PK 
 4474 
 A6 
 A66 
 
 ASIA 
 
 mfiismmsmimmmmam 
 
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 IDEAS. 
 
 HINBOO STORIES 
 
 COLLECTED 66 COLLATED 
 
 ^ ARYAN. 
 
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aforncU UtttttBmta ffiifararg 
 
 3tl?aw, Nm f nrfe 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 BENNO LOEWY LIBRARY 
 
 COLLECTED BY 
 
 BENNO LOEWY 
 
 1854-1919 
 BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 
PK 4474.A6A66'"""'""'^ '""'"^ 
 
 '' iyi»lllil«ilBiffi,,aai!SS stories / 
 
 3 1924 023 157 
 
 393 
 
1^1 
 
EARLY IDEAS. 
 
 A GEOUP 
 
 HINDOO STORIES. 
 
 COLLECTED AND COLLATED 
 
 BY 
 
 ^ IN" ^ R, Y ^ N. 
 
 fontwn: 
 
 W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 
 
 13, WATEELOO PLACE, PALL MALL, S.W. 
 1881. 
 
A^.'C/^S^O 
 
 LONDON 
 
 CLAYTON AMD CO., TEMPLE PRINTING WOBKB, 
 
 17, BOUTEBIE BTEEBT, FLEET STREET. 
 
INDEX O:^ CONTENTS. 
 
 PAeff 
 The Peefack ... ... ... ... 5 
 
 The Introduction ... ... ... ... 9 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Op the Fables op Bidpai oe Pilpai, and the 
 
 Pancha Tantea, oe Five Chaptees ... 2? 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 Op the Hitopodbsa, oe Feiendlt Advice > ... 45 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 Op the Kathasaeitsagaea alias Veihatkatha- 
 
 SAGAEA OE YeIHATKATHA, OE GeEAT TaLB ... 62 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Op the Advbntuees op the Ten Youths oe 
 
 Peinces ... ... ... ... 72 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Baital Pachisi, oe Twbntt-pive Stoeies op 
 
 A Demon ... ... ... ... 102 - 
 
Index. 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PAOE 
 
 The Thibtt-two Stoeies of the Speaking 
 
 Statues ... ... ... ... 119 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Adventures of ■ Vickeamaditta, King of 
 
 OOJEIN ... ... ... ... 131 
 
 CHAPTER Vm. 
 
 Th]^ Histokt of Vickeamaditta, Rulbb op 
 
 Kaitana ... ... ... ... 142 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Concluding Remaeks ... ... ... 151 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 Competent authorities assert that the conversation 
 of mankind at the earliest stage of their existence 
 ■ was monosyllabic ; men and women addressed each 
 other in words of a single syllable, now considered 
 as the roots or basis of our present languages. It 
 is presumed that after humanity got over the root 
 stage, and well into the syllabic epoch, they began 
 to tell each other stories, and these being constantly 
 repeated, were handed down to posterity viva voce. 
 As time went on the art of writing became known, 
 consisting at first of single figures representing 
 what was intended to be expressed ; for as the root 
 was the first stage of language, so the single figure 
 was the first stage of writing. After a further 
 period, alphabets were introduced, and the early 
 figures and representations were changed into words 
 composed of letters. And then the fables or stories, 
 which had been going the rounds so long from 
 mouth to mouth, were gradually put into writing, 
 
6 Preface. 
 
 and after centuries and centuries eventually found 
 themselves in priot. As the East was far in advance 
 of the "West in civilization, it is probable that the 
 former was the cradle of many tales; and that 
 stories, told first there in original, have filtered 
 through many countries and many channels till 
 they were served up again in the "West, sometimes 
 with additions and sometimes without. 
 
 The short fable may, then, be considered as the 
 first means of imparting instruction and amusement 
 to man. As years rolled by the fable grew into 
 the tale or story, which later on expanded into the 
 romance and the novel. The fable deals chiefly 
 with men, women, animals, birds, insects, and fish, 
 they being the active parts of their ingredients; 
 description of things, times, and places being the 
 passive. Each fable is designed to illustrate and 
 exemplify some precept for human conduct, and 
 Avhat is said by the animal, bird, insect, or fish 
 applies more to men and women than to themselves. 
 
 Among the mass of fable, tale, or story, it is 
 difficult to select specimens to suit the tastes of all. 
 Excessive wit is as rare as excessive beauty, and it 
 cannot be expected that all the stories are gems. 
 While a few are good, some fair, and many indif- 
 ferent, all are interesting as giving the thoughts, 
 the ideas, the sentiments, and the actions of the 
 
Preface. 7 
 
 humanities from the earliest ages. Generally they 
 may be divided into four groups — viz., the Sanscrit 
 or Hindoo group, the Arabic and Persian group, 
 the Western or European group, and the American 
 group. Of these the Sanscrit stories are the oldest, 
 and probably served as the basis of the Arabic and 
 Persian tales, which again can be traced as the 
 source from which many of the European authors 
 took their start. American wit and humour, as 
 exemplified in their tales and sketches, form a group 
 of themselves, and seem to have originated in the 
 land which is itself the latest novelty, and which, 
 at present, has the greatest future before it. While 
 much of the European facetiousness can be traced 
 to an Eastern origin, the American ideas stand out 
 by themselves the product of a civilization which 
 has, in a certain way, civilized itself, and produced 
 much original matter. The different groups will, 
 however, be dealt with separately, and the present 
 volume contains only specimens of Hindoo tales 
 and stories. 
 
 With the exception of some stories which are 
 now translated for the first time, this book contains 
 nothing new. Much has been borrowed from the 
 works of Sir William Jones, H. T. Colebrooke, and 
 H. H. Wilson, the early pioneers and investigators 
 of Sanscrit literature, and who laid the foundations 
 
8 Preface. 
 
 of the edifice, which has been added to largely by 
 the learned professors Max Muller, Monier "Williams^ 
 Francis Johnson, George Biihler, and others. I am 
 also indebted to Mr. P. W. Jacob for extracts from 
 his translation of the adventures of the ten princes^ 
 a story as interesting as the Arabian nights, and 
 giving illustrations of the Hindoo character both in 
 idea and action. The same may be said of the 
 adventures of Vickramaditya, king of Oojein, 
 translated into English by Bagoba Moraba, of 
 Bombay ; and of the stories of the thirty-two statues, 
 partly translated by Sayud Abdullah. Other authors 
 and translators, from whose works much has been 
 taken, have all been duly acknowledged in some 
 part of the present collection. 
 
INTBODUCTION. 
 
 Befoee commencing an analysis of certain Hindoo 
 story-books, it is advisable to give a few details of 
 the domestic and social life of the Hindoos them- 
 selyes, as described by the learned sage, Yatsyayana, 
 who wrote about the beginning of the Christian 
 era. The exact date of his work is unknown,, 
 but from the use of certain words, and from allusions 
 to other writings and other persons, it is supposed 
 to haye been written not earlier than the first, and 
 not later than the third century, a.d. 
 
 The work itself is well known in Sanscrit litera- 
 ture as the Vatsyayana Kama Sutra, or Aphorisms 
 on Love by Vatsyayana, and is the standard work 
 on love, and social and domestic life in that 
 language. It was composed by Vatsya, while lead- 
 ing the life of a religious student at Benares; at 
 all events that is what he himself says at the close 
 of the manuscript. It further appears that he had 
 carefully studied the writings of seven earlier 
 authors, whose names he mentions, but none of 
 ■whose works are now extant. In other literature 
 of the same nature, but of a later date, Yatsyayana 
 
10 Introduction. 
 
 is always quoted as the chief authority on these 
 subjects. 
 
 The work is interesting on account of its un- 
 doubted age and genuineness. It contains, how- 
 ever, a good deal of matter connected with the 
 domestic and private details of married life to 
 which it is unnecessary to allude, and which are 
 more fitted for Sanscrit manuscript than for English 
 print. But the remarks on the subjects of educa- 
 tion, on the study of the sixty -four arts, on the 
 kind of life to be led by a householder, his house- 
 hold arrangements, his friends and companions, his 
 occupations and amusements, his conduct to the 
 fair sex, and his marriage, are simple and good. 
 They show that the Hindoos of that age possessed 
 a civilization far in advance of our own at that 
 time, while the exact details of everything to be 
 done by husbands and wives seem to point out that 
 marriage obligations were fully recognized at that 
 period. 
 
 From the earliest ages down to the present time 
 the Hindoos have based their ideas of life on three 
 things — viz., Dharma, Artha, and Kama, three 
 words constantly found in their literature. 
 
 "Dharma " may be translated a^ the acquisition 
 of virtue or religious merit, and obedience to the 
 ordinances of religion. It is to be learnt from the 
 holy writ, and from those conversant with it. In 
 a word, it is "Eeligion," the basis of all good. 
 
 "Artha "may be translated as the acquisition 
 of arts, land, gold, cattle, wealth, equipages and 
 friends. It is further the protection of what is 
 
Introdtcciion. 11 
 
 acquired, and the increase of what is protected, or, 
 in other words, keeping what we have got, and 
 acquiring more. It is to be learnt from the king's 
 officers, and from merchants who may be well 
 acquainted with the ways of commerce. • 
 
 " Kama " is the enjoyment of appropriate ob- 
 jects by the five senses of hearing, feeling, seeing, 
 tasting, and smelling, assisted by the miad, together 
 with the soul. The ingredient in this is a peculiar 
 contact between the organ of sense and its object, 
 and the consciousness of pleasure which arises from 
 that contact is called Kama. It is to be learnt from 
 the aphorisms on the senses, and from the practice 
 of citizens. 
 
 Keeping the above three things constantly in 
 view, the rules about education, and the study of 
 the arts and sciences, are then laid down. Parents 
 are enjoined to indulge their children until they 
 attain the age of five ; from five to sixteen they 
 are to be instructed in the fourteen sciences and 
 the sixty-four arts, or some of them; and after 
 sixteen they are only to be verbally admonished. 
 
 The fourteen sciences include the study of the 
 Vedas, the Poorans and Oopupoorans, the Dhurm- 
 sastru, law, medicine, music, military and mechani- 
 cal sciences, astronomy and astrology, arithmetic, 
 grammar, pronunciation, cosmography, physics, and 
 metaphysics. 
 
 A complete list of the sixty- four arts has been 
 given by Vatsyayana, and are quoted here ;fco show 
 the state of civilization of the Hindoos at that early 
 period. They are as follow : — 
 
12 Introduction. 
 
 1. Singing. 
 
 2. Playing on musical instruments, 
 
 3. Dancing. 
 
 4. Union of dancing, singing, and playing in- 
 
 strumental music. 
 
 5. Writing and drawing. 
 
 6. Tattooing. 
 
 7. Arraying and adorning an idol witli rice and 
 
 flowers. 
 
 8. Spreading and arranging beds or couches of 
 
 flowers, or flowers upon the ground. 
 
 9. Colouring the teeth, garments, hair, nails, 
 
 and bodies — i.e., staining, dyeing, colouring, 
 and painting the same. 
 
 10. Fixing stained glass into a floor. 
 
 11. The art of making beds, and spreading out 
 
 carpets and cushions for reclining. 
 
 12. Playing on musical glasses filled with water. 
 
 13. Storing and accumulating water in aque- 
 
 ducts, cisterns, and reservoirs. 
 
 14. Picture making, limning, and decorating. 
 
 15. Stringing of rosaries, necklaces, garlands, 
 
 and wreaths. 
 
 16. Binding of turbans and chaplets, and 
 
 making crests and top-knots of flowers. 
 
 17. Scenic representations. Stage playing. 
 
 18. Art of making ear ornaments. 
 
 19. Art of preparing perfumes and odours. 
 
 20. Proper disposition of jewels and decorations, 
 
 and adornment in dress. 
 
 21. Magic or sorcery. 
 
 22. Quickness of hand, or manual skill. 
 
Introduction. 13 
 
 23. Culinary art — «.e., cooking and cookery. 
 
 24. Making lemonades, sherbets, acidulated 
 
 drinks, and spirituous extracts, with proper 
 flavour and colour. 
 
 25. Tailors' work and sewing. 
 
 26. Making parrots, flowers, tufts, tassels, bunches, 
 
 bosses, knobs, &c., out of yarn or thread. 
 
 27. Solution of riddles, enigmas, covert speeches, 
 
 verbal puzzles, and enigmatical questions. 
 
 28. A game which consisted in repeating verses, 
 
 and as one person finished, another person 
 had to commence at once, repeating another 
 verse, beginning with the same letter with 
 which the last speaker's verse ended. Who- 
 ever failed to repeat was considered to have 
 lost, and to be subject to pay a forfeit or 
 stake of some kind. 
 
 29. The art of mimicry or imitation. 
 
 30. Eeading, including chanting and intoning. 
 
 31. Study of sentences difficult to pronounce. 
 
 It is played as a game chiefly by women 
 and children, and consists of a difficult 
 sentence being given, and when repeated 
 quickly, the words are often transposed or 
 badly pronounced. 
 
 32. Practice with sword, single stick, quarter 
 
 stafi', and bow and arrow. 
 
 33. Drawing inferences, reasoning or inferring. 
 
 34. Carpentry, or the work of a carpenter. 
 
 35. Architecture, or the art of building. 
 
 36. Knowledge about gold and silver coinsj and 
 
 jewels and gems. 
 
14 Introduction. 
 
 37. Ch.emistry and mineralogy. 
 
 38. Colouring jewels, gems, and beads. 
 
 39. Knowledge of mines and quarries. 
 
 40. Gardening, knowledge of treating the dis- 
 
 eases of trees and plants, of nourishing 
 them, and determining their ages. 
 
 41. Art of cock fighting, quail fighting, and ram 
 
 fighting. 
 
 42. Art of teaching parrots and starlings to 
 
 43. Art of applying perfumed ointments to the 
 
 body, and of dressing the hair with un- 
 guents and perfumes, and braiding it. 
 
 44. The art of understanding writing in cypher, 
 
 and the writing of words in a peculiar way. 
 Also the art of understanding the signs 
 made by the fingers, each sign having an 
 alphabetical meaning. 
 46. The art of speaking by changing the forms 
 of words. It is of various kinds. Some 
 speak by changing the beginning and end 
 of words, others by adding unnecessary 
 letters between every syllable of a word, 
 and so on. 
 
 46. Knowledge of languages, and of the ver- 
 
 nacular dialects. 
 
 47. Art of making flower earriagcs. 
 
 48. Art of framing mystical diagrams, of ad- 
 
 dressing spells and charms, and binding 
 armlets. 
 
 49. Mental exercises, such as coBipleting stanzas 
 
 or verses on receiving a part of them ; or 
 
Introduction. 15 
 
 supplying one, two, or three lines -when 
 the remaining lines are given indiscrimi- 
 nately from different verses, so as to make 
 the whole an entire verse with regard to 
 its meaning ; or arranging the words of a 
 verse written irregularly, by separating the 
 vowels from the consonants, or leaving 
 them out altogether ; or putting into verse 
 or prose sentences represented by signs or 
 symbols. There are many other such exer- 
 cises. 
 
 50. Composing poems. 
 
 51. Knowledge of dictionaries and vocabularies. 
 
 52. Knowledge of ways of changing and dis- 
 
 guising the appearance of persons. 
 
 53. Knowledge of the art of changing the _ap- 
 
 pearance of things, such as making cotton 
 to appear as silk, coarse and common things 
 to appear as fine and good. 
 
 54. Yarious ways of gambling. 
 
 55. Art of obtaining possession of the property 
 
 of others by means of Muntras or incan- 
 tations. 
 
 56. Skill in youthful sports. 
 
 57. Knowledge of the rules of society, and of 
 
 how to pay respects and compliments, to 
 others. 
 
 58. Knowledge of the art of war, of arms, 
 
 armies, &o. 
 
 59. Knowledge of gymnastics. 
 
 60. Art of knowing the character of a man from 
 
 his features. 
 
16 Introduction. 
 
 61. Knowledge of scanning or constructing 
 
 verses. 
 
 62. Arithmetical recreations. 
 
 63. Making artificial flowers. 
 
 64. Making figures and images in clay. 
 
 After remarks on education, details are then 
 given about " the life of a citizen, the translation of 
 which runs thus : 
 
 Having thus been educated, a man should become 
 a householder, with the wealth that he may have 
 gained by gift, conquest, purchase, deposit, or by 
 inheritance from his ancestors. He should take a 
 house in a city, or in a large village, or in the 
 vicinity of good men, or in the neighbourhood of 
 his friends. This abode should be situated near 
 good water, and should be divided into different 
 compartments for various purposes. It should be 
 surrounded by a garden, and should also contain 
 two rooms — an outer and an inner room. The 
 inner room should be occupied by the females of 
 the family ; while the outer room, balmy with rich 
 perfumes, should contain a bed — soft, agreeable to 
 the sight, covered with a clean white cloth, low in 
 the middle part, having garlands and bunches of 
 flowers upon it, and a canopy above, and two 
 pillows, one at the top and another at the bottom. 
 There should be also a couch besides, and at the 
 head of this a stool, on which should be placed 
 fragrant ointments for the night, as well as flowers, 
 pots containing oollyrium and other fragrant sub- 
 stances ; things used for perfuming the mouth, and 
 the bark of the common citron tree. Near the 
 
Introduction. 17 
 
 bed, on the ground, there should be a pot for spit- 
 ting after eating betel leaves, a box for jewels and 
 ornaments, a lute hanging from a peg made of the 
 tusk of an elephant, a board for drawing, and some 
 garlands of the yellow amaranth. Not far from 
 the bed, again on the ground, there should be a 
 round seat, a toy cart, and a board for playing with 
 dice. Outside the outer room there should be 
 cages of birds, and also a separate room for spinning, 
 carving, and such like diversions. In the garden 
 there should be a whirling swing and a common 
 swing, also a bower of creepers covered with flowers, 
 in which a raised parterre should be made for 
 sitting on. 
 
 Now, the householder having got up in the 
 morning, and performed his necessary duties, should 
 then wash his teeth, apply a limited quantity of 
 ointments and perfumes to his body, put some orna- 
 ments on his person, and coUyrium on his eyelids 
 and below his eyes, colour his lips with alaktaka, 
 and look at himself in the glass. Then having 
 eaten betel leaves with other things that give fra- 
 grance to the mouth, he should then perform his 
 usual business. He should bathe daily, anoint his 
 body with oil every other day, apply a lathering 
 substance to his body every three days, get his head 
 shaved every four days, and his body every ten 
 days. All these things should be done without 
 fail. Meals should be taken in the forenoon, the 
 afternoon, and again at night. After the morning 
 meal, parrots and other birds should be taught to 
 speak, and the fighting of cocks, quails, and rams 
 
18: Itdmduiedifmi 
 
 shfijiiH' foUo.w. M limited tim©' should: be-, devoted- 
 tct) seeing his- friends and oonfldants-f parasites' andi 
 jesters ; andi thesa should follow the> noon-day re- 
 pQse» In the afternoon, having put on his clothes 
 and his-sornameutsj.theihouseholder should converse 
 with.hisifriends. In the evening there should be 
 sin^ng. and. social amuaemeuts. 
 
 The following' are the things to be done occa- 
 sionally as diversions or amusements, viz. : — 
 
 1 . Holding festivals in honour of different deities. 
 
 2. Social gatherings of both sexes. 
 3; Drinking parties. 
 
 4'. Picnics. 
 
 5. Other social diversions, 
 
 Details of which are given^ along with adesorip- 
 iion of the companions and friends, and messengers 
 of the imaginary citizen. The qualities of friends 
 are that — 
 
 They should tell the. truth. 
 
 They should not be changed by time. 
 
 They should be favourable to your designs. 
 
 They should be firm. 
 
 They should be free from covetousness. 
 
 They should not be capable of being gained over 
 by others. 
 
 They should not reveal your secrets. 
 
 And the kind of friends that should be attached 
 to any person are — 
 
 One who played with you in the dust— «.e., in 
 childhood. 
 
 One who is bound by an obligation. 
 
Init'odueM&n. \W 
 
 One who isof tKe same, dispositioitj and^fondof 
 the same things; 
 
 One who is a fellow student. 
 
 On© who is. acquainted with yoTur seeretfe' and* 
 faults, and whose faults and secrets are also known* 
 to you. 
 
 One who is a child of your nurse. 
 
 One who is brought up with you; 
 
 One who is an hereditary friend. 
 
 And as regards messertgers,' thetjualities required' 
 of them are — 
 
 Skilfiilness. 
 
 Boldness. 
 
 Knowledge of the intention of ' m«n and' of > their- 
 outward signs. 
 
 Absence of confusion — ^.e., no shyness: 
 
 Knowledge of the exact meaning- of what others 
 do or say. 
 
 Gbod manners. 
 
 Kiiowledge of appropriate times and plaoes for 
 doing different things. 
 
 Ingenuity in business. 
 
 Quick comprehension. 
 
 Quick application of remedies^?', e., quick and 
 ready resources. 
 
 And the chapter ends with a verse to the efEect 
 that the man who is ingenuous and wise, who is 
 accompanied by a friend, and who judges well the 
 intentions of others, and. who knows the proper 
 time and place for doing every things generally 
 accomplishes his purpose, and succeeds tolerably 
 well in this world in all hia undertakings. 
 
 B 2 
 
20 Introduction. 
 
 Long details are then given about marriage and 
 tlie acquisition of a wife, how to make love to a 
 fair maiden, and how to win her; plenty of con- 
 versation being one of the necessities, for, says the 
 sage, " Though a man loves a girl ever so much, he 
 never succeeds in winning her without a great deal of 
 talking." The parents of the girl also have to do 
 their share. It is laid down that when a girl becomes 
 marriageable, her parents should dress her smartly 
 and place her where she can be easily seen by all. 
 Every afternoon, having dressed her and decorated 
 her in a becoming manner, they should send her 
 with female companions to sports, sacrifices, and 
 marriage ceremonies, and thus show her to advan- 
 tage, because she is a kind of merchandise. The 
 parents should also receive with kind words and 
 signs of friendliness those of an auspicious appearance 
 and character, who may come accompanied by their 
 friends and relations for the purpose of marrying 
 their daughter. What the parents are to do, what 
 the man is to do, and what the girl is to do, are all 
 given with that detail and classification which the 
 Hindoos dearly love, but too lengthy to be repeated 
 here. Passing over these, we then come to the 
 duties of a wife, which are described as follows : — 
 
 A virtuous woman, who has affection for her 
 husband, should act in conformity with his wishes 
 as if he was a divine being, and, with his consent, 
 should take upon herself the whole care of his 
 family. Sh^ should keep the house well cleaned, 
 and arrange flowers of various kinds in different 
 parts of it, and make the floor smooth and polished. 
 
Introduction. 21 
 
 •so as to give the whole a nice and becoming ap- 
 pearance. She should place ready in it all the 
 materials required for the morning, noon, and 
 eyening sacrifices, and she should herself revere 
 the sanctuary of the household gods, for, says 
 Cronardiya, ** Nothing so much attracts the heart of 
 a householder to his wife as a careful observance of 
 the things mentioned above." Towards theparentf, 
 relations, friends, servants, and sisters of her 
 husband, she should behave as they deserve. In 
 the garden she should plant beds of green vege- 
 tables, bunches of the sugar cane, and clumps of 
 the fig-tree, the mustard plant, the parsley plant, 
 the fennel plant, and the xanthochymus pictorius ; 
 clusters of various flowers, such as the trapa bis- 
 pinosa, the jasmine, the gasminum grandiflorum, 
 the yellow amaranth, the wild jasmine, the taber- 
 naemontana coronaria, the china rose, and others, 
 should likewise be planted, together with the fra- 
 grant grass andropogon sehoenanthus, and the fra- 
 grant root of the plant andropogon miricatus. She 
 should also have seats and arbours made in the 
 garden, in the middle of which a well, tank, or pool 
 should be dug. She should always avoid the com- 
 pany of female beggars, female Buddhist mendi- 
 cants, unchaste and roguish women, female fortune- 
 tellers and witches. As regards meals, she should 
 always consider what her husband likes and dis- 
 likes, and what things are good for him, and 
 what are injurious to him. When she hears the 
 sound of his footsteps coming home, she should at 
 once get up and be ready to do whatever he may 
 
,22 Intraduction. 
 
 command ,her, and either order her female servant 
 to wash his feet or wash them herself. When 
 going anywhere with her husband she should put 
 on her ornaments, and should not give or accept 
 invitations, or attend marriages and sacriices, or sit 
 in the company of female friends, or visit the 
 temple of the, gods without his consent. If she 
 wishes to engage in any kinds of games or sports, 
 she should not do it against his will. In the same 
 way she should always sit down after him and get 
 up before him, and should never awaken him when 
 he is asleep. The kitchen should be situated in a 
 quiet and retired place, so as not to be accessible 
 to straijLgers, and it should always look nice. In 
 tiie event of any misconduct on the part of her 
 husband, she should not blame him excessively, 
 even though she be a little displeased. She should 
 not use abusive language towards him, but rebuke 
 him with conciliatory words, whether he be in the 
 company of friends or alone. She should not also 
 be a scold, for, says Gonardya, " There is no cause 
 of dislike on the part of the husband so great as 
 this characteristic in his wife." Lastly, she should 
 avoid bad expressions, bad looks, speaking aside, 
 standing in the doorway and looking at passers by; 
 conversing in pleasure groves, and remaining in a 
 lonely place for a long time; and, finally, she 
 should alwa,ys keep her body, her teeth, her hair, 
 and everytting belonging to her nice, sweet, and 
 clean." 
 
 iWhen the wife wants to go to her husband in 
 private -her dress* should consist of many ornaments, 
 
Introduetion. 23 
 
 various kinds of flowers, a cloth decor&ted -witli 
 different colours, and some sweet-smelling ointments 
 or unguents. Her everjTday dress should be made 
 up of a thin close-textured cloth, a few ornaments 
 and flowers, and a little scent — not too rauoh. She 
 should also observe the fasts and vows of her hus- 
 band, and when he tries to prevent her doing this, 
 she should persuade him to let her do it. 
 
 At appropriate times of the year, and when they 
 happen to be cheap, she should buy earth, bamboos, 
 firewood, skins, and iron pots, as also salt and 
 oil. Fragrant substances, vessels made of the fruit 
 of the plant wrightea antidysenterica, or oval- 
 leaved wrightea, medicines, and other things which 
 are always wanted, should be obtained when re- 
 quired, and kept in a secret place of the house. 
 The seeds of the radish, the potato, the common 
 beet, the damanaka (Indian wormwood), the man- 
 goe, the cucumber, the egg plant, the kushmanda, 
 the pumpkin gourd, the surana, the bignonia rn- 
 dica, the sandal wood, the premna spinosa, the garlic 
 plant, onions, and other plants should be bought 
 and sown at the proper seasons. 
 
 The wife, moreover, should not tell to strangers 
 theamount of her wealth, nor the secrets which her 
 husband has confided to her. She should surpass 
 all the women of her ownTank in life in her clever- 
 ness, her appearance, her knowledge of cookery, 
 her pride, and her manner of serving her husband. 
 The expenditure of the year should be regulated by 
 the profits; and the milk that remains, after being 
 used at^meafe, shouldlbeiturnedinto'ghee or clarified 
 
24 Introduction. 
 
 butter. Oil and sugar should be prepared at home ; 
 spinning and weaving should also be done there ; 
 and a store of ropes and cords, and barks of trees 
 for twisting into ropes, should be kept. She should 
 also attend to the pounding and cleaning of rice, 
 using its small grain and chafE in some way or other. 
 She should pay the salaries of the servants, look 
 after the tilling of the fields, the keeping of the 
 flocks and herds, superintend the making of vehicles, 
 and take care of the rams, cocks, quails, parrots, star- 
 lings, cuckoos, peacocks, monkeys, and deer; and 
 .finally, adjust the income and expetiditure of the day. 
 The worn-out clothes should be given to those ser- 
 vants who have done good work, in order to show 
 them that their services have been appreciated, or 
 they may be applied to some other use. The vessels 
 in which wine is prepared, as well as those in 
 which it is kept, should be carefully looked after, 
 and used at the proper time. All sales and pur- 
 chases should also be well attended to. 
 
 The friends of her husband she should welcome 
 by presenting them with flowers, ointment, incense, 
 betel leaves, and betel nut. Her father-in-law and 
 mother-in-law she should freat as they deserve, 
 always remaining dependent on their will J never 
 contradicting them ; speaking to them in few and 
 not harsh words; not laughing loudly in their 
 presence, and acting with their friends and enemies 
 as with her own. In addition to the above, she 
 should not be vain, or too much taken up with her 
 enjoyments ; should be liberal towards her servants, 
 and reward them on holidays and festivals, and 
 
Introduction. 25 
 
 should not give anything to any body without first 
 making it known to her husband. 
 
 During the absence of her husband on a journey, 
 the wife should wear only her auspicious ornaments, 
 and observe the fasts in honour of the gods. 
 While anxious to hear the news of her husband, 
 she should still look after her household affairs. 
 She should sleep near the elder women of the 
 house, and make herself agreeable to them. 
 She should look after and keep in repair the 
 things that are liked by her husband, and 
 the works that have been begun by him should 
 be continued. To the houses of her relations she 
 should not go, except on occasions of joy and sorrow, 
 and then she should go in the usual travelling 
 dress, accompanied by her husband's servants, and 
 should not remain there for a long time. The fasts 
 and feasts should be observed with, the consent of 
 the elders of the house. The resources should be 
 increased by making purchases and sales according 
 to the practice of merchants, and by means of honest 
 servants superintended by herself. The income 
 should be increased, and the expenditure diminished 
 as much as possible. And when her husband re- 
 turns from his journey, she should receive him in 
 her ordinary clothes, so that he may know in what 
 way she has lived during his absence, and should 
 bring to him some presents, as also materials for 
 the worship of the deity. 
 
