विक्रम चरित (उज्जैन सम्राट् विक्रमादित्य - पराक्रम, न्याय एवं ३२ पुतलियों की कथा सटीक)

Cooverjee Coyajee ADVENTURES OF VICKRAMADETEA, KING OF OUJEIN. CHAPTER I. King Vickramadetea—His military talents, intellectual accomplish- ments, and love of justice—The wisdom and integrity of his Prime Minister—Precautions taken to avert the effects of an adverse prediction made at Vickramadetea's birth—The hermit Soodew—The king obtains from him a practical knowledge of the science of trans- migration—A sentinel, by following the king, also becomes possessed of the secret. In the capital city of Oujein there once reigned a king named Vickramadetea, who was so liberal that none could be compared with him; he delighted in virtuous actions, and was exact in the administration of justice; he was a care- ful protector of his subjects; his riches were immense, his army very numerous and efficient, and in personal courage and valour he himself was unsurpassed. The people were virtuous and generally moral. The city was extensive and populous, and filled with well-designed and magnificent buildings. The people were happy and contented under the reign of this happy monarch, and they were pious and thank- ful to the Almighty for the blessings vouchsafed to them. They were at peace with their neighbours, and united in the bonds of love and amity. No thoughts of disloyalty or disaffection ever found place in their hearts. By the aid of a bountiful Providence the seasons were prolific, and the harvests plentiful; the trees were always green, and yielded innumerable fruits and flowers, which disseminated their B

2 fragrance around the place. The rivers, lakes, and wells were full. The temples were built in the most costly man- ner, and no expense had been spared to add to their beauty and splendour. The king was greatly commended for his generosity and bravery, and all the rajahs subject to him paid him homage, and were regular in their tributes, and preserved to the very letter the terms of their treaties. The Veytal was also propitious to the monarch,—he always presented himself invisibly, when the king invoked his pre- sence. King Vickramadetea was handsome in his person, excelled in learning, and accomplished in every respect. He was well acquainted with the occult and sacred sciences, and possessed a kind and affable disposition. He loved his minister as a brother, and placed every reliance upon him. No suitor or seeker after justice ever returned from the presence of this noble monarch without realising his wish, as the king delighted to relieve, and rejoiced in such acts of justice and benevolence. It so happened, that in the midst of so much prosperity and happiness a cloud hung over the king. An able and experienced astrologer, a person of some note and reputa- tion, had appeared among them, and predicted at the time of his birth, that the king would receive his death-blow at the hands of a person born of a virgin seven years old. This, as may well be imagined, caused the monarch considerable consternation ; and when he ascended the throne he had a number of spies placed in and around the palace, and also in various parts of his dominions, with strict injunctions to watch narrowly all suspicious characters, and to bring such before him, so as by a timely warning to avert the impend- ing danger, if possible. Being apprehensive lest he should fall a victim to the threatened fate, he had his emissaries even at the courts of the petty rajahs ; and he once travelled from city to city, through forests and glens, en- quiring of all he met whether a virgin seven years old had been delivered of a son ; a journey which extended over a period of upwards of six months.

3 King Vickramadetea, it must be said, was an incarnation of Virbhudru, son of the god Shiva.* It was in this wise :— In Kailas† lived Shiva, who, with his consort Girja, was once engaged in playing at chess. At the end of the game Girja was the winner, but Shiva jestingly denied it, and persisted, against all truth and reason, that the game was his. For some time they warmly disputed the point, till at length it was decided that they should play it over again in the presence of a third person, and abide by the issue ; Virbhudru was accordingly selected as the umpire. They began the game, and fortune again favored Girja. Shiva nevertheless stoutly maintained that he was the winner also the second time, and so exasperated his consort that in a fit of rage she appealed to Virbhudru, calling upon him to declare the truth. Virbhudru seemed unwilling to give his opinion, lest by so doing he should irritate his father Shiva, and bring down his curse, whilst on the other hand he was afraid that by siding with his father he should enrage his mother, and provoke her to inflict some severe injury upon him. However, after communing with himself, he came to the conclusion that it would be safer to have the strongest party on his side, and so, with an utter disregard to truth, he faltered out to his mother that “ Shiva had won the game.” Scarcely had he expressed himself thus than she launched forth a curse upon him, exclaiming fiercely, “ Go, wretch ! and be transformed to a mortal, and henceforth live with mortals on the earth below !” Virbhudru on this immediately began to entreat her, and with tears in his eyes conjured his mother to recal her malediction, and to restore him to his position. After some hours spent in supplica- tion he made an impression on Girja, when her anger was cooled down. Availing himself of this favorable turn in his case he redoubled his entreaties and tears, until she was

