journey," i. 522) pronounces it the largest +of all fruit-bearing trees. To the high regard in which this tree was +held it is to be ascribed that the story makes the Siddhî-kür prefer +giving himself up to the Khan rather than let it be felled. + +12. Gambudvîpa, native name for India. See infra, Note 6, Tale XXII., +and Note 6 to "Vikramâditja's Birth." + +13. Only magic words of no meaning. + +14. The "white moon," designated the moon in the waxing quarter; +meaning that the axe had the form of a sickle.--Jülg. + + + +TALE I. + +1. Songs commemorating the deeds of the departed, were sung at +their funeral rites, often instead of erecting monuments to them; +the fixing their acts in the memory of the living being considered +a more lasting memorial than a tablet of stone. Probably the custom +originated before the discovery of the art of writing; it seems, +however, to have been continued afterwards. Gâthâ was the name given to +these songs in praise of ancestry, particularly the ancestors of kings, +usually accompanied by the lute. Weber, Indische Studien, i. p. 186, +gives specimen translations from such. + +2. The elephant is the subject of frequent mention in the very oldest +writings of India. He is mentioned as a useful and companionable beast +just as at the present day, in the Vêda, and the Manu (e. g. Rig-Vêda, +i. 84, 17, "Whoso calls upon Indra in any need concerning his sons, +his elephants, his goods and possessions, himself or his people, +&c."). In the epic poems, he is constantly mentioned as the ordinary +mount of warriors. There is no tradition, however, as to his being +first tamed and brought under the service of man, though the art +penetrated so little into the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, that the +inhabitants used to smear themselves and their plants with poison as +the best protection against being devoured by him as a wild beast. + +The elephant is distributed over the whole of India from Ceylon to +China, wherever there is sufficient growth of foliage. In a domestic +state he may live to 120 years, probably nearly double that time +when left wild; he is reckoned at his strongest prime in his sixtieth +year. His habit is to live in herds. + +A beast so intelligent and available as an aid to man, and particularly +to a primitive people, naturally took an important place in the +mythology of the country. We find this saliently impressed on the +architectural decorations of the country; constantly he is to be +seen used as a karyatyd; the world is again seen resting on the +backs of four huge elephants, or the king of gods carried along by +one. It is a curious instance of appreciativeness of the acuteness +of the sensibility of the elephant's trunk, that Ganesha, the god +who personifies the sense of touch, is represented gifted with +such an appendage. It is among the Buddhistic peoples we find him +most especially honoured. In Ceylon the white elephant (a variety +actually found in the most easterly provinces) is regarded as a divine +incarnation; "Ruler of the white elephant," is one of the titles of +the Birmese Emperor; in Siam also it is counted sacred. In war he was +an invaluable ally: they called him the Eightfold-armed one, because +his four tramping feet, his two formidable tusks, his hard frontal +bone and his tusk supply eight weapons. The number of elephants a +king could bring into the field was counted among his most important +munitions of war and constituted one principal element of his power. + +The derivation of the word elephant does not seem easy to fix, but the +best supported opinion is that it is a Greek adoption of the Sanskrit +word for ivory ibhadanta, compounded with the Arabic article al from +its having been received along with the article itself through Arabian +traders; the transition from alibhadanta to >El'eyac, >El'eyantoc, +is easily conceived [67]. + +Among the Brahmanical writers the most ordinary designation was gag'a; +also ibha, probably from ibhja, mighty, but they had an infinite +number of others; such as râg avâhja, "the king-bearer;" matanga, +"doing that which (he) is meant (to do); dvirada, "the two-toothed;" +hastin or karin, "the handed" (beast), or beast with a hand, for the +Indians, like the Romans, call his trunk a hand; dvipa, dvipâjin, +anêkapa, "the twice drinking," or "more than once drinking," in +allusion to his taking water first into his trunk and then pouring +it down his throat. Among the facts and early notions concerning +him, collected and handed down by Ælianus, are the following:--that +elephants were employed by various kings to keep watch over them by +night, an office which their power of withstanding sleep facilitated; +that in a wild state, they frequently had encounters with the larger +serpents, whose first plan was to climb up into the trees and then +dart upon and throttle them. But the most curious remark of all is, +that they were endowed with a certain kind of religion, and that +when wounded, overladen, or injured, it was their custom to look +up to heaven, asking why they had been thus dealt with. (Ælianus, +De Nat. Anim. v. 49 and vii. 44; also Pliny, viii. 12. 2.) There +are also legends about their paying divine honours to the sun and +moon, and in the Indian collection of fables called the Hitopadesha, +there is one of an elephant being conducted by a hare to worship the +reflection of the moon in a lake. + +In peace they were equally serviceable as in war, and were employed not +only for riding, but for ploughing. A beast so useful was naturally +treated with great regard, and we read of Indian princes keeping +a special physician to attend to the ailments of their elephants, +and particularly to have care of their eyesight (Ælianus, De +Nat. Anim. xiii. 7). + +3. The office of the erliks or servants of Erlik-Khan, (see next note) +was to bring every soul before this judge to receive from him the +sentence determining their state in their next re-birth, according +to the merits or demerits of their last past existence. (Schmidt's +translation of sSanang sSetsen, 417-421, quoted by Jülg.) + +4. Erlik-Khan is the Tibetian name of Jama (Sanskrit), the Judge +of the Dead and Ruler over the abode of the Departed; he is son of +Vivasvat or the Sun considered as "the bringer forth and nourisher of +all the produce of the earth and seer of all that is on it." Vivasvat +has another son, Manu, the founder of social life and source of +all kingly dynasties. (Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, i. 19, +20.) As with all mythological personages or embodiments, however, +the characteristics of Jama have undergone considerable modifications +under the handling of different teachers and peoples in different +ages, and in some Indian writings he is spoken of as if he were +the personification of conscience. Thus, in the ancient collection +of laws called the Manu (viii. 92) occurs the following passage, +"Within thine heart dwells the god Jama, the son of Vivasvat: when +thou hast no variance with him, thou hast no need to repair to the +Gangâ, nor the Kuruxêtra;" meaning clearly, "If thou hast nothing on +thy conscience, thou hast no object in making a pilgrimage." Muni, +"who keepeth watch over virtue and over sin," however, more properly +represents conscience. Sir William Jones, in quoting the above passage, +inserts the words "subduer of all" after "Jama," probably not without +some good reason or authority for assigning to him that character. + +Lassen finds early mention of a people living on the westernmost +borders of the valley of the Indus (iii. 352, 353) who paid special +honour to Jama as god of death, deprecating his wrath with offerings +of beasts; and he connects with it a passage in Ælianus, who wrote on +India in the 3rd century of our era, making mention of a bottomless +pit or cave of Pluto, "in the land of the Aryan Indians," into which +"every one who had heard a divine voice or met with an evil omen, +threw a beast according to the measure of his possessions; thousands +of sheep, goats, oxen and horses being sacrificed in this way. He says +further that there was no need to bind or drive them, as a supernatural +power constrained them to go without resistance. He appears also to +have believed that notwithstanding the height from which they were +thrown, they continued a mysterious existence in the regions beneath. + +"To walk the path of Jama," is an expression for dying, in the very +early poems; and a battle-field was called the camp of Jama (Lassen, +i. 767). In the Vêda, the South, which is also reckoned the place of +the infernal regions, is spoken of as the kingdom of Jama (i. 772). + +5. Mandala, a magic circle. (Wassiljew, 202, 205, 212, 216, quoted +by Jülg.) + + + +TALE II. + +1. Dragons, serpents, serpent-gods, serpent-dæmons (nâga), play a +great part in Indian mythology. Their king is Shesa. Serpent-cultus +was of very ancient observance and is practised by both followers of +Brahmanism and Buddhism. The Brahmans seem to have desired to show +their disapproval of it by placing the serpent-gods in the lower +ranks of their mythology (Lassen, i. 707 and 544, n. 2). This cultus, +however, seems to have received a fresh development about the time of +Ashoka, circa 250 B.C. (ii. 467). When Madhjantika went into Cashmere +and Gandhâra to teach Buddhism after the holding of the third Synod, +it is mentioned that he found sacrifices to serpents practised +there (ii. 234, 235). There is a passage in Plutarch from which it +appears the custom to sacrifice an old woman (previously condemned +to death for some crime) in honour of the serpent-gods by burying +her alive on the banks of the Indus (ii. 467, and note 4). Ktesias +also mentions the serpent-worship (ii. 642). In Buddhist legends, +serpents are often mentioned as protecting-patrons of certain towns +(ii. 467). Among the many kinds of serpents which India possesses, +it is the gigantic Cobra di capello which is the object of worship +(ii. 679). (See further notice of the serpent-worship, iv. 109.) + +It would seem that the Buddhist teachers, too, discouraged the +worship at the beginning of their career at least, for when the +Sthavira Madhjantika was sent to convert Cashmere, as above mentioned +he was so indignant at the extent to which he found serpent-worship +carried, that it is recorded in the Mahâvansha, xii. p. 72, that he +caused himself to be carried through the air dispersing them; that +they sought by every means to scare him away--by thunder and storm, +and by changing themselves into all manner of hideous shapes, but +finding the attempt vain, they gave in and accepted the teaching of +the Sthavira, like the rest of the country. Under which last image, +we can easily read the fact that the Buddhist teacher suffered his +followers to continue the worship, while he set limits to it and +delivered them from the extreme awe in which they had previously +stood of the serpents. See also note 4 to Tale XXII. + +2. Strong drink. See note 8 to Tale V., and note 3 to Tale VI. + +3. Baling-cakes. See notes 6 and 9 to Tale IV. + +4. On the custom adopted by priests of hiding precious objects in +the sacred images of the gods, see Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, +iii. 351. + + + +TALE III. + +1. Milk-broth is mentioned by Abbé Huc repeatedly in his travels as +a staple article of food in Mongolia. + +2. Schimnu or Schumnu (in Sanskrit, Kâma or Mâra) is the Buddhist +Devil, or personified evil. He is also the God of Love, Sin, and +Death, the Prince of the third or lower world. Sensuality is called +his kingdom. The Schumnus are represented as tempters and doing all +in their power to hinder mortals in their struggle after perfection, +and in this view, take every sort of forms according to their design +at the time. They as often appear in female as in male form. Schmidt's +translation of sSanang sSetsen. + +3. As an instance of the migration of myths, I may mention here, +that I met in Spain with a ballad, which I am sorry I have mislaid +and cannot therefore quote the verse, in which the love-lorn swain in +singing the praises of his mistress, among other charms enumerates, +that the flowers spring from the stones as she treads her way through +the streets. + +The present story, too, reminds forcibly in all its leading details of +the legend I have entitled "The Ill-tempered Princess," in "Patrañas," +though so unlike in the dénouement. + +4. I have had occasion to speak in another place of the early +Indian's belief in the dwelling of the gods being situated among +the inaccessible heights which bound his sight and his fancy. The +mountain of Meerû was a spot so sacred that it was fabled the sun +might not pass it. Consult Lassen, i. 847, &c. &c. + +5. Churmusta = Indra. The ruler of the lower gods, king of the earth +and of the spirits of the air; his heaven is the place of earthly +pleasures. Dæmons often go to war with him to obtain entrance into +his paradise, and he can only fight them through the agency of an +earthly hero (Brockhaus, Somadeva Bhatta, i. 213); hence it is that +he calls Massang to fight the Schimnu-Khan for him. + +According to Abbé Huc's spelling, Hormoustha. + + + +TALE IV. + +1. Here is one of the numerous instances where the Mongolian +tale-repeater introduces into the Indian story details drawn to the +life from the manners and customs around him of his own people. Compare +with it the following sketch from personal observation in Mongolia, +given in Abbé Huc's "Travels:"--"You sometimes come upon a plain +covered with animation; tents and herds dotted all over it.... It is +a place whither the greater supply of water and the choicer pastures +have attracted for a time a number of nomadic families; you see +rising in all directions tents of various dimensions, looking like +balloons newly inflated and just about to take flight; children with +a sort of hod upon their backs run about collecting argols (dried +dung for fuel), which they pile up in heaps round their respective +tents. The women look after the calves, make tea in the open air, +or prepare milk in various ways; the men, mounted on fiery horses, +armed with a long pole, gallop about, guiding to the best pastures +the great herds of cattle which undulate over the surrounding country +like waves of the sea. All of a sudden these pictures, anon so full +of animation, disappear. Men, tents, herds, all have vanished in the +twinkling of an eye. You see nothing left behind but deserted heaps +of embers, half-extinguished fires, and a few bones of which birds +of prey are disputing the possession. Such are the sole vestiges that +a Mongol tribe has just passed that way. The animals having devoured +all the grass around, the chief gives the signal for departure, and +all the herdsmen, folding their tents, drive their herds before them, +no matter whither, in search of fresh pastures." + +This nomadic life, characteristic of the Mongols, would seem never +at any time to have entered into Indian manners and customs. Though +in early times pastoral occupations so engrossed them that they have +left deep traces in their language (e. g. gotra, meaning originally a +breed of cows, came to stand for a family lineage; and gôpa, gôpala, +originally a cowherd, for a prince), and the hymns of the Rig-Vêda +are full of invocations of blessings on the herds (Rig V. 1. 42, +8. 67, 3. 