 And the chapter concludes with the following 
 verse : — 
 
 "The wife, whether she be a woman of noble 
 
26 Introduction. 
 
 family, or a 'virgin widow Temarried, or. a concubine, 
 should lead a chaste life, devoted to her husband, 
 and doing everything for his welfare. Thus they 
 acquire Dharma, Artha, and Kama, occupy a high 
 piosition, and keep their husbands devoted, to them.'' 
 
 Details are then given concerning the conduct of 
 the elder wife towards the other wives of her 
 husband, and the conduct of the younger wife 
 towards the elder ones. Also on the conduct of a 
 virgin widow remarried, of a wife disliked by her 
 husband, and of the women in the king's harem, 
 iind lastly on the conduct of a husband towards 
 many wives. 
 
 Other chapters then follow, entering into great 
 details about marriages, about the wives of other 
 people, and about courtesans. To persons unac- 
 quainted with the social domestic economy of the 
 Hindoos, the subtle analysis of their feelings on 
 these subjects would require to be more fully 
 explained than by the few cursory lines which are 
 all that could be given in this present volume. The 
 matter is all there, but a Balzac is required to 
 place it in an interesting way before the public. 
 The introduction, already long, must be brought 
 now to a close. 
 
.A GEO UP 
 
 HIJSTDOO 8T0RIE8. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Of THE iFABLES OP BlBPAI OE PlLPAI, AND THE 
 
 Pancha Tantra. 
 
 The oldest collection of tales are those traditionally 
 known as the fahles of Bidpai, or Pilpai. The 
 author of them is unknown, as also the date of 
 their production, and no edition of them is in 
 existence. A good deal has been written about 
 them both by Jones and Wilson, De Sacy, and 
 Deslongchamps, but in the absence of any 
 manuscript, or tangible proof, their writings 
 can only be founded on ideas and conjectures. 
 Tradition, however, says that they were written.in 
 Sanscrit, that they were the earliest work of the 
 kind, and that they have been reproduced in the 
 Pancha Tantra, or five chapters, or five sections, and 
 in the Hitopodesa, or Friendly Advice. 
 
 The Pancha Tantra is so called from its being 
 divided into five Tantras, or chapters, but it is 
 better known to the public by the name of the 
 Panchopakhyana, or the five collection of stories, 
 and under this name it is common in India. 
 
 Its date cannot be fixed, but the author is 
 mjjiposedto beone Yishnu.Sarma, and it was written 
 
28 The Five Chapters. 
 
 for the education of the king's sons in prose, and 
 divided into five chapters. 
 
 I. Dissension of friends. 
 II. Acquisition of friends. 
 
 III. Inveterate enmity. 
 
 IV. Loss of advantage. 
 V. Inconsiderateness. 
 
 The story opens that there was once a king who 
 had three sons, all wanting in diligence and intelli- 
 gence. Having consulted his counsellors, they 
 advised that the education of his sons should be 
 entrusted to a learned Brahman, named Vishnu 
 Sarma, who accordingly takes them in hand, and 
 the result of what he teaches them, or rather his 
 lessons, are embodied in the book. As the princes 
 became highly accomplished in six months, the 
 Pancha Tantra naturally became famous throughout 
 the world. 
 
 The book is full of stories, and aphorisms, and 
 descriptions of how to conduct yourself under various 
 circumstances of life. The greater part of the 
 stories relate to animals, what they do, and how 
 they act, when in danger or difficulty, in prosperity 
 or adversity. The first chapter contains thirty-one 
 stories, the second eight, the third seventeen, the 
 fourth twelve, and the fifth twelve ; but these vary 
 in different editions, and the exact number cannot 
 be definitely fixed. The following will, however, 
 serve as specimens of the. whole : — 
 
 Excessive cupidity is to be avoided, though all 
 desire of profit need not be relinquished. The 
 wheel whirls round his head, who evinced inordinate 
 avarice, as the following story shows : — 
 
 In a certain town there dwelt four Brahmans, all 
 intimate friends and equally poor. They consulted 
 together what was to be done, for poverty, they 
 
The Five Chapters. 29 
 
 agreed, was intolerable. Patrons, however well 
 attended, are dissatisfied; friends and sons desert 
 the poor; merit is of no avail, and misfortunes 
 multiply. Wives of the best families abandon their 
 husbands ; friends transfer their attachment to more 
 powerful individuals. Again, let a man be brave, 
 handsome, eloquent, and learned, without wealth, he 
 does not obtain any enjoyment, and is as a dead 
 man among the living. Better death than poverty. 
 Again it is said, "Arise, my friend, for a moment, 
 and remove the burden of indigence from my fate, 
 that I may share with you the felicity which death 
 affords. It is better, therefore, to go to the ceme- 
 tery at once, ^nd become a corpse than to live in 
 poverty." The friends assented to this, and agreed 
 that every effort should be adopted to acquire 
 wealth, as it is said, "Nothing is obtained by him 
 who has not money. Let, therefore, the wise man 
 attach himself to its acquirement." Wealth is 
 acquirable by six means — viz., begging, service, 
 agriculture, science, usury, and trade, of which trade 
 is the best, as its profits are most independently 
 realized. As it has been observed : the food obtained 
 as alms may be carried off by crows ; the favour of 
 a prince or patron may be withdrawn ; agricul- 
 ture is laborious ; and the respect to be paid to a 
 preceptor in acquiring knowledge is troublesome; 
 u^ury brings poverty on other people, so that the 
 only method eligible is trade. Money is made in 
 trade in seven ways : by defective weights and 
 measures ; by false statements of price ; by the 
 lapse of deposits; by receiving the securities of 
 friends ; by managing the estates of others ; by deal- 
 ing in perfumes ; and by exporting goods for sale. 
 In the first case it is pretended that the measure is 
 full, when it is not. In the second, selling a thing 
 for more than its worth is the natural practice even 
 
3QJ Thf.Mm Ck^em. 
 
 of barbariansf. WWle a deposit isfiai his';houB» the 
 meari3lian.t prays; to the gods tiiat the owner may/die^ 
 ■when' he will make them suitable oflferings. When 
 a trader sees an acquaintance coming to borrow^ he- 
 pretends to lament his misfortune, but is inwardly 
 deliglited. In the management of estates there is 
 always the refteetion that I have got hold of: lands 
 full of treasure. Of all goods perfumes are the 
 best : gold, is not to be compared to the article 
 which is procured for one piece, and. is parted with 
 for a thousand pieees. Exporting commodities is 
 the proper; business of persons already wealthy, as 
 it is said^. "Those who are wealthy are heard of 
 from afar. Eiches are attracted by richesj as wild 
 elephants are caught by tame ones." Capital is 
 multiplied twice and thrice' over in. repeatedly buy- 
 ingand selling by those who have knowledge, and 
 who travel to other lands. The idle and the weak 
 alone are afraid of foreign countries. Crows, deer, 
 and dastards die in their native places 
 
 Having thus reflected,. the four friends determined 
 to quit their homes, and to. set off: together to 
 travel. The man whose mind is intent on wealth 
 leaves his friends and his family, his mother and 
 his natal soil, and roams to foreign and ungenial 
 lands without a moment's hesitation. After some 
 days the Brahmans arrived at Avanti, where they 
 bathed in the Sipra and worshipped Mahdkala; 
 after which they proceeded on their way, and met a 
 Tbgi named Bhairavanada, with whom they formed 
 an acquaintance, and who invited them to his abode. 
 He inquired of them the purpose of their journey. 
 They said, " "We are pilgrims in search of magic 
 power, repairing to the shrine where wealth or 
 death awaits us, as it is said, * The water that falls 
 from Heaven may sometimes, flow in the realms 
 below the earth. The force of fate is inconceivable, 
 
Th&. Mm: Chaptetisn 3 1 
 
 and man is5 'wmk: agaiiisti it. The object^iof ' man 
 may? be; apparently, attained by mortal effloaoy; but 
 thai, ia fate: forr when. you speak of human' quali- 
 tieayou-give that name to destiny. At the same 
 time ease is not here the source of ease, nor can it 
 be enjoyed without, exertion. The destroyer of 
 Madhu seized Lakshmi;forcibly and held her clasped 
 in: a firm embrace.' Tell us therefore," tbey con- 
 tinued, "if you. are acquainted with any drug of 
 viiiue to carry us into secret chasms, and tame the 
 imps of. evil ; or do you know any thing eflS-caoious 
 in the rites of charnel grounds ? You are an adept, 
 we are only novices, but we are resolute. None 
 but, the illustrious can satisfy the wishes^, of the 
 worthy. The ocean alone supports the sub- terres- 
 trial flame.!' 
 
 The Yogi, finding them apt scholars,' admitted 
 their request, and gave them four magical balls, 
 one a piece, directing them to go to the northern 
 side of the Himachala mountains, where each, on 
 the spot where the balls should spontaneously fall, 
 would find a treasure. They accordingly went 
 thither, and one of the balls soon fell on the ground. 
 The Brahman to whom it belonged, with the assis- 
 tance of the rest, dug up the soil, and there dis- 
 covered a copper mine. He desired the others to 
 take as much as they liked, but they refused, de- 
 termining to seek their fortunes farther. He re- 
 plied, " Go on then, I shall return." Taking, 
 therefore, as much, of the metal as he c&uld, he 
 went back, and the others proceeded on their way. 
 
 The ball belonging to another soon fell, and he 
 dug up the spot, which proved to contain a silver 
 mine. Overjoyed, he exclaimed, "Let us go no 
 farther, but take as' much as we can, and then 
 return." The other two, however, ridiculed his 
 fojly, and resolved to advance, hoping, as they had 
 
32 The Five Chapters. 
 
 at first met with copper and then silver, they should 
 successively meet with metal still more valuable. 
 So it proved, for the next ball that fell indicated 
 a vein of gold. The man to whom the ball be- 
 longed entreated his companion to rest satisfied. 
 The argument previously used, however, being jus- 
 tified by the discovery of gold, determined him to 
 persevere, in the full confidence that he should next 
 come to a bed of diamonds. The discoverer of the 
 gold mine declined to accompany him, and he went 
 on alone, the other promising to await his retui'n. 
 
 The last Brahman proceeded through solitary 
 paths, scorched by the rays of the sun, and faint 
 with thirst, till at last he came to a place which 
 was whirling round, and on it stood a man, whose 
 body was covered with blood, and on whose head 
 a wheel revolved. He approached and asked him 
 who he was, and why the wheel was placed upon 
 his head, and requested him also to show him where 
 any water was procurable; but he had scarcely 
 spoken when the wheel transferred itself from the 
 crown of its late possessor to the head of the 
 Brahman. He exclaimed, "How ! What is this ?" 
 And the stranger replied, "You have taken the 
 wheel from my head, and you must keep it, till 
 some one, like yourself, shall come hither with that 
 magic ball in his hand, and shall address to you 
 similar questions to those you have asked of me." 
 The Brahman inquired how long a time he had 
 passed in that plight. The stranger asked, "Who 
 was the present sovereign?" To which the Brah- 
 man answered, " Vink Vatsa." The man then said : 
 " When Eama reigned I came hither, impelled by 
 my poverty, and guided by the magic ball as thou 
 hast been. I found a man here with the wheel upon 
 his head, and asking him the same questions as 
 thou hast put, the wheel was fixed upon my head. 
 
The Five Chapters. 33 
 
 I have been here ever since." "And how did you 
 get anything to eat," inquired the Brahman? The 
 other replied : " This law was fixed by the God of 
 Wealth, who fears his treasures should be plun- 
 dered. His fears are known to the Siddhi Nagas, 
 who send men hither, but when a mortal arrives 
 he loses the sensation of hunger and thirst, and is 
 exempt from decay and death. He retains alone 
 the consciousness of solitude and pain. But now 
 excuse me, I am released, and shall return home." 
 So saying, he departed. 
 
 The Brahman who had found the gold mine 
 wondered why his companion tarried so long, and 
 becoming at last impatient, he set off in quest of 
 him. Tracing his course by the impressions of his 
 feet he followed him to the spot Avhere he stood, 
 and beheld him covered with blood, running down 
 from his head, which was cut by the sharp edges 
 of the wheel. To the inquiries of his friend he 
 replied by telling him the property of the wheel, 
 and what had happened to himself. On which the 
 other reproached him, saying, " Did I not tell you 
 to stop ? but your lack of sense would not allow 
 you to take my advice. It is very justly ob- 
 served, ' Better sense than science, unless it im- 
 prove by knowledge.' Those who want common 
 understanding, will as surely perish as did those 
 who revived the lion." The man with the 
 wheel asked how that was, to which the other 
 replied : 
 
 " There were four Brahmans residing in the same 
 village, all intimate friends. Three of them were 
 men of great acquirements, but destitute of common 
 sense. The fourth was an intelligent fellow, but 
 destitute of learning. As they were poor, they 
 determined at one of their meetings to go to some 
 country where learning was patronized, and where 
 
 c 
 
Si The Five Phapters. 
 
 they -were satisfied that they would speedily be 
 enriched with presents from the King, They 
 accordingly set off, but when they had gone some 
 way the eldest cried out, ' It never occurred to me 
 before that our fourth friend here is illiterate. He 
 is a man of sense to be sure, but that will not 
 entitle him to any rewards from the King ; we shall 
 have, therefore, to relinquish to him a part of our 
 earnings, and it would be fairer, I think, for him 
 to remain at home.' The second agreed in this 
 opinion, but the third opposed it, saying, ' "We have 
 always been friends and companions from infancy, 
 and let him therefore participate in the wealth we 
 shall acquire.' This sentiment prevailed, and they 
 all went on in harmony. As they passed through a 
 forest they saw the scattered bones of a dead lion. 
 'I have met,' said one, 'with an account of a method 
 by which beings can be re-animated. "What say 
 you ? shall we try the experiment, and employ the 
 energies of science to restore life and shape to 
 these bones ?' They agreed. One undertook to put 
 the bones together, the second to supply the skin, 
 flesh, blood, &c., and the other to communicate life 
 to the figure. When the two first had accomplished 
 their tasks, the third was about to begin his, but 
 the fourth stopped him. ' Consider what you are 
 going to do,' he exclaimed ; ' if you give life to 
 the lion, the consequence will be that he will devour 
 us.' * Away, blockhead,' replied the sage, ' I 
 am not to project things in vain.' 'Wait an 
 instant, then,' replied the man of sense, ' till I get 
 up into this tree.' So saying, he climbed up into 
 a tree at hand, and his learned associates accom- 
 plished their undertaking. A substantial living 
 lion was formed, who fell upon the three philoso- 
 phers and destroyed them. When the lion had 
 departed, the man of common sense descended from 
 
The Five Chapters. 35 
 
 his hiding-plaee, and reached his home again in 
 safety." 
 
 WTien he had finished, the man with the wheel 
 exclaimed, " It is very unreasonable that destiny 
 should destroy men of great talents, and allow 
 simpletons to escape, as it is said : * See where Sata- 
 buddhi or the hundred-witted one is carried on the 
 head, and there also is Sahasrabuddhi or the thou- 
 sand- witted one, whilst I, who am Ekabuddhi or the 
 single-wit, still can gambol in the crystal stream.'" 
 "How," asked he of the gold mine, "did that 
 happen ?" The man with the wheel replied : 
 
 "In a certain reservoir were two fishes, one 
 named Satabuddhi, the other Sahasrabuddhi. They 
 had a friend, a fro^, named Ekabuddhi, with Whom 
 they were in the habit of meeting and conversing: 
 at the edge of the water. When the usual party 
 assembled, they saw several fishermen approach, 
 with their nets, and heard them say to one another,, 
 ' This pool is full of fish, the water is but shallow ; . 
 we will come to-morrow morning and drag it.' 
 They then went away. When they had departed 
 the frog said to his friends, ' What is to be done, 
 had we not better make our escape ?' at which the 
 thousand-witted laughed and said, ' Never fear, they 
 have only talked of coming. Yet if they should' 
 come I will be answerable for your safety as well 
 as my own. I shall be a match for them, as I know" 
 all the .courses of the water.' The hundred-witted! 
 one said, ' My friend here is very right ; wherever 
 there is a way for the breeze, for water or its 
 tenants, or for the rays of the sun, the intellect of a 
 sagacious person will penetrate. By following his 
 counsel your life would be in no peril, even had 
 you approached the abodes of the manes. Stay 
 where you are, even I will undertake your safety.' 
 The frog said, 'I have perhaps but limited talent, 
 
 c 2 
 
36 The Five Chapters. 
 
 a mere singleness of sense, but that tells me to flee, 
 and therefore whilst I can I shall withdraw with 
 my mate to another piece of water.' The frog left 
 the pool that night. In the morning the fishermen 
 arrived, and the lake was so beset with nets that 
 all the fish, turtles, crabs, and other tenants of the 
 water, were made prisoners, and amongst them Sata- 
 buddhi and Sahasrabuddhi, in spite of their boasted 
 cunning, were caught and killed. The frog saw 
 the fishermen on their return, and recognizing 
 Satabuddhi on the head of one man, and Sahasra- 
 buddhi dragged along with cords by another, he 
 pointed them out to his mate, in the words which I 
 cited." 
 
 The Brahman of the gold mine answered, " This 
 may be very true, but a friend's words are not to 
 be despised, and you had better have listened to 
 me than followed the dictates of your own avarice 
 and presumption. Well was it said, ' Bravo, uncle ; 
 jou would sing your song though I dissuaded you, 
 :and see what a splendid gem you have received as 
 "the recompense of your performance.' " The man 
 -with the wheel asked, "How was that?" The 
 other replied : 
 
 " In a certain village there was an ass named 
 Uddhata. During the day he carried the bundles 
 of a washerman; at night he followed his own 
 inclinations. During his nocturnal rambles he 
 made acquaintance with a jackal, in whose com- 
 pany he broke into enclosures, and feasted on their 
 contents. On one occasion, when in the middle of 
 a, cucumber field, the ass exulting with delight, 
 said to the jackal, ' Nephew, is not this an heavenly 
 night ? 1 feel so happy that I must sing a song'; 
 in what key will you prefer it ? ' The jackal replied, 
 'What nonsense, when we are engaged in plun- 
 dering, to think of such a thing. Silence becomes 
 
The Five Chapters. 37 
 
 thieves and libertines, as it is said, " Let the sick 
 man and the lazy man refrain from stealing and 
 chattering if they would escape with life." If 
 your song be ever so sweet, should the owner of 
 the field hear you, he will rise, and in his rage will 
 bind and kill you; eat, therefore, and be silent.' 
 The ass replied, 'You can be no judge of the 
 charms of music, as you have spent all your life in 
 the woods. Observe in the nights of autumn, in 
 privacy with your love, the distant song of the 
 singer drops like nectar into the ears.' The jackal 
 answered, ' It may be so, but your voice is abomi- 
 nable; why should you let it lead you into trouble?' 
 The ass was highly affronted at this, and said, 
 'Away, blockhead, do you question my musical 
 proficiency ? I know every branch of the science ; 
 for instance, there are seven notes, three scales, and 
 twenty-one intervals. The scientific combination 
 of the parts of music is particularly grateful in the 
 autumnal season. There is no gift of the gods, 
 more precious than music. Eavdna received the 
 boon from the three-eyed god (Siva). How, then, 
 do you presume to question my powers, or to oppose 
 their exercise?' ' Very well,' replied the jackal, 
 'let me get to the door of the garden, where I 
 may see the gardener as he approaches, and then 
 sing away as long as you please.' So it was settled, 
 and the jackal having provided for his own safety, 
 the ass opened his chaunt. The gardener was 
 awakened by the noise, and, rising immediately, 
 repaired to the spot, armed with a stout stick, with 
 which he fell upon the ass, knocked him down, and 
 belaboured him tUl he was tired. He then brought 
 a large clog with a hole in it, which he fastened to 
 his leg, and tied him to a post, after which he 
 returned home, and went to sleep. The ass came 
 to himself, and forgot his tortures in the recollec- 
 
38 The Five Chapters. 
 
 tion of his home and companions. As it is said, 
 ' On a dog, a mule, and an ass, a good beating leaves 
 but a momentary impression.' Accordingly, spring- 
 ing up, he forced his way out of the enclosure, 
 carrying his clog with him. As he ran off, the 
 jackal met him, and said, * Bravo, uncle, you would 
 sing your song, though I dissuaded you, and see 
 what you have received as the recompense of your 
 performance.'" 
 
 The man with the wheel haviug heard this story, 
 answered, "What you observe is very just; but 
 you should recollect that a man who neither exer- 
 cises his own judgment, nor follows a friend's 
 advice, brings on his own ruin, as was the case with 
 Manthara, the weaver. 
 
 " There was once a weaver named Manthara, all 
 the woodwork of whose loom was on one occasion 
 broken. Taking his axe, he set off to cut fresh 
 timber, and finding a large Sisu tree by the sea-side, 
 began to fell it. In the tree resided a spirit, who 
 exclaimed, on the first stroke of the axe, 'Hold, 
 this tree is my dwelling, and I cannot quit it, as 
 here I inhale the fresh breeze that is cooled by the 
 ocean's spray.' The weaver replied, ' What am I 
 to do ? unless I get wood my family must starve. 
 Do you therefore look out for another house ; quick, 
 this I must have.' The spirit replied, ' You shall 
 have anything else you ask for, but not this tree.' 
 The weaver then agreed to go home and consult a 
 friend and his wife, and return with his final deter- 
 mination! 
 
 "When the weaver returned home, he found 
 there a very particular friend of his, the barber of 
 the village, to whom he told what had occurred, 
 and whom he consulted what he should request. 
 The barber said, ' Ask to be made a king, then I 
 will be your prime minister, and we shall enjoy 
 
The Five Chapters. 39 
 
 ourselves gloriously.' The weaver approved of his 
 idea, but first, he said, he must consult his wife. 
 To this the barber strenuously objected. ' A wise 
 man,' he argued, 'would confer on woman food, 
 clothing, and appropriate ornaments, but would 
 never let them share his councils, as Bhdgava has 
 stated, that where a woman, a rogue, or a child had 
 the management, the house was sure of going to ruin. 
 A man would maintain his rank and respectability 
 as long as he associated with grave people, and 
 entrusted no woman with his secrets. Women are 
 engrossed with their own designs, and purpose only 
 their own pleasure. They love their own children 
 even no longer than they derive from them self- 
 gratification.' The weaver admitted the justice of 
 his friend's observations, but his wife, he said, had 
 no other thoughts than for her husband's welfare, 
 and he must take her advice. Accordingly, he 
 went to her and related what had happened, what 
 the barber had recommended, and asked her what 
 she thought it would be most advantageous for him 
 to solicit. She replied : 
 
 *"Tou should never listen, husband, to the advice 
 of a barber, as it is said, "Husbands should never 
 take counsel with courtezans, parasites, mean per- 
 sons, barbers, gardeners, and beggars." Eoyalty is 
 a very troublesome thing, and the cares of peace 
 and war, aggression and negotiation, defence and 
 administration, never allow its possessor a moment's 
 enjoyment. He who is wise will ever shun the 
 station of a king, for which his own relations, 
 brothers and ofi'spring, would be armed against his 
 life. I should recommend you, therefore, to be con- 
 tented with your station, and only to seek the 
 means of more efi^ectually earning your livelihood. 
 Ask for an additional pair of hands, and another 
 head with which you may keep a loom going both 
 
1 40 The Five Chapters. 
 
 before and behind you. The profit of such a second 
 loom -will be quiet sufficient to give you conse- 
 quence and credit with your tribe, as we have 
 already from the profit of the first loom quite 
 enough for our own expenditure.' 
 
 ** This advice pleased the husband mightily. He 
 repaired forthwith to the tree and requested the 
 spirit, as the price of his forbearance to give him 
 another pair of arms and an additional head. No 
 sooner said than done ; and he immediately found 
 himself in possession of two heads and four arms, 
 with which he returned homewards highly delighted. 
 His new acquisition, however, proved fatal, for as 
 soon as the villagers saw him, they exclaimed, ' a 
 goblin ! a goblin ! ' and falling on him with clubs 
 or pelting him with stones, speedily put an end to 
 his existence. Therefore I say that a man who 
 neither exercises his own judgment nor follows a 
 friend's advice brings on his own ruin." 
 
 The man with the wheel continued, " Every one 
 who is tormented by the devil of improper expecta- 
 tions naturally incurs ridicule, as it is said, ' He 
 who forms extravagant hopes for the future^ will 
 be as much disappointed as the father of Soma 
 Sarma.' " " How was that?" asked the other Brah- 
 man, and he with the wheel proceeded : 
 
 " There was an avaricious Brahman named Soma 
 Sarma, who had collected, during the days, in alms 
 as much meal as filled an earthen jar. This jar he 
 suspended to a peg at the foot of his bed, so that 
 he might not lose sight of it. During the night 
 he lay awake some time, and reflected thus — ' That 
 jar is full of meal ; if a scarcity should take place, 
 I shall sell it for a hundred pieces at least. With 
 that sum I will buy a pair of goats, they will bear 
 young, and I shall get enough by their sale to 
 purchase a pair of cows. I shall sell their calves, 
 
The Five Chapters. 41 
 
 and will purchase buffaloes, and with the produce 
 of my herd I shall be able to buy horses and mares. 
 By the sale of their colts I shall realize an immense 
 sum, and with my money I will build a stately 
 mansion. As I shall then be a man of consequence, 
 some wealthy person will solicit my acceptance of 
 his daughter with a suitable dower. I shall have a 
 son by her, whom I will call by my own name, 
 Soma Sarma. When he is able to crawl, I shall 
 take him with me on my horse, seating him before 
 me. Accordingly, when Soma Sarma sees me, he 
 will leave his mother's lap, and come creeping along, 
 and some day or other he will approach the horses 
 too near, when I shall be very angry, and shall 
 desire his mother to take him away. She will be 
 busy with her household duties, and will not hear 
 my orders, on which I shall give her a kick with my 
 foot.' Thus saying, he put forth one of his feet 
 with such violence as to break the jar. The meal 
 accordingly fell on the ground, where, mingling 
 with the dust and dirt, it was completely spoiled, 
 and so ended Soma Sarma's hopes." 
 
 After some further conversation, the Brahman of 
 the gold mine finally tells th« following tale : — 
 
 " There is a city in the north named Madhupura, 
 of which Madhusena was king. A daughter was 
 born to him who had three breasts. When the king 
 heard this, he ordered the chief attendant to take 
 away the infant and expose her in the woods, so 
 that the matter should remain unknown. The 
 attendant, however, recommended that as the birth of 
 such an infant was such an extraordinary event, it 
 would be better to consult the Brahmans what was 
 to be done, so that the consequence might not be 
 the loss of both worlds ; as it is said, ' A wise man 
 should always inquire the meaning of what he 
 observes,' like the Brahman who thus escaped the 
 
42 The Five Chapters. 
 
 grasp of the goblin. The king asked how that was, 
 to which the attendant replied : 
 
 " ' Chandavarma, a Eakshasa, or goblin, haunted a 
 certain wood, and one day laid hold of a Brahman 
 who passed that way, and leaping upon his shoulders, 
 ordered him to proceed. The Brahman, overcome 
 with terror, obeyed ; but as he went along, he 
 observed that the goblin's feet were particularly 
 soft and tender, and .inquired of him how this 
 happened. The Eakshasa replied, " I was under a 
 vow never to walk or touch the ground with my 
 feet." After this they came to a pool where the 
 Eakshasa said, " Let me down whilst I bathe and 
 perform my devotions ; but beware how you leave 
 the place tUl I come out of the water." The Brah- 
 man obeyed, but when he had got rid of his load 
 he reflected that now was his time to escape, for as 
 the Edkshasa was incapacitated for walking, he 
 would not be able to overtake the fugitive ; accord- 
 ingly he took to his heels, and effected his retreat 
 in safety. Therefore I said a wise man should 
 always inquire the meaning of what he observes.' 
 
 "The advice thus given by the attendant was 
 followed by the Eaja, and having summoned the 
 Brahmans, he consulted them how he should act, 
 to which they replied, ' It is said, sire, that a 
 daughter whose limbs are defective or excessive 
 will be the cause of death to her husband, and of 
 destruction to her own character; and a damsel 
 with three breasts wiU inevitably be the source of 
 evil to the parent whose sight she may attract. 
 Your majesty should therefore take care to avoid 
 seeing your daughter. Let any one that wUl, 
 marry her, you stipulating that he leaves the 
 country. In this way no offence will be offered 
 either to this "world or the next. The Eaja 
 approved of this plan, and ordered the drum to be 
 
Thxil^ve Gfiapters. 4S 
 
 beat and a proclamation to be made that •vrboever 
 would marry the princess, and remove with her to a 
 distant country, should receive a hundred thousand 
 rupees. Notwithstanding this offer no person came 
 forward, and the princess arrived at adolescence 
 without any one proposing to espouse her. At last 
 she found a husband. 
 