• One of the three principal Hindoo gods, to whom the power of destruction is attributed. He is represented in different characters. † The paradise of Shiva.

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persuaded to mitigate in some measure the punishment she had inflicted upon him. She said, “ Thou shalt live alternately for a brief period with us and then reign in the kingdom and city of Oujein, provided thou be- comest an incarnation of the Virbhudru in the shape of Vickramadetea.” When several years had prosperously rolled on, unmarked by any event worth notice, a hermit from Dwarka, named Soodew, presented himself at King Vickramadetea's court. His handsome mien and commanding carriage attracted the attention of all. He was besides, as if in contrast, of a willing disposition, possessed of much learning, and a great admirer of the fine arts. The king, on his appearance, granted him an immediate audience at court. He was so struck with his person, that he rose from the throne and prostrated himself before the hermit. The hermit lost no time in raising the king from the humble position into which he had thrown himself, and prayed him to resume his seat. The king insisted that the hermit should sit be- side him on the throne, which he accordingly did. Thus seated, they conversed some time, during which the king. extolled the hermit's wisdom, which appeared favorably in his conversation. After dismissing the court, the king led the hermit into an inner apartment of the palace, and placed a sumptuous repast before him, after which he perfumed the hermit's person with scents of the sweetest odour, and again entered into conversation with him on various topics, in- cluding science and the arts. The hermit, observing the vast and varied knowledge possessed by the king, asked, “ Will your majesty, who is no doubt familiar with the several arts and sciences, inform me whether you possess any knowledge of the art of transmigration, or the power of changing ourselves or others into any shape or form, by the use of certain montru* ?” The king replied that he was wholly unacquainted with it, but that he had a great and .

* An incantation or mystical verse, a charm or spell.

5 anxious desire to have the mystery, in which it was (to him at least) shrouded, cleared up. The hermit’s conversation greatly roused the curiosity of the king, and he entreated him to instruct him in it before he left the court. The hermit being thus solicited, and considering that it would be far better to impart his knowledge to a king than to any one else, consented to instruct him; and so with a smiling coun- tenance said, “I will initiate you into this mystery tomorrow night, as there will be an auspicious hour then for the pur- pose. Your majesty must come unattended to the temple of Shiva, situated without the town walls, where I will be in waiting to receive you.” The following morning the her- mit repaired to the appointed place of meeting with the king, it being considered a sacred and secure spot, free from all intrusion. In the evening, when the sun had gradually sunk below the horizon, and night had spread its sable veil over the face of creation, the hermit might have been seen in the dusk, his figure extended to its full height, and lis- tening eagerly for every sound, expecting the arrival of the king. The king’s impatience would not admit of his waiting until the time fixed for his starting. He left the palace a little earlier, and wended his lonely way in the direction of the temple. Arriving at the small gate of the town, he found a sentinel named Koobjuck stationed there. He directed him not to leave the spot until his return, as he had some very important business to transact out of town. The sentinel respectfully bowed an assent; but as the sovereign walked past him, he could not but reason in this wise, being an acute man: ‘The king would certainly not venture to leave the city without the attendance of some officer or slave; and even were it so, I should be rendering a piece of valuable service by following him unknowingly, observing the direction he takes, and keeping myself at a respectful distance; for should any accident happen to him, I shall be ready at hand to render him assistance.’ He therefore resolved to follow the king. He watched him