118, 2); yet wherever they came they occupied themselves +with agriculture also, and settled themselves down with social habits +which early led to the foundation of cities. Consult Lassen, i. 494, +685, 815, &c. + +2. Abbé Huc incidentally mentions also this practice of carrying the +produce of the flocks and herds stored in sheep's paunches, as the +present common usage of the Mongolians, and adopted by himself among +the provisions for his journeyings among them (vol. ii. chap. iii., +and other places). + +3. Marmot. The sandy plains of Tibet are frequently inhabited by +marmots, who live together in holes, and whose fur is at the present +day an important article of the Tibetian trade both with India and +China. It is now generally allowed that it must be these beasts which +were intended in the marvellous accounts of the old Greek writers +of the gold-digging ants. Though the Indians themselves gave them +the name of ants, pipîlika (e. g. Mahâ Bhârata, i. p. 375, v. 1860), +the description of them would pass exactly for that of this little +animal--in size somewhat smaller than a fox, covered with fur, in +habits social, living in holes underground in the winter. + +4. See note 3 to "The False Friend." + +5. The number five is a favourite number in Buddhistic teaching, +ritual and ceremonies. (Wassiljew, quoted by Jülg.) To Bodhidsarma, +the last Indian patriarch, on his removal to China, is ascribed this +sentence: "I came to this country to make known the law and to free +men from their passions. Every blossom that brings forth fruit hath +five petals, and thus have I fulfilled my undertaking." (Abel Remusat, +Mel. As. p. 125.) One of Buddha, or at least, Âdi-Buddha's titles, +particularly in Tibet, is Pankagnânâtmaka, or "him possessed of five +kinds of gnâna" or knowledge (Notices of the Religion of the Bouddhas, +by B. Hodgson), and this formed the basis of the complicated system +of the later Buddhists. + +The Brahmans, too, had five sacred observances which they aimed +at exercising; the study of their sacred books, to offer sacrifice +to the manes, the gods and all creatures, hospitality, and thereby +increase as well their own virtue and renown as that of their fathers +and mothers. The five necessary things are clothes, food, drink, +coverlets for sleeping, and medicine. + +The five colours are blue, white, green, yellow, and red. (Köppen, +ii. 307, note 3.) + +6. Baling-cakes are figures made of dough or rice paste, generally +pyramidal in form, covered with cotton wool or some inflammable +material smeared over with brown colour and then set fire to. (Jülg.) + +7. Râkschasas, Bopp (note to his translation of the Ramajana) calls +them giants. In the mythology they are evil demons inimical to man; +vampires in human form, generally of hideous aspect, but capable of +assuming beautiful appearances in order to tempt and deceive. + +There is no doubt, however, it was the Raxasas, the wild people +inhabiting the country south of the Vindhja range at the time of +the immigration of the Aryan Indians, whose fierce disposition, and +cruel treatment of the Brahmans gave rise to the above conception of +the word. Consult Lassen, Ind. Altert. i. 535, where passages giving +them this character are quoted; also pp. 582, 583. + +8. Manggus, Mongolian name for Râkschasas. (Jülg.) + +9. The present mode of treating the sick in Mongolia would seem much +the same. Abbé Huc thus describes what he himself witnessed:--"Medicine +is exclusively practised by the Lamas. When any one is ill the +friends run for a Lama, whose first proceeding is to run his fingers +over the pulse of both wrists simultaneously.... All illness is +owing to the visitation of a tchatgour or demon, but its expulsion +is a matter of medicine.... He next prescribes a specific ... the +medical assault being applied, the Lama next proceeds to spiritual +artillery. If the patient be poor the tchatgour visiting him can only +be an inferior spirit, to be dislodged by an interjectional exorcism +... and the patient may get better or die according to the decree of +Hormoustha.... But a devil who presumes to visit an eminent personage +must be a potent devil and cannot be expected to travel away like +a mere sprite; the family are accordingly directed to prepare for +him a handsome suit of clothes, a pair of rich boots, a fine horse, +sometimes also a number of attendants.... The aunt of Toukuna was +seized one evening with an intermittent fever.... The Lama pronounced +that a demon of considerable rank was present. Eight other Lamas were +called in, who set about the construction of a great puppet (baling) +which they entitled 'Demon of Intermittent Fevers,' and which they +placed erect by means of a stick in the patient's tent. The Lamas +then ranged themselves in a circle with cymbals, shells, bells, +tambourines, and other noisy instruments, the family squatting on +the ground opposite the puppet. The chief Lama had before him a large +copper basin, filled with millet and some more little puppets.... A +diabolical discordant concert then commenced, the chief Lama now and +then scattering grains of millet towards the four quarters of the +compass ... ultimately he rose and set the puppet on fire. As soon as +the flames rose he uttered a great cry, repeated with interest by the +rest, who then also rose, seized the burning figure, carried it away to +the plain, and consumed it.... The patient was then removed to another +tent.... The probability is that the Lamas having ascertained the time +at which the fever-fit would recur meet it by a counter excitement." + +10. The respective occupations of men and women seem to remain at +the present pretty much the same in Mongolia as here introduced by +the tale-repeater. Abbé Huc writes: "Household and family cares rest +entirely upon the women; it is she who milks the cows and prepares +the butter, cheese, &c.; who goes no matter how far to draw water; +who collects the argols (dried dung for fuel), dries it and piles +it round the tent. The tanning skins, fulling cloth, making clothes, +all appertains to her.... Mongol women are perfect mistresses of the +needle; it is quite unintelligible how, with implements so rude, they +can manufacture articles so durable; they excel, too, in embroidery, +which for taste and variety of design and excellence of manipulation +excited our astonishment. The occupations of the men are of very +limited range; they consist wholly in conducting flocks and herds +to pasture. This to men accustomed from infancy to the saddle is a +mere amusement. The nearest approach to fatigue they ever incur is +in pursuing cattle which escape. They sometimes hunt; when they go +after roebucks, deer, or pheasants, as presents for their chiefs, +they take their bow and matchlock. Foxes they always course. They +squat all day in their tents, drinking tea and smoking. When the +fancy takes them they take down their whip, mount their horse, always +ready saddled at the door, and dash off across the broad plains, no +matter whither. When one sees another horseman he rides up to him; +when he sees a tent he puts up at it, the only object being to have +a gossip with a new person." + + + +TALE V. + +1. Kun-Snang = "All-enlightening." (Jülg.) The Mongolian tale-repeater +here gives the Khan a Tibetian name (Tibetian being the learned and +liturgical language of Mongolia), making one of the instances of which +the tales are full, of their transformation in process of transmission. + +2. Sesame-oil is mentioned by Pliny in many places as in use in India +for medicinal purposes: as, xiii. 2, 7: xv. 9, 4: xvii. 10, 1, &c. + +3. Baling-cakes.--See note 6, and note 9 to Tale IV. + +4. The Brahmanical system of re-births was followed to a great extent +by Buddhists, notwithstanding that it had been one chief aim and object +of Shâkjamuni's teaching to provide mankind with a remedy against +their necessity. (See Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, ii. 60, and +other places. Burnouf, Introd. à l'Hist. du Buddh. Ind. i. 153.) By +its teaching, every living being had to be born again a countless +number of times, leading them to higher or lower regions according +to their dealings under each earlier form. The gods themselves were +not exempt from the operation of this law. + +5. Serpent-god. See note 1 to Tale II., and note 4 to Tale XXII. + +6. Tiger-year. The Mongols reckon time by a cycle of sixty years, +designated by a subdivision under the names of five necessary articles, +and twelve beasts with the further adjuncts of male and female. The +present cycle began in 1864 and will consequently go on till 1923. + +The following may serve as a specimen:-- + + + 1864, male Wood-mouse-year, Mato khouloukhana po. + 1865, female Wood-bullock-year, Moto oukhere mo. + 1866, male Fire-tiger-year, Gal bara po. + 1867, female Fire-hare-year, Gal tole mo. + 1868, male Earth-dragon-year, Sheree lou po. + 1869, female Earth-serpent-year, Sheree Mokhee mo. + 1870, male Iron-horse-year, Temur mori po. + 1871, female Iron-sheep-year, Temur knoui mo. + 1872, male Water-ape-year, Oussou betchi po. + 1873, female Water-fowl-year, Oussou takia mo. + 1874, male Wood-dog-year, Moto nokhee po. + 1875, female Wood-pig-year, Moto khakhee mo. + 1876, male Fire-mouse-year, Gal khouloukhana po. + 1877, female Fire-bullock-year, Gal oukhere mo. + 1878, male Earth-tiger-year, Sheree bara po. + 1879, female Earth-hare-year, Sheree tolee mo. + 1880, male Iron-dragon-year, Temur lou po. + 1881, female Iron-serpent-year, Temur mokhee mo. + + +And so on to the end. The date always being quoted in connexion +with the year of each sovereign reigning at the time, to make the +distinction more definite. + +7. Nothing can be much more revolting to our minds than the idea of +human sacrifices. Nevertheless, one of the grandest episodes of the +great epic poem called the Ramajana, is that in which King Ashokja +goes all the world over in search of a youth possessing all the +marks which prove him worthy to be sacrificed: "wandering through +tracts of country and villages, through town and wilderness alike, +holy hermitages also of high fame." When at last he has found one in +the person of Sunasepha, son of Ritschika, a great prince of seers, +Visvamitra, the great model penitent, calls on his own son to take +his place, crying up the honour of the thing in the most ardent +language. "When a father desires to have sons," he says to him, "it +is in order that they may adorn the world with their virtue and be +worthy of eternal fame. The opportunity for earning that fame has now +come to thee." And when his son refuses the exchange, he pronounces +on him the following curse, "Henceforth shalt thou be for many years +a wanderer and outcast, and despised like to a dealer in dog's flesh." + +Concerning the serpent-cultus in general, see note 1, Tale II., +and note 4, Tale XXII. + +8. Rice is the most ancient and most widespread object of Indian +agriculture; it is only not cultivated in those districts where +either the heat or the means of natural or artificial irrigation +do not suffice for its production; and in easternmost islands of +the Archipelago, where the sago-palm replaces it. (Ritter iv. 1, +800.) The name, coming from vrih, to grow, to spread (whence also +vrihat, great), suggests, that it was regarded as the principal kind +of corn. All the Greek writers on India mention that an intoxicating +drink was made from rice, and the custom still prevails. + + + +TALE VI. + +1. Brschiss. I know not what country it is which is thus designated, +unless the word be derived from brizi, the ancient Persian for rice, +and is intended to denote a rice-producing territory. + +2. Palm-tree. India grows a vast number of varieties of the palm-tree; +the general name is trinadruma, "grass-tree" (Ritter iv. 1, +827). The date-palm was only introduced by the Arabians (Lassen, +iii. 312). The fan-palm (borassus flabelliformis) is called trinarâga = +"the grass-king," in Sanskrit also tâla; the Buddhist priests in Dekhan +and also in China and Mongolia use its leaves as fans and sunshades, +and hence are often called tâlapatri, palm-bearers. Tâlânka and +Tâladhvaga are also titles of Krishna, when he carries a banner bearing +a palm-tree in memory of a legend which makes him the discoverer of +the means of utilizing the fruit of the cocoa-nut palm. "The mountain +Gôvardhana on the banks of the Jamunâ was thickly grown over with the +cocoa-nut palm, but it was kept in guard by a dæmon, named Dhênuka, +in the form of an ass, at the head of a great herd of asses, so that +no one could approach it. Krishna, however, in company with Rama, +went through the wood unarmed, but when they would have shaken down +the fruit from the trees, Dhênuka, who was sitting in its branches, +kicked them with his hoofs and bit them. Krishna pulled him down from +off the tree, and wrestled with him till he had crushed him to death; +in the same way he dealt with the whole herd. A lurid light gleamed +through the whole wood from the bodies of the dead asses, but from +that time forward, all the people had free use of the trees." (Hari, +v. 70, v. 3702 et seq. p. 577.) + +3. The brandy spoken of is, probably, koumis, distilled from mare's +milk, and makes a very intoxicating drink. Concerning its preparation, +see Pallas, Sammlung historischer Nachrichten über die Mongolen. + + + +TALE VII. + +1. Compare note 10, Tale IV. + +2. Legends of transformed maidens being delivered from the power of +enchantment and married by heroes and knights are common enough, but +we less frequently meet with stories presenting a reversed plot. I +have met with one, however, nearly identical with that given in the +text, attached to a ruined castle of Wâlsch-Tirol. + +3. The Buddhist idea of the soul is very difficult to define. In other +legends given later in the present volume (e. g. the episode of the +burying of Vikramâditja's body and the action of the fourth youth in +"Who invented Women?") we find it, just as in the present one, spoken +of as a quite superfluous and fantastic adjunct without which a man +was to all intents and purposes the same as when he had it. Spence +Hardy affirms as the result of conversations with Buddhists during +half a life passed among them in Ceylon, as well as from the study +of their writings, that "according to Buddhism there is no soul." + +4. Compare note 7 to "Vikramâditja's Birth." + +5. Obö. "A heap of stones on which every traveller is expected of +his piety to throw one or more as he goes by." (Jülg.) Abbé Huc +describes them thus: "They consist simply of an enormous pile of +stones heaped up without any order, surmounted with dried branches +of trees, while from them hang other branches and strips of cloth on +which are inscribed verses in the Tibet and Mongol languages. At its +base is a large granite urn in which the devotees burn incense. They +offer besides pieces of money which the next Chinese traveller, after +sundry ceremonious genuflexions before the Obö, carefully collects +and pockets. These Obös are very numerous." + +6. The sacred mountain of Meerû. See note 4, Tale III. + + + +TALE VIII. + +1. Kun-smon, all-wishing (Tibetian). } + } +2. Kun-snang, all-enlightening (Tibetian). } + } +3. Chamuk-Ssakiktschi, all-protecting (Mongolian). } (Jülg.) + } +4. Ananda, gladness (Sanskrit). } + } +5. Kun-dgah, all-rejoicing (Tibetian). } + +6. Chotolo has the same meaning as Chamuk, the one in Kalmuck and +the other in Tibetian. + +7. See note 4 to Tale V., and note 7 to "Vikramâditja's Birth." + +8. Kun-tschong = all-protecting (Tibetian). (Jülg.) + + + +TALE IX. + +1. Heaven-gods, sky-gods, devas. They hold a transition position +between men and gods, between human and Buddha nature. Their etherial +body enables these lowest of gods, or genii, to withstand the effects +of age better than mortals; also they can assume other forms and make +themselves invisible, powers seldom allotted to mortals, but they +are subject to illusion, sin, and metempsychosis like every other +creature. (Schott, Buddhaismus in Hoch-Asien, p. 5, quoted by Jülg.) + +2. Garudâ.--Garut'man (whence Garudâ), means the winged one. In the +epic mythology of India Garudâ was son of Kashjapa and Vinatâ, daughter +of Daxa, king of the Suparn'a ("beautiful winged ones"), divine birds, +whose habitation was in the lower heavens. They were the standing foes +of the serpent-gods, on whose flesh they fed. In the Vêda it is spoken +of as a bird with beautiful golden wings. A Gaudharba of high degree, +bearing shining weapons, was placed over the higher heaven. It is said +that inhaling the balmy vapours, he gave birth to the refreshing rain; +and that when gazing through space with his eagle eye he broods over +the ocean, the rays of the sun pierce through the third heaven. From +this it may be gathered that the Garudâ originally represented the +morning mist preceding the sunrise over land and sea. The Garudâ, +was also the bearer of Vishnu, as the following legend from the Mâha +Bhârata tells:--"Mâtali, Indra's charioteer, had fixed his eyes on +Sumuka, grandson of the serpent-god Arjaka, to make him his son-in-law +by marrying his daughter, Gun'aka'shi, to him. Garudâ, however, had +already devoted him for his food, purposing to kill him in a month's +time; but at Mâtali's request Indra had given promise of long life +to Sumukha. When Garudâ heard this he went and stood before Indra and +told him that by such a promise he had destroyed himself and his race; +that he Garudâ, alone possessed the strength to bear him up through +all worlds, even as he bore up Vishnu, and that by his means he might +become lord of all and as great as Vishnu. But Vishnu made him feel the +weight of (only) his left arm, and straightway he fell down senseless +before him. After this he acknowledged that he was only the servant +of Vishnu, and promised not to talk rebellious words any more." + +The descriptions of him do not give him entirely the form of a +bird, but rather of some combination with the human form; in what +he resembles a bird he seems to partake of the eagle, the vulture, +and the crane. (Schlegel, Ind. Bibl. i. 81.) + + + +TALE X. + +1. That the Indians were apt to yield to the temptation of drink +is asserted by the Greek writers on India, who also mention that, +in spite of the prohibition of their religion, wine was an article +of their import trade. See Lassen, ii. 606; iii. 50, and 345, 346. + +2. That the wife should give herself to be burned with the body of +her husband was a very ancient custom, as it is alluded to as such +by the Greek writers on India. Nevertheless it was far from universal. + +3. Comp. Mânu, dh. sh. viii. 29, concerning the punishment of the +false witness. + +4. Shaving off the hair was reckoned the most degrading of +punishments. (Lassen, vi. 344.) + + + +TALE XI. + +1. Chongschim Bôdhisattva. Chongschim is probably derived from the +Chinese, Kuan-schi-in, also by the Mongols, called Chutuku niduber usek +tschi (He looking with the sacred eye), the present representative +of Shâkjamuni, the spiritual guardian and patron of the breathing +world in general; but, as Lamaism teaches, the Particular Protector +of the northern countries of Asia; and each succeeding Dalai Lama is +an