 " In the city resided two paupers who were 
 friends; the one was blind, and the other hunch- 
 backed ; the latter, who was named Manthara, 
 persuaded the former to marry the princess, with 
 whom and with the money they should remove to 
 a distant place, and lead a life of ease ; or if by the 
 evil nature of the princess he should die, there 
 would at least be an end of his misery. The blind 
 man accordingly accepted the terms of the procla- 
 mation, and having mai'ried the princess, and 
 received the dower, set off with her and his friend 
 to a distant residence. 
 
 " After passing some time contentedly, the blind 
 man giving himself up to indolence, and hunch- 
 back conducting their domestic arrangements, the 
 evil influence of the princess's deformity began to 
 operate, and she intrigued with hunchback. This 
 couple then soon began to plot the blind man's 
 destruction. With this intent, hunchback brought 
 home one day a dead snake of a venomous nature, 
 which he gave to the princess, and desired her to 
 mince it, and dress it with proper sauces, after 
 which she should give it to her husband, telling 
 him it was a dish of fish. Manthara then went 
 away, and the princess, delighted, cut up the snake, 
 and set it to boil; then having other matters to look 
 after, she called to her husband, and desired him to 
 attend to the stirring of the nice mess of fish she 
 was cooking for his dinner. He obeyed her, licking 
 his lips at the intimation, and stirring the vessel 
 
44 The Five Chapters. 
 
 as it boiled. In this manner, hanging over the 
 caldron, the fumes of the venom drew the tears 
 so copiously from his eyes that they gradually 
 dissolved the film -which obscured his vision, and 
 he was restored to sight. As he looked into the 
 boiler, he saw immediately that he was cooking 
 the fragments of a black snake. He at once 
 concluded what his wife's design was, but re- 
 mained in doubt who her accomplice could be. 
 To ascertain this, he resolved to dissemble, and 
 still affect his former blindness. Presently hunch- 
 back returned, and the husband, watching his 
 conduct unobserved, was soon satisfied of the good 
 understanding that subsisted between the treacher- 
 ous friend and the faithless spouse. He approached 
 them unperoeived, and suddenly seizing hunchback 
 by the feet, being a man of great strength, he 
 whirled him over his head, and dashed him against 
 the breast of the wife with such violence that his 
 head drove her third breast through her body to 
 her back, and both she and her paramour instantly 
 perished." 
 
 The Brahman who had found the gold mine 
 then concluded : " It is well said, ' All prosperity pro- 
 ceeds from Fate'; but, in compliance with Destiny, 
 Prudence is not to be disregarded in the manner in 
 which you neglected it by not listening to my 
 advice." He then left his friend to his fate, and 
 returned to his own abode. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 Of the Hitopodesa, or Feiendlt Advice. 
 
 The Pancha Tantra is followed ia Sanscrit litera- 
 ture by the Hitopodesa, or Friendly Advice, a 
 selection of tales drawn from the same source, but 
 not so voluminous, or arranged in the same order. 
 Written in prose and verse, the exact date or name 
 of the author cannot be fixed; but it is described 
 as follows, in the title-page of the translation by 
 Francis Johnson : — 
 
 "Hitopodesa, or Salutary Counsels of Yishnu 
 Sarman, in a Series of Connected Fables, interspersed 
 with Moral, Prudential, and Political Maxims, trans- 
 lated literally from the original into English for 
 the use of the Sanscrit student." The work had 
 been previously translated by Dr. Charles "Wilkins 
 and Sir William Jones, but Johnson's production is 
 the most satisfactory, as it lays before the reader, in 
 fulness and exactness, a vivid picture of the Sanscrit 
 original. Full of maxims and worldly advice, it is 
 as interesting as the Proverbs or Ecclesiastes, and 
 probably as old as those works. Opening with a 
 reverence to Ganesa, the Hindoo god of wisdom, it 
 commences, like the Book of Common Prayer, with a 
 series of serious verses, and then goes on with the 
 text, which may be briefly analyzed as follows :— 
 
 In the city of Pataliputra there reigned a king, 
 by name Sudarsana, whose sons caused him much 
 anxiety from their ignorance and wickedness. 
 
46 Friendly Advice. 
 
 Thinking how he could render them accomplished, 
 and also keep them in the right path, he caused an 
 assembly of learned men to be called together, and 
 addressed them : " O Pandits, be it heard. Is there 
 any one so learned who is able now, by instruction 
 in books of policy, to effect the new birth of my 
 sons, ever following wrong courses, and unread in 
 the learned writings. For, 
 
 " ' Glass, from the contiguity of gold, acquires an 
 emerald lustre ; so by the proximity of the excel- 
 lent, a fool attains to cleverness.' And it is said, 
 
 " ' The mind is lowered from association with 
 inferiors. "With equals it attains equality, and 
 with superiors, superiority.' " On this a great 
 Pandit, by name Vishnu Sarman, undertodk to 
 complete the education of the young princes, and 
 in the period of six months to make them versed 
 in the works of policy. To this the king assented, 
 and Vishnu Sarman commenced his instructions in 
 the shape of tales, divided into four chapters ; the 
 first on the acquisition of friends, the second on the 
 separation of friends, the third on war, and the 
 fourth on peace. As is often the custom in oriental 
 literature, one story is commenced, but, owing to 
 some allusion in it, another story is interpolated, as 
 it were, into it, and when this is finished, the 
 original tale is reverted to, only to be again inter- 
 rupted with another one, and so on. Each story, 
 in addition to its regular text, is padded with 
 maxims, happy thoughts, and truisms, which swell 
 its length considerably. As they are all much of 
 a muchness in quality, it is difficult to make any 
 particular selection, but the following will serve as 
 specimens of the work : — 
 
Friendly Advice. 47 
 
 THE CRO"W, THE GOLDEN CHAIN, AND THE SERPENT. 
 
 In a certain tree lived a male and female crow, 
 whose young ones were devoured by a black ser- 
 pent tbat lurked within its hoUow trunk. Finding 
 herself breeding again, the female crow thus 
 addressed her mate : " My dear, let this tree be 
 forsaken ; for as long as this black serpent remains 
 here, we sbaU never rear any offspring. For, 
 
 ** 'A termagant wife, a false friend, a servant that 
 gives saucy answers, and a residence in a house 
 infested by serpents, is death beyond a doubt.' " 
 
 " My beloved," said the crow, "there is no cause 
 for alarm. Time after time, this enormous offence 
 of his has been borne by me ; but now it is to be 
 endured no longer." " How," inquired the female, 
 "are you able to contend with this powerful black 
 serpent ? " " Away," replied the crow, "with appre- 
 hensions of this kind. For, 
 
 " ' He who hath sense, hath strength, but whence 
 hath a fool strength ? ' See how a lion, intoxicated 
 with pride, was defeated by a rabbit." "How was 
 that ? " said the female. The crow related : 
 
 "Upon a mountain called Mandar'a there was a 
 lion, by name Durdanta (hard to tame), who was for 
 ever making a massacre of the beasts. At length 
 the lion was thus respectfully remonstrated with 
 by all the beasts forming a meeting : ' Please, your 
 highness, wherefore is a general carnage of the 
 beasts made? "We will ourselves, as a free gift, 
 daily furnish a single beast for your honour's meal.' 
 ' If this is agreeable to you,' said the lion, ' then 
 be it so ; ' and thenceforward he used daily to eat 
 the single allotted beast. On a certain day, the 
 turn of an old rabbit being come, he thought to 
 himself : 
 
 " ♦ Through fear, homage is paid in the hope of 
 
48 Friendly Advice. 
 
 life; but if I must meet this fate, why need I 
 cringe to the lion ? Then I will approach him very 
 leisurely.' 
 
 " The lion being by this time tormented with hun- 
 ger, called out to him in a rage, ' Wherefore comest 
 thou after so much delay?' The rabbit replied, 
 ' I am not in fault, for on the road I was forcibly 
 detained by another lion, but having made an oath 
 before him to return, I am come here to inform my 
 lord.' The lion, with anger, exclaimed, ' Go 
 quickly, and show me where that vile wretch is to 
 be found.' The rabbit then taking him, came near 
 a deep well, and after saying, ' Let my lord come 
 here and see,' he showed him his own image 
 reflected in the water of the well ; whereupon being 
 inflated with pride, he threw himself upon it and 
 perished. Therefore, I say, he who hath sense," &c. 
 
 " I have attentively listened," said the hen crow; 
 " declare what is to be done." " My dear," said the 
 crow, "the Eaja's son comes daily and bathes in 
 the adjacent pool. With thy beak having seized 
 the chain of gold when taken from off his person, 
 and laid on that stone, thou must bring it and place 
 it in this hollow trunk." Accordingly some time 
 afterwards, as soon as the Eaja's son had entered 
 the water to bathe, after laying the chain of gold 
 on the rock, the plan was executed by the hen 
 crow ; and, the black serpent being discovered in the 
 hollow of the tree by the Eaja's servants as they 
 were engaged in searching for the golden chain, 
 was put to death. Wherefore, I say, "That may 
 be effected by stratagem, which could not be ac- 
 complished by force." 
 
 THE BLXJE JACKAL. 
 
 A certain jackal, as he roamed for his pleasure 
 on the outskirts of a town, fell into an indigo vat ; 
 
Friendly Advice. 49 
 
 and being unable afterwards to rise, in the morn- 
 ing he lay still, making himself appear as if dead. 
 Then the owner of the indigo vat, having lifted 
 him out and carried him to a distance, left him. 
 He afterwards ran off to the wood ; and perceiving 
 himself to be of a blue colour, he thus reflected : 
 I am now of the finest colour; may I not then 
 effect my own exaltation ? Sayipg^'which, he sum- 
 moned the jackals and said to them : "With an ex- 
 tract of every medicinal plant have I been anoin- 
 ted to the sovereignty of the forest by the adorable 
 divinity of the wood with her own hand. Behold 
 my colour ! Beginning, therefore, from to-day, all 
 business must be transacted in this forest by my 
 order." The jackals seeing him of such a distin- 
 guished colour, said, as they reverentially prostrated 
 themselves, " As your Majesty commands." By 
 this means his sovereignty was established over all 
 the inhabitants of the forest; and his power was- 
 extended still further by him, while surrounded by 
 his own kindred. But afterwards, when he had 
 procured attendants of a higher grade, such as lions, 
 tigers, and the like, he looked down upon the 
 jackals, and having treated them with disrespect, 
 his own relations were removed to a distance, as he 
 was ashamed of them. Then perceiving the jackals to 
 be afflicted, an old jackal made a promise : " Be not 
 grieved, although we who knew him thoroughly 
 are treated with contempt by this imprudent kins- 
 man, I must so contrive that he perish. Since 
 the tigers and the rest are deceived solely by his 
 colour, and not knowing him to be a jackal fancy 
 him a king ; therefore do something that he may 
 be detected. Let it then be done, according as I 
 say. In the everdng you will all at once set up a 
 great yell near him ; then when he hears that noise 
 he will naturally make a cry also. For the natural 
 
BD ffimdti) Attvicte. 
 
 ^fti^ositioii of any one, ^rhatdvei- it ms^ bfe^is hard 
 to "be (Jveffcome by him. If -a dog were made ting, 
 wdHld hiBndt gna'w his shoe strap ? The tiger flien 
 discovering him by his voice will kill him." 
 
 ThiS'^lan beiag carried into execution, tlie 
 predicted result came to pass. Thus it has heen 
 
 said : ^'*S^ 
 
 " Otfr nattft^^Wa^giy knows e^ery weak point, our 
 heart and courage, an8-4i|mng gotten witiiia con- 
 ^utiifes us, a;s fire does a dry tree : 
 
 " Wherefore I say : By deserting his own party, 
 .-and attaching himself to the opposite party, the 
 blockhead is killed by the strangers, like the "bkie 
 jackal." 
 
 THE OLD SEBPENT AND THE FROGS. 
 
 In an uncttltivated garden, there was a serpent 
 called J^auda-visarpa (slow-glide), who throng 
 extreme old age, being unable to seek food for him- 
 self, laid Mtoself doWn on the edge of a pond, 
 ^here from a distance he was seen by a certain ftog, 
 and questioned : "-How is it you do not ply for 
 food ? " " Hear me, worthy sir, " said the serpent ; 
 '"W'hat hast thou to do with inquiries into the 
 Story of a 'hdpless wretch like me?" Upon this 
 the frog, not a little pleased, said to the serpent : 
 " Tell it by all means." The serpent said : " Good 
 sir, here iu Brahmepura, the son of one Kaundinya, 
 a learned Brahman, about twenty years old, and 
 endued with every good quality, through evil des- 
 tiny, was bitten by cruel me. KaUndinya seeing Tiis 
 son, Susila (amiable) by name, dead, became sense- 
 less with grief, Snd rolled on the ground. There- 
 upon all his kinsmen, inhabitants of Brahmepura, 
 having come to the place, sat down. Por thus it 
 has been said : ' He is a kinsman who attends upon 
 one at an invitation to a feast, and also in affliction ; 
 
TViendhf Advice. 51 
 
 in a famine, in a contest Tvith an Qnemy, at the 
 king's gate, and at the cemetery.' 
 
 "T?h.en gpake a'honsdhdlder, Eapila'l^ name : "0 
 Kaundinya ! Thou art 'beSide thyseM :Since thou 
 complainest thus. .Listen. 
 
 " As this transient state of being oiily tolds you 
 to her bosom, as the nurse or mother folds the newly 
 born child, what cause is there then for grief? 
 
 "In like manner: 
 
 " "Where are those rulers of the earth rgone 
 with their guards, armies and oarri^ges, of whose 
 departure the earth stands,9.vwitoess unto the present 
 day. 
 
 " Again : 
 
 "This body wasting away cTery moment, is 
 not perceived to decay' lake a "jar. of unbaked clay 
 standing in water ; its dissolution is known when 
 it has been dissolved. 
 
 "Day "by day, death approaches nearer and nearer 
 a living being, as to a yictim being led step by step 
 to the slaughter. 
 
 " For : 
 
 " Youth, beauty, life, a store of worldly goods, 
 dominion, the society of ifriends, are all uncertain : 
 by these a wise man should not berbeguUed. 
 
 " As a plank of timber may meet with another 
 plank in the mighty receptacle .of waters, and 
 having met, may again separate ; even such is the 
 meeting of human beings. 
 
 ".As a traveller halts, taking refiige. in the shade, 
 and haviitg reposed awhile resumes .his journey, 
 such is the. meeting of animatedbeings. 
 
 " Moreover : 
 
 " What occasion is there for iMnentation. over 
 a body composed of five elements returning to its 
 
 j> 2 
 
52 Miendly Advice. 
 
 five original principles, and finding again its own 
 birth-place ? 
 
 " How many soever connexions dear to the soul 
 a living being forms, so many thorns of sorrow are 
 implanted in his heart. 
 
 " For union denotes the existence of sfeparation, 
 as birth implies the approach of death, which is not 
 to be avoided. 
 
 " As the streams of rivers flow onwards and 
 return not, so do night and day pass on for ever, 
 carrying off the life of mortals. 
 
 " The very first night on which the man of 
 valour took up his abode in the womb, thencefor- 
 wards without faltering in his march, he approaches 
 death day by day." 
 
 " Form, then, a just estimate of mundane exis- 
 tence. This sorrow is an illusion of ignorance. 
 Therefore, good sir, compose thyself, and dismiss 
 all thought of sorrow." 
 
 On hearing his address, Kaundinya, awakening 
 as it were from a trance, cried out, as he started 
 up, " Enough now of dwelling in a hell of a house, 
 I will go to the forest." 
 
 Kapila then continues with further admonitions 
 and consolations, to which Kaundinya assented. 
 " After that," continued the serpent, " I was cursed 
 by that disconsolate Brahman in the following 
 terms : * Beginning this day thou shalt become a 
 carrier of frogs.' Kaundinya, the fire of whose grief 
 was now extinguished by the nectar of the instruc- 
 tion of Kapila, then assumed the pilgrim's stafE 
 according to the sacred ordinances, and here I wait 
 to endure the Brahman's curse to carry frogs." Then 
 that frog went and reported it to Webfoot, the chief 
 of his race, who, having come himself, mounted 
 upon the serpent. The serpent having taken him, 
 on his back, made a little excursion at an agreeable 
 
Friendly Advice. 53 
 
 pace. Next day the prince of the frogs said to him 
 as he lay scarcely able to move : *' How is it you 
 are so sluggish to-day " ? " Please, your Majesty," 
 replied the serpent, " I am weak for want of food." 
 "Eat the frogs by my command," said their 
 monarch, to which the serpent replied : *' This great 
 favour is thankfully accepted ; " saying which, he 
 ate the frogs by degrees, until seeing the pond 
 cleared of its frogs, he swallowed his Majesty like- 
 wise. Wherefore I say — 
 
 " A wise man having an object in view, should 
 carry even his enemies on his shoulder, as the 
 frogs were destroyed by the old serpent." 
 
 THE BRAHMAN AND HIS WEASEL. 
 
 In Oujein lived a Brahman named Madhara. 
 His wife, of the Brahmanical tribe, who had recently 
 brought forth, went to perform her ablutions, 
 leaving him to take charge of her infant offspring. 
 Presently a person from the Eaja came for the 
 Brahman to perform for him a religious ceremony. 
 When the Brahman saw hitn, being impelled by his 
 natural poverty, he thought within himself: " If I 
 go not directly, then some one else will take the fee 
 for the ceremony. It is said : 
 
 " ' In respect of a thing which ought to be taken, 
 or to be given, or of a work which ought to be 
 done, and not being done quickly, time drinks up 
 the spirit thereof.' 
 
 "But there is no one here to take care of the child : 
 what can I do, then ? Well, I will go, having set 
 to guard the infant this weasel, cherished a long 
 time, and in no respect distinguished from a child 
 of my own." This he did, and went. Shortly after- 
 wards a black serpent, whilst silently coming near 
 the child, was killed there, and rent in pieces by the 
 weasel, who seeing the Brahman coming home, ran 
 
54 Friendly, Advice. 
 
 towards Hm witlu haste, his mouth and hands all 
 smeared witE blood, and rolled' himself at his feet. 
 The Brahmaa seeing him in that state, without re- 
 flectingi said, ' ' My son has been eaten by the weasel, ' ' 
 and killed him ; but as soon as he diew near and 
 looked, behold the child was comfortably sleeping, 
 and the serpent lay killed. Thereupon the Brah- 
 man was overwhelmed with grief. Wherefore I say 
 that the blockhead who, without knowing the true 
 state o£ the case, becomes subject to anger, will 
 have cause for regret in the same manner as the 
 Brahman on account of the weasel. 
 
 In conclusion some of the maxims, as given in 
 the work in the shape of verses, have been selected 
 and arranged under such separate English headings 
 as may be applicable to them. 
 
 Concealment. 
 
 Nine things ought carefully to be concealed : age, 
 wealth, domestic troubles, private counsel, conjugal 
 rites, medicine, penance, almsgiving, and disgrace. 
 
 A prudent person should not publish the loss of 
 property, distress of mind, mal-practices in his 
 houBe, his being cozened,, and his disgrace. 
 
 Confidence. 
 
 Confidence ought never to be put in rivers ; in 
 those with weapons in their" hands, in animals 
 having claws or horns, in women, and in king's 
 families. 
 
 Contentment. 
 
 Whoever has a contented mind, has all riches. To 
 him whose f ®ot is enclosed in a shoe, is it not as 
 though the earth were carpeted with leather ? 
 
 Wliere have tTiey, who greed^ of wealthy are 
 running here and there, the happiness which those 
 
Frienolly, Advice. 55 
 
 placid spirits enjoy, who are satisfied, with the 
 nectar of contentment ? 
 
 Covetousness. 
 From covetousness anger proceeds, from covetous- 
 ness lust is born,, from covetousness comes delusion 
 and perdition. Covetousness is the cause of sin. 
 
 Existence. 
 
 The difference between the body and the qualities 
 of the mind is infinitely wide. The body is extinct 
 in a moment, whilst the qualities endure to the end. 
 of creation. 
 
 Feelings. 
 
 Is this one of your tribe or a stranger is the cal- 
 culation of the narrow-mindfed, but to those of a 
 noble disposition the earth itself' is but one family. 
 
 As the feelings of those pinched with cold take 
 no pleasure in the rays of the moon ; nor of those 
 oppressed with heat in the beams of; the sun, so 
 the heart of women delights not in a husband stricken 
 with old age. 
 
 When grey hairs have appeared what, forsooth, is 
 a man's love? since women having their hearts 
 fijSfidi on others, regard, him a* a drug. 
 
 The lust of wealth,, and the love of life in living 
 beings, is ever strong, but a youthful wife is deairer 
 to an old man than life itself.. 
 
 A decrepit old man can neither enjoy nor 
 relinquish the pleasures of sense, a^ a teiothles.s, dog 
 only licks a bone with his tongu,e. 
 
 The man of fine feelings dies without- reluctance, 
 but submits not to penury. Tire, though it may be 
 extinguished, will not. be: cooled. 
 
 Fofivine^ Goddes» of. 
 As a young woman loves nqt to embrace an, old 
 
56 Friendly Advice. 
 
 husband, so Lakshmi/the Goddess of Fortune, loves 
 not to embrace the inactire, the lazy, the fatalist, or 
 the coward. 
 
 Friendship. 
 
 In this life there is none more happy than he who 
 has a friend to converse with, a friend to live with, 
 and a friend to chat with. 
 
 A friend who is so by nature, is produced by 
 good fortune; his unfeigned friendship he re- 
 nounces not, even in imminent danger. 
 
 Not in a mother, not in a wife, not in a whole 
 brother, nor in a son, have men such confidence as 
 in the friend who is produced by conformity of 
 xlisposition. 
 
 That friend who will be to his friend an elixir 
 of joy for the eyes, the delight of the heart, a re- 
 pository of pleasure and pain, is hard to be acquired ; 
 whilst such others as, being filled with a desire of 
 gain, are friends in his season of prosperity every- 
 where abound. Adversity is the touchstone of their 
 principles. 
 
 Government. 
 
 When a government is deserted by the wise, the 
 administration becomes unsound ; the administration 
 being inefficient, the whole being without control, 
 declines. 
 
 Greatness. 
 
 Idleness, devotion to women, sickness, a fondness 
 for one's native place, contentment and timidity, are 
 obstacles to greatness. 
 
 Kings, Duty of. 
 
 A king who understands the principles of duty, 
 interest and pleasure, should not be over-merciful, 
 for one over-lenient is not able to keep his property, 
 although within his grasp. 
 
Friendly Advice. 57 
 
 Forgiveness of a foe as well as of a friend is doubt- 
 less the ornament of religious men,, when extended 
 to offending beings, in a monarch it is a fault. 
 
 For him who, through the lust of power or 
 through pride, is aspiring to his master's station, 
 forfeiture of life is the only expiation ; there is no 
 other. 
 
 A king over-merciful, a Brahman who eats all 
 things alike, a disobedient wife, an ill-natured com- 
 panion, an unruly servant, a negligent officer, and 
 one who acknowledges not a benefit received, these 
 ought to be avoided. 
 
 The policy of princes, like a harlot, assumes various 
 forms, true and false, harsh and courteous, cruel 
 and merciful, niggardly and generous^ always spend- 
 ing and still intent on ample hoards of jewels and 
 money. 
 
 If there were no king, or competent leader, then 
 would the people be tossed about here like a ship 
 at sea without a steersman. 
 
 Moral Maxims. 
 
 Shun the society of the wicked. Cultivate the 
 society of the good. Practise virtue day and night. 
 Kemember always your transient state. 
 
 Passion. 
 
 Passion should be relinquished with all the soul, 
 but, if it cannot be given up, it should be indulged 
 towards one's own wife, for she is the proper 
 remedy for it. 
 
 Philosophy. 
 
 Philosophic-minded men hanker not after what 
 is unattainable, are not inclined to grieve for what 
 is lost, nor are they perplexed even in calamities. 
 
 He, by whom swans were formed white, parrots 
 
58 Frkndly Mme;. 
 
 made green, aad peacocks painted of various hues, 
 will make a, provision for thee. 
 
 Poverty, 
 
 Empty is the house of- a childless man, and of 
 him who is destitute of a true Mend'. Empty are 
 ail quarters of the world to an ignorant man. 
 Poverty is total emptiness. 
 
 Of poverty, or of death, poverty^ is declared the 
 worst. Death is attended with transient pain, 
 poverty is past endurance. 
 
 From poverty he comes to sham«; overwhelmed 
 with shame, he loses spirit; broken in spirit he 
 is despised ; through contempt he proceeds to self- 
 disparagement ; self-disparaged he sinks into melan- 
 choly; sorrow-stricken be is forsaken by reason; 
 deprived of reason he goes to destruction. Alas, 
 poverty is the seat of all calamities. 
 
 Providence or Destmy„. 
 
 "Whoever with a very moderate fortune thinks 
 himself well off, I expect Providence, which does 
 all it ought to do, will not increase it for him. 
 
 The allotted age preserves the vital parts of one 
 plunged in the ocean, faUen from a precipice, or 
 bitten by a serpent. 
 
 Though pierced by hundreds of arrows at the 
 wrong time, an animal dies not; touched but by 
 the point ok a blade of grass, if he has reached his 
 hour, he lives, no longer. 
 
 An object unguarded, continues safe if guarded 
 by destiny; though well guarded, if gtuicken by 
 destiny it perishes. One turned adrift in a forest 
 without a protector lives; another, though using 
 every precaution at home, lives not., 
 
 Qtmlii^ of Charaeter. 
 In adv^rsitj, fortitude; in frospecLty, modoKi- 
 
Friendly Advice. 59 
 
 tion ; in tlie assembly, eloquence ; in war, valour ; 
 ambition for fame; perseverance in study; this is 
 perfect in tlie nature of tbe higt-minded. 
 
 Earely does a mother bring forth, that son, an 
 ornament to the three -worlds of whom there is 
 neither exultation in prosperity, nor dejection in 
 adversity, and in battle steadfastness. 
 
 Weir water, the shade of a bata tree, a brunette, 
 and a bricS; house, should be warm in cold weather, 
 and cool in warm weather. 
 
 Queries. 
 
 What is religion ? tenderness towards all crea- 
 tures. What is happiness ? to a living being in 
 this world it is health. What is kindness ? a 
 benevolent disposition. What is learning ? Judg- 
 ment. 
 
 Science. 
 
 What can science do for him who has no sense 
 of his own.? What will a mirror do for one without 
 eyes? 
 
 Truth. 
 
 If a thousand sacrifices of a horse and truth 
 were weighed in a balance, truth would certainly 
 be of more weight than a thouaand sacrifices of a 
 horse. 
 
 Utility. 
 
 A horse, a weapon, a book, a lute, a speech, a 
 man^ and. a woman become serviceable or useless ac- 
 cording as they belcmg to varieties of men. 
 
 What benefit accrues by one who is faithful, but 
 without ability ?' or what benefit by one who is 
 able, but hostile? J^ who am faithful and able, 
 0' king, thou oughtest not to. despise. 
 
60 Friendly Advice. 
 
 Ways of Reception. 
 
 With money one should receive a covetous man ; 
 with hands joined in token of respect, a haughty- 
 man ; with the humouring of his wishes, a block- 
 head ; and with truth a clever man. 
 
 One should receive a friend with kindness, kins- 
 men with lively emotion, women and servants with 
 gifts and honour, and other people with courtesy. 
 
 Wealth. 
 
 In this world every wealthy man is everywhere 
 and at all times strong. Even the power of kings 
 arises based on wealth. "With wealth every one is 
 powerful ; through wealth one becomes learned. 
 
 He who has riches has friends ; he who has 
 riches has relations ; he who has riches is a man of 
 consequence in the world ; he who has riches is 
 even a sage. 
 
 Wisdom. 
 
 He who looks on the wife of another as a mother, 
 on the goods of another as a clod of earth, and on 
 all creatures as himself, is a wise man. 
 
 Wishes. 
 
 Whatever a man may wish for, after that his 
 desire still progresses. That object is virtually 
 obtained the desire for which has ceased. 
 
 Women. 
 
 Absolute liberty ; a residence in her father's house ; 
 attendance at festivals ; the absence of restraint in 
 the neighbourhood of distant male relations ; living 
 in a foreign country; frequent intercourse with 
 loose women; waste of her substance; the old age 
 of a husband ; the envied fecundity of other women 
 are the cause of the ruin of a woman. 
 
Friendly Advice. 61 
 
 Drinking ; bad company ; absence from her hus- 
 band ; gadding about ; much sleep ; dwelling in 
 another's house, are six things injurious to -women. 
 
 It is notorious that women have ever been incon- 
 stant, even among the celestials. And fortunate, 
 indeed, are those men whose wives are kept from 
 error. 
 
 A woman is like a pot of ghee, and a man is like 
 a burning coal. A prudent person, therefore, should 
 not put the ghee and the fire together. 
 
 In childhood the father guards her ; in youtli, 
 the husband guards her ; and in old age her sons 
 should take care of her. A woman is not fit for 
 independence. 
 
 Every book of knowledge which TJsanas knows, 
 and which Vrihaspati knows, is by nature already 
 implanted in the understanding of women. 
 
 And then comes the last verse. 
 
 May peace and happiness ever be the portion of 
 all victorious monarchs ! May the good be exempt 
 from misfortune ! May the glory of those who 
 perform great deeds long increase ! May policy, 
 like a wanton, closely cling to the breast, and kiss 
 the lips of statesmen ! Day by day may great joy 
 be to all ! 
 
CHAPTEE III. 
 