6 trudging along, and his curiosity being at its height, he made up to within a respectful distance of him, and kept him in view till he came near to the temple. Koobjuck here slightly hesitated, but at last, plucking up his courage, he entered the ground on which the temple was situated, close upon the heels of the king, and as the sovereign closed the door after him, Koobjuck leaned forward, and gave an attentive ear to the conversation that passed within between the king and hermit. At the close of the conference, when he found the king was about to retire, Koobjuck made all possible haste to regain his post, which he did without any one suspecting his temporary absence; and as the king returned back to the town, Koobjuck saluted him with his usual equanimity, as though nothing in the world had happened to disturb it. The following day his majesty, as was his usual practice, spent in regu- lating the affairs of his kingdom, and when night drew on he set forth again for the temple of Shiva, having pre- viously issued an order that the vigilant Koobjuck should be placed, as on the previous day, to watch the suburbs of the town. The wily sentinel was punctual to his time, having anticipated the hour of the king’s departure, and taken up his place. Thence he saw the king depart the second time to meet the hermit, and he also followed, and, as before, might have been seen listening with as much eagerness as on the former occasion, beside the temple door. Three successive visits were paid by the king to the hermit in this way, and at all three Koobjuck managed to be present in the manner described, until, at the end of the third visit, the hermit had made the king thoroughly acquainted with the mysteries of transmigration, and every portion of the instruction thus imparted to the sovereign had become equally familiar to the sentinel, so that, without even the shadow of a suspicion, he had been able clandestinely to acquire the knowledge. The day following that on which the last of the visits was paid to him by the king, the hermit left the court,

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having been loaded with magnificent presents, and set forward on his journey. King Vickramadetea accom- panied him with his retinue for about a mile, and at parting expressed a deep sense of gratitude for the kind- ness the hermit had shown him in initiating him into the rare art of transmigration. Meanwhile, the spies who had been placed in different parts of the country to obtain information as to the virgin of seven years old, who, it had been foretold, would give birth to a son who would end the king's days, returned without being able to render any satisfactory account of their labours. Nothing was known or heard of this extra- ordinary virgin ; and, as a matter of course, in the absence of any knowledge of the mother it was impossible to ascertain whether the child fated to cause the death of the king was in existence or not. Thus was the king plunged into a wild maze of conjecture, without a clue to assist him in arriving at a satisfactory solution of the mystery.

8 CHAPTER II. King Vickramadetea sets out upon a journey, attended by the sentinel who had acquired the knowledge of 'transmigration—The king, anxious to test the efficacy of the hermit's instructions, causes his own soul to reanimate the body of a dead serpent—The sentinel enters into the king's body, mounts his horse, and returns to Oujein, the capital of Vickramadetea's dominions—He personates the king, and assumes the reins of government, but departing from his master's policy, he becomes as much hated as Vickram had formerly been loved—The king discovers the duplicity of his servant, and fearing to continue in the shape of a serpent, assumes that of a parrot, and proceeds to the Fort of Sendoornuggry—He falls in with a troop of Bahooropees—The strange metamorphoses which the king enables them to effect, and their extraordinary consequences. KING VICKRAMADETEA'S'mind was racked with anxiety as to his dreaded fate, as expressed at the end of the last chapter. In this state he sent for his minister 'and bosom friend, and gave orders to make preparations for a journey ; he also consulted with him on the affairs of the state, and requested him to carry them on during his absence in the most impartial manner possible, and with strict attention to justice. He said that he was fully aware of the zeal the minister displayed in the welfare and well-being of his kingdom and people, and had therefore no hesitation in confiding to him the responsible task. The preparations for the journey being completed, the tents pitched on the plain, and a propitious hour ascertain- ed, the king set out with a small retinue towards the north. Among those who followed in his train 'was Koobjuck the sentinel, whom the king added to the number of his follow- ers expressly for his tact and ingenuity. After travelling a few days they arrived at a stage near the capital city of Sendoornuggry, which was situated on the banks of a beautiful lake, surrounded with a variety of large and spreading trees, which formed a cool and refreshing shade.