incarnation of him. (Schott, Buddhaismus, and Köppen, Die Religion +des Buddha, i. 312; ii. 127.) Bôdhisattva, from Bôdhi, the highest +wisdom or knowledge, and Sattva, being. It is the last but one in the +long chain of re-births. (See Schott, Buddhaismus, quoted by Jülg.; +also Köppen, i. 312 et seq., 422-426, and ii. 18 et seq.; Wassiljew, +p. 6, 106, 134.) + +It designates a man who has reached the intelligence of a Buddha +and destined to be re-born as such when the actual Buddha dies. This +intermediate time some have to pass in the Tushita-heaven, and none +of those thus dignified can appear on earth so long as his predecessor +lives. (Burnouf, Introduction à l'Histoire du Buddhisme Ind. i. 109.) + +2. Suvarnadharî (Sanskr.), possessed of gold. (Jülg.) + +3. Chutuktu, holy, consecrated, reverend, honourable--the Mongolian +designation of the priesthood in general. (Schott, Buddhaismus, p. 36.) + +4. It requires nothing less than the creative power of an Eastern +imagination first to see a difficulty in a situation simple enough in +itself, and then set to work to remove it by means of a proceeding +calculated to create the most actual difficulties: it is a leading +characteristic of Indian tales. It would seem much more rational to +have made the poor man keep up the original story of Buddha having +designated him for the girl's husband, which the people at the mouth +of the stream would have been as prone to believe as those at its +source, than to resort to the preposterous expedient of leaving her +buried in a box. + + + +TALE XII. + +1. Küwön-ojôtu, of child intellect. (Jülg.) + +2. Sandal-wood is a principal production of India. The finest grows +on the Malabar coast. Among its many names goshirsha is the only one +in use in the Buddhistic writings, being derived from a cow's head, +the smell of which its scent was supposed to resemble. (Burnouf, +Introd. à l'Hist. du Buddhisme i. 619.) Kandana is the vulgar name. It +was also called valguka = beautiful, and bhadrashri = surpassingly +beautiful. Its use, both as incense in the temples and for scent in +private houses, particularly by spreading a fine powdering of it on +damp mats before the windows, is very ancient and widespread. + +3. Gegên uchâtu, of bright intellect. (Jülg.) + +4. Cap woven of grass. Probably the Urtica (Boehmeria) utilis, +which is used for weaving and imported into Europe under the name of +China-grass. See Revue Horticole, vol. iv. ann. 1855. + + + +TALE XIII. + +1. Shrikantha, "one whose cup contains good fortune" = born with a +silver spoon in his mouth. + +2. The merchant class acquired an important position in India at +an early date, as the Manu concerns itself with laws for their +guidance. The Manu, however, distinctly defines trading as the +occupation of the third caste (i. 90), "The care of cattle, sacrifice, +reading the Vêda, the career of a merchant, the lending of gold and +silver, and the pursuit of agriculture shall be the occupation of +the Vaishja." Similarly in the Jalimâlâ legend given in Colebrooke's +"Miscellaneous Essays," it is said "The Lord of Creation viewing them +(the various castes) said, 'What shall be your occupation?' These +replied, 'We are not our own masters, O God. Command what we shall +undertake.' Viewing and comparing their labours he made the first +tribe superior over the rest. As the first had great inclination +for the divine sciences (brahmaveda) it was called Brahmana. The +protector from ill was Kshatriga (warrior). Him whose profession (vesa) +consists in commerce, and in husbandry, and attendance on cattle he +called Vaisga. The other should voluntarily serve the three tribes, +and therefore he became Sudra." That a Brahman's son, therefore, +should condescend to engage in trade must be ascribed either to the +degeneracy of later times or to the ignorance of or indifference to +Brahmanical peculiarities of the Buddhist tale-repeater; or else his +parents were of mixed castes. + +In legendary tales Banig is a typical merchant, and the name +ultimately came to designate the subdivision of the Vaishja caste, +in which trading had become hereditary. The word is derived from +pani, which means both to buy and to play games of hazard, and ga, +born or descended; hence Banig meant, literally, merchant's son. This +designation later became corrupted into Banyan. + +It is not possible to learn very much about the merchant's early +status, as the subject of trade would naturally seem unworthy +of frequent mention in the great epic poems; nevertheless the +Ramajana (ii. 83, v. 11) speaks of "the honourable merchants" +(naigamâh). Mercantile expeditions, especially by sea, however, partook +of the heroic, and as such find a place even in the Mâha Bhârata; +and there is a hymn in the Vêda (Rig. V. i. 116, 5) praising Asvin +for protecting Bhugju's hundred-oared ship through the immeasurable, +fathomless ocean, and bringing it back safely to land. + +3. Apes enter frequently not only into the fables but into the +epic poetry of India. The Ramajana, narrating the spreading of the +Aryan Indians over the south and far-east, speaks of the country as +inhabited by apes, and of Rama taking apes for his allies; also, +on one occasion, of his re-establishing an ape-king in possession +of his previous dominions. Consult Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, +i. 534, 535. Megasthenes mentions various kinds of apes and monkeys, +with, however, scarcely recognizable descriptions, in his enumeration +of the wild animals of India (Fragm. x. p. 410). Kleitarchos tells +that when Alexander had reached a hill in the neighbourhood of the +Hydaspes, he came upon a tribe of apes arranged in battle array, +looking so formidable that he was about to give the signal for +attacking them, but was withheld by the representations of Taxiles, +king of the neighbouring country of Taxila, who accompanied him +(Fragm. xvi. p. 80). The Pantcha-Tantra contains a fable in which +the King of Kamanapura establishes an ape for his bodyguard as more +faithful and efficient than man; a thief, however, brings a serpent +into the apartment, and at sight of the mortal enemy of his kind, +the ape runs away. Another fable of the same collection tells of +a Brahman who, having succeeded in rearing a flourishing garden of +melons, found them all devoured as soon as ripe by a party of apes, +nor was he able by any means to get rid of them. One day he laid +himself down hid amid the leafage as if he had been dead, but with a +stick in his hand ready to attack them when they approached. At first +they indeed took him for dead and were venturing close up to him, when +one of them espied the stick and cried to the others, "Dead men do not +carry arms," and with that they all escaped; and it was the same with +every trap he laid for them, by their wariness they evaded them all. + +4. The Indian world of story abounds in tales in which the low notion +of expecting some advantage to accrue in this life is proposed as +the object and reward of good actions. Instances will doubtless +occur to the reader. The Pantcha-Tantra Collection contains one in +which an elephant is caught by a Khan out hunting, by being driven +into a deep dyke. He asks advice of a Brahman who passes that way, +as to how he is to extricate himself. "Now is the time," answers the +Brahman, "to recall if you have ever done good to any one, and if so +to call him to your aid." The elephant thereupon recalls that he once +delivered a number of rats whom a Khan had hunted and caught and shut +up in earthen jars by lifting the earthen jars with his trunk and +gently breaking them. He accordingly invokes the aid of these rats, +who come and gnaw away at the earth surrounding the dyke, till they +have made so easy a slope of it that the elephant can walk out. + +Christianity fortunately proposes a higher motive for our good actions, +and the experience of life would make that derived from results to +be expected from gratitude a very poor one. + +5. A story, with a precisely similar episode of the recovery of a +jewel by ancillary beasts, comes into the legend of another ruin of +the Italian Tirol. + +6. See note 4 to "Vikramâditja's Throne discovered." + + + +TALE XIV. + +1. I know not whether this placing together of lions and tigers is to +be ascribed to unacquaintance with their habits, or to idealism. Though +both natives of parts of India they have not even the same districts +assigned them by nature. So inimical are they also to each other, +and so unlikely to herd together, that it has been supposed the tiger +has exterminated the lion wherever they have met. (Ritter, Asien, +vol. iv. zweite Hälfte, 689, 703, 723.) Indian fable established the +lion as the king of beasts--Mrigarâga. Amara, the Indian Lexicographer, +places him at the head of all beasts. The ordinary Sanskrit name is +Sinha, which some translate "the killer," from sibh, to kill. The +same word (sinhanâda) stands for the roaring of the lion and for +a war cry. Sinhâsana, literally a lion-seat, stands for a throne; +for the lion was the typical ruler. The fables always make him out as +powerful, just, temperate, and willing to take the advice of others, +but often deceived by his counsellors. The lion also gave its name +to the island of Ceylon, which to the Greeks was known as Taprobane, +from Tâmbapanni or Tâmrapani, the capital built by Vigaja, its first +historical settler (said by the natives to come from tâmra, red, and +pâni, hand, because he and his companions being worn out with fatigue +on their arrival lay down upon the ground and found it made their +hands red; but tamra (neut.) means also red sandalwood, and parna +is a leaf, which makes a more probable interpretation, but there is +also another deriving from "a red swamp"). But this name passed quite +out of use both among native and Greek writers in the early part of +the first century. Ptolemy calls it Salik`h, the Indian word being +Sinhala, the Pali, Sîhala = "resting-place of the lion" (i.e. the +courageous warriors, the companions of Vigaja). Kosmas has S'ieled'iba += Sinhaladvipa, "the island Sinhala." In the writings of the Chinese +pilgrims it is called Sengkiolo, which they render "lion's kingdom." In +the southern dialects of India l is often changed into r, and thus +in Marcellinus Ammianus we find the name has become Serendivus. Out +of this came zeilau and our Ceylon. In our word "Singhalese" we have +a plainer trace of the lion's share in the appellation. + +The writers of the time of Alexander do not appear to have come across +any authentic account of the tiger, and his people seem to have known +it only from its skin bought as merchandize. Nearchos and Megasthenes +both quite overstate its size, as "twice as big as a lion," and "as big +as a horse." Augustus exhibited a tiger in Rome in the year 11 B.C., +and that seems the first seen there. Claudius imported four. Pliny +remarks on the extreme swiftness and wariness of the tiger and the +difficulty of capturing him. His place in the fable world is generally +as representative of unmitigated cruelty. The Pantcha-Tantra contains +a tale, however, in which a Brahman, wearied of his existence by many +reverses, goes to a tiger who has a reputation for great ferocity +and begs him to rid him of his life. The tiger in this instance is +so moved by the recital of the man's afflictions that he not only +spares his life, but nurtures him in his den, enriching him also with +the jewelled spoil of the many travellers who fall victims to his +voracity. In the end, however, the inevitable fox comes in as a bad +counsellor, and persuades him the Brahman is intending to poison him, +and thus overcoming his leniency, induces him to break faith with +the Brahman and devour him. + +2. Dakinis were female evil genii, who committed all sorts of horrible +pranks, chiefly among the graves and at night. In this place it is +more probably Raginis that are intended, beautiful beings who filled +the air with melody. (Schmidt, trans, of sSanang sSetsen, p. 438, +quoted by Jülg.) + +3. Nûpuras, gold rings set with jewels, worn by women of rank, and +also by dancing girls. + +4. The custom of wearing quantities of jewelled ornaments seems to +have passed into Rome, along with the jewels themselves, and to such +an extent that Pliny tells us (book ix.), that Roman women would +have their feet covered with pearls, and a woman of rank would not +go out without having so many pearls dangling from her feet as to +make a noise as she walked along. The long-shaped pearls of India, +too, were specially prized for ear-rings; he particularly mentions +their being made to bear the form of an alabaster vase, just as +lately revived in Rome. They particularly delighted in the noise +of two or more of these pendants together as a token of wealth, and +gave it the name of crotalia, which, however, they borrowed from the +Greeks. They also wore them pendant from their rings. The Singhalese +pearls are the most esteemed. The dangerous fishery of these forms +the occupation of a special division of the Parawa or Fisher-Caste of +the Southern Indians. The pearl-oysters were said to swim in swarms, +led by a king-oyster, distinguished by his superiority in size and +colouring. Fishers aimed at capturing the "king," as then the whole +swarm was dispersed and easily caught; as long as the king was free, +he knew how to guide the major part of his swarm of subjects out of +danger (Pliny, ix. 55, 1). They thought the pearl was more directly +under the influence of the heavens than of the sea, so that if it was +cloudy at the time of their birth, they grew dull and tinted; but if +born under a bright sky, then they were lustrous and well-tinted; +if it thundered at the time, they were startled and grew small and +stunted. Concerning the actualities of pearl-fishery, see Colebrook's +"Account" of the same in Trans. of R. As. Soc. ii. 452, et seq. + +Megasthenes, Diodorus, Arrianus, and others (quoted by Lassen, 1, +649, n. 2), tell a curious legend by which Hercules as he parted +from earth gave to his young daughter Pandaia the whole of Southern +India for her portion, and that from her sprang the celebrated hero +dynasty of the Pândava; Hercules found a beautiful female ornament +called pearls on his travels, and he collected them all and endowed +his daughter's kingdom with them. + +5. It is impossible not to be struck by the similarity of construction +between this tale and that of the Spanish colonial one I have given in +"Patrañas" with the title of "Matanzas," thus bringing the sagas of +the East and West Indies curiously together. + +6. Lama, Buddhist priest: the tale-repeater again grafts a word of +his own language on to the Indian tale. + +7. Tîrtha, from tri, to cross a river. It denoted originally a +ford; then, a bathing-place on the borders of sacred streams; +later its use became extended to all manner of pilgrimage-places, +but more frequently those situated at the water's edge. They were +the hermitages of Brahmans who gave themselves to the contemplative +life before the rise of Buddhism, while to many of them also were +attached legends of having been the dwellings of the mysterious +Rishi, similarly before the rise of Brahmanism. The fruits of the +earth and beasts brought to them as offerings at these holy places, +as also the mere visiting such spots, was taught to be among the +most meritorious of acts. "From the poor can the sacrifice, O king, +not be offered, for it needs to have great possessions, and to make +great preparations. By kings and rich men can it be offered. But not +by the mean and needy and possessing nothing. But hear, and I will +tell thee what is the pious dealing which is equal in its fruits to +the holy sacrifice, and can be carried out even by the poorest. This +is the deepest secret of the Rishi. Visits paid to the tîrtha are more +meritorious than even offerings" (made elsewhere). "He who has never +fasted for three nights, has never visited a tîrtha, and never made +offerings of gold and cows, he will live in poor estate" (at his next +re-birth). "But so great advantage is not gained by the Agnishtoma or +other most costly sacrifice as by visiting tîrthas." (Tirthagâtrâ, +iii. 82, v. 4055 et seq.) In other places it is prescribed that +visits paid to some one particular tîrtha are equal to an offering +of one hundred cows; to another, a thousand. To visiting another, +is attached the reward of being beautiful at the next rebirth; a +visit to another, cleansed from the stain of murder, even the murder +of a Brahman; that to the source of the Ganges, brings good luck to +a whole generation. Whoso passes a month at that on the Kanshiki, +where Vishvamitra attained the highest perfection, does equivalent +to the offering of a horse-offering and obtains the same advantage +(phala = fruit). Several spots on the Indus or Sindhu, reckon among +the holiest of tîrthas pointing to the course of the immigration +of the Aryan race into India. Uggana on its west bank is named as +the dwelling-place of the earliest Rishis and the scene of acts of +the gods. A visit to Gandharba at its source, or Sindhûttama the +northern-most tîrtha on its banks, was equivalent to a horse-offering. + +The Puranas are full of stories and legends concerning tîrthas +noteworthy for the deeds of ancient kings