 Op the KaTHASAEITSAGAEA, ABIAS VEIttATKATHA- 
 
 Sagaba, or Vrihatkatha.. 
 
 The next well-known work is "Ihe ^athdsarit- 
 sagara, or ocean of the streams oi narrative, or 
 watery ocean of stories. It is more commonly 
 known in India as tke Vrihatkathd, "the great tale, 
 or great collection of tales, from whidh the former 
 work has been compiled. The date and author of 
 the Yrihatkathd are both unknown, but it was 
 written in prose in minute detail, while the Kathd- 
 safitsdgara, which is more, compressed in style, was 
 written in Terse '.by one Ehatta Bomadeva in the 
 eleventh century, say a.d. 1.088. !It is a large 
 work, and consists of eighteen books, subdivided into 
 124 sections, and a portion of it only has been 
 translated. The first book is introductory, and 
 refers the origin of the stories contained in the 
 collection to no less a person than the deity Siva, 
 who told them to his wife Purwati for her entertain- 
 ment. The second and remaining sixteen books con- 
 tain adventures, tales, stories, and narratives of many 
 kinds a.nd descriptions, running one into the other. 
 A complete translation of this book would be 
 interesting, and doubtless many of the stories 
 would be found to tally with those forming portions 
 of the Arabic, Persian, and European groups. 
 Whether the substance of them came from the 
 East to the West, or whether the stories came spon- 
 
The Great Talc. 63 
 
 itaneoifsly 'to the "brain of eatjh. author, it is difficult 
 'to say. Anyhow a;n analogy Soes exist, and the 
 best solntion is that each author produced two 
 kinds of tales, those which he had heard or read 
 TDeiore, or which had come under his own ex- 
 perience; and tTiose which sprang from his own 
 brain, and came to the surface of their own accord, 
 like Tenus rising from the sea, a thing of beauty 
 and of joy for ever. 
 
 " The Kathdsaritsagara," "Wilson writes, " is full 
 of interest as abounding with pictures of national 
 manners and feelings, and as dffering the oldest 
 extant form of many of the tales which were once 
 popular in Europe. They show plainly enough that 
 the Hindoos occupy an early and a prominent place 
 in the history of fiction." 
 
 As a complete analysis of the whole work would 
 occupy too much space, three stories are given to 
 serve as specimens of Hindoo humour. 
 
 THE MAID, THE MONEEY, ANl) THE MENDICANT. 
 
 On the banks of the Ganges there was once a 
 city named Makandi. And in a temple, not far from 
 the river, there lived a religious mendicant with a 
 large number of disciples. He was a great rogue, but 
 to impress the minds of the credulous people of the 
 neighbourhood, he affected to be perfectly indifferent 
 to all worldly affairs, and even went so far as to have 
 taken a vow of perpetual silence. Now, in this city 
 there resided a wealthy merchant, who believed in the 
 mendicant, and was one of his devoted followers. 
 The merchant had a beautiful daughter, who had 
 just come of age, and who, entertaining a tender 
 feeling for a handsome prince who lived in the 
 neighbourhood, had begun to communicate with him 
 by means of a confidential servant. One day the 
 mendicant came on a begging excursion to the house 
 
64 The Great Tale. 
 
 of the mercliant, and his daughter, beautifully dressed, 
 came out with a silver cup in her hand to give him 
 alms. The beggar as soon as he saw her forgot his 
 vow of perpetual silence, and exclaimed, "Oh! what 
 a sight!" but immediately afterwards he was ashamed 
 of the words which he had uttered, and hastened 
 home to the temple. The merchant, who had heard 
 these words, thought that there was something 
 unusual in them, and followed the mendicant to his 
 abode. The latter, on seeing him, said with tears in 
 his eyes, "Friend, I know that you are greatly 
 devoted to me, and I grieve to say that a great 
 misfortune will come upon you. The marks upon 
 the body of your beautiful daughter foretell the ruin 
 of your family, and the loss of your wealth as soon 
 as she is married." These words frightened the 
 merchant almost out of his wits, and he implored the 
 hypocritical mendicant to tell him if there were any 
 means of averting the catastrophe. " There is one 
 remedy," he replied, " but you will find it hard to 
 practise. Tou must make a box with holes in the 
 lid, in the form of a boat, and having administered 
 a narcotic to your daughter, place her in it, and 
 closing the box, put it into the Ganges with a lamp 
 burning on it. The waters of the river will carry 
 her to some distant country, where doubtless she 
 will be married, but her marriage there will not 
 aflfect your fortune here." Pleased with this appa- 
 rently disinterested advice, the silly merchant 
 returned home, and did as he was told. Fortunately, 
 however, for the girl, her confidential servant heard 
 what was going to be done, and immediately informed 
 the young prince, the girl's lover, of the intentions 
 of her father. At night he accordingly watched by 
 the river, and as soon as the box was left there he 
 got hold of it, and brought it home, and taking the 
 sleeping girl out, put in to her place a large and 
 
The Great Tale. 65 
 
 ferocious monkey, and, having closed the lid, sent it 
 back to the river upon whose broad stream it was 
 floated once more. In the meantime the mendicant 
 was enjoying golden dreams about the future. 
 Thinking to secure the girl for himself, he sent 
 some of his disciples to the river side, and told them 
 to get hold of the box as it came floating down the 
 stream. He further enjoined them not to pay any 
 attention to anything they might hear inside the 
 box, but to bring it directly to him as soon as they 
 found it. On the box being brought, he had it 
 carried to his cell, and then told his disciples to 
 remain at a distance, and not to disturb him, as he 
 had to perform some religious ceremonies in con- 
 nection with it. The disciples then retired, and 
 the mendicant began to open the box with the most 
 pleasing anticipations. But alas, the retribution of 
 sin is often too near. The ferocious monkey, exaspe- 
 rated by his confinement, jumped out at once, and 
 began to bite, scratch, and tear the poor mendicant 
 in every way. The latter bawled out as loud as he 
 could, but his disciples thinking that he was per- 
 forming religious ceremonies, or fighting with the 
 devil, did not come to his assistance. At last he 
 succeeded in opening the door of his room, and got 
 away with the loss of his nose and an ear. The 
 monkey also bolted through the door, and disappeared 
 into the jungle. The good people of Nakandi were 
 much amused with the incident, and drove the 
 mendicant out of the town. The merchant's daughter 
 was delighted to find herself with her lover, while 
 lier father, covered with shame, consoled himself 
 with the idea that she had got a good husband, 
 
 THE BHAHMAn's REfENGfi. 
 
 In the city of Mathura there once lived a famous 
 dancing-girl named Kupinika. She had an old 
 
66 The Great Tale. 
 
 adopted mother, who had trained her up in all the 
 arts necessary for carrying out her profession, Now, 
 it happened one day that Eupinifca weut to visit a 
 temple, and there met a poor young handsome 
 Brahman named Lohajangha. Instantly falling in 
 love with him, she hrought him to her abode, and 
 thencefortl. Tjegan to serve him as her Inisljand, to 
 the exclusion of every other person. Her mother 
 was naturally enraged at this strange conduct, so 
 unbecoming a dancing-girl, but not being able to dis- 
 suade her by simple remonstrances, she had recourse 
 to a stratagem. One morning, a prince with a large 
 number of followers happened to pass by her door, 
 so she asked him to drive away the useless man 
 from her house, and take possession of her daughter. 
 The prince ordered his followers to seize Lohajangha, 
 and to throw him into a dirty pit, and then went on 
 his way without caring further about Eupinika. 
 
 Covered with shame and grief, the poor Brahman 
 got out of the ditch, and resolving to remain no 
 longer in that city, he started to travel so as to 
 forget his grief. One day, while crossing a river, 
 he was carried away by the current to the sea. By 
 the aid of a plank he kept himself above water, 
 until by the force of the wind he was carried to 
 Ceylon. On his arrival in the island, the demons 
 at once brought the circumstance to the notice of 
 their king, Bibhishana, who, knowing the power 
 of human beings by reason of the conquest of his 
 island by Eama, caused the Brahman to be brought 
 with great respect to his palace, and presented him 
 with a large quantity of gold. He also gave him a 
 large eagle for his conveyance, and at the time of his 
 departure sent with him the four weapons* of the 
 
 * These are the Ghakra or wheel, the club or mace, the 
 conch shell, and the lotus, and are known in Hindu mytho- 
 logy as the four weapons or arms in the hands of Vishnu. 
 
The Great Tale. 67 
 
 god Yishnu, all made of gold, to be presented to the 
 temple of that god at Mathura. On his arrival 
 there, Lohajangha took up his abode in an old 
 lonely temple outside the town, and began to think 
 how he was to punish the vile mother of Rupinika 
 for her behaviour towards himself. He therefore 
 mounted his eagle, and wearing on his body all the 
 weapons of Vishnu which he had brought for the 
 temple, he went at night to the house of Eupinika, 
 and awakening her, announced himself as the god. 
 Vishnu, who had come to favour her on account of" 
 her many virtues. The dancing-girl was overjoyed 
 at the idea of having fetched a deity, and attracted 
 the heart of a god, and after feeling , the actual 
 touch of his body considered that she was no longer 
 a mortal. The next day she would hardly speak to- 
 her mother, and with great difficulty was prevailed 
 upon to relate what had occurred on the previous 
 night. The mother was not less credulous than 
 the daughter, but after hearing Eupinika's story, 
 and seeing Lohajangha herself the next night, she 
 was so thoroughly convinced of his godhead, that 
 on the third day she requested her daughter to try 
 and bring about her admission into the blessed 
 region of heaven before her death. The dancing- 
 girl promised to do what she could, and at night 
 implored her lover, on behalf of her mother, to grant 
 the request. In reply, he said that it would be 
 impossible on ordinary days, but that the gates of 
 heaven were left open on. the eleventh day in each 
 fortnight, so that the followers of Shiva might enter 
 the heavenly regions. With them she might be 
 introduced if she would take their form, which is 
 this : " She must shave her head, preserving five 
 locks upo'n it. On her neck she must wear a 
 garland of human skulls. One- half of her face 
 must be painted black, and the other half red. And 
 
 B 2 
 
68 The Great Tale. 
 
 last of all, she must appear entirely naked. If she 
 assumes this form, I can undertake to carry her to 
 heayen." The daughter conveyed this message care- 
 fully to her mother, who felt excessively delighted, 
 and carried out her preparations to the letter. 
 At the appointed hour on the eleventh day of the 
 fortnight, our human god took the wretch before 
 him on his eagle, and sitting her on the top of a 
 lofty pillar near the temple of Vishnu outside the 
 city, he told her to wait for him there. With a 
 loud voice from above, he then warned the people 
 that a destructive plague was about to fall upon 
 "them, and that they should therefore assemble at 
 "Once at the temple of Vishnu, and pray for their 
 safety. The populace obeyed this heavenly voice, 
 and assembled in large numbers near the temple. 
 Lohajangha then changed his dress and joined 
 the crowd. In the meanwhile the unfortunate 
 woman, unable to remain any longer standing on 
 -the pillar, cried out most piteously to the assembled 
 crowd, " Oh ! I fall down — I fall down." These 
 words created additional fear in the minds of the 
 people, who thought that it was the deity of the plague 
 who threatened them with her fall. The people 
 therefore prayed to her with all their might not to 
 fall until the next morning. This lasted all night. 
 At the dawn of day the people recognized the old 
 woman of their city on the top of the pillar, and 
 took her down. She then told them her story, 
 which was heard with astonishment, and the king of 
 ->the place offered a reward to any person who would 
 •explain the matter. Lohajangha then came forward, 
 and relating his adventures, presented the weapons 
 in gold for the use of the temple of Vishnu. The king 
 was amused and pleased, and ordered Rupinika to 
 be handed over to Lohajangha as a reward for all 
 that he had gone through on her behalf. 
 
The Great Tab. 69 
 
 THE MIRROE. 
 
 In the wealthy city of Pataliputra, the modern 
 Patna, there once lived a Brahman named Eudra- 
 surman. He had a wife called Gunevati, who died 
 ten days after giving birth to a male child. The father 
 of the child was therefore obliged to bring him np 
 by the hands of a nurse. As it is natural that no 
 child thrives so well under a nurse as under the- 
 tender care of a mother, the boy did not grow up^ 
 well. He had thin arms and legs and a big pot- 
 like belly, and when he was ten years old, he looked 
 like a boy of six. As is often the case with boys 
 of such peculiar physiognomy, there was a great deal 
 of cunning and rascality in his character. And 
 from his curious figure his father called him by the 
 name of Tundila. 
 
 Some time after the death of Gunevati, the mother 
 of this boy, his father married another girl named 
 Lalita. The girl was beautiful, but at the same 
 time unchaste. There can be no real love between 
 a young wife and an old husband, and such was the 
 case with Lalita, who fell desperately in love witlr 
 a young and good-looking Brahman named Guva- 
 datta. Now Eudra-surman was in the service of the 
 king of that place, and whenever he was absent 
 from his house on duty, Guvadatta used to come there 
 to see the wife, and made himself very agreeable. 
 This was known to the cunning boy Tundila, but as 
 his stepmother was very kind to him and gave him 
 good food and clothes, he used to assist her in all 
 these things, instead of annoying her in any way. 
 He made himself very useful also in conveying 
 messages, and watching at the door of the house. 
 
 Now, it happened one day that Tundila was 
 annoyed with his stepmother on account of her not 
 giving him what he wanted, so he determined to 
 
70 The Grea^ Tah. 
 
 raise some suspicion in his father's mind about her 
 conduct. One day when his father came home he began 
 to jump about) and striking the palms of his hands 
 together, shouted out, " I have two papas, I have 
 two papas ; " " one comes from this road, and the 
 ■other comes from that road." On hearing these 
 words Rudra-surman was startled, and thought to 
 himself, what is the boy saying, and what does he 
 mean? He then called the boy to him, and asked 
 him what he meant. The boy remained quite 
 silent, and when his father pressed him for an 
 answer he burst into tears. This circumstance 
 made Eudra-surman very suspicious about his wife, 
 and a man who once becomes suspicious is always 
 anxious and always thinking about her conduct, 
 and making guesses to her disadvantage. And this 
 was the case with Eudra-surman. He could 
 not procure any definite information from his son, 
 yet his mind began to wander in the ocean of 
 suspicion. Sometimes he allowed his mind to be 
 dragged into the waves of the idea of his wife's 
 unchastity, and at other times he was floating quietly 
 on the still waves of the idea of her innocence. 
 
 Owing to the constant fluctuations of his mind, he 
 ceased to talk and chatter with his wife as usual, 
 and somehow or other Talways took offence at every 
 little thing that she did. By this change in his 
 conduct towards her, his wife understood that there 
 was something wrong, and she rightly imagined 
 that it must be the result of Tundila's mischief, 
 especially as she was aware that she had annoyed 
 him some days previously. After considering for 
 some time, one day, during the absence of her 
 husband at the court, she called Tundila to her, and 
 pleased him much by giving him some good food 
 and clothes. After this, she said to him, " My dear 
 Tundila, I love you more than my own eyes, and I 
 
The Great Tale. 71 
 
 shall give you everything you want without telling 
 your father about it. You know how stingy lie is, 
 and how he never gives you anything, but how 
 readily I supply everything that you want. Look 
 here, I have bought this ivory toy elephant for you; 
 take it, and amuse yourself with it." "Women, by 
 their sweet speech and insinuating manners, can 
 pacify all kinds of men. What difficulty can 
 they experience in coaxing a little boy ? Tundila 
 was much pleased, and said, "Mamma, I love you 
 better than my papa, and I shall always be obedient 
 to you." 
 
 Lalita : My darling child, now tell me whether 
 you said anything about me to your papa ? 
 
 Tundila : One day that you did not give me any- 
 thing to eat, I was very angry with you, and that 
 day I raised some suspicion, in his mind about you, 
 by saying, " I have two papas." I have, however, 
 said nothing more than that. 
 
 Lalita : Did you really only say that much ? 
 
 Tundila : By God, I never tell lies. 
 
 Lalita : Never mind, then, but do as I tell you. 
 Act just in the same manner as yon did before; but 
 look at the miiTor that is fixed on the wall yonder, 
 and shout, " I have two papas, I have two papas; 
 one comes from within the mirror, and the other 
 from outside." 
 
 Tundila agreed to do this; and when Eudra- 
 surman entered the house, the boy acted accordingly. 
 Directly Eudra-surman heard the words, his sus- 
 picions all vanished, and be began to reproach 
 himself, saying,, "What a great mistake I have 
 made ; from tiie former word's of the boy, I falsely 
 suspected my pure and innocent wife." 
 
CHAPTEE ly. 
 
 The DtrSA-KTJMARA-CHAItlTA, OR THE AdTEHTUEES 
 
 OP THE Ten Toitths ok Princes. 
 
 CoLBBROOKE has given the Hitopodesa the first 
 place in his collection of Sanscrit works prepared 
 for the use of students. The second place, however, 
 he allotted to the Dusa-kumara-oharita, or adven- 
 tures of the ten youths or princes, which he abridged 
 from the celebrated poem of Dandi, supposed to 
 have been written about the end of the eleventh 
 century. This distinguished poet, he says, was 
 famous above all other bards for the sweetness of his 
 language, and composed this pleasing story in 
 harmonious verse. It is divided into two parts, 
 the first containing five chapters, the other eight. 
 The first part ends with the marriage of the prin- 
 cipal hero, the other contains the adventures of the 
 same prince and his companions. About them 
 P. W. Jacob, whose translation has been chiefly 
 adopted, says: " Some of the incidents correspond 
 with those of the Arabian nights, but the stories 
 on the whole are quite different from anything found 
 there, and give a lively picture of Hindoo manners 
 and morals. Unscrupulous deception, ready invention, 
 extreme credulity and superstition, and disregard of 
 human life are strongly illustrated." Belief in the 
 power of penance is often alluded to, as also the 
 transmigration of souls, and the agency of super- 
 natural beings. Space will only permit a brief 
 
The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 73 
 
 analysis of the work, and tlie adventures of one of 
 the youths. 
 
 In Pushpapuri, a city of Magadha, ruled Eajahansa, 
 a great king. His queen's name was Yasumati. 
 He had three ministers, of whom No. 1 had three 
 sons, who for brevity can be called A,B, and C; No. 2 
 had two sons, D and E ; and No. 3 also two, F and 
 G. Now, G became disgusted with the world, and 
 started on a pilgrimage to foreign lands. C attached 
 himself to low company, parasites, actors, and women, 
 and led a vagabond life, while E was constantly 
 travelling on mercantile business. The other four, 
 A, B, D, and E, succeeded to the ministerial situa- 
 tions held by their fathers. 
 
 Now, it happened that a great war broke out 
 between Eajahansa, king of Magadha, andManasara, 
 king of Malava, in which the latter was totally 
 defeated, but was immediately restored to his liberty 
 and his kingdom by the former. Subsequently 
 another war took place, with the opposite result, 
 and Manasara, the conqueror on this occasion, took 
 possession of Eajahansa' s country, while Eajahansa 
 himself, having been left for dead in his chariot, 
 was carried off by the horses uncontrolled into the 
 jungles, where he was found by the queen. With 
 the aid of her attendants she brought the king to 
 life again, and they then both went into exile. 
 
 Shortly after the Queen Yasumati gave birth to 
 a young prince named (1) Eajavahana, and the 
 four ministers. A, B, D, and F, also each had a son 
 named (2) Mitrogupta, (3) Mantragupta, (4) Yisruta, 
 and (5) Pramati respectively. They all grew up 
 together as the playfellows and friends of the prince 
 Eajavahana, five in all. This is followed by the 
 tales connected with the loss and recovery of (6) 
 Upaharavama, and (7) Apaharavarma, the twin sons 
 of the Prince of Mithila, an ally of the king Eaja- 
 
74 7%fe Adveniures of the Ten. Youths. 
 
 hansa, also of E's son named (8) Pusbadhana, of C's 
 son named (9) Arthapala, and of G's son named (10) 
 Somadatta. Thus it happened that these ten boys 
 were brought up and educated together, and taught 
 to write and speak various tongues, as also the 
 holy sciences, policy, rhetoric, history and the sacred 
 records, metaphysics, astrology, law, the morals 
 of princes, the science of music, medicine and 
 magic, playing on instruments, how to manage the 
 horse, elephant and car, the use of arms, and how 
 to excel in thieving, gaming, and other such practices. 
 The king, seeing their youth, skill, and vigour, was 
 proud of his juvenile band, and felt confident of 
 triumphing with their aid over every danger. 
 
 The time then came that the young Prince Eaja- 
 havana had to start on his travels along with the 
 other nine youths to see the world and gain ex- 
 perience. After their arrival in the Vindya forest 
 the Prince got separated from his companions, and 
 did not return, having gone off into the forest with a 
 Brahman named Metanga, that he met there. The 
 nine youths searched for him in vain, and then 
 agreed to separate, and to look for him individually, 
 and after prosecuting their inquiries for some time 
 to meet again finally at Ujjayini. 
 
 The adventures of the Prince, the story of his 
 marriage, and the tale of the wanderings of each of 
 his companions, are then given separately, as they 
 by degrees meet each other again, or are curiously 
 brought together. The stories are all more or less 
 amusing, but space wUl only allow one to be 
 given, viz., 
 
 THE ADVENTURES OP (7) APAHARAVARMA, RELATED 
 BY HIMSELF TO THE PRINCE AS FOLLOWS : 
 
 My lord, when j'^ou had gone away with the 
 Brahman, and we were unable to find you, I wan- 
 
The Adventurm of the. Ten Youths. 75 
 
 dered about, searching for you lika the rest of your 
 friends. One day I heard by chance of a very 
 famous Muni or holy man devoted to study, medita- 
 tion, and penance, living in a forest on the banks 
 of the Ganges not far from Champa, and who was 
 said to have supernatural knowledge of past and 
 future events. Hoping to obtain some information 
 about you, I determined to seek him out, and ac- 
 cordingly came here for that purpose. Having 
 found the way to his dwelling, I saw there a miser- 
 able-looking man, very unlike the holy devotee 
 whom I had pictured to myself. Sitting down, 
 however, beside this person, I said, "I have come a 
 long way to consult the celebrated Eishi (or holy 
 man retired from the world and devoted to prayer 
 and meditation) Marichi, having heard that he is 
 possessed of very wonderful knowledge. Can you 
 tell me where to find him ?" 
 
 Deeply sighing, he answered : " There was not 
 long ago such a person in this place, but he is 
 changed; he is no longer what he was." "How 
 can that be?" I asked. "One day," he replied, 
 " while that Mxtni was engaged in prayer and medi- 
 tation, he was interrupted by the sudden arrival of 
 a famous actress and dancer, called Kamamanjari, 
 who, with dishevelled hair and eyes full of tears, 
 threw herself at his feet. Before he had time to 
 ask the meaning of this, a confused crowd of her 
 companions came up, headed by an old woman, the 
 mother of Kama man jari, apparently in great agita- 
 tion and distress. . When they were all a little 
 quieted, he asked the girl the meaning of her tears, 
 and for what purpose she had come to him. 
 
 She answered,, apparently with great respect 
 and bashfulness,, "0 reverend sir, I have heard of 
 your great wisdom and your kindness to those who 
 are willing to give up the pleasures of this world 
 
76 The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 
 
 for the sake of the next. I am tired of the disgrace- 
 ful life I am leading, and wish to renounce it." 
 Upon this, her mother, with her loose grey hairs 
 touching the ground, interrupted her and said, 
 " Worthy sir, this daughter of mine would make it 
 appear that I am to blame, but, indeed, I have 
 done my duty, and have carefully prepared her for 
 that profession for which, by bii-th, she was 
 intended. From earliest childhood I have bestowed 
 the greatest care upon her, doing everything in my 
 power to promote her health and beauty. As soon 
 as she was old enough, I had her carefully instruc- 
 ted in the arts of dancing, acting, playing on 
 musical instruments, singing, painting, preparing 
 perfumes and flowers, in writing and conversation, 
 and even to some extent in grammar, logic, and 
 philosophy. She was taught to play various games 
 with skill and dexterity, how to dress well, and 
 show herself off to the greatest advantage in public ; 
 I hired persons to go about praising her skill and 
 her beauty, and to applaud her when she performed 
 in public, and I did many other things to promote 
 her success, and to secure for her liberal remunera- 
 tion ; yet after all the time, trouble, and money 
 which I have spent upon her, just when I was 
 beginning to reap the fruit of my labours, the un- 
 grateful girl has fallen in love with a stranger, a 
 young Brahman, without property, and wishes to 
 marry him and give up her profession, notwith- 
 standing all my entreaties and representations of 
 the poverty and distress to which all her family 
 will be reduced if she persists in her purpose ; and 
 because I oppose this marriage, she declares that 
 she will renounce the world and become a devotee." 
 The Muni compassionately said to the girl, 
 "You will never be able to endure the hardships 
 of such a life as you propose to lead, a life so 
 
The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 77 
 
 different from that to -which you have heen accus- 
 tomed. A life of devotion is a life of suffering. 
 Its object is either absorption or paradise ; the first 
 is only to be reached by the perfection of wisdom, 
 a thing not easily effected; but heaven may be 
 attained by all who duly perform the duties of their 
 station. Take my advice, then ; give up all thoughts 
 of an undertaking which you will never accomplish, 
 comply with your mother's wishes, return with her, 
 and be content with that way of life in which you 
 have been brought up." 
 
 With many tears she replied, '' If you will not 
 receive me I will put an end to my wretched life." 
 
 Finding her so determined, the Muni, after some 
 reflection, said to the mother and her companions, 
 " Go away for the present, and come back after a 
 few days, I will give her good advice, and you 
 will, no doubt, find her tired of living here, and quite 
 ready to return," Thereupon they all went away, 
 and she was left alone with the Muni. At first she 
 kept at a distance from him, taking care not to inter- 
 rupt him in his meditations, but waiting on him unob- 
 trusively, rendering him many little services, watering 
 his favourite trees, and gathering sacred grass and 
 flowers for offering -to the gods. Then, as he became 
 more accustomed to her, she would amuse him with 
 songs and dances, and at last began to sit near him, 
 and talk of the pleasures of love. 
 
 One day, as if in all simplicity, she said, ''Surely 
 people are very wrong in reckoning virtue, wealth, 
 and pleasure as the three great objects of life." 
 
 "Tell me," he answered, "how far do you regard 
 virtue as superior to the other two?" 
 
 " A very wise man like you," she replied, "can 
 hardly learn anything from an ignorant woman like 
 me ; but, since you ask, I will tell you what I think. 
 There is no real acquisition of happiness or wealth 
 
78 The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 
 
 "without virtue, but the latter is quite independent 
 of the other two. Without it a man is nothing ; 
 but if he fully possesses it, he is so purified by it 
 that he may indulge in pleasures occasionally, and 
 any sin connected with them will no more adhere to 
 him than dust to a cloud. Look at all the stories 
 pf the amours of the gods. Are they the less 
 worshipped on that account ? I think, therefore, 
 that virtue is a hundred times superior to the other 
 two." With many such specious arguments as these, 
 and by her winning ways, she contrived to make 
 him madly in love ; so that, forgetting all his reli- 
 gious duties and former austerities, he thought only 
 how to please her. 
 
 When she perceived this, she said to him, " Let 
 us stay no longer in the forest, but go to my house 
 in the town, where we can have many more enjoy- 
 ments." Utterly infatuated, he was ready to do her 
 bidding, and she, having procured a covered 
 carriage, took him in the evening to her own house. 
 The next day there was a great festival, at which 
 the king was accustomed to appear in public and 
 converse familiarly with his subjects. On such 
 occasions he would often be surrounded by actresses 
 and dancing-girls. 
 
 On that day Kamamanjari persuaded the Muni 
 to put on a gay dress, and accompany her to the park 
 where the festival was held ; and he, thinking only 
 of her, and miserable if she were away from him 
 even for a short time, consented to go. On their 
 arrival there she walked with him towards the king, 
 who, seeing her, said with .a smile, " Sit down here 
 with that reverend man," and all eyes were directed 
 towards him. 
 
 Presently one of the ladies rose up, and making a 
 low obeisance to the king, said, " My lord, I must 
 •confess myself beaten by that lady. I have lost my 
 
The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 79 
 
 "wager, and must now pay the penalty." Then 
 a great shout of laughter arose, the king con- 
 gratulated Kamamanjari, and presented her with 
 handsome ornaments. 
 
 After this she walked away with the astonished 
 Muni, followed by a great crowd, shouting applause. 
 Before reaching her own house, she turned 
 round to him with a low obeisance, and said, 
 "Eeverend sir, you have favoured me with your 
 company a long time ; it will be well for you to 
 attend now to your own affairs." Not having his 
 eyes yet opened, he started as if thunderstruck, 
 and said, "My dear, what does all this mean ? what 
 has become of the great love which you professed 
 for me ? " She smilingly answered, " I will explain 
 it all. One day that lady whom you saw in the 
 park had a dispute with me as to which was the 
 most attractive. At last she said, ' You boast of 
 your powers, forsooth ; go and try them on Marichi. 
 If you can persuade him to accompany you here, 
 then indeed you may triumph. I will acknowledge 
 myself your inferior.' This was the reason of my 
 coming to you; the trick has been successful; I 
 have won my wager, and have no further occasion 
 for you." 
 
 Bowed down by shame and remorse, the unhappy 
 man slunk back to his hermitage, miserable and 
 degraded, bitterly lamenting his folly and infatua- 
 tion, but resolved to atone for it by deep repentance 
 and severe penance. 
 