This lake was full of the sweetest water, and as clear as crystal; they bathed in it, therefore, and after the usual ceremonies, partook of dinner. Shortly after the meal, the king went towards a flower-garden situated near the lake, for the avowed purpose of examining more closely its beau- ties; on approaching it he discovered a dead serpent lying amongst the bushes. The moment he saw it, he felt inclined to try the extent of knowledge which had been imparted to him by the hermit, fully believing that the Gooru* could not have practised any imposition on him. With this intention he returned to his tent, and prepared to give the subject, then uppermost in his mind, a fair trial. He ordered Koobjuck to wait for him while he slept a little, and positively forbade his disturbing him whilst in the arms of Morpheus, but to allow him to awake refreshed from his sleep. He then laid himself down in an alcove prepared for him, and was soon asleep. A certain charm had been pre- viously applied, and it now began to take effect. As the monarch's sleep became heavy, the serpent began gradu- ally to move; when it had regained its full strength, it rushed along furiously over the bank of the lake in the garden into the adjoining woods, attracted by the beauty of the landscape and scenery around the neigh- bourhood. These creatures are said to be susceptible of sylvan beauties; what amount of truth there is in this we do not presume to say, but give it merely as a popular as- sertion. The king's attendant, Koobjuck, perceiving the wonderful miracle achieved by his lord and master, namely, that of entering the body of a dead serpent, and conscious of the powers he himself possessed, (for which, it will be re- membered, he was indebted to his eaves-dropping propensi- ties, if we may so call them,) determined also to test their efficacy. He accordingly assumed the form of the king, who was lying near him asleep, and issued forth before the body of retainers. He ordered the tents to be struck, and

• A spiritual preceptor.

10 the whole equipage to return to Oujein ; and, mounting the king’s horse, he quitted the place with them. In a few days he arrived at the capital, and it becoming known, the minister and all the courtiers assembled in the audience- hall to wait upon their king, and to congratulate him upon his safe return, which they did with every possible degree of esteem, love, and regard. The counterfeit Vickram then held a council with the members of the court, and told them that when he left the city it was not his intention to return so speedily, but that his follower Koobjuck having deserted, he was loath to proceed any further. “ I thought,” said he, “ of setting out again on my tour, but there are reasons the urgency of which prevent my doing so at present.” He then left the court and proceeded to the apartments of the queen. The queen was a person of great merit, and of much beauty. The accomplishments of her mind were also far above the common calibre ; and, above all, she was possessed of much solid virtue. She saw the king approaching her, and prepared to receive him. After the usual interchange of civilities, into which she threw much of that winning soft- ness of manner peculiar to her sex alone, and not sus- pecting the person before her to be other than her lawful king and husband, she entered into that free and confidential mode of talk pertaining to a wedded life, although surprised at seeing Vickramadetea enter her apartments at an hour of the day to him quite unusual. She said she was very anxious to see the trial of what the hermit had instructed him in, and pressed him much to set about it. She said, “ Your majesty need not come into these rooms allotted to me for the next six months at least, unless you satisfy me in what I now solicit at your hands. I am desirous equally with you to derive the pleasure to be found from the knowledge of such a wonderful secret. I shall then only— that is, after you satisfy me on this head—willingly obey your majesty in all that it may be your pleasure to direct me.” The base usurper thus replied to the queen : “ Oh, my lovely angel ! the desire of my soul ! if it be your wish