and gods. They tell us +of one on the Jumna, where Brahma himself offered sacrifice. At the +Vârâha-tîrtha Vishnu had once appeared in the form of a wild boar. The +Mahâ Bhârata and other epic poems speak of these visits being made by +princes as a matter of constant occurrence, as well as of numbers of +Brahmans making the occasion of their visits answer the purpose of an +armed escort, to pay their devotions at the same time without incurring +unnecessary danger by the way. The Manu also contains prescriptions +concerning these visits. In consequence of the amount of travelling +they entailed the tîrthânusartri or tîrtha-visitor was quoted as a +geographical authority. + +The Horse-sacrifice mentioned above was part of the early Vedic +religion. In the songs of Dirghatamas, Rig-Veda i. 22, 6 and 7, it +is described with great particularity. And instances are mentioned +of horse-sacrifices being performed, in the Ramajana, i. 13, 34, +and Mahâ Bhârata, xiv. 89 v. 2644. There is also a medal existing +struck by a king of the Gupta dynasty, in the 3rd century of our era, +commemorative of one at that date. There do not appear altogether to +be many instances named however. The Zendavesta (quoted by Burnouf, +Yacna, i. p. 444) mentions that it was common among the Turanian +people, on the other hand, to sacrifices horses to propitiate victory. + + + +TALE XV. + +1. "Diamond kingdom." It is probably Magadha (now Behar) that is +here thus designated (Jülg.); though it might stand for any part of +Central India: "Diamonds were only found in India of all the kingdoms +of antiquity" (Lassen, iii. 18), and (Lassen i. 240), "in India between +14° and 25°;" a wide range, but the fields are limited in extent and +sparsely scattered. The old world only knew the diamond through the +medium of India. In India itself they were the choicest ornaments of +the kings and of the statues of the gods. They thus became stored up +in great masses in royal and ecclesiastical treasuries; and became +the highest standard of value. The vast quantities of diamonds made +booty of during the Muhammedan invasion borders on the incredible. It +was thus that they first found their way in any quantity to the West +of Europe. Since the discovery of the diamond-fields of Brazil, +they have been little sought for in India. In Sanskrit, they were +called vag'ra, "lightning;" also abhêdja, "infrangible." It would +appear, however, that the Muhammedans were not the first to despoil +the Eastern treasuries, for Pliny (book ix.) tells us that Lollia, +wife of Claudius, was wont to show herself, on all public occasions, +literally covered from head to foot with jewels, which her father, +Marcus Lollius, had taken from the kings of the East, and which were +valued at forty million sesterces. He adds, however, this noteworthy +instance of retribution of rapacity, that he ended by taking his own +life to appease the Emperor's animosity, which he had thereby incurred. + +Hiuen Thsang, the Chinese pilgrim who visited India about A.D. 640, +particularly mentions that in Maláva and Magadha were chief seats of +learned studies. + +2. Abaraschika; magic word of no meaning. (Jülg.) + +3. Astrologers. Colebrooke ("Miscellaneous Essays," ii. 440) is of +opinion that astrology was a late introduction into India. Divination +by the relative position of the planets seems to have been in part at +least of foreign growth and comparatively recent introduction among the +Hindus; (he explains this to refer to the Alexandrian Greeks). "The +belief in the influence of the planets and stars upon human affairs +is with them indeed remotely ancient, and was a natural consequence of +their early creed making the sun and planets gods. But the notion that +the tendency of that supposed influence and the manner in which it is +to be exerted, may be foreseen by man, and the effect to be produced +by it foretold through a knowledge of the position of the planets at a +given moment, is no necessary result of that belief; for it takes from +beings believed divine their free agency." See also Weber, "Geschichte +der Indischen Astrologie," in his Indische Studien, ii. 236 et seq. + + + +TALE XVI. + +1. Tabun Minggan = "containing five thousand." (Jülg.) The +tale-repeater again gives a name of his own language to a town which +he places in India. + +2. Cows and oxen were always held in high estimation by the ancient +Indians. The same word that stood for "cow" expressed also "the earth," +and both stand equally in the Vêda for symbols of fruitfulness and +patient labouring for the benefit of others. The ox stands in the Manu +for "uprightness" and "obedience to the laws." In the Ramajana (ii. 74, +12) Surabhi, the cow-divinity (see the curious accounts of her origin +in Lassen, i. 792 and note), is represented as lamenting that over +the whole world her children are made to labour from morning to night +at the plough under the burning sun. Cows were frequently devoted to +the gods and left to go whithersoever they would, even in the midst of +towns, their lives being held sacred (Lassen, i. 298). Kühn (Jahrbuch +f. w. K. 1844, p. 102) quotes two or three instances of sacrifices of +cows but they were very rare; either as sacrifices to the gods or as +rigagna ("sacrifices to the living") i. e. the offerings of hospitality +to the living. The ox was reckoned peculiarly sacred to Shiva, and +images were set up to him in the temples (see Lassen, i. 299). Butter +was the most frequent object of sacrifice (ib. 298). The Manu (iii. 70) +orders the Hôma or butter-sacrifice to be offered daily to the gods, +and the custom still subsists (see Lassen, iii. 325). Other names +for the cow were Gharmadhug = "giver of warm milk;" and Aghnjâ = +"the not to be slain;" also Kâmadhênu or Kâmaduh = "the fulfiller of +wishes," and (in the Mahâ Bhârata) Nandunî = "the making to rejoice" +(Lassen, i. 721). See also the story of Sabala, the heavenly cow +of the Ramajana, in note 8 to "Vikramâditja's Youth." Oxen were +not only used for ploughing, but also for charioteering and riding, +and were trained to great swiftness. Ælianus (De Nat Anim. xv. 24) +mentions that kings and great men did not think it beneath them to +strive together in the oxen-races, and that the oxen were better +racers than the horses, for the latter needed the spur while the +former did not. An ox and a horse, and two oxen with a horse between +them were often harnessed together in a chariot. He also mentions +that there was a great deal of betting both by those whose animals +were engaged in the race and by the spectators. The Manu, however +(d. p. c. ix. 221--225), forbids every kind of betting under severe +penalties. Ælianus mentions further the Kâmara, the long-haired ox +or yak, which the Indians received from Tibet. + +3. The "Three Precious Treasures" or "jewels" of Buddhism are +Adi-buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, which in later Buddhism became a sort +of triad, called triratna, of supreme divinities; but, at the first, +were only honoured according to the actual meaning of the words +(Schmidt, Grundlehre der Buddhaismus, in Mem. de l'Ac. des Sciences +de S. Petersbourg, i. 114), viz. Sangha, sacred assembly or synod; +Dharma, laws (or more correctly perhaps, necessity, fate, Lassen, +iii. 397), and Buddha, the expounder of the same. (Burnouf, Introd. à +l'Hist. du Budd. i. 221.) + +Consult Schott, Buddhaismus, pp. 39, 127, and C. F. Köppen, Die +Religion des Buddha, i. 373, 550-553, and ii. 292-294. + +4. See note 2, Tale IV. + +5. Abbé Huc describes the huts of the Tibetian herdsmen as thus +constructed with a hole in the roof for the smoke. The Mongolians +live entirely in tents which, if more primitive, seem cleaner and +altogether preferable. + + + +TALE XVII. + +1. Probably it was some version of this story that had travelled +to Spain, which suggested to Yriarte the following one of his many +fables directed against ignorant writers and bad critics. + + + 1. 1. + + Esta fabulilla, This fablette I know it + Salga bien ó mal, Is not erudite; + Me he occorrida ahora It occurr'd to my mind now + Por casualidad. By accident quite. + + 2. 2. + + Cerca de unos prados Through a meadow whose verdure + Que hay en mi lugar, Fresh, seem'd to invite, + Passaba un borrico A donkey pass'd browsing + Por casualidad. By accident quite. + + 3. 3. + + Una flauta en ellos A flute lay in the grass, which + Halló que un zagal, A swain over night + Se dexó olvidado Had left there forgotten + Por casualidad. By accident quite. + + 4. 4. + + Acercóse á olerla, Approaching to smell it + El dicho animal This quadruped wight + Y dió un resoplido Just happen'd to bray then + Por casualidad. By accident quite. + + 5. 5. + + En la flauta el ayre The air ent'ring the mouthpiece + Se hubo de colar Pass'd through as of right, + Y sonó la flauta And gave forth a cadence + Por casualidad. By accident quite. + + 6. 6. + + "O!" dixó el borrico "Only hear my fine playing!" + "Que bien sé tocar! Cries Moke in delight, + Y diran que es mala "That dull folks vote my braying + La musica asnal." A nuisance, despite." + + 7. 7. + + Sin reglas del arte It may happen some once, thus + Borriquitos hay Although they can't write, + Que una vez aciertan Human asses may hit off + Por casualidad! By accident quite! + + +2. The woman invents a name to frighten, and also as a trap for, +her husband. "Sûrja, is Sanskrit, and Bagatur, Mongolian for a +'Hero.' Such combinations are not infrequent." (Jülg.) + +"Shura means a Hero in Sanscrit, agreeing not only in sense with +the Greek word , but also in derivation; thus revealing a primeval +agreement in the estimation in which hero-nature was held. It is more +properly written Sura, because it comes from Svar, heaven, and means +literally 'heavenly.' It is used in that form as an appellation of +the Sun. Heroes are so called, because when they fell in battle, +Svarga, the heaven of deified kings, was given them for their +dwelling-place. 'Indra shall give to those who fall in battle the +world where all wishes are fulfilled, for their portion. Neither +by sacrifices, nor offerings to the Brahmans, nor by contemplation, +nor knowledge can mortals attain to Svarga as securely as do heroes +falling in battle.' Mahâ Bhârata, xi. 2, v. 60." (Lassen, i. 69.) + +3. "The women of Tibet are not indeed taught the use of the bow and +the matchlock, but in riding they are as expert and fearless as the +men, yet it is only on occasion that they mount a horse, such as when +travelling; or when there chances to be no man about the place to +look after a stray animal." (Abbé Huc's "Travels in China and Tibet," +vol. i. ch. iii.) + +4. A very similar story may be found in Barbazan's, "Fabliaux et +Contes des Poètes Français des XI-XV Siècles," in 4 vols., Paris 1808, +vol. iv. pp. 287-295. (Jülg.) + + + +TALE XVIII. + +1. Shanggasba is possibly a Tibetian word, bsang, grags, pa = "of good +fame," but more probably it is compounded from the Mongolian sSang, +"treasure." (Jülg.) + +2. Garudâ: see note 2, Tale I. The allusion in this place is to an +image of him over a shrine. + +3. Silk was cultivated in India at a very early date, probably much +earlier than any records that remain to us can show; there are twelve +indigenous species of silkworm. That of China was not introduced +into India before the year 419 of our era (Ritter, vol. vi. pt. 1, +698). The indigenous silkworms fed upon other trees besides the +mulberry and notably on the ficus religiosa. The Greeks would seem to +have learnt the use of silk from the Indians, or at least from the +Persians. Nearchos is the first Greek writer in whom mention of it +is found; he describes it as like the finest weft of cotton-stuff, +and says it was made from fibre scraped from the bark of a tree; an +error in which he was followed by other writers; others again wrote +that the fibres were combed off the leaf of a tree; yet Pausanias had +mentioned the worm as the intermediary of its production (C. Müller, +Pref. to his Edition of Strabo, and notes). The Romans also carried +on a considerable trade in silk with India, and Pliny, vi. 20, 2, +mentions one kind of Indian silk texture that was so fine and light, +you could see through it, "ut in publico matrona transluceat." Horace +also alludes to the same, Sat. i. 2, 101. Pliny also complains of the +luxury whereby this costly stuff was used, not only for dresses, but +for coverings of cushions. [68] Vopiscus, in his life of the Emperor +Aurelian, tells us that at that time a pound weight of silk was worth +a pound weight of gold. In India itself the luxurious use of silk has +restrictions put upon it in the Manu. It was also prescribed that when +men devoted themselves to the hermit life in the jungle, they should +lay aside their silken clothing; and we find Râma (Râmajana, ii. 37, +14) putting on a penitential habit over his silken robe. The Mâha +Bhârata (ii. cap. 50) contains a passage in which among the objects +brought in tribute to Judhishthira is kîtaga, or the "insect-product," +a word used to designate both silk and cochineal. + +4. A similar episode occurs in a tale collected in the neighbourhood +of Schwaz in North Tirol which I have given under the name of +"Prince Radpot" in "Household Stories from the Land of Hofer." The +rest of the story recalls that called "The three Black Dogs" in the +same collection, but there is much more grace and pathos about the +Tirolean version. + + + +TALE XIX. + +1. See note 2, Tale XVII. + +2. The fox plays a similar part in many an Eastern fable. The first +book of the Pantscha Tantra Collection is entitled Mitrabheda, or +the Art of Mischief-making. A lion-king who has two foxes for his +ministers falls into great alarm one day, because he hears for the +first time in his life the roaring of an ox, which some merchants +had left behind them because it was lame and sick. The lion consults +his two ministers in this strait, and the two while laughing at +his fears determine to entertain them in order to enhance their +own usefulness. First they visit the ox and make sure he is quite +infirm and harmless, and then they go to the lion, and tell him it +is the terrible Ox-king, the bearer of Shiva, and that Shiva has +sent him down into that forest to devour all the animals in it small +and great. The lion is not surprised to hear his fears confirmed and +entreats his ministers to find him a way out of the difficulty. The +foxes pretend to undertake the negotiation and then go back to +the ox and tell him it is the command of the king that he quit the +forest. The ox pleads his age and infirmities and desolate condition, +and the foxes having made him believe in the value of their services +as intermediaries bring him to the lion. Both parties are immensely +grateful to the ministers for having as each thinks softened the +heart of the other, but the foxes begin to see they have taken a +false step in bringing the ox to the lion, as they become such fast +friends, that there is danger of their companionship being no longer +sought by their master. They determine, therefore, the ox must be +killed; but how are they to kill so disproportioned a victim? They +must make the lion do the execution himself. But how? they are such +sworn friends. They find the lion alone and fill his mind with alarm, +assure him the ox is plotting to kill him. They hardly gain credit, +but the lion promises to be on his guard; while they are on the watch +also for any accident which may give colour to their design. Meantime, +they keep up each other's courage by the narration of fables showing +how by perseverance in cunning any perfidy may be accomplished. At +last it happens one day that a frightful storm comes on while the +ox is out grazing. He comes galloping back to seek the cover of the +forest, shaking his head and sides to get rid of the heavy raindrops, +tearing up the ground with his heavy hoofs in his speed, and his +tail stretched out wildly behind. "See!" say the foxes to the lion; +"see if we were not right. Behold how he comes tramping along ready +to devour thee; see how his eyes glisten with fury, see how he gnashes +his teeth, see how he tears up the earth with his powerful hoofs!" The +lion cannot remain unconvinced in presence of such evidence. "Now is +your moment," cry the foxes; "be beforehand with him before he reaches +you." Thus instigated the lion falls upon the ox. The ox surprised +at this extraordinary reception, and already out of breath, is thrown +upon the defensive, and in his efforts to save himself the lion sees +the proof of his intention to attack. Accordingly he sets no bounds to +his fury, and has soon torn him in pieces. The foxes get the benefit +of a feast for many days on his flesh, besides being reinstated in +the full empire over their master. In one of the fables, however, +the tables are cleverly turned on Reynard by "the sagacity of the +bearded goat." An old he-goat having remained behind on the mountains, +one day, when the rest of the herd went home, found himself suddenly +in presence of a lion. Remembering that a moment's hesitation would +be his death, he assumed a bold countenance and walked straight up to +the lion. The lion, astonished at this unwonted procedure, thinks it +must be some very extraordinary beast; and instead of setting upon +it, after his