 "I am that wretched man: you see, therefore, that 
 I am now quite unable to assist you. But do not 
 go away, remain in Champa ; after a time I shall 
 recover my former power." While he was telling 
 me this sad story, the sun set, and I remained with 
 him that night. The next morning at sunrise, I 
 took leave of him, and walked towards the city. On 
 
80 The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 
 
 ray way thither, as I passed a Buddhist monastery, 
 I was struck by the appearance of a man sitting at 
 the side of the road near it. He was extraordina- 
 rily ugly, his body naked, with the exception of a 
 rag round his waist, and his face so covered with 
 dirt, that the tears he was shedding left furrows as 
 they rolled down his cheeks. Moved by compassion, 
 I sat down near him, and inquired the reason of 
 his distress, at the same time adding, "If it is a 
 secret, I do not wish to intrude upon you." " My 
 misfortunes are well known," he answered; "I can 
 have no objection to telling you, if you wish to hear 
 them." Then he began : " My name is Yasupa- 
 lika, but, from my ugliness, I am generally known 
 as Yirupaka the deformed. I am the son of a man 
 of some importance here, who left me a large 
 fortune. 
 
 " Among my acquaintances there was a person 
 called Sundaraka, remarkably handsome, but poor. 
 Between us two some mischievous persons strove 
 to excite a rivalry, pitting my money against his 
 beauty and accomplishments. One day, in a large 
 assembly, having got up a dispute between us, they 
 said, ' It is not beauty or wealth, but the approba- 
 tion of the ladies which stamps the worth of a man ; 
 therefore let the famous actress, Kamamanjari, 
 decide between you, and agree that she shall say 
 who is the best man.' To this we both assented ; 
 and she, having been previously prepared for the 
 part which she was to perform, was brought into 
 the room, and, passing by my rival with scorn, sat 
 down by my side, and taking a garland from her 
 own head placed it on mine. 
 
 " Greatly flattered and delighted by this pre- 
 ference, and blinded by a mad love for her, which 
 I had not ventured to express, I most readily gave 
 myself up to her seductions, and in a very short 
 
The Adventures of ihe Ten Youths. 81 
 
 time she obtained such an influence over me that 
 everything I possessed was at her disposal. Before 
 long, she had so plundered me, and led me into 
 such extravagance, that I was reduced to the most 
 abject poverty, and had nothing I could call my 
 own but this miserable rag which you now see 
 me wear. 
 
 " Cast off by her, blamed and reproached by the 
 elder men, laughed at and despised by those who 
 had been my companions in prosperity, I knew not 
 where to turn, and, as a last resource, I entered 
 this Buddhist monastery, where I obtain a bare 
 subsistence. Distressed by the cutting off my long 
 hair and by numerous restrictions as to eating, 
 drinking, and sleeping, like a newly-caught ele- 
 phant, and hearing every day abuse of those gods 
 whom I used to worship, and filled with remorse 
 for my departure from the religion of my ancestors, 
 I am utterly miserable and only wish for death." 
 
 Having heard this pitiable story, I did what I 
 could to comfort him, and said, "Do not despair;-. 
 I have heard already of that wicked woman, and 
 think I shall be able to find some means of making 
 her restore to you a part at least of your property."' 
 After leaving him I went into the city, and finding, 
 from popular report, that it was full of rich misers, 
 I resolved to bring them to their prop^ condition 
 by taking away their useless wealth. 
 
 Occupied by this thought I went into a gaming- 
 house where I was much interested and amused by 
 watching the players and observing their tricks, 
 their sleight-of-hand, their bullying or cringing 
 behaviour to each other ; the reckless profusion of 
 the winners, the muttering despair of those who 
 had lost. 
 
 While overlooking a game of chess, I smiled and 
 made some remark about a bad move of one of the 
 
82 The Adventures of the Ten. Youths t 
 
 players, upon which his opponent, turning to me 
 with a sneer, said, " No doubt, you think yourself 
 very clever, but wait till I have finished off this 
 stupid fellow, and I will play you for any stake 
 you like." 
 
 When the game was over, accepting his challenge, 
 I sat down to play, and won altogether sixteen 
 thousand dinars. Half of this sum I kept for my- 
 self, and the other half I divided between the 
 gaming-house keeper and the players who were 
 3)resent. The latter were loud in praise of my 
 .generosity, and of the skill which I had shown in 
 Ibeating that boaster. The former asked me to dine 
 TV^ith him, and I often went to his house, and be- 
 came very intimate with him, and obtained from 
 Hm much information, especially such as had re- 
 ference to my puipose. 
 
 One very dark night, fully directed by him, I 
 set out determined on robbery, and equipped with 
 a dark dress, a short sword, a spade, a crowbar, a 
 pair of pincers, a wooden man's head (to be pushed 
 in through any opening in a wall, so as to receive 
 any blow which might be given), a magic candle, a 
 rope and grappling iron, a box with a bee in it (to 
 be let loose that it might put out the lights), and 
 other implements. Selecting a house where I knew 
 there was much money, I made a hole in the wall, 
 and finding all quiet, enlarged it, entered boldly, 
 and carried ofi^ much booty. 
 
 As I was returning, and looking cautiously about 
 me, I came suddenly upon a young woman, who 
 was much alarmed at seeing me. Perceiving her 
 agitation, I spoke to her kindly, and assured her 
 that I would much rather assist her than injure 
 her. Encouraged by my words, she told me her 
 story: " My name is Kulapalika; I am the daughter 
 of a rich merchant in this city, and was from child- 
 
Th&,< Admnture& of the Ten Youths. 83 
 
 hood engagedlto tlie son of another rich man named 
 Dhanamittra,-; he, however, being of a very generous 
 disposition, when he had succeeded to his father's 
 property, was preyed on by pretended friends and 
 reduced to comparative povertyi Seeing. this my 
 father refusedi his consent to our marriage^ and in 
 spite of my reluctance is determined to give me to 
 a rich man called Arthapati. To escape this mar* 
 riage I have slipped out from home by a secret 
 passage, rarely used^ and am going to the house of 
 my lover, who is expecting me, and who will take me 
 away to some other coimtry; pray, do not detain 
 me, but accept this." So saying, sheput one of her 
 ornaments into my hand ; I did not refuse it, but 
 walked by her side, intending to escort her to her 
 destination. We had,, however, only gone a few 
 steps when I saw coming towards us, at no great 
 distance, a lauge body of the citizen guard. With- 
 out losing a moment^ I said to the trembling girl,. 
 " Don't be alarmed ; say that I have been bitten by 
 a serpent, and I will manage the rest" 
 ■ By the time they had reached us I had thrown 
 myself on the ground, and lay as if insensible, andi 
 she stood over me crying. On being questioned, 
 she answered with many tears and in evident dis- 
 tress, " My husband and I, coming from the country, 
 lost our way, and have only lately entered the city. 
 Just now he was bitten by a serpent, and is all but 
 dead. Is there any one among you; skilled in 
 charms who can recover him ? " 
 
 Among the guards there chanced to be a very 
 conceited man, who had often boasted of his skily. 
 and was now delighted to have an opportunity of 
 displaying it. He stood over me whil® the ot&eBs;. 
 waited, and with many gesticulatibnftj; mjuitteroi 
 various charms, supposed to be effixjaciousiin sudria. 
 case, but finding all of no avail, said at last,, ,"-AJi.! 
 
 p 2 
 
84 The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 
 
 it is too late, the poor man is past all remedies; 
 what a pity I did not see him sooner," Then 
 joining his companions, who were impatient to be 
 off, he turned to the sobbing girl, and said, " He 
 was evidently fated to die ; who can prevail over 
 fate ? It is useless to lament ; nothing more can be 
 done now. "Wait a little while, and when we come 
 back we will remove the body." 
 
 As soon as they were out of sight, 1 rose up 
 and took her to the house of Dhanamittra, and said 
 to him, " I met this lady just now ; I have brought 
 her safely here, and now restore the ornament 
 which she gave me in her fright, for, though I am 
 a robber, I would not steal from one like her." 
 Delighted at seeing her, he answered " Oh, sir, you 
 have indeed rendered me a great service in bringing 
 this dear one in safety here ; such conduct is very 
 extraordinary in a man of your way of life, and I am 
 quite unable to understand your motives for acting 
 thus. At all events I am under very great obliga- 
 tions to you, and command my services in future." 
 
 After some further talk I asked him, " Friend, 
 what do you now intend to do ? " " It will be im- 
 possible," he answered, "for me to live here if I 
 marry her without her father's consent. I propose, 
 therefore, to leave the town with her this very 
 night." "A clever man," I replied, " is at home in 
 any place. Wherever he goes, he may say, this is 
 my country. But in travelling many hardships must 
 be endured — hunger, thirst, fatigue, and dangers 
 from men and wild beasts. How will this tender 
 girl be able to bear them ? 
 
 " You seem to be wanting in wisdom and fore- 
 thought in thus abandoning home and country. 
 Take courage, be guided by me, and you shall 
 marry her and live comfortably here. But first we 
 must take her back to her father's house." 
 
The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 85 
 
 To this he consented -without hesitation, and we 
 set out at once. Guided by her, we entered 
 through the secret passage, and having left her at 
 home, we carried off everything of value, and 
 got away without exciting alarm. 
 
 Having hidden our booty in some old ruins close 
 by, we were going home, when we fell in with 
 some of the city guard. Fortunately there chanced 
 to be an elephant tied up at the side of the road. 
 We quickly, therefore, unfastened the rope, mount- 
 ed him, and urged him at full speed, and before 
 the watchmen could recover from their confusion 
 were out of sight. Halting the elephant close to 
 the wall of a deserted garden, we got over it with 
 the help of the trees growing there, escaped on the 
 other side, and reached home undetected. "We 
 then bathed and went to bed. 
 
 The next day we walked out carefully dressed, 
 and were amused at hearing an exaggerated account 
 of our adventures of the preceding night, which 
 had caused much alarm and excitement in the city. 
 
 I had hoped by robbing the old man to prevent 
 the marriage of his daughter with Arthapati. But 
 this hope was frustrated, for the latter was not 
 only willing to take Kulapalika without a dowry, 
 but even made presents to her father, and it wag 
 settled that the marriage should take place at the 
 end of a month. Finding this to be the case, I felt 
 that something more must be done ; and having hit 
 upon a plan which I thought would be effectual, 
 I gave Dhanamittra directions how to act. 
 
 Accordingly, a few days afterwards he went to 
 the king, to whom he was previously known, and 
 having asked for a private audience, said, "A very 
 wonderful thing has happened to me, of which it 
 seems right that your majesty should be informed. 
 You have known me as Dhanamittra, the son of a 
 
'*86 The ^ A3:wMnres-of the Ten Youths. 
 
 Tery rich man. During my prosperity I was en- 
 gaged to the daughter of a wealthy merchant, but 
 when I was reduced to poverty, he refused his 
 consent to -our marriage, and is now about to give 
 her to another. 
 
 "Driven to despair by the double loss of fortune 
 and wife, I went into a wood near the city, intend- 
 ing to put an end to my wretched life. There, 
 when in the act of cutting my throat, I was stopped 
 by a very aged devotee, who asked the cause of 
 the rash act. 
 
 " ' Poverty and contempt,' I answered. 
 
 " 'There is nothing more foolish and sinful than 
 suicide,' he replied. 'A man of sense will «ndure 
 adversity rather than escape from it in such a 
 manner. Wealth, when lost, may be regained in 
 many ways, but life in none. A 'broken fortune 
 may be repaired ; a cut throat can never be joined 
 agaiu. But why should I preach to you thus ? 
 Here is a remedy for your misfortunes. This 
 leather bag will give you abundant wealth. I have 
 used it for assisting the deserving, but 'now I am 
 old and infirm, and am not long for this world. I 
 give it to you. Go home ; if you possess anything 
 wrongfully acquired, restore it to the rightful 
 owner, and give away the rest of your property to 
 Brahmans and the poor. When this has been done, 
 put away the purse carefully, and in the morning 
 it will be foundfuU of gold. Eemember that who- 
 ever possesses it must comply with these conditions, 
 and that it will yield its treasures only to a mer- 
 chant like yourself or to an actress.' 
 
 "With these words he handed me the^purse, and 
 immediately disappeared. 
 
 " I have now brought the purse to your majesty, 
 to know your pleasure concerning it." 
 
 The king, though much astonished, believed ithe 
 
Tho,: Adventures of the Ten Youths. 
 
 c 
 
 story, and told him to keep it and enjoy it ; and, in 
 answer to his entreaty, promised that any one at- 
 tempting to steal it should be severely punished. 
 After this, Dhanamittra, making no secret of his 
 acquisition of the purse, disposed of all his pro- 
 perty somewhat ostentatiously, leaving himself ab- 
 solutely nothing but the clothes which he wore; 
 and in the morning having filled the purse with, 
 gold, the proceeds of the robbery, he showed it tO' 
 his neighbours, who were fully convinced of its 
 magic powers. 
 
 The fame of the purse was thus spread abroad, 
 and we were able to account for our newly-acquired 
 wealth without incurring any suspicion as to the 
 manner of obtaining it. 
 
 At this time, for reasons which will presently 
 appear, I induced one Yimardaka to enter the ser- 
 vice of Arthapati, and directed him to use all pos- 
 sible means to excite his master against Dhana- 
 mittra. In this he liad no difficulty ; for the father 
 of Kulapalika, hearing of Dhanamittra' s sudden 
 acquisition of wealth, did not even wait to be 
 asked, but of his own accord renewed the former 
 engagement and rejected Arthapati. 
 
 About that time it was publicly announced that 
 a younger sister of Kamamanjari-^Eagainanjari by 
 name — would make her first appearance as a dancer 
 and singer. Great expectations having been raised, 
 a large number of spectators, including myself and 
 my friend Dhanamittra, were present at the per- 
 formance. 
 
 I was struck with her beauty the instant she 
 appeared on the stage ; but when I heard her sweet 
 voice, and saw her graceful movements, I was per- 
 fectly enchanted, and unable to take my eyes off her 
 for a moment. 
 
 The performance ended, she withdrew, followed 
 
88 The Adventures of the Ten Youth. 
 
 by the longing eyes and loud applause of the spec- 
 tators, and giving, as I fancied, a significant look 
 at me. The next day I was anxious, restless, and 
 unable to eat, and could do nothing but roam about 
 listlessly, or lie on the couch, thinking of her, and 
 making the excuse of a bad headache. My friend 
 seeing me in this state, easily guessed the reason of 
 it, and said to me in private, " I know the cause of 
 your uneasiness, and can give you good hopes." 
 That girl is virtuous, whatever her mother and 
 :sister may be ; and having watched her closely at 
 the performance, I am convinced that she was much 
 struck with you; therefore if you are willing to 
 make her your wife, there will be no great diffi- 
 • culties to overcome as far as she is concerned ; for 
 ::resisting all seductions and the persuasions of her 
 wicked mother and sister, she has declared, " No 
 man shall have me except as a wife, and I must be 
 won by merit, not by money." On the other hand, 
 her mother and sister, fearing lest she should be 
 withdrawn from the stage, have gone to the king, 
 and obtained, by means of many tears and en- 
 treaties, a decree that if any man shall take the 
 girl, either in marriage or not, without her mother's 
 consent, he shall be put to death like a robber. 
 Therefore, when you have gained her love, you 
 must also obtain the mother's consent, and that can 
 only be done by means of a large bribe ; she will 
 not listen to any other inducement.'' " I am equal 
 to all this," I answered. " I will win the young 
 lady, and find means to satisfy the old one." And 
 I lost no time in accomplishing my purpose. It 
 was, first necessary to make acquaintance with 
 Kamamanjari, and to this end I found out a woman 
 often employed by her as a messenger, and having 
 gained her over by bribes, sent through her a 
 number of small presents, till at last, Kamamanjari 
 
The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 89 
 
 was disposed in my favour, and received me at her 
 house. Meanwhile I contrived to have secret inter- 
 views with her beautiful sister, who consented to 
 become my wife. As soon as this was settled, I 
 said to Kamamanjari, *' I am desirous of obtaining 
 your mother's consent to ray marriage with your 
 sister, who has accepted me. I know that if she 
 ceases to perform you will lose a large income, and 
 therefore offer you in return something better,, and 
 more certain. Procure for me the desired permis- 
 sion, and you shall have Dhanamittra's magic 
 purse, which I will safely steal for you." 
 
 Delighted at the prospect of possessing inex- 
 haustible wealth, she agreed to the proposal ; the 
 mother's consent was formally given, and on the 
 day of my marriage, I secretly handed over 
 the promised purse. 
 
 Yery soon after, Viraardaka, by my directions 
 in a large assembly, began to abuse and insult 
 Dhanamittra, who, as if much astonished, said, 
 " What does all this mean ? Why should you 
 annoy me ? I am not aware that I have ever given 
 you offence." 
 
 He answered furiously, " You purse - proud 
 wretch, do you think I will not take my master 
 Arthapati's part ? Have you not robbed him of 
 his intended wife by bribing her father ? Do you 
 think he has no cause for anger against you ? His 
 interests are mine ; I am ready to risk my life for 
 him, and I will pay you off. Some day you shall 
 miss that purse, the source of the riches with which 
 you are so puffed up." Saying this, he rushed out 
 of the place in a rage, and though nothiog was done 
 at the time, his words were not forgotten. 
 
 Then Dhanamittra went to the king, and 
 declaring that he had lost the purse, mentioned his 
 suspicion of Arthapati, and the reason for it. He, 
 
90 The Adventures of the Ten- Youths. 
 
 having heard nothing of what his servant had said, 
 when summoned and asked, "Have you a confiden- 
 tial servant named Yimardaka ? " answered, without 
 hesitation, " Certainly ; he is a very trustworthy 
 man, and entirely devoted to my interest." " Then 
 bring him here," was the reply. Thus commanded, 
 he searched everywhere for his servant, but was 
 unable to find him, and for a good reason, for I had 
 furnished the man with money, and sent him to 
 Oojein to look for you — i.e., for the prince Eajaha- 
 vana. The supposed thief having disappeared, his 
 master was put in prison till further evidence could 
 be procured, for no one but those in the secret 
 doubted that he was the instigator of the theft. 
 
 Meanwhile, Kamamanjari, anxious to make use 
 of the magic purse, proceeded to fulfil the conditions 
 attached to its use. She went secretly to Virupaka, 
 the deformed one, and restored the money of which 
 she had robbed him, and then gave away all her fur- 
 niture, clothes, and ornaments. This, however, she 
 did so incautiously that attention was drawn to it ; 
 upon which Dhanamittra went again to the king, 
 saying, "I suspect that the actress Kamamanjari 
 has got my purse, for though notoriously avaricious, 
 she is giving away everything she possesses, and 
 there must be some strong reason for such a pro- 
 ceeding." In consequence of this information, she 
 was summoned to appear the next day, together 
 with her mother, and the two women came in great 
 alarm to consult me. 
 
 I said to Kamamanjari, " No doubt, you are sus- 
 pected of having the purse. This suspicion has 
 arisen from your own imprudence in giving away 
 your property so openly. I much fear that you 
 will have to give it up, and you will be fortunate if 
 you escape without worse consequences. But you 
 must on no account implicate me ; for that I should 
 
The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 91 
 
 be put to death, all my property would be confis- 
 cated, your sister would die of grief, and you would 
 be utterly ruined." 
 
 She answered, with, many tears, " It is indeed my 
 own fault, but you shall be safe. That niggardly 
 wretch Arthapati is known to be intimate with me. 
 I will say that I received it from Mm, and as he is 
 already suspected of stealing it, I shall probably be 
 believed." To this I agreed, and the next day 
 when questioned, she at first denied all knowledge 
 of the purse, then admitted having received it, but 
 refused to say from whom, and at last, when 
 threatened with torture, confessed, apparently with 
 great reluctance, that Arthapati was the giver, and 
 this being considered sufficient evidence against 
 him, he was condemned to death. 
 
 Then Dhanamittra interceded for him, saying, 
 " A decree was formerly made by one of your an- 
 cestors that no merchant or trader should be put to 
 death for theft. I humbly entreat, therefore, that 
 bis life may be spared." To this the king consented. 
 The poor wretch was banished, and all his property 
 confiscated, a portion of it being given to Kamaman- 
 jari at the earnest entreaty of Dhanamittra, who 
 got back his purse, and shortly afterwards married 
 Kulapalika. 
 
 Having thus performed the promise to my friend, 
 I increased my own wealth, and kept up the re- 
 putation of the purse by going on with my robberies, 
 and so impoverished the rich misers that some of 
 them were glad to receive a morsel of food from the 
 beggars to whom they had formerly refused help, 
 and who were now enriched by my liberality. 
 
 Still no suspicion fell on me ; but fate is all 
 powerful, and it was decreed that I should be 
 •.caught at last. 
 vOne'night sitting with my charming wife, intoxi- 
 
92 The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 
 
 cated partly witli "wine, and partly with, her sweet 
 caresses, I was seized with madness, and started up, 
 saying, *' All the wealth in the city is not too much 
 for you, I will fill tlie house with jewels for your 
 sake." Then, like a furious elephant who has 
 broken his chain, I rushed out, in spite of her 
 remonstrances, with a drawn sword, and attacked 
 a body of police who happened to be passing. They 
 shouting out, "This is the robber," soon overpowered 
 me, and I fell to the ground. 
 
 The shock sobered me at once, and all the horror 
 of the situation into which I had brought myself 
 by my folly came into my mind. I thought to 
 myself my intimacy with Dhanamittra is well 
 known, suspicion will fall on him, and unless I 
 can turn it off, he, as well as my wife, will be arrested 
 to-morrow. I quickly formed a plan by which they, 
 and, perhaps, I myself, might be saved. But no 
 time was to be lost, and as they were about to take 
 me away, I called out to my wife's nurse Sringalika, 
 who had followed me, " Begone, old wretch ! and 
 tell that vile harlot, your mistress, and her paramour, 
 Dhanamittra, that she will never see her ornaments, 
 nor he his magic purse again. I care not for life, 
 if I am revenged on those two wretches." 
 
 The old woman being remarkably quick-witted, 
 at once understood my object in speaking thus, 
 and very humbly accosting the police, said, "Worthy 
 sir, I entreat you to wait a moment, while I ask 
 your prisoner where he has hid the ornaments of 
 my mistress." To this they assented ; and, coming 
 to me, she said, " Oh, sir, your jealousy is without 
 cause J whatever attentions that man may have paid 
 my mistress, she is not to blame. Now that you 
 are taken from her, she will have no means of 
 support, and must go on the stage again. How 
 can she do this without her ornaments? Take 
 
The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 93 
 
 compassion on her, and say -where you have hid 
 them." 
 
 Then as if my anger was appeased, I answered, 
 "Why should I, who am about to die, harbour 
 resentment ? Come close, and I will whisper where 
 I have put them." In this manner I managed to 
 give her a few hurried instructions. She went 
 away with many blessings on me, and thanks to 
 the men for their kindness ; and I was taken to the 
 king's prison. 
 
 At that time the governor of the prison was a 
 very conceited young man, named Kantaka, who 
 had lately succeeded to the office by the death of 
 his father. When I was brought in, looking at me 
 in a very contemptuous manner, he said, " So you 
 are the thief who has committed so many robberies. 
 If you do not give up the stolen property, and 
 especially the magic purse, you shall suffer every 
 possible variety of torture before you are put to 
 death." 
 
 I answered, smiling, " Even though I should 
 give up all the other stolen property, I will never let 
 the piirse go back to that wretch, Dhanamittra, my 
 greatest enemy. You may try all your tortures, 
 you will never get this secret out of me." Finding 
 the fear of torture to have no effect, the next day 
 he tried promises, and so went on from day to day, 
 with alternate soothing and threatening. Mean- 
 while my wounds were attended to, and I was well 
 fed, so that I had regained my strength, when, 
 one day, Sringalika made her appearance, well 
 dressed, and with cheerful countenance. To my 
 surprise, she was allowed to speak to me in private. 
 She said to me joyfully, "Your plan has succeeded. 
 As you directed, I went to Dhanamittra, and told 
 him from you, ' You must go at once to the king, 
 and say the magic purse so lately restored, has 
 
94 The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 
 
 again been stolen by one wbom I regarded as a 
 friend, a certain gambler, the husband of the 
 actress, Eajamanjara, He has taken it from spite, 
 being jealous of his wife, to whom, from kindness, 
 I often made presents. He is now in prison for 
 other ofiences, and if he is put to death imme- 
 diately-, as he deserves, I fear that I shall never 
 recover my purse. I pray, therefore, that he may 
 not be executed before he has confessed where it is 
 concealed. Foi' he admits having taken it ; but 
 declares that he will not give it up imless his life is 
 spared.' Tour friend admiring your ingenuity, and 
 having full confidence in your resources, immedi- 
 ately went to the king, and obtained his request, so 
 that your life is safe for the present." 
 
 " Meanwhile, with the help of gifts furnished by 
 my mistress, I have formed an intimacy with the 
 nurse of the Princess Ambalika, and have been 
 introduced by her to the princess, whose favour I 
 have gained by telling her amusing stories, and 
 whom I have induced to feel an interest in the 
 misfortune of my mistress. One day, when I was 
 standing near her in the gallery round the court- 
 yard of the palace, Kantaka, the governor of the 
 prison, having some business or other, passed through 
 below us. Picking up a flower which the princess 
 had dropped, I let it fall on his head, and when 
 he looked up to see from whose hand it came,,! 
 managed to make the princess laugh at something 
 which I said, and the conceited fool, thinking 
 that it was she who had dropped it to attract his 
 attention, went away looking quite pleased and 
 confused. 
 
 " That same evening I received a present for my 
 mistress — a small basket marked with the signet of 
 the princess, and containing articles of no great 
 value. This I took to Kantaka, and, begging him. 
 
The Adventures of the Ten Youths^ 95 
 
 to observe the strictest secrecy, made him believe 
 that the princess had sent it to him. He was even 
 delighted when, another day, I bought him a dirty 
 dress, telling him that she had worn it. Tinding 
 him quite ready to believe this, and convinced that 
 she was in love with him, I kept up an imaginary 
 correspondence, bringing very loving messages from 
 her, which I invented, and receiving many from him 
 in return, which I took care not to deliver. His 
 presents, of course, I kept for myself. 
 
 " In this manner I have raised his hopes very high, 
 and, to encourage him still further, I said, ' I have 
 heard from a learned astrologer with whom I am 
 acquainted that you have certain marks upon you 
 which indicate that you will one day be a king. 
 This love on the part of the princess tends to the 
 fulfilment of the prediction. You are, therefore, 
 on the high road to fortune. If you have spirit 
 enough to pursue it, all you have to do now is to 
 obtain a secret interview with the lady ; the rest 
 will follow in due time.' 
 
 " ' But how can I manage this ? ' he asked. " ' The 
 wall of the garden,' I replied, ' communicating 
 with the princess's apartment, is separated from 
 those of the gaol by a space of a few yards only. 
 You could not get over these walls, but you might 
 make an underground passage and slip in unob- 
 served, and I will take care that there shall be 
 some one to receive and conduct you to the prin- 
 cess. "When once with her you are safe, for all her 
 attendants are attached to her ; not one would be- 
 tray the secret." 
 
 '"But how can I make this underground passage?' 
 he asked. ' I cannot dig it myself, or employ 
 workmen.' 
 
 " ' Have you no clever thief here,' I replied, 
 ' accustomed to such work ? ' 
 
96 The Adoentures of the Ten Youths. 
 
 " 'Well suggested,' he answered; 'I have just 
 the right man.' 
 
 "'Who is he?' I said. 
 
 " ' That man who has stolen the magic purse,' 
 said he. ' If he will set to work with a good will, 
 he will soon dig his way through.' 
 
 (I I Yery good,' I answered. ' You must persuade 
 him by promising to let him go when the work is 
 done. But it would never do for him to be in the 
 secret ; therefore, when he has finished, put on his 
 fetters again, and report to the king that he is 
 excessively olDstinate ; that you have tried all other 
 means to make him confess, and that nothing re- 
 mains but to put him to torture. No doubt, the 
 king will give orders accordingly, and you can 
 easily manage so to inflict it that he shall die under 
 it. When he is dead your secret will be safe ; you 
 can visit the princess as often as you like, and, 
 doubtless, in the end the king, rather than disgrace 
 his daughter, will consent to your marriage, and, 
 as he has no other child, will make you his 
 successor.' 
 
 " With this proposal he was quite delighted, and 
 has been treating you well that you may have 
 strength for the work. He intends to ask you to 
 begin to-night, and has sent me to persuade you, 
 believing me to be devoted to his interests, and 
 looking forward to some great reward when he has 
 got his wish." 
 
 Having heard this from the old woman, I gave 
 her great praise, and said, "Lose no time. Tell 
 him I am quite ready to do the work." 
 
 After this, Kantaka came to me and told me what 
 he wanted, and swore a solemn oath that I should 
 be liberated when the work was done; and I, in 
 return, swore to keep his secret. Then he took off 
 my fetters, I got a bath and a good dinner, and 
 
The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 97 
 
 presently set to -work in a dark corner under the 
 wall. Soon after midnight the work was done, and 
 an opening made into the courtyard of the women's 
 apartments. Before returning I thought to myself, 
 " This man has sworn an oath which he intends to 
 break; for the preservation, therefore, of my own 
 life I shall be justified in killing him." Having 
 formed this resolution, I went back to the prison 
 where Kantaka was waiting for me. He told me 
 it was necessary to replace my fetters for the pre- 
 sent, and I appeared- to acquiesce. But as he was 
 stooping to fasten them I gave him a violent kick, 
 and, before he could recover himself, I had snatched 
 a short sword which he wore, and cut off his head. 
 I then returned to Springalika, who had remained 
 in the prison, and said to her, " I am not disposed 
 to have had all this toil for nothing. Tell me the 
 way into the ladies' rooms, I will go there, and 
 steal something before I make my escape." 
 