11 to become mistress of the art I now possess, I solemnly de- clare I shall not thwart your inclination in this respect, nor in any other that you may ask me. I undertake to meet them all; but I recommend you to think well, and not insist on knowing that which, for reasons I cannot well explain, had best remain locked up in my breast. I do not wish to displease you, but I would fain not teach you the art of transmigration. I give you time to recall your thoughts, and ponder well upon what I have said; and if you still persist in knowing it, I will satisfy you." In his concluding remarks, the false king threw much warmth and some displeasure into his manner, unlike the true sovereign. In the latter, no trivial events, such as these, could have ruffled his temper in the slightest degree. This circum- stance did not pass unnoticed by the wise minister of those realms, and he could not but ask himself, what could have worked such a change in his sovereign? 'There is certain- ly,' thought he, 'a wide difference between his former car- riage and bearing and these he now displays;' and as he had some slight belief in the power of transmigration, he naturally enough concluded that he had only the body of the king before him, with some other soul inhabiting it for the present, a matter he was determined to ascertain. Mean- while the new king commenced a reign, marked by the grossest injustice, and the violation of all the rights and privileges which previously tended so much to the well-being and prosperity of each and all in the country, and to the stability of the government itself. This occasioned much bitterness and lamentation, where there formerly reigned peace and happiness. Where it was once customary to bestow commendations on the king, and to call down bless- ings on him, every mouth was now filled with the direst imprecations and curses. The minister, though much averse to be made a tool in the hands of such a despot, was, nevertheless, forced to submit to that which, under the cir- cumstances, there could be no means for effectually putting a stop to. All he could do, by his advice and suggestions, 3

12 were done most zealously ; but they went but a little way with the king, who, to his other bad qualities, added that of conceit. We will leave him for the present, and treat of the serpent which had been brought into life, and which we left in the woods. The serpent, then, after coiling and sporting in the woods for a time, returned, with the same speed that marked his onward course, to the spot whence he first started, and found there the body of Koobjuck alone in the place where he had left him in life. At first sight, the serpent (who it will no doubt be recollected was the rightful king in disguise) was rooted to the spot, with rage and astonish- ment contending within him. He could scarcely believe his own eyes. After a long gaze at the body of Koobjuck, he exclaimed, "How now! I am scarcely out of my na- tural frame and within the woods, but thou committest such a daring outrage upon my person!" While contemplating his position, he became dejected and melancholy ; in a word, he was quite beside himself. He again burst forth in terms of mingled rage and disappointment, and casting his eyes on the body lying before him, said, "What a dreadful and un- paralleled instance of duplicity and mischief hast thou shown towards me, in assuming my form and going away, and leaving me the choice of yours, or retaining that of the ser- pent! If I enter thy body, so cursed that if I look on it I incur a great sin ; and if I converse with such as thee, then my crime is equivalent to a murder; if I eat with such it is even worse, for the murder will then be as that of a brahmin; and equally unfortunate will it prove, should I receive even a drink of water from such a person's hands. The company of the wicked is ever pregnant with evils, and places a man in danger. It is said in the law, that a man should not approach to within five paces of a bullock, ten of a horse, and a thousand of an elephant; but that one should abandon the city altogether, when the residence in it of a wicked man is fully ascertained. Oh! what mis- fortune hast thou not brought on me!—thou hast injured

me both in soul and body by preventing a re-union of them. Certainly—oh, unhappy destiny !—what has been fated must come to pass, and I have therefore only to bear it with patience. Oh, perfidious wretch ! Oh, most ungrateful villain ! I will never appear in thy detestable form, so full of deceit, ingratitude, and wickedness !" In this state of grief, bordering on despair, a sudden thought crossed his mind, which gave him some relief. He knew that he had very kind and faithful friends in Soodew and Veytal.* On this he endeavoured to restrain his sorrow, and become more calm and collected. Believing he would be preserved from all danger, he started for the city of Sendoornuggry. While journeying along, he was led into considering the great danger he ran by continuing in the form of a serpent, a reptile held in deserved detestation by mankind, in consequence of the bitter enmity between them, and the venomous nature of the former. It chanced, however, that he found, shortly after his musings, under a Vurt† tree, a dead parrot, and knowing it to be a bird held in high repute for its beauty, colour, and other estimable qualities, he lost no time in taking its form, by which he not only lessened his danger, but acquired speed in his movements,—a thing by no means to be despised, situated as he was. Having transformed himself into the parrot, he ascended high into the air, and after having satisfied himself in all that delighted him in his new form,—perching on a tree here, picking a fruit there, and so on,—he arrived just without the walls of Sendoornuggry in much less time than he could have done without the wings of a parrot, and its light and active frame. The parrot (that is, the king) alighted on a tree, under the inviting shelter of which a troop of Bahooroopees,‡ who were in very distressed cir- cumstances, had shortly before taken up their residence.