wont, speaks civilly to it, saying, "Thou of the long +beard, whence art thou?" The goat answered, "I am a devout servant of +Shiva to whom I have promised to make sacrifice of twenty-one tigers, +twenty-five elephants, and ten lions; the tigers and the elephants +have I already slain, and now I am seeking for ten lions to slay." The +lion hearing this formidable declaration, without waiting for more, +turned him and fled. As he ran he fell in with a fox, who asked him +whither he ran so fast. The lion gives a ridiculous description of +the goat, dictated by his terror; the fox recognizes that it is only a +goat, and thinking to profit by the remains of his flesh perfidiously +urges him to go back and slaughter him. He accordingly goes back with +this intention, but the goat is equal to the occasion, and turning +sharply upon the fox, exclaims, "Did I not send thee out to fetch me +ten lions for the sacrifice? How then darest thou to appear before me +having only snared me one?" The lion thinking his reproaches genuine, +once more turns tail and makes good his escape. It has much similarity +with the episode of the hare and the wolf in the next tale. + +3. Svarga. See note 2, Tale XVII. + + + +TALE XX. + +1. Hiranjavatî, "the gold-coloured river," also called Svarnavati, +"the yellow river," both names occurring only in Buddhist writers: +one of the northern tributaries of the Ganges, into which it falls +not far from Patna, and the chief river of Nepaul. Its name was +properly Gandakavatî = "Rhinoceros-river," or simply Gan'da'kî, +whence its modern name of the Goondook, as also that of Kondochates, +into which it was transformed by the Greek geographers. In its upper +course it often brings down ammonite petrifactions, which are believed +to be incarnations or manifestations of Vishnu, hence it has a sacred +character, and on its banks are numerous spots of pilgrimage. + +2. Concerning such distributions of alms, see Koppen, i. 581 et seq. + +3. The story affords no data on which to decide whether this cynical +speech is supposed to be a serious utterance representing the actual +motives on which the mendicant life was actually adopted under the +teaching of Buddhism, affording a strong contrast from those which +have prompted to it under Christianity, or whether it is intended as +a satire on the Bhixu. (For Bhixu, see pp. 330, 332.) + +4. I know not how the tufts of wool could have got caught off +the sheeps' backs on to ant-heaps, unless it be that the marmots +being as we have already seen (note 3, Tale IV.) called ants, the +tale-repeater takes it for granted there are marmot-holes in Nepaul +like those familiar to him in Mongolia, which Abbé Huc thus describes +(vol. i. ch. ii.), "These animals construct over the opening of their +little dens a sort of miniature dome composed of grass artistically +twisted, designed as a shelter from wind and rain. These little heaps +of dried grass are of the size and shape of mole-hills. Cold made us +cruel, and we proceeded to level the house-domes of these poor little +animals, which retreated into their holes below, as we approached. By +means of this Vandalism we managed to collect a sackful of efficient +fuel, and so warmed the water which was our only aliment that day." + +5. "Though there is so much gold and silver there is great destitution +in Tibet. At Lha-Ssa, for instance, the number of mendicants is +enormous. They go from door to door soliciting a handful of tsamba +(barley-meal), and enter any one's house without ceremony. The +manner of asking alms is to hold out the closed hand with the thumb +raised. We must add in commendation of the Tibetians that they are +generally very kind and compassionate, rarely sending the mendicant +away unassisted." (Abbé Huc, vol. ii. ch. v.) + +6. Indian tales often remind one of the frequent web of a dream in +which one imagines oneself starting in pursuit of a particular object, +but another and another fancy intervenes and the first purpose becomes +altogether lost sight of. This was particularly observable in the tale +entitled "How the Schimnu-Khan was slain," in which, after many times +intending it, Massang never goes back to thank his master at last. The +present is a still more striking instance, in its consequence and +repeated change of purport. In pursuing the mendicant's life, the +search for the man's parents is forgotten; and the man and his wife +are themselves lost sight of in the episode of the lamb. + +7. Concerning the combination of the Moon and the hare, see Liebrecht, +in Lazarus and Steinthal, Zeitschrift, vol. i. pt. 1. The Mongols +see in the spots in the moon the figure of a hare, and imagine it +was placed there in memory of Shâkjamuni having once transformed +himself into a hare out of self-sacrifice, that he might serve a +hungry wayfarer for a meal. (Bergman, Nomadische Streifereien unter +den Kalmüken, in 1802-3, quoted by Jülg.) + +8. See note 5, Tale III. + + + +TALE XXI. + +1. Compare this story with the "Wunderharfe" in the "Mährchensaal" +of Kletke. (Jülg.) Its similarity with the story of King Midas will +strike every reader. + +2. Chara Kitad = Black China; the term designates the north of China. + +3. Daibang (in Chinese, Tai-ping = peace and happiness), the usual +Mongolian designation for the Chinese Emperor. (Jülg.) + +4. See note 9, Tale IV. + + + +TALE XXII. + +1. Bagatur-Ssedkiltu, "of heroic capacity." (Jülg.) See Note 2, +Tale XVII. + +2. The Three Precious Treasures, see note 3, Tale XVI. + +3. Pearls. Arrianus (Ind. viii. 8) quotes from Megasthenes, a legend +in which the discovery of pearls is ascribed to Crishna. The passage +further implies that the Greek name margar'ithc was received from +an Indian name, which may be the case through the Dekhan dialect, +though there is nothing like it in Sanskrit, unless it be traced from +markarâ, a hollow vessel. The Sanskrit word for pearls is muktá, +"dropt" or "set free," "dropt by the rain-clouds." (See Lassen, +Indische Alterthumskunde, i. 244 n. 1. See also note 4, Tale XIV.) How +the Preserver of mother-o'-pearl shells comes to live up a river, +I know not, unless in his royal character he was supposed to have +an outlying country-villa. However Megasthenes (quoted by Lassen, +ii. 680, n. 2) tells us not only that there were many crocodiles and +alligators in the Indus, but also that many fishes and molluscs came +up the stream out of the sea as far as the confluence of the Akesines, +and small ones as far as the mountains. Onesikritos mentions the same +concerning other rivers. + +4. The serpent-gods are spoken of sometimes as if they were supposed to +wear a human form and as often as in their reptile form. In the present +place in the text there is a strange confusion between the two ideas, +the "son" whom the White Serpent king comes to seek evidently wore +a reptile form, as when he was in the owl's mouth he resembled the +Tamer's girdle, yet the king himself and his companion are said to +be riding on horses; as it is also said they come out of the water +it was probably a crocodile that the story-teller had in his mind's +eye, and which might fancifully be conceived to be a serpent riding on +horseback, as a centaur represents a man on horseback. The serpent-gods +generally would seem to be more properly termed reptile-gods, as +not only ophidians and saurians seem to belong to their empire, but +batrachians also; in this very story the gold frog is reckoned the +actual daughter of the White Serpent-king, probably even emydians also, +though I do not recall an example. Water-snakes, however, are common in +Asia, and there is also there a group of batrachians called cæliciæ, +which are cylindrical in form, without feet and moving like serpents, +and considered to form a link between that family and their own. I do +not know if this in any way explains the symbolism whereby a creature +that had any right to be reckoned a frog could be called the daughter +of a serpent-king. + +When the stories of encounters of heroes with huge malevolent +serpents, or crocodiles, passed into the mythology of Europe, these +were generally replaced by "dragons," or monsters, such as "Grendel" +in our Anglo-Saxon "Lay of Beowulf." There are some, however, in which +a bonâ fide serpent figures. In parts of Tirol, a white serpent is +spoken of as a "serpent-queen" and as more dangerous than the others; +various are the legends in which the release of a spell-bound princess +depends on the deliverer suffering himself to be three times encircled, +and the third time, kissed by a serpent; the trial frequently fails +at the third attempt. Sir Lancelot, if I remember right, accomplished +it in the end. + +Every collection of mediæval legends contains stories of combats with +dragons, the groundwork probably brought from the East, and the detail +made to fit the hero of some local deliverance; the mythology of Tirol +is particularly rich in this class, almost every valley has its own; +at Wilten, near Innsbruck, the sting of a dragon is shown as of that +killed by the Christian giant Haymon; the one I have given in "Zovanin +senza paura," from the Italian Tirol (p. 348, "Household Stories +from the Land of Hofer"), has this similarity with Tales II. and V., +that it is actually the water supply of the infested district which +is stopped by the dragon. There is this great difference, however, +between the Eastern and later Western versions of serpent myths. The +Indians having deified the serpent, their heroic tales have no further +aim than that of propitiating him. On the other hand, it was not long +before the religious influence under which the Christian myths were +moulded had connected and by degrees identified the serpent-exterior, +under the parable of which they set forth their local plague, with +that under which the adversary of souls is named in the sacred story +of the garden of Eden; and thus it became a necessity of the case +that the Christian hero should destroy or at least vanquish it. + +Though the Indian serpent-gods seem to have been generally feared and +hated, we have instances--and that even in this little volume--of their +harmlessness also and even beneficence. An innocuous and benevolent +phase of dragon-character seems to have been adopted also in the early +heathen mythology of Europe. Nork (Mythologie der Volkssagen) tells +us the dragon was held sacred to Wodin, and its image was placed over +houses, town-gates, and towers, as a talisman against evil influences; +and I have met with a popular superstition lingering yet in Tirol that +to meet a crested adder (the European representative, I believe, of +the Cobra di capello, which is, as we have seen, the species specially +worshipped in India) brings good luck. I have said I do not remember +an instance in Indian mythology in which any member of the emydian +family comes under the empire of the serpent-god; I should expect +there are such instances, however, as the counterpart exists in Tirol, +where there are stories of mysterious fascination exercised by sacred +shrines upon the little land-tortoises and which have in consequence +been regarded by the peasantry as representing wandering souls waiting +for the completion of their purgatorial penance. See also concerning +the serpent-gods, note 1 to Tale II. + +5. Mirjalaktschi. Jülg says, "Fettmacher" (fat-maker) is the best +equivalent he can give, but he is not convinced of its correctness, +and then exposes what he understands by "Fettmacher" by two German +expressions, one, meaning "pot-bellied," and the other not renderable +in English to ears polite. It would seem more in accordance with the +use of the name in the text to understand his own word Fettmacher, +as "he giving abundance," "he making fat." + +6. Gambudvîpa. I have already (page viii.) had occasion to explain +this native name of India; otherwise spelt Dschambudvîpa and Jambudvîpa +and Jambudîpa. But as I only there spoke of the actual species of the +gambu-tree, one of the indigenous productions of India, I ought further +to mention that the name is rather derived from a fabulous specimen +of it, supposed to grow on the sacred mountain of Meru. Spence Hardy +("Legends and Theories of the Buddhists," p. 95) quotes the following +description of it from one of the late commentaries of the Sutras: +"From the root to the highest part is a thousand miles; the space +covered by its outspreading branches is three thousand miles in +circumference. The trunk is one hundred and fifty miles round, and five +hundred miles in height from the root to the place where the branches +begin to extend; the four great branches of it are each five hundred +miles long, and from between these flow four great rivers. Where the +fruit of the tree falls, small plants of gold arise which are washed +into one of the rivers." Earlier descriptions are less exaggerated; +details remaining in this one suggest that it has not been invented +without aid from some lingering remnant of an early tradition of the +Tree of Life and the four rivers of Paradise, "the gold of" one of +which "is good." + +The great continent of India being called an island is explained in a +parable from the Jinâlankâra, given at p. 87 of the same work, likening +the outer Sakwala ridge or boundary of the universe to the rim of a +jar or vessel; the vessel filled with sauce representing the ocean +and the continents, like masses of cooked rice floating in the same. + +At p. 82, he quotes from the first-mentioned commentary a description +of the mountain of Méru itself, illustrative of the habitual +exaggeration of the Indian sacred writers. "Between Maha Méru and +the Sakwala ridge are seven circles of rocks with seven seas between +them. They are circular because of the shape of Maha Méru. The first or +innermost, Yugandhara, is 210,000 miles broad; its inner circumference +is 7,560,000 miles, and its outer, 8,220,000 miles; from Maha Méru +to Yugandhara is 840,000 miles. Near Maha Méru, the depth of the sea +is 840,000 miles, &c.," the seven circles being all described with +analogous dimensions. Also p. 42, "Buddha knows how many atoms there +are in Maha Méru, although it is a million miles in height." + + + +TALE XXIII. + +1. "The five colours," see note 5, Tale IV. + +"The seven precious things," are variously stated. Sometimes they +are gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, red pearls, diamond and +coral. Sometimes gold and silver are left out of the reckoning, +and rubies and emeralds substituted. See Köppen, i. 540 et seq. The +extravagant and incongruous description in the text is not artistic. + +2. The month Pushja. Before the time of Vikramâditja astronomy was not +studied in India as a science; the course of the heavenly bodies was +observed, but only for the sake of determining the times and seasons +of feasts and sacrifices. The moon was the chief subject of observation +and of the more correct results of the same. Her path was divided into +twenty-eight "houses" or "mansions" called naxatra. This division +was invented by the Chinese, and India received it from them about +1100 B.C. The naxatravidjâ or the knowledge of the moon-mansions, +is set down in one of the oldest Upanishad as a special kind of +knowledge. In the oldest enumeration extant of the moon-mansions only +twenty-seven are mentioned, and the first of them is called Krittikâ, +and Abhigit, which is the 20th, according to the latest enumeration, +is wanting; other lists have other discrepancies. It is worthy of +notice that Kandramas, the earliest name by which the moon is invoked +in the Vêda, is composed of kandra, "shining," and mas, "to measure," +because the moon measured time, and the various names of the moon +in all the so-called Indo-European languages are supposed to come +from this last word. There were also four moon-divinities invoked, +as Kuhû, Sinivali, Râkâ, and Anumati, in the Rig Vêda hymns; these +are all feminine deities. Soma, the later moon-divinity, however, +was masculine, and had twenty-seven of the fifty daughters of Daxa +for his wives. Kandramas was also a male divinity. The worship of +the four goddesses I have named was afterwards superseded by four +(also feminine) deifications of the phases of the moon. There seems a +little difficulty, however, about fitting their names to them. Pushja, +with which we are more particularly concerned, would properly imply +"waxing," but she presided nevertheless over the last quarter; Krita, +meaning the "finished" course, over the new moon; the appellations +of the others fit better. Drapura (derived from dva, two) designated +the second quarter, and Khârvâ, "the beginning to wane," the full +moon. In the list given by Amarasinha of the moon-mansions, Pushja +is the name of the eighth, in the Mahâ Bhârata it stands for the sixth. + +The month Pauscha answers to our December. (Lassen, iii. 819.) + +3. We have many early proofs that India possessed an indigenous +breed of hunting-dogs of noble and somewhat fierce character. They +were much esteemed as hunting-dogs by the Persians, and formed an +important article of commerce. Herodotus (i. 192) mentions their being +imported into Babylon; whether the mighty hunter Nimrod had a high +opinion of them, there is perhaps no means of ascertaining. Strabo +(xv. i. § 31) says they were not afraid to hunt lions. In the Ramajana, +(ii. 70, 21) Ashvapati gives Rama a present of "swift asses and dogs +bred in the palace, large in stature, with the strength of tigers, +and teeth meet to fight withal." Alexander found them sufficiently +superior to his own to take with him a present of them offered him +by Sopeithes. Aristobulos, Megasthenes, and Ælianus mention their +qualities with admiration. Their strength and courage led to the +erroneous tradition that they were suckled by tigers (see Pliny, +viii. 65, I). Plutarch (De Soc. Anim. x. 4) quotes a passage from an +earlier Greek writer, saying they were so noble, that though when they +caught a hare they gladly sucked his blood, yet that if one lay down +exhausted with the course, they would not kill it, but stood round +it in a circle, wagging their tails to show their enjoyment was not +in the blood, but in the victory. + +The house-dog and herd-dog, however, was rather looked down upon; it +and the ass were the only animals the Kandala or lowest caste were +allowed to possess (Manu, x. 51), and it is still called Paria-dog +(Bp Heber's "Journey," i. 490). + +4. A functionary invented by the Mongolian tale-repeater. The idea +evidently borrowed from his knowledge of the paramount authority of +the Talé Lama of Tibet, leading him to suppose there must exist a +corresponding dignity in India. + +5. Barin Tschidaktschi Erdekctu, "The mighty one at taking distant +aim." (Jülg.) + +6. Gesser Khan, the great hero of Mongolian tales; called also "The +mighty Destroyer of the root of the seven evils in the seven places +of the earth." (Jülg.) + +7. Tschin-tâmani, Sanskrit, "Thought-jewel," is a jewel possessing the +magic power of producing whatever object the possessor of it sets his +heart upon. (Böhtlingk and Roth, Sanskrit Dict.) See infra, note 2, +to "The False Friend," and note 8 to "Vikramâditja's Youth." + +8. Barss-Irbiss, "leopard-tiger." (Jülg.) + + + +HISTORICAL NOTICE OF VIKRAMÂDITJA. + +1. Professor Wilson. + +2. Reinaud, Fragments relatifs à l'Inde. + +3. See a most extraordinary instance of this noticed in note 11 of +the Tale in this volume entitled "Vikramâditja makes the Silent Speak." + +4. Thus Reinaud (Mémoire Géographique sur l'Inde, p. 80) speaks of a +king of this name who governed Cashmere A.D. 517, as if he were the +original Vikramâditja. + +5. The honour of being the first to work this mine of information +belongs to H. Todd; see his "Account of Indian Medals," in Trans. of +As. Soc. + +6. The art of coining at all was, in all probability, introduced +by the Greeks.