 Having received her directions, I passed again 
 through the tunnel which I had made, came up 
 into the courtyard, and from thence entered a large 
 lofty room lighted by jewelled lamps, where a 
 number of women were sleeping. 
 
 There on a couch, ornamented with beautifully 
 carved flowers, and resting on lion's feet, I saw the 
 princess covered only by a thin silken petticoat, 
 half sunk into a soft white feather bed, like light- 
 ning on an autumn cloud. 
 
 Fast asleep, as if wearied by much play, she lay 
 in a very graceful attitude, with her delicate ankles 
 crossed, her knees slightly drawn up ; one lovely 
 hand laid loosely on her side, the other beneath 
 her head ; her full bosom slowly heaved by gentle 
 breathing, illuminated by the ruby necklace strung 
 on burnished gold; the top-knot of her loosened 
 hair hanging down like some graceful flower ; her 
 
 Q 
 
98 The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 
 
 lips so bright that the opening of the mouth could 
 hardly be distinguished, and her features, in calm 
 repose, shaded by her lovely ringlets. I had en- 
 tered so softly that no one was disturbed, and I 
 stood gazing for some time lost in admiration of 
 her beauty ; quite forgetting the purpose for which 
 I had come. I thought, she is, after all, the lady 
 of my heart. If I do not obtain her, Kama (the 
 Hindu god of love) will not suflfer me to live; 
 but how can I make known my love to her ? - Were 
 I now to wake her, she would start up with a cry 
 of alarm, and I should probably lose my life. I 
 must think of some other way of letting her know 
 ray love. 
 
 Then, looking round, I saw laid on a shelf a thin 
 board prepared for painting, and a box of paints 
 and brushes. "With these I made a hasty sketch 
 of the princess as she lay, and of myself kneeling 
 at her feet ; and underneath it I wrote this verse, 
 
 " Of thee, tliy slave in humble attitude thus prays : 
 Sleep on ! not worn, like me, by pervading love." 
 
 I then painted on the wall near her a pair of 
 chakravakas, or kind of turtle dove, in loving atti- 
 tude, gently took off her ring, replacing it with 
 mine, and slipped out without disturbing any of the 
 sleepers. 
 
 There was at that time among the prisonere a 
 man named Sinhagosha, formerly a chief officer of 
 police, but now imprisoned through a false accusa- 
 tion made by Kantaka. With this man I had 
 already made acquaintance, and I now went to him, 
 and told him how I had killed Kantaka. With his 
 consent, I went forth from the prison, and walked 
 away with Sringalika. We had not gone fer wh«n 
 we fell in with a patrol. I thought to myself I 
 could easily run away from them, but what would 
 
The Advenhirea of the Ten Youths. 99 
 
 become of the poor old woman, she would certainly 
 be caugbt. Hastily detenoaining, therefore, on what 
 was best to be done, I walked right np to them with 
 unsteady gait and idiotic look,. and said, " Sirs, if I 
 am a thief, kill me, but you have no right to touch 
 this old woman." 
 
 She, peroeiying my intention, came up, and very 
 humbly said : " Honoured sirs, this young man is 
 my son. He has been for some time confined as a 
 lunatic, but was supposed to be cured, and I brought 
 him home yesterday. In the middle of the night, 
 however, he started up, and calling out, ' I will kill 
 Kantaka, and make love to the king's daughter,' 
 rushed out into the street. I have at last overtaken 
 him, and am trying to take him home. Will you 
 be so good as to help me, and tie his hands behind 
 him, that he may not get away again." 
 
 As she said this, I called out, " Oh, old woman, 
 who ever bound a god or the wind ? Shall these 
 crows catch an eagle ? " and then started ofi at full 
 speed. She, renewing her entreaties, begged them 
 to pursue me, but they only laughed at her, and 
 said, "Do you think we have nothing to do but to 
 run after madmen. You must be as mad as he is 
 to have taken him out," and so they went on their 
 way. 
 
 I stopped when I found I was not pursued. She 
 soon overtook me, and we went to my house, to the 
 great joy of my wife, who bad scarcely hoped for 
 my deliverance. 
 
 In the morning I saw Dhanamittra, told him 
 all that had happened, and thanked him for fol- 
 lowing my directions so implicitly. 
 
 After this I went to the forest to see Mayichi. I 
 found him restored to his former condition, and able 
 to give me the desired information. From him I 
 learnt that you would be here about thi* ti»ie- 
 ^ a 2 
 
100 The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 
 
 In the morning after my escape, Sinhagosha 
 informed the king of what happened, and how 
 Kantaka had been killed when about to enter the 
 princess's apartments. Being found to be innocent 
 of the crime of which he was accused, he was ap- 
 pointed governor of the prison in Eantaka's place. 
 Before the underground passage was filled up, he 
 permitted me to pass through it more than once to 
 see the princess, who was favourably disposed to- 
 wards me through the picture and verse, and still 
 more by all that Sringalika had said in my favour. 
 
 No great search was made after me, and by 
 keeping quiet and going out only at night I escaped 
 further arrest. 
 
 My lord, you know how Chandavarma besieged 
 Champa, and how Sindavarma was defeated and 
 taken prisoner. When I heard this, and how the 
 conqueror intended to force the princess to marry 
 him, I went to Dhanamittra and said, " Do you go 
 about among the ministers and officers of the im- 
 prisoned king, and to the principal citizens, and tell 
 them to be ready to attack the enemy as soon as 
 they hear of the death of Chandavarma ; I will 
 -engage to kill him to-morrow." 
 
 How Dhanamittra has performed his part you 
 have just seen. As to myself, I put on a dress 
 suitable for the occasion, and as many persons were 
 rgoing in and out of the palace I managed to slip in 
 unobserved, and get very near the intending bride- 
 groom. Suddenly, stretching out my arm as he 
 was about to take the hand of the princess, I gave 
 him a mortal wound with a sword. Then saying 
 a few hasty words of encouragement to her, I de- 
 fended myself against those who endeavoured to 
 seize me, till I heard your welcome voice, deep as 
 the sound of thunder, and had the happiness of 
 embracing you. 
 
The Adventures of the Ten Youths. 101 
 
 The other stories are full of incident and anecdote, 
 but the specimen given is suflficient to show the 
 nature of the work, which ends abruptly, and was 
 apparently left unfinished by the author. Had he 
 continued it, the ten faithful friends would probably 
 have recovered the kingdom of Magadha, and re- 
 placed on its throne their good father and patron, 
 the king Eajahansa and his queen Yasumati. 
 
CHAPTEE V. 
 
 The Baital Pachisi, or Twentt-fite Stories 
 OE A Demon, 
 
 Among the many adventures, tales, stories, 
 and narratives given in the Katha-sarit-sagara 
 (Chapter J II.), there are also the plan and details 
 of a colleetion of stories extremely popular in India, 
 existing both in Sanscrit, and in all the vernacular 
 dialects that have any literature — Hindi, Bengali, 
 Mahratti, Guzerathi, Tamul, Telegoo, and the 
 rest. These are known as the Vetala Panchavinsati, 
 commonly called the Baital Pachisi, or Twenty-five 
 Tales of a Demon, related by a sprite or demon, or 
 vampire, who haunts cemeteries and animates dead 
 bodies, to Yickramaditya, king of Oojein, according 
 to the usual version ; to Trivikrama Sena, king of 
 Prelishthana or Pythan, on the Godaveri, according 
 to the Katha-sagara. Whether it was a separate 
 work originally, or whether it always formed the 
 ninth section of the twelfth book of the Katha is 
 uncertain. Anyhow, it is now printed separately, 
 and has been translated into English by Eaja Kali 
 Krushna, of Calcutta, Mr. Eastwick, Captain Hol- 
 lings, Munshi Ghulam Mahomed, Captain Richard 
 Burton, and Mr. John Platts. Of these translations 
 Captain Burton's is the freest and the most amusing, 
 and he says truly enough, " The merit of the old 
 stories lies in their suggestiveness and their general 
 applicability. I have ventured to remedy the con- 
 
The Twenty-five Stories of a Demon. 103 
 
 cisenesB of their language, and to clothe the skeleton 
 with flesh and blood." 
 
 The tales were told under the following circum- 
 stances: — In the renowned city of Oojein there lived 
 a king named Gandharb Sen, who had four sons. 
 On his death he was succeeded by his eldest son, 
 known as Shank. The said Shank was shortly 
 afterwards slain by his younger brother, Vickram, 
 who then became king, governed well, extended his 
 dominions, and established an era. When he was 
 well established on the throne, he thought to 
 himself that he must travel a bit, and see the 
 countries about which he was ever hearing. Ac- 
 cordingly, he handed over his government and his 
 throne temporarily to his younger brother, Bhartari, 
 and, assuming the guise of a devotee, set out on his 
 wanderings. 
 
 Now, it happened that in that city there lived a 
 pious Brahman, and a deity pleased with his auste- 
 rities presented to him the fruit of immortality. 
 Taking it home to his wife, he told her that who- 
 ever ate the fruit would become immortal. She, 
 however, did not seem at all pleased with the idea 
 of immortality, and said that on the whole it was 
 better to die and escape from the trials of the 
 world, than to go on living for ever and begging 
 alms. The Brahman then asked her what he had 
 better do with the fruit. She said, " Give it to the 
 king, and ask for wealth in exchange, and then we 
 shall enjoy the advantages of this world, as well as 
 those of the world to come." Hearing this, the 
 Brahman went to the king, and explained the cir- 
 cumstances of the case. The king gave him a lakh 
 of rupees and dismissed him, and then went straight 
 to the queen whom he loved most, and gave her the 
 fruit and told her to eat it, and remain young and 
 beautiful for ever. The queen thanked the king 
 
104 The Twenty-five Stories of a Demon. 
 
 in the way that only woman can, and he departecL 
 But it happened that, though the queen loved the 
 king much, she loved a certain ambassador more ; 
 so, when opportunity offered, she presented the 
 fruit to him in a manner at least as tender as that 
 with which it had been offered to her. The am- 
 bassador took it, but, though he liked the queen, he 
 really loved one of her maids of honour, so he gave 
 the fruit to her. She, being an ambitious girl, 
 thought that it was a fitting present for the king, 
 and that to give it to him was the best thing that 
 she could do with it. Accordingly she went and 
 presented it to the king, who took it, and dismissed 
 her with much wealth and with many thanks. 
 Knowing then that his great love for the queen was 
 not returned, and awakening from his dream of 
 unbounded affection, he entered the female apart- 
 ments, and asked the queen what she had done with 
 the fruit he gave her. She replied at once, "I ate it 
 up." The king then showed her the fruit, and she 
 was speechless. He then left her, washed the fruit, 
 and ate it himself, and, abandoning the kingdom 
 and the throne, assumed the guise of a devotee, 
 and telling no one, went forth alone to the jungle 
 to meditate over the vanities of the humanities, of 
 which the love of woman is one. 
 
 The throne of Vickram was vacant. When this 
 news reached king Indra, he sent a demon to watch 
 over the city by day and by night, and this he did 
 faithfully. The news, however, spread from country 
 to country that king Bhartari had abandoned his 
 government and gone away as an ascetic. In time, 
 king Yickram heard it too, and immediately set 
 out to return to his country. He arrived at his 
 capital at midnight, and as he entered the city he 
 was challenged by the demon, who called out, "Who 
 art thou, and whither goest thou ? Stand and give 
 
The Twenty-five Stones of a Demon. 105 
 
 your name." The king said, " It is I, king Vick- 
 ram; I am entering my own city; who art thou to 
 challenge me ? " The demon replied, " The deities 
 have sent me to guard this city; if you are really 
 king Viokram, first fight me, and then enter the 
 city," On this the king and the demon fought, 
 and the former threw the latter, and sat upon his 
 breast. The demon then said, " Oh ! king, thou 
 hast thrown mo ; I grant thy life as a boon." On 
 this the king laughing, said, " Thou art mad ; it 
 is for me to grant life to you ; how canst thou now 
 grant it to me ? The demon replied, " Oh ! king, 
 I am about to save thee from death ; first listen to 
 my tale, and then rule over the whole world free 
 from care." The king agreed, and the demon spoke 
 as follows: — 
 
 "In this city there once reigned a very liberal 
 king, named Chandrabhau. One day in the jungle 
 he beheld an ascetic hanging head downwards from 
 a tree, and sustaining himself by inhaling smoke 
 alone, neither receiving anything from any one, 
 nor speaking a word to a soul. Oa his return 
 home, the king said, 'Whoever will bring this 
 ascetic to me here shall receive a lakh of rupees.' 
 A courtesan, hearing these words, came to the king 
 and said, * If I obtain your majesty's leave, I will 
 have a child by that ascetic, and bring it here 
 mounted on his shoulder.' The king agreed to her 
 proposal, and she started for the jungle, where she 
 found the ascetic withered up, neither eating nor 
 drinking, and hanging head downwards. The 
 courtesan prepared some sweetmeats, and put it 
 into his mouth, while he, finding it agreeable, ate 
 it up eagerly. She applied a little more to his 
 mouth, and for two days continued to feed him 
 with the same, and by eating it he gained a little 
 strength. Then opening his eyes, and descending 
 
lOG The Tmenty-fim Stories of a Demon. 
 
 frara the tree, he asked her, ' On what business 
 hast thou eome hither ? ' 
 
 " The courtesan replied, ' I am the daughter of a 
 god. I have been practising religious austerities 
 in heaven, but have now come to this jungle to 
 enjoy myself.' The ascetic said, ' Where is your 
 hut? show it to me.' She then took him to her 
 hut, and began to feed him with delicious food, and 
 this he took daily. Soon the god of love troubled 
 him, and forgetting his vows, he was imprudent, 
 and lost the reward of penance. The woman 
 conceived. In ten months a boy was born, and, 
 when he was some months old, she said to the 
 hermit, 'Oh, holy man, now let us go and perform 
 pilgrimages, by which all the sins of the flesh may 
 be blotted out.' 
 
 " Deluding him with such words, she placed the 
 boy on his shoulder, and started for the king's 
 court to show that she had earned her money. The 
 king seeing her at a distance, and also the child on 
 the shoulder of the devotee, said to his courtiers, 
 ' See, this is the very same woman who went out to 
 bring in the devotee.' They replied, ' king, 
 you are right ; it is the woman, and she has ful- 
 filled what she promised to do.' 
 
 "When the ascetic heard these remarks of the 
 king and the courtiers, he thought that they had 
 done this to destroy his penance. He therefore left 
 the palace, went out of the city, and, having killed 
 the boy, retired to another forest to perform his 
 devotions. After some time that king died, and 
 the devotee completed his penance. 
 
 " The short of the story is this, that you three 
 men have been bom under one asterism, one con- 
 junction, and in one moment. You were born in 
 a king's house ; the second was an oilman's child ; 
 the third, the devotee, in the house of a potter. You 
 
The Tmnty-fim Stories of a Demon. 107 
 
 govern here, -while the oilman's son -was the niler 
 of the infernal regions; but the potter's son, 
 bringing his religious meditations to thorough per- 
 fection, has killed the oilma.n's child, and turned 
 him into a demon in a burning ground, and placed 
 him, hanging head downwards, on a siras tree, and 
 he is now intent on killing you. If you escape, you 
 will rule the -world. I have informed you of all these 
 things ; do not be careless with respect to them." 
 
 The demon then departed, and the king entered 
 his palace. The next day he held a general court, at 
 which there was a large attendance of his subjects, 
 and great joy was exhibited by everybody in the 
 city at his return. 
 
 One day an ascetic, named Shantsil, appeared at 
 the court with a fruit in his hand, and presented 
 the same to the king. He then spread a cloth, sat 
 down for a short time, and then went away. On his 
 departure, the king thought that this might be the 
 person of whom the demon spoke. With this sus- 
 picion in his mind, he did not eat the fruit, but 
 gave it to his ste-ward, and told him to keep it 
 carefully. The devotee, however, came constantly 
 in the same way, and left a fruit every time. Now, 
 one day, it happened that the king went to his 
 stables. The ascetic came there also, and presented 
 the king with a fruit in the usual way. While 
 tossing it in the air, it fell to the ground, and a 
 monkey took it up and broke it into pieces. So 
 exquisite a ruby came out of it, that the king and 
 his attendants were astonished at its brilliance. 
 The king then said to the devotee, " Why have yo-u 
 given me this ruby ? " The latter replied, " It is 
 not proper according to the wiitten religious law to 
 go empty-handed to certain places, or to certain 
 persons. Each of the fruits that I presented to you 
 contains a jewel.'' The steward was then ordered 
 
108 The Twenty -five Stories of a Demon. 
 
 to bring them all, and each was found to contain a 
 ruby of such excellence that their value was in- 
 credible. 
 
 The king then asked the religious mendicant for 
 an explanation of the object of these gifts. The 
 ascetic, after quoting certain things, of which it is 
 improper to speak in public, said, " That he would 
 tell him in private," and added, " It is a rule that 
 whatever is heard by three pair of ears (i.e., by 
 three persons), remains no secret ; the words which 
 reach two pair of ears {i.e., two persons), no man 
 hears ; while the contents of one pair of ears («',«., 
 the knowledge of one person) are unknown to 
 Brahma himself, not to speak of man." 
 
 The king then took him apart, and asked him 
 what he really wanted. The ascetic said, " Sire, I 
 am about to practise magical arts in a large body- 
 burning ground on the banks of the river, by which 
 I shall acquire supernatural powers. I beg of you 
 to pass one whole night with me, and by your being 
 near me, my magic arts will succeed." The king 
 asked on what day he should come, and this being 
 told him, he said, " You can go ; I will assuredly 
 come, and alone." When the time came, he went 
 and found the ascetic sitting and beating two skulls 
 together by way of music, and surrounded by 
 goblins, evil spirits, and witches in various fright- 
 ful shapes, all dancing around. The king felt no 
 alarm, but simply asked, "What do you want 
 me to do?" The devotee replied, "About four 
 miles south of this place is a burning ground ; there 
 you will find a siras tree [Mimosa serisa), on which 
 a corpse is suspended ; bring that corpse to me 
 here." Amidst many difficulties the king at last 
 arrived at the spot, and found the corpse fastened 
 by a string, and hanging head downwards. Having 
 climbed up the tree and cut him down, he was 
 
The Twenty-five Stories of a Demon. 109 
 
 surprised to hear him weep aloud, and again climb 
 up the tree and suspend himself as before. The 
 king went after him, and brought him down again, 
 and clutching him under his arm, said, "Vile 
 wretch, tell me who thou art ? " The corpse made 
 no reply, and then the king thought to himself, 
 "This, perhaps, is the very oilman's son whom 
 the demon said the devotee had deposited in the 
 place where bodies are burnt." Thinking thus, he 
 bound him up in his mantle, and started off to 
 return to the devotee. 
 
 Then the sprite who was animating the corpse 
 spoke out, and asked, " Who art thou, and whither 
 art thou taking me ?" The king replied, " I am 
 king Vickram, and am taking thee off to a devotee." 
 The sprite said, " I will go on one condition, if thou 
 utterest a word on the way I will come straight 
 back." The king agreed, and went off with him. 
 On the way the sprite said, "0 king, those who 
 are learned, clever, and wise, their days are passed 
 in the delight of song and the pleasure of reading ; 
 while the days of the unwise and the foolish are 
 spent in dissipation and sleep. It is better that 
 this long journey should be enlivened by profitable 
 discourse. Listen to the story I am going to tell 
 you." 
 
 The sprite then tells twenty-four stories, and at 
 the end of each he asks the king a question con- 
 cerning it, to which he invariably replies, and 
 having thus broken the contract of silence, the 
 sprite returns, and suspends himself on the same 
 tree. The king again cuts him down, binds him 
 up in a bundle, and placing him on his shoulder 
 again starts off. This occurs twenty-four times, 
 but on the conclusion of the twenty-fifth tale, the 
 king through ignorance holds his tongue. The 
 sprite then said with, great glee, "Your majesty, I 
 
110 The Twenty-five Stories of a Demon. 
 
 have been highly pleased at witnessing your patience 
 and your courage," and then proceeded to warn him 
 against Shantsil, the devotee who had sent the king 
 on this errand, and was anxious to kill him on his 
 return. " You will see," he said, " that he will ask 
 you to prostrate yourself so that eight parts of your 
 body will touch the ground. When he proposes 
 this to you, say that you are the king of kings, and 
 do not understand how to bow in adoration to any 
 one. Ask him to show you how to do it, and when 
 he bows down, sever his head from his body with 
 your sword. If you do this you will reign uninter- 
 ruptedly, but if he kills you he will reign per- 
 manently." Having thus warned the king, the 
 sprite came out of the corpse, and went his way. 
 
 The king then returned with the body, and placed 
 it before the ascetic, who being much pleased, 
 praised the king. After making various sacrifices 
 the devotee asked the king to make obeisance, but 
 the king remembering the words of the sprite, and 
 joining his hands together, said with great humiUty, 
 " priest, I know not how to perform obeisance ; 
 you, however, are a spiritual teacher, if you will 
 show me how to do it, I shall perform it." The 
 ascetic on hearing this lowered his head to prostrate 
 himself, and the king seizing the opportunity severed 
 his head from his body with ono blow of the sword. 
 It is declared that there is nothing unlawful in 
 slaying him who would himself slay another. 
 
 After this, Indra and the rest of the gods, having 
 witnessed the king's coui-age, mounted their cars 
 and began to raise shouts of victory. Indra then 
 said .to the good king Vickram, "Ask a boon, and it 
 will be granted." The king replied, *' Tour majesty, 
 let this story concerning me become iamous in the 
 world." Indxa answered, " So long as the moon, 
 sun, earth, and sky endure, this nkaj shall be 
 
The Twenty-five Stories of a Demon. Ill 
 
 famous, and ttou shalt be tlie ruler over the 
 whole earth." 
 
 _ The king then threw the two corpses into the 
 oil cauldron, and thereupon they appeared as two 
 heroes, and presented themselves saying, "What 
 command is there for us?" The king replied, 
 " "When I remember you, then do you come." 
 Having taken from them their promise to do this, 
 the king returned home, and attended more than 
 ever to his government. 
 
 Out of the twenty-five stories, three will serve 
 as specimens of the whole. 
 
 I. ^ABOTJT A woman's PROMISE. 
 
 In the city of Madanpur there reigned a king, 
 named Birbar. In the same city there lived a 
 trader, called Hermyadutt, who had a daughter, by 
 name Madansena. One day, in the season of spring, 
 she went with her female friends to a garden, and 
 when there met a young man, named Somdatt, the 
 son of the merchant Dharmdatt. This young man 
 fell violently in love with her at first sight, and 
 involuntarily went up to her, and, taking hold of 
 her hand, began to say, " If thou wilt not love me, 
 I shall abandon my life on thy account." The girl 
 said, "You must not do so, for in doing this you 
 will commit a great sin." Somdatt replied, "Ex- 
 cessive love has pierced my heart. The fear of 
 separation has burnt up my body. From the pain 
 all my memory and intellect are lost, and at present, 
 through my excess of love, I have no regard for 
 virtue or sin. If you will give me a promise, I 
 shall hope to live." Madansena said, "On the fifth 
 day from this I am going to be married, then I 
 shall first meet you, and after tiiat I shall go with 
 ray husband." Having given this promise, and 
 affirming it by oath, she went home. 
 
112 The Twenty -five Stories of a Demon. 
 
 On the fifth day after this she was married, and 
 her husband took her to his house. After several 
 days her sisters-in-law forcibly took her to her 
 husband at night, but she would have nothing to 
 do with hiin ; and, when he wished to embrace her, 
 she jerked him with her hand, and told the story 
 of her promise to the merchant's son. Hearing this, 
 her husband said, " If thou truly wishest to go 
 with him, then go." 
 
 Having thus obtained her husband's consent, she 
 put on her best clothes and jewels, and started for 
 the merchant's house. On her way she met a thief, 
 who asked her where she was going alone at that 
 midnight hour so adorned. She replied, "That she 
 was going to meet her lover." On hearing this, the 
 thief said, "Who is your protector here?" She 
 replied, " Kama, the god of love, with his weapons 
 is my protector." She then told the whole story to 
 the thief, and said, " Do not spoil my attire. I 
 promise you that, on my return, I will give you up 
 all my jewels." 
 
 The thief let her go, and she proceeded to the 
 place where Somdatt was lying asleep. Awaking 
 him suddenly, he arose bewildered, and asked her 
 who she was, and why she had come. She replied, 
 " I am the daughter of the merchant Hermyadutt. 
 Do you not remember that you forcibly took my 
 hand in the garden, aud insisted on my giving you 
 my oath, and I swore, at your bidding, that I 
 would leave the man I was married to, and come 
 to you. I have come accordingly; do to me what- 
 ever thou pleasest." 
 
 Somdatt asked her if she had told the story to 
 her husband, and she said that she had told him all, 
 and that he had allowed her to come. The youth 
 said: "This affair is like jewels without apparel; 
 or food without clarified butter ; or singing out of 
 
The Twenty-five Stories of a Demon. 113 
 
 tune ; all these things are alike. In the same way, 
 dirty garments take away beauty, bad food saps the 
 strength, a wicked wife takes away life, a bad son 
 ruins the family. What a woman does not do is of 
 little moment, for she does not give utterance to the 
 thoughts of her mind ; and what is at the tip of her 
 tongue she does not reveal, and what she does, she 
 does not tell of. God has created a woman ia the 
 world as a wonder.'' 
 
 After uttering these words, the merchant's son 
 said : " I will have nothing to do with the wife of 
 a stranger." Hearing this, she returned homeward. 
 On her way she met the thief, and told him the 
 whole story. He applauded her highly, and let her 
 go, and she went to her husband and related to him 
 the whole circumstance. Her husband, however, 
 evinced no aflfection for her, but said, "The beauty 
 of the cuckoo consists in its note alone ; the beauty 
 of a woman consists in her fidelity to her husband ; 
 the beauty of an ugly man is his knowledge ; the 
 beauty of a devotee is his patient sufiering." 
 
 Having related so much, the sprite said, "0 
 king ! whose is the highest merit of these three ? " 
 Vickram replied : " The thief's merit is the 
 greatest." "How," asked the sprite? The king 
 answered : " Seeing that her heart was set on 
 another man, the husband let her go ; through fear 
 of the king, Somdatt let her alone ; whereas there 
 was no reason for the thief leaving her unmolested ; 
 therefore the thief is superior." Hearing this, the 
 sprite returned again and suspended himself on that 
 tree. The king also went there, again took him 
 down, and having bound him, placed him on his 
 shoulder, and once more carried him away. 
 
 H 
 
ihhi The TMeni^-five Stories ^fa Betmn. 
 
 II.— OF THE FATAL J3FFECTS OF XOVX. 
 
 There is a city named Bisbalpur, the king 'Of 
 which was called Bipuleshwar. In this cily there 
 lived a merchant whose name was Atthdatt, and lie 
 had a daughter, Anangnwnjari. She was marcied 
 to a merchant of Eauwalpur, by name Munici. 
 Some time after the marriage the merchant went a 
 trading to a distant land, and the wife remained at 
 home. One day when she was standing in her 
 summer-house, and looking on the road, there passed 
 by a young Brahman named Kamlekar. The eyes 
 of the two met, and they became enamoured of 
 each other at first sight. 
 
 After recovering his self-possession, on account 
 of the restlessniess caused by the separation from 
 his beloved, the Bralmian went to the house .of his 
 friend. The woman, too, was exceedingly uneasy, 
 a,nd was found by a female companion in a state of 
 insensibility. The companion sprinkled rose water 
 over her, and caused her to smell perfumes. When 
 she came round, and her senses returned, she mid, 
 " Oh, Kama,* Maradev burnt thee to ashes, and 
 yet thou wilt not desist from thy knavish tricks, 
 but comest and inflictest pain on innocent, feeble 
 women ! " 
 
 'Uttering these words, evening oame on, and tiie 
 
 * Kama, in Hindti mytliology, is -fche ■god of love, and 
 answers to -our Cmpid. He is represented as a 'beanititnl 
 youth, the most lovely of all the gods, holding a bow and. 
 ■ flower- tipped arrows, with which, while wandering thraugh 
 perf uraed glades, •accompanied by Rati, his spouse, he wounds 
 ■■tfce heaaHis of the inihabitants of the three "Worlds. He has 
 various names, such as Ananga, the Incorporeal ; Smara, the 
 Ideal, as the son of Maya or Illusion. Sir William Jones 
 says of him, " He appears evidently the same as the Grecian 
 Eros and the "Roman Cupido ; but the Indian description of 
 his person and arms, his family attendants, and attributes, 
 has new and peculiar beauties." 
 