* The king of demons. † The Indian fig-tree. ‡ A wandering tribe, who go about as dancers, actors, maskers, &c.

14 They were bitterly complaining of their hard lot, and were loud in their bewailings ; they were heard to raise their voice and exclaim, “ Almighty Creator of all things ! consider the vast and boundless difference between the rich and the poor : while we are every day, every hour, and every mo- ment of our lives, exposed to the most harassing fatigues, painful privations, and the direst of calamities, which may be summed in the brief monosyllable ‘ want,’—want of the necessaries of life, of food and clothing for ourselves and families—want of comfort—want of everything, in short, that can make life desirable, or even tolerable,—the rich are permitted to roll in wealth, with a superfluity of all that is denied to us, and of the ‘things which are essential to life. What have these done to secure for themselves so enviable a lot, and what have we been found wanting in to deserve so much misery ? We have parted with ‘ the little we possessed, consisting of the ornaments used in our profes- sion, and which were our all, in order to procure the bare means of subsistence for to-day ; tomorrow we may meet with death staring us in the face !” Having disburdened themselves of their griefs in this wise, they laid themselves down. The parrot, who had heard every word they uttered from his lofty perch, was much affected at the affliction of the poor and wretched Bahooroopees, as expressed in their words. He deigned to address them as follows :—“ Strangers,” said he, “ whence come ye, and whither are you bound ? Pray inform me, what are your respective callings or professions, the tribes to which each belong, your countries and your religions, and your reasons for thus bewailing ?” These sympathising words, delivered also in a tone of voice peculiar for its sweetness, caused the Bahooroopees to start up and listen attentively whence the voice proceeded, but they could not discover it ; at last, after much trouble and some little delay, they saw the parrot perched up aloft on one of the furthermost branches of the tree under which they were all assembled. The chief of the company was delighted that

15 such enquiries were made regarding them, and at the same time was astonished that a parrot should display so much sense and sympathy. There was something very extraordi- nary about that, he thought. In the belief that a parrot, which could show such wonderful wisdom, might also devise some means for the amelioration of their condition, he besought it to take pity on their miserable state, and asked it to come down from the tree, assuring it that no harm should be done it. Seeing the kind and grateful manner in which the invitation was tendered, the parrot flew down from the tree, and joined the wanderers below. These people, one after the other, drew near it by turns, and prostrated themselves before it. The chief, at the end of this obeisance, said, “ Oh sage parrot ! do us the favor to listen attentively to our unfortunate tale. We are of the tribe of Bahooroopee ; we arrived at this city about a month ago, with the view of following our calling, which is that of strolling players, and by such means to earn an honest livelihood ; but I regret exceedingly to state that the king will not permit our doing so, nor will he condescend to witness our performance, which has proved a sore disap- pointment to us, and we are now at a great loss what plan to adopt to obtain a subsistence. We have been compelled by sheer necessity to part with all we possessed when we first set foot in this city, even with the ornaments which formed a part of our appendage, for the purpose of obtain- ing food, so that we have nothing left now, and are therefore quite destitute.” The parrot, after a patient hearing of this sad case, asked the chief if any of them were masters of any particular art, by exhibiting which the king might be induced to sympathise with them. He replied that if the king would only tolerate their presence, and allow them a fair opportunity of winning his patronage, he would under- take to secure it ere long. The parrot then desired to be informed of the arts with which the Bahooroopees were familiar, and they did so. But, much to their surprise, none of them seemed to please the parrot, still less did they