--Wilson, Ariana Antiqua, p. 403; also Prinsep, in +Journ. of As. Soc. i. 394. + +7. In the list of kings given by Lassen, iv. 969, 970, there are +eight kings called Vikramâditja, either as a name or a surname, +between A.D. 500 and 1000. + +8. The kingdom of Malâva answers to the present province of Malwa, +comprising the table-land enclosed between the Vindhja and Haravatî +ranges. The amenity of its climate made it the favourite residence of +the rulers of this part of India, and we find in it a number of former +capitals of great empires. It lay near the commercial coast of Guzerat, +and through it were highways from Northern India over the Vindhja +range into the Dekhan. It is also well watered; its chief river, the +Kharmanvati (now Kumbal), rises in the Vindhja mountains, and falls +into the Jumna. At its confluence with the Siprâ, a little tributary, +was situated Uggajini = "the Victorious," now called Uggeni, Ozene, +and Oojein, and still the first meridian of Indian astronomers. It +also bore the name of Avantî = "the Protecting," from the circumstance +of its having given refuge to this Vikramâditja in his infancy. + +9. This length of reign is actually ascribed to him in the +Chronological Table out of the Kalijuga-Râgakaritra, given in Journ. of +the As. Soc. p. 496. + +10. This resolution was quite in conformity with the prevailing +religious teaching. In the collection of laws and precepts called the +Manû, many rules are laid down for this kind of life, and were followed +to a prodigious extent both by solitaries and communities; e.g. "When +the grihastha = 'father of the house,' finds wrinkles and grey hairs +coming, and when children's children are begotten to him, then it is +time for him to forsake inhabited places for the jungle." It is further +prescribed that he should expose himself there to all kinds of perils, +privations, and hardships. He is not to shrink from encounters with +inimical tribes; he is to live on wild fruits, roots, and water. In +summer he is to expose himself to the heat of fierce fires, and in +the rainy season to the wet, without seeking shelter; in the coldest +winter he is to go clothed in damp raiment. By these, and such means, +he was to acquire indifference to all corporeal considerations, and +reach after union with the Highest Being. Manû, v. 29; vii. 1-30; +viii. 28; x. 5; xi. 48, 53; xvii. 5, 7, 24; xviii. 3-5, &c., &c. It is +impossible not to be struck, in studying such passages as these, with +a reflection of the inferiority which every other religious system, +even in its sublimest aims, presents to Christianity. If, indeed, +there were a first uniform limit appointed to the hand of death at the +age of threescore years and ten, then it might be a clever rule to +fix the appearance of wrinkles, grey hairs, and children's children +as the period for beginning to contemplate what is to come after it; +but, as the number of those who are summoned to actual acquaintance +with that futurity before that age is pretty nearly as great as +that of those who surpass it, the maxim carries on the face of it +that it is dictated by a very fallible, however well-intentioned, +guide. Christianity knows no such limit, but opens its perfect teaching +to the contemplation of "babes;" while, practically, experience shows +that those who are called early to a life of religion are far more +numerous than those in advanced years. + +11. Given in W. Taylor's Orient. Hist. MSS., i. 199. + +12. "The Indians have no actual history written by +themselves." (Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, i. 357, note 1.) + +13. Klaproth, Würdigung der Asiatischen Geschichtschreiber. + +14. Indien, p. 17. + +15. Examen Critique, p. 347. + +16. But only committed to memory. See supra, p. 333. + +17. Burnouf, Introduction à l'Hist. du Buddh., vol i. + +18. Concerning the late introduction of this idea, see supra, +pp. 337-8. + +19. Indische Alterthumskunde, i. 839. + +20. Lassen, iii., p. 44. + +21. Mommsen (History of Rome, book iv., ch. viii.), writing of +Mithridates Eupator, who died within a few years of the date ascribed +to Vikramâditja's birth, says, "Although our accounts regarding him +are, in substance, traceable to written records of contemporaries, +yet the legendary tradition, which is generated with lightning +expedition in the East, early adorned the mighty king with many +superhuman traits. These traits, however, belong to his character +just as the crown of clouds belongs to the character of the highest +mountain peaks; the outline of the figure appears in both cases, only +more coloured and fantastic, not disturbed or essentially altered." + +22. The legend from which the following is gathered has been given +by Wilford, in a paper entitled "Vikramâditja and Salivâhâna, their +respective eras." + +23. See Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, ii. 49-56. + +24. Wilson, in Mackenzie Collection, p. 343. + +25. A vetâla is a kind of sprite, not always bad-natured, usually +carrying on a kind of weird existence in burial-places. "They +can possess themselves of the forms of those who die by the hand +of justice, and assume them. By the power of magic men can make +them obedient, and use them for all manner of difficult tasks +above their own strength and sufficiency." Brockhaus' Report of +the R. Saxon Scientific Soc. Philologico-historical Class, 1863, +p. 181. "The Vetâlas were a late introduction among the gods of popular +veneration." (Lassen, iv. 570.) "They came also to be regarded as +incarnations of both Vishnu and Shiva." (Lassen, iv. 159.) + +26. Two interesting instances of the way in which traditionary legends +become attached to various persons as they float along the current +of time, have been brought to my notice while preparing these sheets +for the press. I cannot now recall where I picked up the story of +"The Balladmaker and the Bootmaker," which I have given in "Patrañas," +but I am sure it was told of a wandering minstrel, and as occurring on +Spanish soil, as I have given it. I have since met it in "The Hundred +Novels" of Sacchetti (written little after the time of Boccacio) +as an episode in a no less celebrated life than that of Dante, thus: +"... Going out and passing by Porta S. Piero (Florence), he (Dante) +heard a blacksmith beating on his anvil, and singing 'Dante' just +as one sings a common ballad; mutilating here, and mixing in verses +of his own there; by which means Dante perceived that he sustained +great injury. He said nothing, however, but went into the workshop, +to where were laid ready many tools for use in the trade. Dante first +took up the hammer and flung it into the road; took up the pincers +and flung them into the road; took up the scales and flung them out +into the road. When he had thus flung many tools into the road, the +blacksmith turned round with a brutal air, crying out, 'Che diavol' +fate voi? Are you mad?' But Dante said, 'And thou; what hast thou +done?' 'I am busied about my craft,' said the blacksmith; 'and you +are spoiling my gear, throwing it out into the road like that.' Said +Dante, 'If you don't want me to spoil your things, don't you spoil +mine.' Said the smith. 'What have I spoilt of yours?' Said Dante, +'You sing my book, and you say it not as I made it; poem-making is my +trade, and you have spoilt it.' Then the blacksmith was full of fury, +but he had nothing to say; so he went out and picked up his tools, +and went on with his work, And the next time he felt inclined to sing, +he sang Tristano and Lancellotte, and left Dante alone." "... Another +day Dante was walking along, wearing the gorget and the bracciaiuola, +according to the custom of the time, when he met a man driving an +ass having a load of street sweepings, who, as he walked behind +his ass, ever and anon sang Dante's book, and when he had sung +a line or two, gave the donkey a hit, and cried 'Arrri!' Dante, +coming up with him, gave him a blow on his shoulder with his armlet +('con la bracciaiuola gli diede una grande batacchiata,' literally +'bastonnade:' bracciaiuola stands for both the armour covering the arm, +and for the tolerably formidable wooden instrument, fixed to the arm, +with which pallone-players strike the ball), saying, as he did so, +'That "arrri" was never put in by me.' As soon as the ass-driver +had got out of his way, he turned and made faces at Dante, saying, +'Take that!' But Dante, without suffering himself to be led into an +altercation with such a man, replied, amid the applause of all, 'I +would not give one of mine for a hundred of thine!'" (2.) It was lately +mentioned to me that there is a narrow mountain-pass in the Lechthal, +in Tirol, which is sometimes called Mangtritt (or St. Magnus' step), +and sometimes Jusalte (Saltus Julii, the leap of Julius), because +one tradition says Julius Cæsar leapt through it on horseback, and +another that it opened to let St. Magnus pass through when escaping +from a heathen horde. + +27. Quoted by W. Taylor, in Journ. of As. Soc. vii. p. 391. + +28. Quoted by Wilford, as above. + +29. Quoted in Wilford's "Sacred Isles of the West." + +30. Lassen. + +31. Roth, Extrait du Vikrama-Charitram, p. 279. + +32. Lassen, ii. p. 1154. + +33. Lassen, ii. 1122-1129. + +34. Abbé Huc narrates how enthusiastically the young Mongol toolholos, +or bard, sang to him the Invocation of Timour, of which he gives the +refrain as follows:--"We have burned the sweet-smelling wood at the +feet of the divine Timour. Our foreheads bent to the earth, we have +offered to him the green leaf of tea, and the milk of our herds. We +are ready: the Mongols are on foot, O Timour! + + + "O Divine Timour, when will thy great soul revive? + Return! Return! We await thee, O Timour!" + + +35. See Note 11 to "Vikramâditja makes the Silent Speak." + + + +THE BOY-KING. + +1. Ardschi-Bordschi is a Mongolian corruption of King Bhoga. (Jülg.) + +The name of Bhoga (also written Noe, Nauge, and Noza; the N having +entered from a careless following of the Persian historian Abulfazl, +n and b being only distinguished by a point in Persian writing; and +the z through the Portuguese, who habitually rendered the Indian g +thus) seems to have been almost as favourite an appellation as that +of Vikramâditja itself, and pretty equally surrounded with confusion +of fabulous incident. + +The Bhoga were one of the mightiest dynasties of ancient India, +and the name was given to the family on account of their unbounded +prosperity; being derived from bhug = enjoyment. The most celebrated +king of the race bore a name which in our own day has become associated +with prosperous rule, Bhoga Bismarka, or Bhismarka, is celebrated +in ancient Sagas for his resistless might in the field, and was also +accounted the type of a prudent and far-sighted sovereign. Many glories +are fabled of him which I have not space to narrate, and even he only +reigned over a fourth part of the Bhoga. + +The individual Bhoga, however, who is probably the subject of the +present story, and the details of whose virtues and wisdom present +particular analogies with the life of Vikramâditja is, comparatively +speaking, modern, as he reigned from A.D. 1037 to 1093 according +to some, or from 997 to 1053 according to others. He was likewise +originally King of Maláva or Malwa, and fabulous conquests and +extensions of dominion are likewise ascribed to him. + +He was the greatest king of the Prâmâra dynasty, one of the four +so-called Agnikula, or "from-the-god-Agni-descended," or "fire-born" +tribes, and traced up his pedigree to a certain Paramâra, "The +destroyer of adversaries," born at the prayer of the Hermit Rishi +Vasichta on the lofty mountain of Arbuda (Arboo). + +The story of this Bhoga is contained in two somewhat legendary +accounts, called (1) the Bhogaprabandha, or poetical narrative +concerning Bhoga; and (2) the Bhogakaritra, or the deeds of Bhoga. The +first was written or collected by the Pandit Vallabha about 1340. The +first part relates the circumstances concerning Bhoga's mounting the +throne, and the second part is a history of the poets and learned +men who flocked from all parts of India to his court. It tells +an intricate fable about his having been persecuted in youth by a +treacherous uncle who preceded him on the throne, but who afterwards +came to repentance, while a supernatural interposition delivered +Bhoga from all his machinations and made him master of Gauda or +Bengal, and many other parts of India. Other legends mention his +discovery of the throne of Vikramâditja, and make the figures on the +steps Apsarasas, or nymphs, who were delivered and set free by him +when he took possession of it and removed it to Dhara, whither he had +transferred his capital from Uggajini. An Inscription (given at length, +viii. 5, 6, in Journ. of As. Soc. of Bengal, v. p. 376) speaks thus +of him:--"The most prosperous king Bhogadeva was the most illustrious +of the whole generation of the Prâmâra. He attained to glory as great +as that of the destroyer (Crishna) and traversed the universe to its +utmost boundaries. His fame rose like the moonbeams over the mountains +and rivers of the regions of the earth, and before it the renown of +the inimical rulers faded away as the pale lotus-blossom is closed +up." The Persian historian Abulfazl testifies in somewhat more sober +language, that he greatly extended the frontiers of his kingdom. + +His career was not one of unchecked prosperity however. According to +an Inscription he was at last subdued by his enemy, and it thus gently +tells the tale of his reverse:--"After he had attained to equality +with Vâsava (Indra) and the land was well watered with streams, his +relation Udajâditja became Ruler of the earth." His adversary being +a relation, and a Prâmâra like himself, the feud between them was +considered a scandal, and the inscription avoids perpetuating the +details of it. A legend in the Bhogakaritra supplies some. A hermit +had been rather severely judged by King Bhoga for a misdemeanour, and +condemned to ride through the streets of the capital on an ass. To +punish the king for this scandal he went into Cashmere till he had +acquired the power of making the soul of a man pass into another +body. Then he came back and constrained the soul of the king to pass +into the body of a parrot while he made his own soul pass into the +king's body; then he issued a decree commanding the slaughter of all +the parrots in the kingdom. The royal parrot, however, who was the +object of the decree, effected his escape and came to the court of +Kandrasena, where he became the pet bird of the princess his daughter; +to her he revealed the story of his transformation. At her instigation +the hermit-king was persuaded to come to Kandrasena's court to sue +for her