J%e Twmiif-fim Stories of a Demon. 115 
 
 moon appeared. Wbile gazing at the moonlight, 
 she said, ">0 moon, I used to be told that the water 
 of life is in you, and that you ahed it in your 
 beams ; to-day, however, even you have begun to 
 pour down venom." She then said to hffl- com- 
 panion, " Take me up, and lead me away cfrom this 
 place, for I am being burnt to death by th.e 
 moonlight." The companion took herraway, saying 
 at the same time, ''Dost tbou feel no shame at 
 uttering such words ? " Then she said, ''0 friend, 
 I am fully aware of all, but Kama has wounded me 
 and rendered me void of shame. J make great 
 efforts to be patient ; but the more I continue to be 
 consumed with the fire of separation, the more 
 venom-like does ;home appear to me." The com- 
 panion said, "Keep thy mind at ease, I 'wiU relieve 
 thee of all thy suffering." 
 
 [Having said this, the companion went, home, and 
 the love-sick one determined in her mind that she 
 would quit this body for the sake of her beloved, 
 and being born again enjoy life with him. "With 
 this longing [in her mind, she threw a noose around 
 her neok, and was about drawing it tight, wfeen 
 the companionreturned. The latter, instantly taking 
 the rope off her neck, said, "Everything can be 
 attained by living, and nothing by dying." 'The 
 love-sick one replied, "It is better to die than to 
 suffer such pain." The companion said, "Kepose 
 awhile, ,1 will go and bring, him." 
 
 Having said this, she went :to the place where 
 Eamlekar was, and looking , at him, perceived that 
 he , also was i much disturbed . by the separation from 
 his beloved. His friend was mixing aandal in. rose- 
 water, and applying it to his bedy, and : fanning tim 
 witt th-e tender leaves of tjie rpkntain tree. Despite 
 whi«h, all .aflame with passion, he was oryiug ©ut 
 and saying to his friend, " Bring me ifoison,;! will 
 
 H 2 
 
116 The Twenty-five Stories of a Demon. 
 
 sacrifice my life, and be released from this suffer- 
 ing." Observing his state, she said to herself, 
 " However courageous, learned, sagacious, discreet, 
 and patient a man may be, Kama reduces him to 
 a state of distraction all the same." These thoughts 
 having passed through her mind, the companion 
 said to him, " Kamlekar, Anangmanjari has 
 sent word to thee to come and bestow life on her." 
 He replied, " She, indeed, has given life to me." 
 
 After saying this he rose up, and the companion 
 took him along with her to the love-sick lady. 
 When he got there, lo ! she was lying dead. There- 
 upon he uttered a cry of anguish, and his spirit 
 also fled. When morning came, her household 
 took both of them to the burning ground, and 
 arranging the pile, placed them on it together, and 
 set fire to it. In the meantime her husband, who 
 had just returned from abroad, also came to the 
 burning ground. Hearing the sound of the people's 
 weeping, he went there, and what does he see but his 
 wife burning with a strange man. He also, being 
 distracted with love, burnt himself to death in the 
 same fire. The people of the city hearing the 
 news, began saying, one to the other, "Neither 
 has eye seen, nor ear heard of so wonderful an 
 event." 
 
 After relating so much of the stqry, the sprite 
 said, " king, of these three whose love was the 
 greatest ? " The king said, " Her husba,nd was the 
 deepest lover." " Why ? " asked the sprite. The 
 king replied, " He, who seeing his wife dead for 
 another's sake, put aside anger, and cheerfully laid 
 down his life through love for her; he is the 
 deepest lover." Hearing these words, the sprite 
 went back and hung himself again on that tree. 
 The king too went there, and having bound him, 
 
The Twenty-five Stories of a Demon. 117 
 
 placed him once more on his shoulder, and carried 
 him off. 
 
 III. — OF A QTJEEE EELATIONSHIP. 
 
 There is a city in the south named Dhurumpoor, 
 the king of which was named Mahabal. Once upon 
 a time another king of the same region led an army 
 against him, and invested his capital. After much 
 fighting Mahabal was defeated, and, taking his 
 wife and daughter with him, he fled by night into 
 the jungle. After travelling several miles the day 
 broke, and a village came in view. Leaving the 
 queen and princess seated beneath a tree, he him- 
 self went to the village to get something to eat, 
 and in the meantime a band of Bhils, or hill 
 robbers, came and surrounded him, and told him 
 to throw down his arms. 
 
 The king, on hearing this, commenced discharging 
 arrows at them, and the Bhils did the same from 
 their side. After fighting for some time, an arrow 
 struck the king's forehead with such force that he 
 reeled and fell, and one of the Bhils came up and 
 cut off his head. "When the queen and the princess 
 saw that the king was dead, they went back into 
 the jungle weeping and beating their breasts. After 
 going some distance they became tired and sat 
 down, and began to be troubled with anxiety. 
 
 Now, it happened that a king named Chandrasen, 
 together with his son, while pursuing game, came 
 into that very jungle, and the king, noticing the 
 footprints of the two women, said to his son, " How 
 have the footprints of human feet come into this 
 vast forest?" The prince replied, "These are 
 women's footprints, a man's foot is not so small." 
 The king said, " Come let us look for them, and if 
 we find them I will give her whose foot is the 
 largest to thee, and I will take the other for my- 
 
118 The Twrnty-fiwi- Stories of a Demon. 
 
 self." Hiaviilg' entered intt) this mutual compact, 
 they went forward, and soon perceived the two 
 women seated on the ground. They were delighted 
 at finding them, and seating them on their horses 
 in the manner agreed upon, they brought thera 
 home. The prince took possession of the queen^ 
 as her feet were the largest, and the king took the 
 princess, and they were married accordingly. 
 
 Having related so much the sprite said, " Your 
 majesty, what relationship will there be between 
 the children of these two ?" On hearing this, the 
 king held his tongue through ignorance, being un- 
 able to describe the relationship. On which, the 
 contract of silence having been observed, the sprite 
 came , out of the corpse, and went his way, as de- 
 scribed previously. 
 
CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 The Sinhasana Dwateinsatika, oe the Thiety- 
 Two Stoeibs op the Speaking Statues. 
 
 The Sinhasana Dwatrinsatika is a coUectioa of 
 thirty-two stories (author and date unknown), which 
 were related by thirty-two statues forming the 
 pedestal of a throne belonging to the renowned 
 Viokxamaditya, king of Oojein, and told under the 
 following circumstances : — - 
 
 In the city of Oojein there lived a king named 
 Bhoj, who was powerful, rich, illustrious, and vir- 
 tuous. A description of his many good qmaLiti^s 
 are then given, followed by a, description of his 
 city and its inhabitants, its bazaaca, houses, public 
 buildings, and markets. 
 
 In a garden near the city there dwelt a^ maEket 
 gardener, who erected a platform in the middle of 
 his property, for the purpose of sitting there, and 
 protecting bis produce from thieves and birds. 
 Whenever th.e man ascended this platform he was 
 seized, like many other people who ascend plat- 
 forms, with a sort of madness,, and used to abuse in 
 most violent language tbe good king Bhaj. Although 
 feeq|Uently beaten by the by-standeEs- and passers- 
 by,, it had no eflfect, and he sitill oanttoued, when 
 on the platform, to give utterance to foolish, talk, 
 and to inveigh against the kingf. This circumstance 
 was at last reported to the Eajah,, wiio deternrined 
 bo. go to the/spot ; and having gone thsnei. concealed 
 
120 Thirty-two Stories of the Speaking Statues. 
 
 himself, and quietly sat down. As soon as the 
 gardener mounted the platform, he began to say: 
 "Let my people proceed forthwith, seize Eajah 
 Bhoj in his fort, put him to death, and recover my 
 kingdom from him quickly, by doing which they 
 will obtain both fame and future reward." 
 
 On hearing this the king was struck with terror, 
 and returned home. On the following day he sent 
 for the learned men and the astrologers, and re- 
 lated to them the story of the preceding night. 
 The astrologers having consulted together, and 
 calculated the day, hour, and minute said : " Eajah ! 
 in our calculation there is some indication of wealth." 
 The learned men said : "In this place there is an 
 immense treasure." 
 
 The king then ordered the place to be dug up 
 and thoroughly examined. On the earth being 
 removed four feet'of a throne became visible, but 
 it was found impossible to move the same. A 
 Pundit, or learned man, suggested that a sacrifice 
 should be offered, and that then the throne would 
 be easier to move. This being done, the local deity 
 accepted the sacrifice, and no sooner was hand then 
 laid upon it than the throne was raised. Having 
 been dusted and cleaned, it was set up, and the 
 .king was delighted with it. "When the throne was 
 freed from earth, dirt, and dust, washed and wiped, 
 it began to shine so that no one's eyes could rest 
 Tipon it. Whoever saw that throne studded with 
 jewels, beheld the spectacle of God's glory. 
 
 It had been so constructed that the like of it had 
 never been seen or heard of before. Eight statues 
 were carved on each of its four sides, each of them 
 holding a lotus flower in its hand. If angels or 
 saints had seen it, they also would have been struck 
 with amazement. 
 
 The king then ordered the throne to be thoroughly 
 
Thirty-two Stories of the Speaking Statues. 121 
 
 repaired, and in the course of five months it vras 
 completely finished. The statues were so well 
 repaired and set up that they looked as if they were 
 about to speak or to walk. From head to foot they 
 were full of beauty, their eyes were like the gazelle's, 
 their waists were as slender as the leopard's, the 
 motion of their feet was like the gait of the swan. 
 Whosoever beheld their countenances imprinted 
 them on the pupils of their eyes. 
 
 Having seen the throne, the Pundits, or learned 
 men, began to give the king a true account of it. 
 " Eajah," they said, " life and death are in the 
 power of God, but it is desirable for a man to enjoy 
 all the pleasures of existence during his lifetime." 
 Hearing this the king was much pleased, and began 
 to say, " Perhaps God has made these statues with 
 his own liand, or the dancing-girls are from the 
 court of Indra." He then ordered the learned men 
 to calculate the auspicious hour and lucky moment 
 for him to ascend the throne. 
 
 The day having been fixed, the gods having been 
 propitiated, the people having been feasted, and 
 gifts having been bestowed upon all, the king 
 approached the throne, and advancing his right foot, 
 was about to place it thereon, when all the statues 
 burst out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. The 
 Eajah became confused, and starting back was much 
 abashed and somewhat frightened, and perplexed 
 to know how these lifeless images became ani- 
 mated. With indignation and fury he withdrew 
 his foot, and asked the statues to explain why 
 they laughed. 
 
 The first among the statues, whose name was 
 Eattanmunjari, then spoke, and began to relate the 
 tale of the great and mighty Vickram who had 
 obtained the throne. The story is somewhat to the 
 same efiect as that told about him in the previous 
 
122- Thirty -two Stories of the Spealdng Statues. 
 
 chapter of the Baital Pachisi, inter^ersed with 
 reflections such as these : " Eajah Bhoj, listen to 
 these words. If God be inclined to mercy, then 
 will he change a straw into a mountain, and if to 
 wrath, then will he reduce the mountain to a straw. 
 Whatsoever is written in the book of destiny, the 
 same never turns out false. At the moment of con- 
 ception in his mother's womb, a man brings with 
 him four things — viz., gain, loss, pain, and pleasure. 
 He may wander through the three worlds, i.e., 
 earth, water, and air, or the fourteen abodes of 
 Brahma and of the other deities, but whatever is 
 written in fate nothing shall efface it." The statue 
 then relates how this throne was given to Yickram 
 by the Eajah Bahu Bui, and how he reigned 
 prosperously, and established an era. 
 
 Every day the Eajah approached the throne, and 
 advanced his foot to ascend it, and each day one of 
 the statues addressed him, and told him that he was 
 not worthy to sit upon it, and that only a person 
 resembling Vickram in every way could aspire to 
 such a place. 
 
 Eachstatue thentellsastory describing the bravery, 
 the devotion, the generosity, the noble-heartedness, 
 the greatness, and the many virtues of the mighty 
 Vickram, and by the time each story is finished, the 
 propitious hour for the Eajah to ascend the throne 
 has passed away. This is repeated daily until each 
 of the thirty-two statues has told her tale, many of 
 them very monotonous, and, as in the case of 
 biographies of all great men, one would like to hear 
 something of the vices as well as of the virtues of 
 the hero. Finally, the Eajah Bhoj orders the throne 
 to be buried again in the place where it was found, 
 and entrusting.' all state affairs to his chief minister, 
 and abdicating- his throne, he goes on pilgrimages, 
 becomes a devotee, and leads the life of an ascetic. 
 
Thiriy-iwo Stories of the SpeaJcing Siatues. 123 
 
 Of the stories told by tile statues, a' few have 
 been selected as specimens of' the whole lot. 
 
 I. — OP vickeam's tisit to the infernal regions, 
 
 AND THE POTTE GEMS J RELATED BY THE SEVENTEENTH 
 STATtJEj 8ATTAVATI. 
 
 Listen, Eajah Bhoj. One day Yickram seated 
 himself upon his throne, like Indra in his court. 
 The musicians played on their instruments, the 
 dancing-girls went through their songs and move- 
 ments, the bards shouted the praises of the king, 
 while the Brahmans recited the hymns of the Yedas. 
 "Wrestlers- were ready to engage in athletic contests, 
 while the menagerie of animals was full of beasts. 
 In short, there was to be found everything worthy 
 of a princely court. The king was surrounded by 
 many learned and intelligent persons, and his recep- 
 tion room was furnished with every necessary. 
 Vickram then spoke to the Pundits as follows: — 
 " Hear what I say, ' Indra is the king of heaven, 
 and is well acquainted with everything connected 
 with us mortals, but who is the king of the lower 
 regions, and where does he live?'" A Brahman 
 replied, "0, Maharajah, or great king, Sheshanaga 
 is the king of the regions below the earth, -and he 
 has one hundred necks. His queen is called- Puda- 
 mini, and he* is altogether free from disease and 
 sorrow. Joy reigns- supreme in his dominions, and 
 happiness is everiasting' there.'' 
 
 Yickram then signified his wish to pay him a 
 visit, and summoning the demons he was at once 
 transported to the palace of the king of Patala, or 
 the lower regions. The place is then described as 
 a mansion made of gold and studded with pieeious 
 stones, which sent fcrth such a dazzling light that 
 it was' difficult to distinguish between day and night. 
 
124 Thirty-two Stones of the Speaking Statues. 
 
 Wreaths of lotus flowers were suspended across the 
 gateway, and general rejoicing was observed every- 
 where. The iaterview with the king Sheshanaga 
 is then told, and Vickratn is hospitably entertained 
 for several days. On his departure the king of the 
 lower regions presents him with four gems, and 
 relates their respective qualities. One of these 
 jewels, he said, will produce at a moment's notice as 
 many ornaments as you may require; the other 
 will produce elephants, horses, palanquins, honours, 
 titles, and fame ; from the third you can get any 
 amount of wealth; and the fourth will assist you 
 in offering prayers and in practising virtue. On 
 his way home Yickram met a poor Brahman, who 
 said, " I am hungry, give me some alms that I may 
 support my family." The king replied, "I have 
 got four jewels with me, and each has such and 
 such particular qualities. You can have whichever 
 you like. The Brahman asked permission to go 
 home first, and consult his family before giving a 
 final reply. On arriving at his place he told his 
 wife, his son, and his daughter-in-law about the 
 offer made to him, and the peculiarities of the 
 gems. The wife at once said: "Petch the jewel 
 that brings money, and do away with every other 
 thought, for wealth brings friends, ample means, 
 religious merit, learning, piety and charity; you 
 should not have a wavering mind, go and get that 
 gem." The son then spoke and said: "What is 
 the use of riches if they are not accompanied with 
 greatness and its necessary provisions. When a 
 man is possessed of all these, then he is respected 
 by everybody, his enemies even look on him with 
 awe, and he makes a name in the world. Try to 
 procure that precious stone which carries with it 
 dignity and fame, for it is useless to live on the 
 surface of the earth without being distinguished." 
 
Thirty-two Stories of the Speaking Statues. 125 
 
 In the meantime the daughter-in-law said to him, 
 ''Bring me the jewel which produces ornaments, 
 for they beautify a woman and adorn a maid to 
 such an extent that they look like fairies, and then 
 in adverse circumstances they can be sold and will 
 produce much money. Oh, father-in-law, do not 
 waste time. You are endowed with common sense, 
 while my husband is crazy, and my mother-in-law 
 is senseless. I beg of you to bring that gem, 
 which will supply us with all kinds of jewels." 
 On hearing their speeches the Brahman replied, 
 " All of you seem to be mad. I want nothing but 
 religion, which gives a man real power, fulfils his 
 desires, and makes him distinguished. The soul 
 of a religious person becomes immortal, and self- 
 conceit departs from him. Happen what may, I 
 shall stick to my religion, which shall not be shaken 
 in any way by you." 
 
 The four persons thus expressed their peculiar 
 ideas, and, as they could not agree, the Brahman 
 returned to the king and said, " Maharaj, I went 
 home to considt the people of my house, but 
 nothing has come of it. We are at variance with 
 each other, and each has his own standard of judging 
 things, and we could not come to any unanimous 
 conclusion." The king replied : " Do not be dis- 
 appointed, I will give you all the four gems, which 
 you can take home, and it will be a happy thing 
 for me, that you and all the members of your family 
 should remain satisfied with my gift." In short, 
 the king generously presented the four jewels to 
 the Brahman, who blessed him and returned home. 
 Oh, Eajah Bhoj, in such a lordly manner did 
 Vickram give alms, and in the point of charity who 
 can be compared to him in this iron age ? 
 
126 Thirty-iwo Stories of the Specking Stakm. 
 
 11. — THE STORY BELATED BY AMIPAEEKHA, THE 
 TWENTY-SECOND STATUE, CONCEENING THE STATE OF 
 THE MIND OP FOUR BOYS BROUGHT UP A,10NB. 
 
 Eajah, put your anxieties aside, and listen to 
 a narratiye which I am about to relate. One day 
 Viokramajita was in his Durbar, or audience hall, 
 and asked his minister whether the understanding 
 of man was predetermined by fate, or taught by his 
 parents. The minister replied that the intellect 
 was predestined by the Creator in accordance witti 
 what had happened in a previous existence, and 
 that the father and mother had nothing to do 
 with the capacity of ths reasoning faculty. " 
 Maharaja, a man cannot be learned unless he has an 
 inclination that way, or is destined to be so. No 
 one can avoid his fate, even if he adopted innumer- 
 able measures, to alter it." " minister," replied 
 the king, "what do you say? It is palpable in 
 this world that from the time a child is born he 
 imitates his parents in everything that he sees 
 them do, or hears them say. "Wliat, then, has destiny 
 to do with it ? The child learns what he is taught, 
 and his understanding follows the company that he 
 keeps." On this the minister answered, " O incar- 
 nation of justice, I cannot be compared to you; but 
 one should always bear in mind that a person obtaias 
 everything, whether good or bad, by fulfilling his 
 destiny according to his lot." The king desired him 
 to verify the statement, and w^ith Ais view he 
 ordered a palace to be built in such a dense forest 
 that no human voice was ever heard there. As 
 soon as a prince was born, the king sent him there 
 in charge of a nurse who was deaf and dumb. In 
 the same way the youthful son of the minister, of 
 the magistrate, and of a Brahman were sent to the 
 same place. The building was then surrounded 
 
Thirty-two Stories of the SpeaMng Statues. 127 
 
 at a distance of 'four miles by such a strong guard 
 that nobody eoiild pass that way, and was so isolated 
 that no noise could reatih it. At the end of twelve 
 years the wife Of the 'Brahman said to her husband, 
 " I have lived now for a long time without ray son, 
 and, in case I die before I see him, my desire would 
 not be fulfilled. Go to the king, and tell him that 
 you have not seen the face of your son for twelve 
 years, and that now you wish to become an ascetic, 
 and spend the remaining portion of your days in 
 religious observances, and would fain leave the 
 management of the house to the boy before starting 
 to the necessary shrines." The Brahman acted 
 accordingly, and the king directed the minister to 
 bring the boys to him. The minister himself went 
 to the place and brought the prince first, whose 
 nails were untrimmed, hair shaggy, and body dirty. 
 The king looked at him and said, " son, are you 
 well and happy? where have you been so long, and 
 whence have you come here ? Give me an account 
 of your life." The prince smiled and said, " It 
 is due to your merits that I am happy in every 
 way, and this is an auspicious day with me, as I 
 have paid my respects to you." The son of the 
 minister having been asked the same questions by 
 the king, replied, " Maharaja, where is anything 
 like happiness to be found? One is born in this 
 world, and after u longer or shorter career departs. 
 As a vessel, placed in the water, gradually fills and 
 sinks to the bottom, in the same way man lives and 
 dies. He thinks that he whiles away his days, but 
 the days know that they beguile him, and while he 
 is temporary, they are eternal. Such is the way of 
 the world, and how can I call myself happy?" In 
 the same way the son of the magistrate, on being 
 questioned, said, " great king, we are on our 
 guard both by day and by night, and still people 
 
128 Thirty-two Stories of the Speaking Statues. 
 
 commit thefts in the city, and our fame ia tarnished 
 without any fault on our part ; how then can we say 
 that we are happy?" The son of the Brahman was 
 then sent for, and being asked a question regarding 
 his health and happiness, replied, " I am sound in 
 body, but how can I be happy ? My life is being 
 shortened day by day. One who lives to a good old 
 age is said to be happy, but how can one be pleased 
 when birth and death go hand in hand?" After 
 hearing the words of these four youths, the king 
 said to his minister, "The boys have answered 
 according to their own ideas. It must be a fact 
 that one cannot be made a learned man ; but it is 
 destiny or fate that makes a person follow any par- 
 ticular profession, and become illustrious or other- 
 wise." 
 
 III. — THE STORY RELATED BY VIDYAVATI, THE TWENTY- 
 SIXTH STATUE, ABOUT VICKEAM's PENANCE AND 
 SHIVA's PROMISE. 
 
 King ! listen to the instructive story which I am 
 about to relate. When man is born he does not 
 bring anything with him into the world, neither 
 does he carry anything away with him when he 
 dies. The object of existence is that man should 
 do something worthy of notice, and he will be duly 
 compensated for his actions, whether good or bad. 
 As fife is transitory, a person should make a good 
 figure in this world, so that he may enjoy a good 
 name here and eternal felicity hereafter. Charity, 
 sacred vows, and religious austerity practised in a 
 former existence bear their fruit in a future one. 
 Do not think of the money spent in a good cause, 
 for this world of woes is an ocean, which can be 
 safely crossed by no other means but charity, bene- 
 ficence, and devotion. I have said that nothing 
 would accompany man at the last. What did Eaja 
 
Thirty-two Stories of the Speaking Statues. 129 
 
 Harishcliandra, King Kuriana, and Vickramajita take 
 •with them ? The fame of the generous, the bene- 
 ficent, and the pious" is left to posterity, and they 
 go to heaven after death. One day Yickram was in 
 his court, and a female servant suggested that he 
 should leave, as the time for worship was passing 
 away. On hearing this, the king said to himself 
 "What she says is quite right; my life is daily 
 being shortened, and I am wanting in knowledge, 
 in virtues, and in devotion. It is better to abdicate 
 the throne and practise meditation, so that I may do 
 well in the next birth. I have wasted my energy 
 in living as I have done, and in sustaining the life 
 which resembles the dew that falls in the morning. 
 My kingdom, my riches, and my attendants present 
 only an illusion." With such thoughts in his mind 
 he proceeded to a large forest, where he found 
 some religious mendicants engaged in contemplation.. 
 They had lighted fires before them, and were burn- 
 ing themselves by slow degrees, and eventually con- 
 signed their whole bodies to the flames as an act of 
 devotion. The king followed their example, and 
 finally threw himself into the fire. Now, there was 
 a temple close by dedicated to the god Shiva, whose 
 attendant came out, and, having collected the ashes 
 of the ascetics, placed them in different heaps ; and 
 then, in accordance with the orders of the god, he 
 sprinkled the nectar of life upon the piles, so that 
 the mendicants got up one by one and uttered the 
 words, "Eama, Eama!" They then brought to 
 notice that there had been another ascetic perform- 
 ing penance, but that he had not been animated. 
 The Mahadev ordered this to be done, and Yickram 
 was also restored to life. The ascetics were then 
 dismissed with presents, and the god desired the 
 king to ask for any blessing. Yickram replied, 
 " Your goodness has supplied me with everything ; 
 
 I 
 
],3,0 Thirty-tmo Stories of the Speaking Statms. 
 
 bjiit I beg that you will lib,eriate me from the traBS- 
 migratio.ns of the soul. As other devotees have 
 been so freed by you, in the same way you oan 
 grant salvation to a wicked and wretched person 
 like myself." The god Shiva praised Yickram's 
 virtues, and told him to continue govenaing the 
 mortals, and that he would free him at the time of 
 his death. The king not assenting to this proposal, 
 the god at last gave him a lotus flower, and said, 
 " When this flower withers, then you will know 
 that you must die in six months, and prepare ac- 
 cordmgly." The king then returned to his city 
 .and his government, but did not tell the secret. 
 After some years the lotus faded, and, with faith 
 accepting the sign, he gave away his wealth to the 
 Brahmans in charity, having first deducted the 
 necessary properties for the maintenance of his 
 wives and children, and for distribution among the 
 beggars. This done, at the appointed time he died, 
 and went straight to heaven. 
 
CHAPTEB YII. 
 
 TlCKRAM-CHARITEA, OR THE ADVENTURES OF 
 YlCKRAMADITYA, KiNG OF OOJBIN. 
 
 In Hindoo history there are so many Yickrams 
 that it is impossible, iu the total absence of dates, 
 to distinguish one from the other. Whenever any 
 author wanted to write a tale, a Viokram was 
 generally taken as the hero, and his thoughts, words, 
 and actions were served up in various ways. In 
 our own early literature King Arthur and King 
 Alfred were treated in much the same manner, and 
 around them an halo of immortal glory has ever 
 shone. Further adventures of this celebrated Yick- 
 ram are given in a Prakrit poem by one Hurrid^s, 
 the date of which is unknown. The work is in- 
 teresting enough, and fully equal to many European 
 fairy tales, and to the old stories of early heroes. 
 It gives strong evidence of the belief of th-e Hin- 
 doos generally in the magic and occult powers of 
 those who devote their lives to religious austerities 
 and observances, and who, according to the popular 
 idea, are able to accomplish anything, no matter how 
 difficult or how improbable. 
 
 The story opens with a description of the. king 
 himself, of his city, of the happiness of his sub- 
 jects, of his military talents,, his intelteotaal momi- 
 pKshments, and his love cif justice. It gom on 'to 
 relate the precaution's taken to avert tite eiSeo"te.'6f 
 an adverse prediction made alt his bitth, tbaiitfae 
 
 I 2 
 
132 Adventures of Vickram, King of Oojein. 
 
 king would receive his death-blow from the hands 
 of a person born of a virgin only seven years old. 
 
 The arrival of the hermit Sooden at the king's 
 court is then announced, and from this great sage 
 the king is anxious to obtain the knowledge of the 
 art of transmigration, or the power of changing 
 ourselves or others into any shape or form by the 
 use of charms or spells. The hermit promises to 
 teach him, and tells him to come alone to his dwell- 
 ing after nightfall, and there learn the art. The 
 king goes there alone for several nights consecu- 
 tively, and is always followed unawares by a sen- 
 tinel named Koobjuck, who conceals himself in the 
 temple, and overhearing what passed between the 
 king and the hermit, also became thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with the mysteries of transmigration. 
 
 After this, the king determined to start on a 
 journey to make inquiries himself about this won- 
 derful virgin, whose son was to bring about his 
 death. Leaving the kingdom in charge of the 
 minister, he started on his travels, taking Koobjuck, 
 the sentinel, with him. After travelling for some 
 time, they arrived at a beautiful lake, where the 
 camp was pitched, and the king, finding a dead 
 serpent lying among the bushes, determined to test 
 the efficacy of the hermit's instructions by causing 
 his own soul to animate the body of the snake. 
 Taking it to his tent, and telling Koobjuck, the 
 sentinel, not to disturb him while he slept, he went 
 through the usual formula, and soon the serpent 
 began gradually to move,' and started off into the 
 adjoining woods. Koobjuck, the sentinel, had been 
 watching the king, and determined also to test his 
 knowledge on the subject. Accordingly, he assumed 
 the form of the king, whose body was lying near 
 him asleep, and came out of the tent before his 
 retainers* He then mounted his horse, and returned 
 
Adventures of Vickram, King of Oojein. 133 
 
 with his followers to Oojein, personated the king, 
 and assumed the reins of government ; but, depart- 
 ing from his master's policy, he became as much 
 hated as Yickram had formerly been loved. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the sferpent king, after delicious 
 wanderings in the woods, returned to the camp, and 
 there, to his horror, discovered the body of Koob- 
 juck alone in the place where he had left him, the 
 king's body having departed. With much grief 
 and lamentation, he abused the duplicity of his ser- 
 vant, and declining to appear in his form so full of 
 deceit, ingratitude, and wickedness, he remained in 
 the form of the serpent, and started for the city of 
 Sendoornuggry. Journeying along, he came across 
 the dead body of a parrot, and considering that it 
 was both better aud safer to be a parrot than a 
 snake, he transformed himself into the parrot, and 
 proceeded quickly to the town above mentioned. 
 Outside the town he alighted on a tree under which 
 were encamped a troop of Bahooroopees, a wandering 
 tribe, who go about as dancers, actors, maskers, &c. 
 They were in great distress at the failure of their 
 performances, and were lamenting their hard fate 
 and approaching ruin. The parrot spoke to them, 
 and they became acquainted, and in the end he 
 taught them how to effect the strangest metamor- 
 phosises, which produced the most extraordinary 
 results, and gained them wonderful wealth. After 
 this, the parrot desired the chief Bahooroopee to 
 take him to the market, and sell him for his weight 
 in gold. This the Bahooroopee objects to do, as it 
 would show the greatest ingratitude on his part, 
 and to illustrate this, tells the tale of the Alligator 
 and the Traveller. After some further conversation 
 between the two the matter is settled, and the 
 parrot is sold to a wealthy merchant of the city, 
 named Dushwant. 
 