16 meet with his approval. He promised to instruct the Ba- hooroopees in such arts as would be of use to them in their mode of life, and said that by their means they would be enabled to secure a good living. The chief of the Bahoo- roopees became quite overjoyed at this, and returned thanks to Heaven and to their winged benefactor for the promised acquisition, with much sincerity and truth. It was now late, the sun had performed his course, and the earth was being gradually enshrouded in the dusky folds of night. It was supper-time, and they partook of their evening meal in company with the parrot, after which the chief of the Ba- hooroopees entreated the parrot to reveal to them all he had promised; but the parrot said that the night was far ad- vanced, and that, besides, the place they then were in was not suitable for the purpose, he therefore asked them to accompany him to a fitter locality. The chief, accordingly, prepared to set out with the parrot, selecting two nimble and intelligent youths from his gang to be their companions. Having arrived at a certain spot, favorable for imparting the art, the parrot taught them the method of transmigra- tion. He also taught them other things, to be effected by the use of charms; and when they had sufficiently mastered the whole, they renewed their thanks to the parrot for the trouble he had been at, and for the invaluable boon he had bestowed on them and their class. They then returned to the place where they had left the remainder of their gang. Early next day, after going through the ceremonies peculiar to them, they sat down to their breakfast with joyous hearts, and sent one of their number to the court to see if the king appeared in public that morning. The messenger returned with the news that the king was holding his court, sur- rounded by his nobles and courtiers. The chief of the Bahooropees instantly changed himself, by means of the charm given to him by the parrot the previous day, into a brave and monstrous warrior, with a complete suit of armour, sword in hand, with a shield, and bow slung across him, and a quiver full of arrows. One of the youths became,

17 by a like process, a young lady of incomparable beauty, splendidly attired, with costly jewels vieing in brilliancy with the sun and her own charms. Another assumed the form of a horse of exact symmetry and rare perfections, richly caparisoned, with a saddle-cloth and bits of pure gold, fit for the use of the highest personage in the land. The chief mounted the horse, and, with the lady in his arms, rode through the air as if by magic, until they arrived opposite to the king's court, where they descended. The king, and all assembled with him, looked on in astonishment at the wonderful feat performed, and the beauty and richness of the persons. The warrior dismounted, and stepping for- ward to the king, addressed him as follows:—"Oh king! I am come on a most particular mission." "Speak!" said the king. The warrior continued,—"There is in heaven a grand war between the divine Angels and the Daityas*; the army of the Angels is already encamped in the field, and have sent for me to assist them in the struggle; my beautiful wife (pointing to her) had determined to accompany me to the battle-field, although I seriously entreated her not to do it, but her obstinacy has been so great, that I was com- pelled to bring her with me. I am, however, resolved, upon better thoughts, not to expose her to the dangers of war, so I bring her to your court for safety during my absence, knowing that you will be kind and treat her well, and set before her examples of religion, and of strict and correct be- haviour. Please, then, have the same consideration for her as you would for a mother or sister, and act by her accord- ingly. I must tell you that my name is Vejydhwaj,† and I am a resident of the city of Auyodhea. I am now about to ascend to heaven, and I beg you will be pleased to take charge of my wife till I return, I hope with victory in my train; but should fate have reserved for me death on the field, then I conjure you to immolate her, in accordance with the usual practice on such occasions." "Ah! Vejydhwaj,"

• Demons or Asœrus. † Flag of victory. D

said the king, "may God deliver you from the hands of the enemy! May He, in his infinite mercy, keep a constant watch over you!" "I beg to acquaint your majesty that my valour is so great, that the Daityas are not equal to contend with me. I am sure of winning the battle, and putting them to flight." Now the king thought that this reply of Vejydhwaj merited reproof, as he deemed it highly impróper in any one, however great, to speak thus confi- dently before him. But being quite taken up with the feigned warrior, he said, "Vejydhwaj, I will take as much care of your wife as I would of my own child; depend on me, and go with confidence on your mission. May success attend you!" Vejydhwaj thanked the king for his kind welcome and still kinder promise, and set off on his journey, whipping his horse as he ascended with great rapidity to the heavens, amidst the wondering gaze of the king and the crowd there assembled. He was soon lost to sight. The king and all about him concluded that he had reached heaven, and they were confirmed in their belief when some little time after they heard the sounds of drums and martial instruments high above their heads. The noise and con- fusion which followed these sounds also told them that the combatants were engaged in furious warfare, and, as if in confirmation of this, they saw blood-stained arrows fall to the earth. They raised their eyes towards the firma- ment, and, while gazing intently upwards, saw the left hand of a man fall, severed from the body, then the right one, and soon after the body itself, dreadfully wounded and mangled. At first they were in doubt as to the identity of the body, and thought it to be that of some obscure soldier, but they were soon able to satisfy themselves on that point, for the head came whizzing through the air, and fell beside the body. The face bore a parting smile, and it was that of the warrior who, a short time before, appeared before them full of life and hope, and who had discoursed with them in all confidence, when leaving his wife under the protection of the king.