hand, and there, by means of an intrigue of hers he was put +to death. Bhoga thus regained his original form and his kingdom. + +Abulfazl celebrates his moderation and uprightness, as well as +his liberality and the encouragement he gave to men of learning, +of whom he had not less than five hundred at one time lodged in his +palace. This similarity of pursuits helped so to foster the tendency +of which I have already spoken, to confuse the deeds of one hero with +another, that one poet at least (Vararuki by name), who flourished +under Bhoga, is reckoned among the nine "jewels" of Vikramâditja's +court! Kalidasa, who was not very much, if at all later, is also +put among the protégés of Bhoga in the Bhogaprabandha. The actual +writers of any note belonging to Bhoga's age, whose names and works +have come down to us are chiefly Subandhu and Vâna, authors of two +poems entitled respectively Vâsavadattâ and Kâdambarî, of which a +reprint was issued at Calcutta in 1850. Dandi, who wrote a celebrated +drama called Dashakumârakaritra, affording a useful picture of the +manners prevailing in Hindustan and the Dekhan in his time; he also +left a treatise on the art of poetry, called Kâvjadarshâ. Another +poet of this date, named Shankara, has often been confounded with +a philosophical writer of the same name in the eighth century. The +Harivansha, a mythological poem in continuation of the Mâha Bhârata, +also belongs to this reign. Among numerous other works ascribed +to it, many of which have not yet been examined into by Europeans, +are several treatises of mathematics and astronomy. Bhoga himself is +entered in a list of the astronomers of his time, and he was said +to be the author of a treatise on medicine, called Vriddha Bhoga, +and of one on jurisprudence, called Smritishâstra. + +2. Boddhisattva. See p. 342 and p. 365. + + + +THE FALSE FRIEND. + +1. Compare this story with that given Nights 589-593 of Arabian +Nights. (Jülg.) + +2. That the jewel-merchant had no written proof of the trust he had +committed to his friend would appear quite in conformity with actual +custom, at least in primitive times. Megasthenes has left testimony +(Strabo xv. i. 53, p. 709), quoted by Schwanbeck (Megas. Ind. p. 113), +in favour of the general uprightness of the Indians and their little +inclination to litigation, which he bases on the fact that it was +the custom to take no acknowledgment under seal or writing of money +or jewels entrusted to another, or even to call witnesses to the +fact; that the word of the man who had entrusted another with such +sufficed; also Ælianus, V. H. iv. i. This, notwithstanding that the +Manu (dh. c. viii. 180) contains provisions for regulating such +transactions in due form and order; the man accordingly does not +think of denying that he received the jewel, which would seem the +easier way of concealing his fraud, because he knew the word of the +jewel-merchant would be taken against his. + +3. Stupa, a shrine; often a natural cave; often one artificially hewn; +containing relics, or commemorating some incident considered sacred in +the life of a noted Buddhist teacher. We read of stupas instituted at +a spot where there was a tradition Shâkjamuni had left a foot-print; +and another at Kapilvastu, his native place, over the spot where, as we +saw in his life, he was led to devote himself to serious contemplations +by meeting a sick man, &c. When of imposing proportion it was called a +mâhastûpa. When such monuments on the other hand were put together with +stones (usually pyramidal in form) they were called dhâtugopa, whence +Europeans give them the name of Dagobas. The word Pagoda, with which +we are familiar, is probably derived from the Sanskrit bhâgavata = +"Worthy to be venerated." The syllable ava was transformed in Prakrit +into o, and the ta into da. The Portuguese took the word as applied to +religious edifices as distinguished from the kaitja [69], or rock-hewn +temples. The word pagoda, however, is usually reserved for Brahmanical +temples. The word stupa has now become corrupted into tope, by which +word you will find it designated by modern writers on India. The +etymology of the word makes it mean much the same as tumulus, but +kaitja conveys further the meaning that it was a sacred place. + +4. The notion of jewels being endowed with talismanic properties is +common in Eastern story. Ktesias (Fragm. lvii. 2, p. 79) mentions +a celebrated Indian magic jewelled seal-ring called Pantarba, which +had the property when thrown into the water of attracting to it other +jewels, and that a merchant once drew out one hundred and seventy-seven +other jewels and seals by its means. + + + +THE PRETENDED SON. + +1. Schimnu. See supra, note 2, Tale III. + +2. Diamond, Sanskrit, vadschra, originally the thunderbolt, Indra's +sceptre; then the praying-sceptre of the priests; the symbol of +durability, immovability, and indestructibility. (Köppen i. 251, +and ii. 271, quoted by Jülg.) It was permitted to none but kings to +possess them. (Lassen, iii. 18.) See also note 1, Tale XV. + + + +ARDSCHI-BORDSCHI DISCOVERS VIKRAMÂDITJA'S THRONE. + +1. We read of a silver statue in one of the many temples founded +by Lalitâditja, King of Cashmere, whose bright golden cuirass "gave +forth a stream of light like a river of milk." Mentioned in Lassen, +iii. p. 1000, and iv. 575. + +2. It will be perceived the story is not without a certain meaning. It +inculcates regard for the example and experience of the ancient and +wise--the wisdom of the hero Vikramâditja (typified by his throne) +was to be the model and guide of other kings and dynasties. + +3. Sounding of trumpet-shells. The shankha or concha seems to have been +the earliest form of trumpet used in war. It often finds mention in the +heroic poems. Crishna used one in his warrior character; and Vishnu, +from bearing one, had the appellation shankha and shankhin. To the +present day it is used in announcing festivals in Mongolia. + +4. Sûta, bard. To this order it is that we are indebted for the +preservation of so many myths and heroic tales. He was also the +charioteer of the kings. + +5. The six classes, states, or stages of living beings, by passing +through which Buddhahood was to be attained--(1) Pure spirit or +the devas gods (Skr. Surâs; Mongolian, Tegri; Kalm. Tenggeri); (2) +the unclean spirits, enemies of the gods (Skr. Asurâs); (3) men; +(4) beasts; (5) Pretâs, monsters surrounding the entrance of hell; +(6) the hell-gods. (Köppen, i. 238, et seq., quoted by Jülg.) + + + +VIKRAMÂDITJA'S BIRTH. + +1. Udsesskülengtu-Gôa-Chatun, a heaping up of synonyms of which +we had an example, note 2, Tale XVII. Both words mean "beautiful," +"charming." Goâ is a Mongolian expression by which royal women are +called (as also chatun). Thus we sometimes meet with Udsessküleng, +sometimes Udsesskülengtu (the adjunct tu forming the adjective +use of the word); Udsesskülengtu-Goa, Udsesskülengtu-Chatun, or +Udessküleng-Gôa-Chatun. (Jülg.) + +2. Kaitja or Chaitga is a sacred grotto where relics were preserved, +or marking a spot where some remarkable event of ancient date had +taken place. We are told that King Ashokja (246 B.C.) caused kaitjas +to be built, or rather hewn, in every spot in his dominions rendered +sacred by any act of Shâkjamuni's life [70]; as also over the relics +of many of the first teachers (p. 390). The number of these is fabled +in the Mahâvansha (v. p. 26) to have been not less than 84,000! He +opened seven of the shrines in which the relics of Shâkjamuni were +originally placed, and divided them into so many caskets of gold, +silver, crystal, and lapis lazuli, endowing every town of his dominion +with one, and building a kaitja over it. These were all completed +by one given day at one and the same time, and the authority of the +Dharma (law) of Buddha was proclaimed in all. In process of time great +labour came to be spent on their decoration, till whole temples were +hewn out of the living stone, forming almost imperishable records +of the earliest architecture of the country, and to some extent of +its history and religion too. The most astonishing remains are to +be seen of works of this kind, with files of columns and elaborate +bas-reliefs sculptured out of the solid rock. + +3. Abbé Huc tells us that the Mongolians prepare their tea quite +differently from the Chinese. The leaves, instead of being carefully +picked as in China, are pressed all together along with the smaller +tendrils and stalks into a mould resembling an ordinary brick. When +required for use a piece of the brick is broken off, pulverized, +and boiled in a kettle until the water receives a reddish hue, some +salt is then thrown in, and when it has become almost black milk is +added. It is a great Tartar luxury, and also an article of commerce +with Russia; but the Chinese never touch it. + +4. An accepted token of veneration and homage. (Jülg.) + +5. Sesame-oil. See note 2, Tale V. + +6. Kalavinka = Sanskrit, Sperling, belongs to the sacred order of +birds and scenes, in this place to be intended for the Kokila. (Jülg.) + +The Kokila, or India cuckoo, is as favourite a bird with Indians as +the nightingale is with us. For a description of it see "A Monograph +of Indian and Malayan Species of Cuculidæ," in Journal of As. Soc. of +Bengal, xi. 908, by Edward Blyth. + +7. You are not to imagine that by "four parts of the universe" +is meant any thing like what we have been used to call "the four +quarters of the globe." The division of the Indian cosmogony was +very different and refers to the distribution of the (supposed) known +universe between gods of various orders and men, to the latter being +assigned the fourth and lowest called Gambudvîpa [71]. + +8. Concerning such religious gatherings, see Köppen, i. 396, 579-583; +ii. 115, 311. + +At such a festival held by Aravâla, King of Cashmere, on occasion +of celebrating the acceptance of the teaching of Shâkjamuni as the +religion of his dominion, it is said in a legend that there were +present 84,000 of each order of the demigods, 100,000 priests, and +800,000 people. + +9. The parrot naturally takes a prominent place in Indian fable, +both on account of his sagacity, his companionable nature, and his +extraordinary length of days. He did not fail to attract much notice +on the part of the Greek writers on India; and Ktesias, who wrote +about 370 B.C., seems to have caught some of the peculiar Indian +regard for his powers, when he wrote that though he ordinarily spoke +the Indian's language, he could talk Greek if taught it. Ælianus says +they were esteemed by the Brahmans above all other birds, and that +the princes kept many of them in their gardens and houses. + +10. Bodhisattva. See p. 346 and note 1, Tale XI. + +11. Concerning the serpent-gods, see supra, note 1 to Tale II.; +and note 4, Tale XXII. + +12. A legend containing curiously similar details is told in the +Mahâvansha of Shishunâga, founder of an early dynasty of Magadha +(Behar). The king had married his chief dancer, and afterwards sent +her away. Partly out of distress and partly as a reproach she left +her infant son exposed on the dunghill of the royal dwelling. A +serpent-god, who was the tutelar genius of the place, took pity on +the child, and was found winding its body round the basket in which it +was cradled, holding its head raised over the same and spreading out +its hood (it was the Cobra di capello species of serpent, which was +the object of divine honours) to protect him from the sun. The people +drove away the serpent-god (Nâga) with the cry of Shu! Shu! whence +they gave the name of Shishunâga to the child, who, on opening the +basket, was found to be endowed with qualities promising his future +greatness. In this case, however, the serpent-god seems to have borne +his serpent-shape, and in that of Vikramâditja, the eight are spoken +of as in human form. + + + +VIKRAMÂDITJA'S YOUTH. + +1. Nirvâna. See supra, p. 330, note, p. 334, and p. 343. The word is +sometimes used however poetically, simply as an equivalent for death. + +2. Kütschun Tschindaktschi = "One provided with might." (Jülg.) + +3. "The custom of requiring women to go abroad veiled was only +introduced after the Mussulman invasion, and was nearly the only +important circumstance in which Muhammedan influenced Indian +manners." See Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, iii. p. 1157. In +Mongolia, however, Abbé Huc found that women have completely preserved +their independence. "Far from being kept down as among other Asiatic +nations they come and go at pleasure, ride out on horseback, and +pay visits to each other from tent to tent. In place of the soft +languishing physiognomy of the Chinese women, they present in their +bearing and manners a sense of power and free will in accordance with +their active life and nomad habits. Their attire augments the effect +of their masculine haughty mien." + +In chapter v. of vol. ii., however, he tells of a custom prevailing +in part of Tibet of a much more objectionable nature than the use +of a veil:--"Nearly 200 years ago the Nome-Khan, who ruled over +Hither-Tibet, was a man of rigid manners.... To meet the libertinism +prevailing at his day he published an edict prohibiting women from +appearing in public otherwise than with their faces bedaubed with +a hideous black varnish.... The most extraordinary circumstance +connected with it is that the women are perfectly resigned to +it.... The women who bedaub their faces most disgustingly are deemed +the most pious.... In country places the edict is still observed with +exactitude, but at Lha-Ssa it is not unusual to meet women who set it +at defiance, ... they are, however, unfavourably regarded. In other +respects they enjoy great liberty. Instead of vegetating prisoners +in the depths of their houses they lead an active and laborious +life.... Besides household duties, they concentrate in their own +hands all the retail trade of the country, and in rural districts +perform most of the labours of agriculture." + +4. Schalû. In another version of the legend he is called Sakori, the +soothsayer, because he made these predictions. (Journal of As. Soc. of +Bengal, vi. 350, in a paper by Lieut. W. Postans.) + +5. The wolf-nurtured prince has a prominent place in Mongolian +chronicles. Their dynasty was founded by Bürte-Tschinoa = the Wolf +in winter-clothing. See I. J. Schmidt's Die Völker Mittel-Asiens, +vorzüglich die Mongolen und Tibeter, St. Petersburg, 1824, pp. 11-18, +33 et seq.; 70-75; and sSanang sSetsen, 56 and 372. + +6. I cannot forbear reference to notices of such sudden storms and +inundations in Mongolia made from personal experience by Abbé Huc +"Travels in China and Tartary," chapters vi. and vii. + +7. The persistent removal of the child after such tender entreaties and +such faithful unrequited service carries an idea of heartlessness, but +in extenuation it should be mentioned that while the Indians honoured +every kind of animal by reason of their doctrine of metempsychosis, +the wolf was just the only beast with which they seem to have had +no sympathy, and they reckoned the sight of one brought ill-luck, a +prejudice probably derived from the days of their pastoral existence +when their approach was fraught with so much danger to their flocks. In +Mongolia, where the pastoral mode of life still continues in vogue, +the dread of the wolf was not likely to have diminished. Thus Abbé +Huc says, "Although the want of population might seem to abandon the +interminable deserts of Tartary to wild beasts, wolves are rarely met, +owing to the incessant and vindictive warfare the Mongolians wage +against them. They pursue them every where to the death, regarding +them as their capital enemy on account of the great damage they may +inflict upon their flocks. The announcement that a wolf has been +seen is a signal for every one to mount his horse ... the wolf in +vain attempts to flee in every direction; it meets horsemen from +every side. There is no mountain so rugged that the Tartar horses, +agile as goats, cannot pursue it. The horseman who has caught it +with his lasso gallops off, dragging it behind, to the nearest tent; +there they strongly bind its muzzle, so that they may torture it +securely, and by way of finale skin it alive. In summer the wretched +brute will live in this condition several days; in winter it soon +dies frozen." The wolf seems fully to return the antipathy, for +(chapter xi.) he says, "It is remarkable wolves in Mongolia attack +men rather than animals. They may be seen sometimes passing at full +gallop through a flock of sheep in order to attack the shepherd." + +8. Tschin-tâmani, Sanskrit, "thought-jewel," a jewel having the magic +power of supplying all the possessor wishes for. Indian fable writers +revel in the idea of the possession of a talisman which can satisfy +all desire. The grandest and perhaps earliest remaining example of it +occurs in the Ramajana, where King Visvamitra = the universal friend, +who from a Xatrija (warrior caste) merited to become a Brahman, visits +Vasichtha, the chief of hermits, and finds him in possession of Sabala, +a beautiful cow, which has the quality of providing Vasichtha with +every thing whatever he may wish for. He wants to provide a banquet +for Visvamitra, and he has only to tell Sabala to lay the board with +worthy food, with food according to the six kinds of taste and drinks +worthy of a king of the world. She immediately provides sugar, and +honey, and rice, maireja or nectar, and wine, besides all manner of +other drinks and various kinds of food heaped up like mountains; sweet +fruits, and cakes, and jars of milk; all these things Sabala showered +down for the use of the hosts who accompanied Visvamitra. Visvamitra +covets the precious cow, and offers a hundred thousand cows of earth in +barter for her. But Vasichtha refuses to part with her for a hundred +million other cows or for fulness of silver. The king offers him +next all manner of ornaments of gold, fourteen thousand elephants, +gold chariots with four white steeds and eight hundred bells to them, +eleven thousand horses of noble race, full of courage, and a million +cows. The seer still remaining deaf to his offers the king carries +her off by force. + +The heavenly cow, however, in virtue of her extraordinary qualities, +helps herself out of the difficulty. It is her part to fulfil her +master's wishes, and as it is his wish to have her by him she +gallops back to him, knocking over the soldiers of the earthly +king by hundreds in her career. Returned to her master, the Brahman +hermit, she reproaches him tenderly for letting her be removed by the +earthly king. He answers her with equal affection, explaining that +the earthly king has so much earthly strength that it is vain for +him to resist him. At this Sabala is fired with holy indignation. She +declares it must not be said that earthly power should triumph over +spiritual strength. She reminds him that the power of Brahma, whom +he represents, is unfailing in might, and begs him only to desire of +her that she should destroy the Xatrija's host. He desires it, and +she forthwith furnishes a terrible army, and another, and another, +till Visvamitra is quite undone, all his hosts, and allies, and +children killed in the fray. Then he goes into the wilderness and +prays to Mahâdeva, the great god, to come to his aid and give him +divine weapons, spending a hundred years standing on the tips of his +feet, and living on air like the serpent. Mahâdeva at last brings +him weapons from heaven, at sight of which he is so elated that +"his heroic courage rises like the tide of the ocean when the moon +is at the full." With these burning arrows he devastates the whole +of the beautiful garden surrounding Vasichta's dwelling. Vasichta, +in high indignation at this wanton cruelty, raises his vadschra, +the Brahma sceptre or staff, and all Visvamitra's weapons serve him +no more. Then owning the fault he has committed in fighting against +Brahma he goes into the wilderness and lives a life of penance a +thousand years or two, after which he is permitted to become a Brahman. + +9. Those who can see one and the same hero in the Sagas of Wodin, the +Wild Huntsman, and William Tell [72], might well trace a connexion +between such a legend as this and the working of the modern law of +conscription. There is no country exposed to its action where such +scenes as that described in the text might not be found. There have +been plenty such brought under my own notice in Rome since this +"tribute of blood," as the Romans bitterly call it, was first +established there last year. + +10. I have spoken elsewhere in these pages of the question of rebirth +in the Buddhist system. Though not holding so cardinal a place as in +Brahmanism the necessity for it remained to a certain extent. All +virtues were recommended in the one case as a means to obtaining a +higher degree at the next re-birth, and in the other the same, but +less as an end, than as a means to earlier attaining to Nirvâna. Of +all virtues the most serviceable for this purpose was the sacrifice +of self for the good of the species. + +11. Sinhâsana, lit. Lion-throne; a throne resting on lions, as before +described in the text. + +12. At the exercise of such heaven-given powers nature was supposed +to testify her astonishment, and thus we are told of sacrifices and +incense offered for the pacification of the same. (Jülg.) + + + +VIKRAMÂDITJA ACQUIRES ANOTHER KINGDOM. + +1. Concerning such sacrifices, see Köppen, i. 246 and 560, and +Trans. of sSanang sSetzen, p. 352. + + + +VIKRAMÂDITJA MAKES THE SILENT SPEAK. + +1. The Kalmucks make the 8th, 15th, and 30th of every month fast-days; +the Mongolians, the 13th, 14th, and 15th. (Köppen, i. 564-566; +ii. 307-316, quoted by Jülg.) + +2. Dakini. See note 2, Tale XIV., infra. + +3. Dakini Tegrijin Naran = the Dakini sun of the gods. (Jülg.) + +4. Aramâlâ, a string of beads used by Buddhists in their devotions. + +5. Abbé Huc mentions frequently meeting with such wayside shrines, +furnished just as here described. + +6. Chatun. See note 1 to "Vikramâditja's Birth." + +7. This beautiful story, which does not profess to be original, +but a reproduction of one of the sagas of old, is to be found under +various versions in many Indian collections of myths. + +8. Compare note 3, Tale VII. + +9. This story also holds a certain place among Indian legends, but +is not so popular as the last. + +10. Cup. No one travels or indeed goes about at all in Tibet and +Mongolia without a wooden cup stuck in his breast or in his girdle. At +every visit the guest holds out his cup and the host fills it with +tea. Abbé Huc supplies many details concerning their use. They are +so indispensable that they form a staple article of industry; their +value varies from a few pence up to as much as 40l. + +11. Tai-tsing = the all-purest, the name of the Mandschu or Mantschou +dynasty (or Mangu, according to the spelling of Lassen, iv. 742), +who, from being called in by the last emperor of the Ming dynasty +to help in suppressing a rebellion, subsequently seized the throne +(1644). This dynasty has reigned in China ever since, while the +Mantchou nationality has become actually forced on the Chinese. + +Previously, however, the Mantchous were a tribe of Eastern Tartars +long formidable to the Chinese. The introduction of a king of the +Mantchous, therefore, as identical with Vikramâditja, presents the +most remarkable instance that could be met with of what may be called +the confusion of heroes, in the migration of myths. + +12. Tsetsen Budschiktschi = the clever dancer. (Jülg.) + + + +THE WISE PARROT. + +1. "At any former time," i. e. in a previous state of existence, +according to the doctrine of metempsychosis. + +2. "The day will come"--similarly on occasion of a subsequent rebirth. + +3. Tsoktu Ilagukssan = brilliant majesty. (Jülg.) + +4. Naran Gerel = sunshine. (Jülg.) + +5. Ssaran = moon. (Jülg.) + + + + + + +FOOTNOTES + + +[1] The few notes I have taken from Jülg's translation, I have +acknowledged by putting his name to them. + +[2] The following paragraphs are chiefly gathered and translated from +Lassen's work on the Geography of Ancient India, vol. i. + +[3] Heeren, Indische Literatur. + +[4] Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, ii. 67, 68. + +[5] Mahavansha, ii. v. 11. + +[6] Now called Gaya, still an important town in the province of +Behar. Vihara, whence Behar (for B and V are allied sounds in +Sanskrit), is the Buddhist word for a college of priests, and the +substitution of Behar for Magadha, the more ancient name of the +province, points to a time when Buddhism flourished there and had +many such colleges (see Wilson in Journal of As. Soc. v. p. 124). + +[7] Benares. + +[8] Burnouf, Introd. à l'Hist. du Buddhisme, i. 157. + +[9] In the far east of India and in Ceylon, where it is not indigenous, +we have historical evidence that it was introduced by the Buddhists; +also in Java. Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, i. 257; also p. 260, +note 1, where he gives the following comparative descriptions of the +two species, though he also points out that in ancient descriptions +the characteristics of the two trees are often confused. The ficus +indica or banian (it received the name of banyan from the Indian +merchants, Banjans, by whose means it was propagated), is called in +Bengal Njagrôdha and Vata (the Dutch call it "the devil's tree"). The +ficus religiosa is called ashvattha, and pippala. They plant the +one by the side of the other with marriage ceremonies in the belief +that otherwise the banian would not complete its peculiar mode of +growth. Hence arises a most pleasing contrast between the elegant +lightness of the shining foliage of the ficus religiosa and the solemn +grandeur of the ficus indica with its picturesque trunks, its abundant +leafage, its spangling of golden fruits, its pendulous roots, enabling +it to reproduce itself after the fashion of a temple with countless +aisles. It affords cool salubrious shade, a single one forming in time +a forest to itself, and sufficing to house thousands of persons. The +leaves of both supply excellent food for elephants, and birds and +monkeys delight in its fruit, which, however, is not edible by man, +nor is its wood of much use as timber. The pippala does not grow to +nearly so great a size as the other, never attaining so many stems, +but nothing can be more graceful than its appearance when, overgrowing +from a building or another tree; its leaves tremble like those of the +aspen (Lassen, i. 255-261, and notes). Under its overarching shade +altars were erected and sacrifice offered up. To injure it wilfully +was counted a sin (an instance is mentioned in Bp. Heber's "Journey," +i. 621). A most prodigious Boddhi-tree, or rather five such growing +together, still exists in Ceylon, which tradition says was transplanted +thither with most extraordinary pomp and ceremonies at the time of the +introduction of Buddhism into the island. They grow upon the fourth +terrace of an edifice built up of successive rows of terraces, forming +the most sacred spot in the whole island. Upon the above supposition +this Boddhi-grove would be something like 2000 years old. Several very +curious legends concerning it are given in a paper called "Remarks +on the Ancient City of Anarâjapura," by Captain Chapman, in Trans. of +R. As. of Gr. Br. i. and iii. The Brahmans honoured it as well as the +Buddhists, and made it a parable of the universe, its stem typifying +the connexion of the visible world with a divine invisible spirit, +and the up and-down growth of the branches and roots the restless +striving of all creatures after an unattainable perfection; but it was +the Buddhists for whom it became in the first instance actually sacred +by reason of the conviction said to have been received by Shâkjamuni +while observing its growth (reminding forcibly of the tradition about +Sir I. Newton and the apple), that the perpetual struggles of this +changeful life could only find ultimate satisfaction in that reunion +with the source whence they emanated, which he termed Nirvâna. + +[10] Burnouf, i. 295. + +[11] Burnouf, p. 194. + +[12] Nirvâna means literally in Sanskrit "the breathing out," +"extinction"--extinction of the flame of life, eternal happiness, +united with the Deity. Böhtlingk and Roth's Sanskrit Dictionary, +iv. 208. In Buddhist writings, however, it is difficult to make out +any idea of it distinct from annihilation. Consult Schmidt's Trans. of +sSanang sSetzen, pp. 307-331; Schott. Buddhaismus, p. 10 and 127; +Köppen, i. 304-309. "Existence in the eye of Buddhism is nothing but +misery.... Nothing remained to be devised as deliverance from this +evil but the destruction of existence. This is what Buddhists call +Nirwana." (Alwis' Lectures on Buddhism, p. 29.) + +[13] Concerning the locality of the Malla people, see Lassen, Indische +Alterthumskunde, i. 549. + +[14] This word is a favourite with Buddhist writers, and means +literally "him of the rolling wheel," primarily used to denote a +conqueror riding on his chariot. See Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, +i. 810, n. 2. + +[15] Lassen, ii. 52, n. 1, and 74, n. 6; and i. 356, n. 1. + +[16] Professor Wilson seems to have been so much perplexed by these +divergencies of chronology, that in a paper by him, published in +Journ. of R. As. Soc. vol. xvi. art. 13, he endeavours to show on this +(and also on other grounds) that it is possible no such person ever +existed at all! + +[17] See Burnouf, p. 348, n. 3; see also infra, n. 3 to "The False +Friend;" also note 2 to "Vikramâditja's Birth." + +[18] Supra, Notice of Vikramâditja, pp. 238, 239. + +[19] "Only about a hundred years elapsed between the visit of +Fa-Hian to India and that of Soung-yun, and in the interval +the absurd traditions respecting Sâkya-Muni's life and actions +would appear to have been infinitely multiplied, enlarged, +and distorted." (Lieut.-Col. Sykes' Notes on the Religious, +Moral, and Political State of Ancient India, in Journ. of +R. As. Soc. No. xii. p. 280.) + +[20] Turnour, in Journ. of As. Soc. of Bengal, 722. + +[21] Lassen, ii. 440. + +[22] Lassen, ii. 453, 454. + +[23] Burnouf, Introd. a l'Hist. du Buddh. i. 137. + +[24] Burnouf, Introd. &c. i. 131 et seq. + +[25] "There is no reference even in the earlier Vêda to the Trimurti: +to Donga, Kali, or Rama." (Wilson, Rig-Vêda Sanhîta.) + +[26] Burnouf, i. 90, 108. + +[27] Lassen, ii. 426, 454, 455 and other places. + +[28] "No hostile feeling against the Brahmans finds utterance in the +Buddhist Canon." (Max Müller, Anc. Sanskr. Literature.) + +[29] Lassen, iv. 644, 710. + +[30] Lassen, ii. 440. + +[31] Lassen, iv. 646-709. + +[32] As. Rec. i. 285. + +[33] Genesis iii. 15. + +[34] Rig-Vêda, bk. x. ch. xi. + +[35] Burnouf, Introd. i. 618. + +[36] See infra, Note 8 of this "Dedication;" on the word "Bede," +p. 346. + +[37] Verità della Religione Cristiana-Cattolica sistematicamente +dimostrata, da Monsignor Francesco Nardi U. di S. Rota. Roma, 1868. + +[38] Lassen, ii. 1107. + +[39] Lassen, i. 488. + +[40] A great number of early authorities are quoted in Butler's +"Lives," vol. xii., pp. 329-334. The subject has also been handled +by Gieseler, Lehrbuch der Kirchengeschichte; Wilson's "Sketch of +the Religious Sects of the Hindus;" Swainson's "Memoir of the Syrian +Christians;" most ably by A. Weber, and by many others. + +[41] In note 2 of p. 182, vol. iv., Lassen quotes several authors on +the meaning of the word and its identity with the triratna, as Wilson +calls the Buddhist Trinity of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. See also +infra, n. 1, Tale XVII. + +[42] At the same time it presents also, of course, many frightful +divergencies, and of these it may suffice to mention that the +number of wives ascribed to Crishna is not less than 16,000. Lassen, +vol. i. Appendix p. xxix. + +[43] Indische Studien, i. 400-421, and ii. 168. + +[44] The very earliest, however, do not go very far back; he was never +heard of at all till within 200 B.C., and seems then to have been set +up by certain Brahmans to attract popular worship, and to counteract +the at that period rapidly-spreading influence of the Buddhists. See +Lassen, i. 831--839. See also note 1, p. 335, supra. + +[45] Lassen, iv. 575. + +[46] Lassen, p. 576. + +[47] "On trouvera plus tard que l'extension considérable qu'a prise +le culte du Krishna n'a été qu'une réaction populaire contre celui +du Buddha; réaction qui a été dirigée, ou pleinement acceptée par +les Brahmanes." Burnouf, Introd. i. p. 136, n. 1. + +[48] Lassen, iv. 815-817. + +[49] Lassen, iv. 576. + +[50] The best account of his life and teaching is given by +S. Wassiljew, of St. Petersburg, "Der Buddhismus; aus dem Russischen +übersetzt," to which I have not had access. + +[51] See supra, p. 332. + +[52] See infra, Note 1, Tale XI. + +[53] See supra, p. 330. + +[54] Concerning Serpent-worship see infra, Note 1, Tale II. + +[55] Travelling Buddhist teacher. Lassen. + +[56] Burnouf, Introduction à l'Histoire du Buddhisme, ii. 359. + +[57] "Southward in Bede." See Note 8. + +[58] Spence Hardy, "Legends and Theories of the Buddhists," p. 243, +when mentioning this circumstance, makes the strange mistake of +confounding Behar with Berar. + +[59] See Note 4, "Vikramâditja's Throne discovered." + +[60] See supra, p. 241. + +[61] According to Abbé Huc's spelling, Tchen-kis Khan. + +[62] According to Abbé Huc's spelling, Tale Lama. + +[63] See the story in Note 8 to "Vikramâditja's Youth." + +[64] See Note 4 to "Vikramâditja's Throne discovered." + +[65] Consult C. F. Köppen, Die Lamaische Hierarchie. + +[66] According to Huc's version of his history he was not born in +a Lamasery, but in the hut of a herdsman of Eastern Tibet, in the +county of Amdo, south of the Kouku-Noor. + +[67] This elaborate derivation, however, has been disputed, and +it is more probable the name is derived from two words, signifying +"the Indian ox." In Tibet it has no name but "great ox." + +[68] Virgil, Georg. ii. 121, "Velleraque ut foliis depectant +tenuia Seres;" and Pliny, H. N. vi. 20, 2, "Seres, lanicio silvarum +nobiles, perfusam aqua depectentes frondium canitiem." Also 24, 8; +and xi. 26, 1. + +[69] See infra, note 2 to "Vikramâditja's Birth." + +[70] Burnouf, i. 265. + +[71] See supra, p. 351 and p. 385. + +[72] See Max Müller's "Chips from a German Workshop." + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Sagas from the Far East, by Various + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40402 *** |