19 CHAPTER III. The same subject continued—Tale of the Alligator and the Traveller —The chief of the Bahooroopees disposes of the parrot to a wealthy merchant—A dancing-girl endeavours to extort money from the merchant by a false accusation, which is frustrated by the ingenuity of the parrot—The dancing-girl prevails upon the merchant to make her a present of the parrot—In revenge, she orders her slave to put him to death; but Veytal, the king of the demons, saves his life, and enables him to escape—The parrot flies to the temple of the Goddess Kallika. THE painful intelligence of the death of Vejydhwaj having reached his wife, whilst she was engaged in the queen's apartment, she instantly came to where the mutilated corpse of her husband was laid, and bewailed her misfor- tune in no measured terms, in the following frantic excla- mations:—"Oh! husband of my heart! my best beloved! —you were ever considered as a brave and unconquer- able warrior; your equal was not known; you were always victorious in all your encounters; by your courage and determination you have on more than forty-two different occasions ascended to heaven, to take part in the most dreadful of strifes, and yet were never vanquished. Oh! my heart's best treasure!—you have been my only support, and now that you are no more, where can I look for the means of subsistence? I am swallowed up in an ocean of grief, which is all the deeper in that I was not with you to tend you in your last dying moments. It was in vain that you placed me in charge of a king." The people, greatly affected by the excessive grief manifested by the warrior's wife, mingled their tears and sympathies with hers, which presented a spectacle truly melancholy. While she was thus lamenting the cruel fate which de- prived her of her husband, the king approached her, and, with much tenderness in his manner, said,—"I pray you,

20 fair lady, do not give yourself up thus to grief. This is a misfortune, I am aware, of no ordinary kind, and which you must keenly feel, but recollect that it was beyond all human control: it is appointed for all men to die once. Although I cannot but acknowledge that to be altogether insensible to the loss, the irreparable loss, you have this day sustained would be impossible, nay inexcusable in you, yet permit me to observe there is a wide difference between such callousness and moderation in grief, to which I would fain bring you. To be sensible of God’s afflicting hand under such a dispensation, and to receive it as the punish- ment which we have deserved, is the bounden duty of all, but it would be a species of rebellion against the inscrutable decrees of Heaven to be inconsolable. That you may not, therefore, add sin to your affliction, allow me to withdraw you from this scene. I have a daughter, who, at my desire, will be ever ready to render you all the assistance in her power, and who will treat you in all respects as a sister. I assure you I will afford you every protection, and place you entirely on an equal footing with her, so long as you may think fit to reside in my court.” The widow replied, —“I am extremely thankful to your majesty for your kind and generous offer, and for the sympathy expressed in your speech, but I request that you will be pleased to order im- mediately the necessary preparations for burning me, as I look not to survive this catastrophe, nor do I wish it. I am resolved to sacrifice myself on the pile that will be raised to perform my husband’s last rites, and I entreat you will not, either by argument or other means, attempt to dis- suade me from my fixed and unalterable design.” The king endeavoured to impress upon her the gross absurdity of such conduct, and to show how much it was at variance with the mild precepts of religion and the character of the Divine Being. “Let me advise you,” said he, “to reflect for one moment on the revolting nature of the act you are about to commit; it is repugnant to every feeling of huma- nity and good sense. Return home, and give it your due