134 Adventures of Vickram, King of Oojein. 
 
 The domestic details of th.e merchant's household 
 are then given, and the good effects produced by 
 the residence of the parrot there. Subsequently a 
 dancing-girl named Kamsaima endeavoured to ex- 
 tort money from the merchant by a false accusation. 
 The attempt was frustrated by the ingenuity of 
 the parrot, at which the girl was mortally offended, 
 and after a time by her cunning and by getting 
 into the merchant's bed-room at night, when his 
 wife was sick, she finally prevailed upon him to 
 make her a present of the bird. The merchant did 
 this with the very greatest reluctance, but the 
 parrot insisted on his doing it, adding that it was 
 better, that he, the parrot, should run the risk of 
 losing his life rather than that the merchant should 
 violate his oath. 
 
 Once in the possession of the actress, she, to 
 gratify her revenge, ordered her cook to kill the 
 parrot and cook him, so that she might have the 
 pleasure of eating him. The cook began to pluck 
 the bird alive, and then leaving him for a moment 
 to fetch a knife to cut his throat, the parrot king 
 remembered Yeytal the demon, and called on him 
 to save his life. Yeytal appears, and enables him 
 to escape, and he takes refuge in a temple dedi- 
 cated to the goddess Kalika, a renowned and sacred 
 place not far distant from the city. "When the 
 cook returned and found the parrot gone, she got 
 hold of another small bird which she cooked and 
 served up to her mistress, who ate it all up with 
 the happy thought that she was munching up her 
 enemy. 
 
 After a few days the dancing-girl went to the 
 temple to perform her devotions, and was addressed 
 by the parrot in the character of the goddess 
 Kalika, who promised to gratify her with anything 
 that she might desire. To obtain this, however, 
 
Adventures of Vickram, King of Oojem. 135 
 
 she has to perform certain things before she can 
 enter the paradise of Indra, where she was anxious 
 to play and sing. The woman swallows everything, 
 does what she is told to do, and finally finds that 
 she has been sold, ridiculed and disgraced, and 
 returned in the evening, naked, shaved, and her 
 body covered with ashes, to her empty house ; for, 
 under the instructions of the goddess, she had given 
 away the whole of her property to beggars and to 
 Brahmans that morning. 
 
 The tale now reverts to Koobjuck, the sentinel 
 whose soul animated king Yickram's body, and who 
 was playing the devil with his subjects. A Brahman 
 named Somedut, who came to his court, was badly 
 treated by him, and having threatened him with the 
 vengeance of heaven, set out in search of the real 
 king Vickram. Journeying onward he arrived at 
 a temple dedicated to Shiva, and there he met a 
 young prince named Duntsain, who related to him 
 his sorrows and his grief. It appeared that he was 
 dying for love of the fair princess Pudmavuntty, to 
 win whom it was necessary to bathe in a vessel 
 filled with burning oil. Duntsain had attempted 
 several times to go through the ordeal, but had not 
 sufficient courage to proceed with it, and he said, 
 " At the same time I love this princess too much to 
 hope for any peace of mind while we remain apart 
 from each other. I came down here to make another 
 essay of my courage. My passion for her is daily 
 gaining strength, and I cannot restrain it. Death 
 would indeed be preferable to remaining in this 
 dreadful state of agitation and suspense." 
 
 The Brahman, Somedut, promised to think over 
 tbe case, and to assist him, and then proceeded in 
 search of Yickram towards the city of Sendoor- 
 nuggry, halting en route at the temple of the god- 
 dess Kalika. The parrot king, still living there. 
 
136 Adventures of Vic/cram, King of Oc^ein. 
 
 overheard the Brahman's lamentations and prayers 
 concerning his lost sovereign. He began to con- 
 verse with him, and, finally discovering himself, 
 they set out together for Oojein. On their way 
 they met the prince Duntsain at the temple of 
 Shiva, and determined to engage in an attempt to 
 gain for him the princess Pudmavuntty as his wife. 
 To do this Vickram had to teach them the art of 
 transmigration, and he turned himself into the 
 Brahman, while the Brahman took the form of the 
 parrot, and the three then proceeded to the dwell- 
 ing of the princess. Vickram, in the guise of the 
 Brahman, went forward, the prince and the parrot 
 having been left outside, and announced that he 
 had come to go through the ordeal required to gain 
 the hand of the princess. This he does without 
 sustaining any injury ; and thus having won the 
 princess, and become her master, he pleads the 
 cause of the love-sick prince Duntsain. The prin- 
 cess agrees to accept him provided the Brahman 
 succeeded in making her laugh and speak four 
 times successively. The Brahman agreed to these 
 terms, and summoned the Veytal or demon to assist 
 him, and he promised to do what was needful. 
 
 The king Yickram, in the guise of the Brahman, 
 now reposed within the splendid and sumptuous 
 palace of the princess Pudmavuntty, and they were 
 •seated together. The spirit of the Veytal then 
 iransformed himself first into the form of a parrot 
 that was painted on one of the panels of the wall, 
 came down from the wall alive as a parrot, and 
 related the history of king Bhudrasain, his son 
 Soorsain, and the princess his wife. After this the 
 Veytal assumed the form of u bird called the 
 Shaloouky, or Gracula religio&a, and told them the 
 story of the queen Shoodhamutty, her son Somunt, 
 and the princess Mulattee. At the end of this 
 
Adventures of Vickram, King of Ooj'ein. 137 
 
 tale he disappeared and returned in the shape of a 
 peacock, and amused them with the history of king 
 Eutnamanee, his son Sewdas, Hurridas the prime 
 minister's son, and the princess Moheeny ; and 
 that being done he again departed, and finally re- 
 appeared in the form of a peculiar description of 
 swan, and commenced to relate the story of the 
 princess Cbitrangee and Charoo, the merchant's son. 
 At the end of this tale he disappeared altogether, 
 and the princess, having, during the recital of these 
 stories, laughed and spoken four times, agreed to 
 marry the prince Duntsain, who was then intro- 
 duced. The celebration of the nuptials took place 
 as soon as the necessary arrangements could be 
 made to celebrate them with becoming splendour. 
 
 Yickrara then departed from the palace along 
 with the Brahman, Somedut, who was still ia the 
 form of the parrot, but shortly afterwards Vickram 
 re-assumcd the form of the parrot, and Somedut 
 became himself again. The parrot then told Some- 
 dut to sell him to the king of Wishnoopoory, which 
 he does for one hundred and twenty-five thousand 
 rupees, and Somedut then returned to Oojein to 
 tell the minister there that he had found Vickram, 
 and to concert measures for his restoration to his 
 throne. 
 
 Gopichund, the king of Wishnoopoory, was de- 
 lighted with the parrot, and kept him in a magni- 
 ficent cage, and took great pleasure in listening to 
 the amusing tales which from time to time he re- 
 counted for the monarch's amusement. Eventually 
 the parrot decided a most important case between a 
 Zotinge, or goblin, and a Brahman's son, and re- 
 ceived much praise for the same, while it intro- 
 duced peace and happiness into the latter's family. 
 
 After this Somedut and Vickram's prime minis- 
 ter Bhutty, disguised as pious mendicants, arrived 
 
138 Adventures of Vickram, King of Oojein. 
 
 at Wishnoopoory, and attended a great sacrifice, 
 which was brought about and ordered to be held 
 under the following circumstances : — 
 
 The wise parrot and the good king Gopichund 
 were one day engaged in conversing together, and 
 they talked of the several sciences, the great bene- 
 fits accruing from good government, and the neces- 
 sity for leading a life of morality and virtue. After 
 touching on these topics the pairot said, " My lord, 
 I am extremely pleased to observe that, in the 
 midst of the wealth and splendour with which you 
 are surrounded, you are not indifferent to your 
 future welfare. It behoves us all to have some 
 thought of futurity. Your majesty spoke of a 
 future state, surely enough we must prepare for it. 
 This world is but. transitory, and must sooner or 
 later come to an end. With many it has already 
 ended, and those who remain will soon run out their 
 allotted period of existence. Thousands there are — 
 in fact, they constitute by far the majority — ^who are 
 content with the present, and who never look 
 beyond this world. Alas ! what can wealth or 
 power, rank or position, avail a man at the last 
 extremity? Only consider the object for which you 
 have been created. Consider, again, in what will 
 men who live solely for this world place their trust 
 at their last end ? Not in the bubble of worldly 
 vanity — it will explode ; not in worldly pleasures 
 — they will vanish ; not in high connections — they 
 will not serve them ; not in wealth — -for they can- 
 not carry it with them ; not in rank or royal dignity 
 — for death levels every distinction." 
 
 After more conversation in this style the parrot's 
 serious talk on matters of religion made such an 
 impression on the mind of the king that he begged 
 the parrot to point out the most approved method 
 of devotional exercise, so that, he might, by follow- 
 
Adventures of Vickram, King of Oojein. 139 
 
 ing it, secure eternal happiness. The parrot replied : 
 "There is a certain 'Eajasu yudna,' or sacrifice, 
 which is performed only by great monarchs, attended 
 by their tributary princes, and which should be 
 performed in a certain manner. This would tend 
 to confirm your majesty's faith and dependence 
 on the great and supreme Euler of the Uniyerse." 
 On this the astrologer and chief priest were sent 
 for, and consulted on the subject ; the former fixed 
 upon an auspicious date for the commencement of 
 the sacrifice, and the latter made the necessary 
 arrangements. 
 
 After the sacrifice Somedut and Bhatty, still 
 disguised, ask for the parrot, and the king gives 
 him to them with very great reluctance, not liking 
 to refuse the request of two such pious men, who 
 had taken an important part in the recent ceremonies. 
 They, taking the bird, hurry back to Oojein, and 
 deliver him over to his wife, the queen, who conceals 
 him in her apartments. The usurper Koobjuck, 
 wishing to initiate the queen into the mysteries of 
 transmigration, and thus gain her love and affection 
 which had been hitherto refused, enters into the 
 dead body of a hare, on which Vickram instantly 
 resumes his own body, causes the hare to be de- 
 stroyed, and re-ascends the throne. 
 
 The inhabitants of Oojein once more enjoyed the 
 blessing of good government under king Vickram, 
 and happiness reigned supreme. The king's mind, 
 however, was constantly disturbed by reflecting on the 
 prediction that he would be killed by the son of a very 
 youthful virgin, and he sent emissaries into various 
 countries to make inquiries about such persons. 
 
 The story is then told about Soometra, the youth- 
 ful daughter of a Brahman residing in the city of 
 Prathesthan, who became pregnant at an early age 
 by the king of the serpents, and gave birth to a son, 
 
140 Adventures of Vickram, King of Oojein. 
 
 ■whom they named Shalivahan, The boy was 
 brought up with the potters outside the town, the 
 mother and her father having been driven out from 
 the city on account of the girl having become 
 pregnant without the knowledge of a husband. 
 Tradition in the East often makes the mothers of 
 remarkable people conceive in this manner, and 
 people believe it or not according to circumstances. 
 The youth himself, in the present case, soon dis- 
 played great military talents as well as extraordinary 
 wisdom, and decided a difficult case, in which a 
 wealthy merchant had buried, under one of the 
 posts of his cot, a quantity of rice husks, under the 
 second some clay, under the third a sheet of paper, 
 and under the fourth a quantity of coals. He had 
 left the two first to his eldest son, the third to his 
 second son, and the fourth to his youngest. For a 
 long time they could not understand what was 
 meant by these legacies, and they wandered far and 
 wide, taking opinions on the subject until at last 
 Shalivahan was consulted. He at once said without 
 any hesitation: " The husks and the clay represent 
 all the grain and other produce of the fields, 
 meadows, orchards, gardens, &c., and these are to 
 go to the eldest son. The sheet of paper represents 
 the bonds, deeds of mortgages, receipt-books, re- 
 coveries, and the interest accruing therefrom, and 
 these are assigned to the second son ; while the coals 
 represent all the ready cash, gold, silver, and jewels, 
 which are designed for the third." This decision 
 gave great satisfaction, the fame of the youth spread 
 far and wide, and Vickram, hearing about him, was 
 convinced that this was the person who was to 
 bring about his death. He tried, however, to get 
 him to come to his court, but Shalivahan refused, 
 and Yickram marched an army against him, so as to 
 get possession of his person. 
 
Adventures of Vickram, King of Oojein. 141 
 
 To repel the attack, Shalivahan was provided 
 with a miraculous army by his father, the king of 
 the serpents, and with this he put the enemy to 
 flight, and the king Yickram was killed in the fight. 
 Shalivahan then resolved to return home, and with 
 that view collected his forces,^ and commenced to 
 recross the river, but directly the troops entered 
 the water they at once dissolved, and a voice issuing 
 from the clouds exclaimed, "Yictory! Victory! 
 Oh, Shalivahan, be satisfied with the prodigy you 
 have this day been enabled to perform. Hence- 
 forth a new era commences, named after yourself, 
 and you will reign supreme in the southern and 
 western provinces beyond the Nerbudda, but the 
 northern part will still remain under the heirs of 
 Yickramaditya, and be governed by his descen- 
 dants." 
 
 The prophecy was eventually fulfilled, and the 
 Shalivahan era began to be computed from the date 
 that he ruled over the countries assigned to him, 
 while Yickram's son succeeded to the throne of his 
 father. 
 
 Thus ends an amusing story-book written by an 
 Hindoo for the amusement of his countrymen, and 
 full of wonderful and extraordinary events suited 
 to their lively imagination. The four tales told by 
 the Yeytal, or demon, in the shape of the parrot, 
 the shaloouk)^, the peacock, and the swan, though 
 somewhat verbose, are amusing and interesting. 
 They are too long to be given here, but the book 
 itself might be republished, or a revised edition 
 of it. 
 
CHi^PTEE Till. 
 
 The 'Life and Adventtjees of Yicseeamaditta, 
 Ettlee of Kalyana. 
 
 Along with, all the fictions and wonderful stories 
 told in connection with the many Vickrams, it is 
 necessary to give the real history of one of them. 
 Owing to the exertions of the learned Sanscrit 
 scholar, Dr. George Biihler, this is forthcoming, and 
 he has brought to light the history of the life and 
 adyentures of Yickram, ruler of Ealyana, composed 
 by the poet Bilhana. A copy of this manuscript, 
 supposed to have been no longer in existence, was 
 found lately in Jesalmir by Dr. Buhler, and the- 
 following is chiefly taken from his analysis of the 
 same : — 
 
 The work itself may be divided into two parts ; 
 the one contains the history of the Chalukyas and 
 their king Yickram ; the other gives the personal 
 history of the poet Bilhana himself. As regards 
 the latter, it is only necessary to state that Bilhana's 
 literary career and his wanderings over India seem 
 to have taken place during the latter part of the 
 eleventh century, and that he appears to have finally 
 settled in Ealyana, when Yickram made him his 
 chief Pundit, and where he wrote the king's life. 
 
 Yickram himself is supposed to have reigned at 
 Kalyana from 1076 to 1127 a.d. He was the son of 
 the great king Ahavamalla, who, though a mighty 
 conqueror of other kings, was tormented by a great 
 
Hisiory of Viekram, Ruhr of Kalyana. 143 
 
 sorrow. He had no son. He therefore resolTed, 
 along with his queen, to do penance and propitiate 
 Shiva. Having made over the kingdom to the care 
 of his ministers, they retired to the temple of Shiva. 
 There the royal couple slept on the hare ground, and 
 entirely gave themselves up to devotional practices, 
 and to the service of the temple. The king gathered 
 flowers for the worship of his guardian deity with 
 his own hands, and the queen swept the floor of the 
 temple and smeared it with cowdung. After they 
 had spent some time in this manner, the king, one 
 morning, when engaged in prayer, heard a heavenly 
 voice which announced to him that Shiva, pleased 
 with his faith and penance, was willing to grant him 
 three sons, the second of whom would surpass in 
 valour and in virtues all the princes of the olden 
 time. "Two sons," the voice added, "will be 
 born to thee by virtue of the merit acquired by thy 
 works, but the second will come to thee by my 
 favour alone." The king was much rejoiced; he 
 told his wife the auspicious news, performed the 
 ceremonies required to complete his vow, gave rich 
 presents to the Brahmaus, and resumed the duties 
 of his government. 
 
 In due course the queen bore a beautiful son, 
 who was called Somesvara. The king, however, 
 was not satisfied. Eemembering the predictions of 
 the heavenly voice, he anxiously longed for the 
 birth of his second son. At last he saw the cheek 
 of the queen again become pale. He testified his 
 joy by showering gold on the Brahraans, and by 
 making other thank-offerings. During this second 
 pregnancy the queen had wonderful cravings, which 
 presaged the future greatness of the child she 
 carried. Sometimes she desired to place her feet 
 on the elephants that guard the points of the 
 horizon ; sometimes she called upon the nymphs 
 
144 History of VicJcram, Ruler of KaJyana. 
 
 that are the guardian deities of the quarters of the 
 uniyerse to shampoo her feet ; and at other times 
 she eyed the swords, as if desirous " to drink the 
 water of their steel. Great precautions were taken 
 to ensure the safety of the precious burden. The 
 lying-in chamber was secured by powerful spells 
 and efficacious herbs, and carefully guarded by 
 learned Brahmans, At last, in a most auspicious 
 hour, and under a most favourable conjunction of 
 the planets, the eagerly-desired son was born. 
 Flowers fell from the sky, Indra's drum resounded, 
 and as the gods rejoiced in heaven, so a festive 
 throng, the recitations of the bards, and the songs 
 of the dancers, filled Ahavamalla's palace. 
 
 The child's marvellous lustre, which announced 
 its future greatness, induced the king to call him 
 Vickramaditya. He throve, and grew up a strong 
 and handsome boy, the favourite of his father. 
 Early he showed in his plays that he was destined 
 to be a mighty warrior and conqueror. He loved 
 to chase the royal swans, and to tease the lion 
 whelps in their cage. Later he acquired the 
 various alphabels, and the art of using the bow. 
 Sarasvati also, the goddess of poetry and eloquence, 
 kissed his lotus mouth. 
 
 Not long after Yickram's birth, a third son was 
 born, and he was called Jayasimha. 
 
 When Vickramaditya had grown up to manhood, 
 and had acquired all the sciences, he was anxious 
 for the battle feast. The king Ahavamalla wished 
 to make him " Yuva raja," or heir apparent, and 
 thus designate him as his successor. But Vickram 
 refused the favour, and said that the dignity of 
 "Yuva raja" belonged, by right to his elder 
 brother, In this refusal he persisted, even though 
 his father represented to him that both Shiva's 
 word, and the decree of the stars, pronounced him 
 
History of Vickram, liuler of Kalyana. 145 
 
 to be dostinoil for the succession. Finding that 
 Vickram was not to be moved, the king raised 
 SomesTvara, the eldest son, to the rank of Tuva 
 raja. Eoyal fortune and the love of the father, 
 however, clung to Yickrara alone. 
 
 After this, with the permission of the king, Vick- 
 ram set out on a series of warlike expeditions. It 
 is unnecessary to relate his many victories, or the 
 many enemies that he defeated. On his return 
 home, he had come as far as the Krishna, when he 
 suddenly was disquieted by the appearance of un- 
 favourable omens, which announced some great 
 impending misfortune. He stopped his march, and 
 performed on the banks of the river the propitiatory 
 ceremonies intended to avert the threatened evil. 
 While still engaged in these rites a messenger 
 arrived, and announced the sudden illness and 
 death of the king Ahavamalla. The king, said the 
 messenger, had been supremely happy on hearing 
 of his son's success against the Chola, Pandya, and 
 Simhala. In the midst of his rejoicings, he had 
 been attacked by a milignant fever. Finding that 
 all remedies were of no avail, he had resolved to 
 finish his life in the Tungabhadra, the Ganges of 
 the south. With the consent of his ministers he 
 had travelled to the sacred stream, and had died in 
 its waves meditating on Shiva. 
 
 On the receipt of this news, Yickram was deeply 
 affected, and loudly manifested hia grief. At first, 
 he refused to be comforted, and had to be disarmed 
 lest he should make an attempt on his own life. 
 After a while he recovered, and performed the 
 funeral ceremonies on the banks of the Krishna. 
 
 Yickram then returned to Kalyana to console his 
 brother. Somesvara came out to meet him, and the 
 two brothers lived for some time in concord and 
 friendship. After a while, however, Somesvara fell 
 
146 History 0/ Viekram, Ruler of Kalyana. 
 
 into evil courses. Pride obscured his judgment;; 
 be became suspicious, cruel, and avaricious, so that 
 people began to fall away from him. He even tried 
 to do harm to his. brother Yickram, who, finding 
 that he was unable to restrain the king from; evil, 
 and fearing his life, left Kalyana with, all his fol- 
 lowers, taking with him also his youngest brother 
 Jayasimha. On learning that his brothers had fled, 
 the king Somesvara sent an army in pursuit of 
 them. TTn willing to make war with his brother, 
 Viekram avoided fighting, but when finally com- 
 pelled to do so, he destroyed the army like one 
 mouthful, and also defeated other forces which had 
 been sent against him, until these repeated losses 
 forced Somesvara to desist from persecuting his 
 more talented brother, 
 
 Viekram, on being left alone, marched towards 
 the Tungabhadra, on whose bank he rested his army 
 for some time. He then commenced another victo- 
 rious campaign against his enemies, and married a 
 daughter of the king of Chola. After this a series 
 of wars take place, in which at last his brother 
 Someswara takes part against him, and is finally 
 conquered and taken prisoner. Viekram at first 
 wished to restore his captive brother to liberty and 
 to the throne, but Sliiva interposed, and angrily 
 ordered Viekram to assume the sovereignty. Then 
 Viekram obeyed the order of the god, and allowed 
 himself to be proclaimed ruler of the Dekhan. 
 
 Someswara appears to havebeea then imprisoned, 
 and his younger brother, Jayasimha, raised to an 
 exalted, position of trust. After that Viekram 
 made further expeditions, subdued everybody, and 
 finally returned to his capital of Kalyana. 
 
 The king then fell in love, and a long descripifekm 
 of the affair is given. As in all Eastern books, first 
 the charms of the woman are given, beginning with 
 
History of Vichram, Ruhr of Kalyana. 147 
 
 her toe nails,, and eBidmg mth, her tresses. The 
 unhappy state of the lover is then represented, and 
 in love, aeoording to Hindoo, literature, there are 
 ten changes in the natural state of men whieh 
 require to be taken into consideration. 
 
 1st. When the lover is in a state of mental 
 trouble, and quite at a loss to do anything except 
 to see one particular woman. 
 
 2nd. When he finds his mind wandering, as if he 
 were about to lose his senses. 
 
 3rd. When he is ever thinking and planning 
 how to woo and win the lady, and cannot get her 
 out of his head. 
 
 4th. When he passes restless nights without the 
 refreshment of sleep. 
 
 5th. When his looks become haggard, and his 
 body emaciated. 
 
 6th. When he feels himself growing shameless, 
 and has no control over his feelings. 
 
 7th. When he is prepared to part with his 
 money and spend everything that he has got, and 
 squander away his wealth. 
 
 8th. When the state of mental intoxication 
 verges upon madness. 
 
 9th. When fainting fits come on. 
 
 10th. When he finds himself at the door of 
 death. 
 
 In Europe it has been said that spending money 
 is one of the first and crucial tests of love. So 
 long as a man parts freely, he is supposed to love ; 
 and when he ceases to part with alacrity, the object 
 is not so dear to him. This may, or may not 
 be true, but among the Hindoos it will be observed 
 that parting does not arrive till the seventh stage, 
 and then only just before the lover is verging upon 
 m^adness. 
 
 K 2 
 
148 History of Vichram, Ruler of Kalyana. 
 
 But to return to our love-sick king, whose passion 
 grew to sucli an extent that his limbs wasted away, 
 and pallor overspread his face. On this occasion, 
 however, Kama was propitious, and he went to the 
 court of the Silehara prince, ruling over Karahatee, 
 and wooed and won the daughter, Chandralakha, 
 Their happy life is then described. In the morn- 
 ing they took walks in the garden, and Vickram 
 pointed out to his newly married bride the beauties 
 of the season of spring-time. He placed her in a 
 swing, and swung her with his own hands. Later 
 the whole harem was called out, and the women 
 amused themselves and the king with gathering 
 flowers from the trees and creepers. Then covered 
 with the pollen of the blossoms they went to a tank 
 to bathe, and to sport in the water. Finally, in 
 the evening after enjoying the bright moonlight, 
 and after making a fresh toilet, the whole party 
 sat down to a banquet at which Sura or Madhu, a 
 highly intoxicating liquor, flowed in streams. The 
 women were soon flushed by this drinkj and their 
 odd behaviour and fluent speeches served to amuse 
 the king. 
 
 At the beginning of the hot season, Vickram 
 returned to Kalyana, and remained there during 
 the summer and rainy season, entirely devoting 
 himself to pleasure ; and he also during that time 
 composed a poem describing the breaking of the 
 monsoon. 
 
 But after the rains there came news which 
 aroused him from his luxurious repose. It was 
 intimated to him that his younger brother, Jayasimha, 
 was plotting against him and meditating treason; 
 and the ii5ormer added, in conclusion, that the 
 prince would shortly advance with hostile intentions 
 against him. 
 
 Vickram was greatly distressed by the news, 
 
History of Vichram, Ruler of Kalyana, 149 
 
 wMch opened out the prospect of another fratricidal 
 war. He sent spies to ascertain if the above facts 
 were true, and on their being confirmed he ad- 
 dressed friendly exhortations to his brother, repre- 
 senting to him that as he possessed already regal 
 power in the provinces assigned to him, a rebellion 
 would not benefit him. much. His brother would 
 not listen to reason; war became inevitable, and 
 when it did take place, in a.d. 1077, Jayasimha was 
 totally defeated and taken prisoner. 
 
 After the victory, Vickram returned to Kalyana, 
 and enjoyed the pleasures of the cold season. These 
 consisted in hunting parties, at which he slew lions 
 and other large game, hunted boars with hounds, 
 and shot deer with arrows. 
 
 And then comes the conclusion. After Yickram 
 had subdued all his enemies, his dominions enjoyed 
 peace and prosperity. The elements even showed 
 themselves propitious; neither famine nor pesti- 
 lence visited his kingdom. In course of time sons 
 were born to him, who resembled him and glad- 
 dened his heart. His liberality to the poor of all 
 countries was unbounded. He erected also buildings 
 for pious purposes to commemorate his name. He 
 built a temple ; in front of it he dug a splendid 
 tank, and near it he built a city, called Vickrama- 
 pura, with splendid temples and palaces. 
 
 Once more, after a long period of peace, he had 
 to draw his sword. The Chola again became proud 
 and insolent; but Vickram's army marched on 
 Kanchi; a battle was fought; the Chola was de- 
 feated and fltd, and Kanchi was taken. Vickram 
 amused himself there for some time, and finally 
 returned to his capital. 
 
 As a genuine piece of history of the life of an 
 Indian king, some eight hundred years ago, the 
 above work is particularly interesting. It was the 
 
150 History ofVickmm, Ruler of Kalymm. 
 
 whesn Btdia was dmded into many separate 
 ioms, tke rmlers of which were always fighting 
 inth -eaeh other. HaYing no unity among them- 
 sdves, and utterly failing in combination, they fell 
 easily under the dominion of the Mahommedan 
 power, when it appeared on the scene, and gradually 
 established itself over a good part of India. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CONCLtJDENG EeMARKS. 
 
 The preceding chapters will give an idea of the 
 contents of some of the story-books of the Hindoos, 
 and will also give some idea of their character. It 
 will be perceived throughout that the Brahman is 
 the great card, who always plays the most impor- 
 tant roll, whether as lover, friend, philosopher, or 
 guide. The same power is held by the Brahraans 
 up to the present time, and though, under British 
 rule, they have lost their influence to some extent, 
 they are still by far the most powerful of the many 
 castes in India. Taken as a race, they are clever 
 and astute, and have as good brains as any* other 
 race of people in the world. 'The Brahman women 
 are the best shaped, ihe handsomest, the cleanest, 
 and the most subtle in Asia. 
 
 In some of the stories allusion is made to dancing- 
 girls. Throughout Hindostan they form quite a 
 class of themselves, and are always engaged to per- 
 form on festive occasions, such as the thread cere- 
 mony, marriage ceremonies, birthdays, and house 
 warmings, &c., &c. Yon Orlich in his travels in 
 India says of them : 
 
 " These women wear a profusion of jewels, such 
 as rings of gold set with pearls and precious stones 
 in their ears and nose, and around their ankles are 
 massive rings of different kinds of silver. They 
 are dressed in gay garments, which fall in ample 
 folds around them, and a scarf of the finest texture 
 
152 Concluding Remarks. 
 
 covers their bosom and neck ; while their beautiful 
 black hair hangs down in braids over their shoul- 
 ders. During their dance, which consists partly in 
 a revolving movement, partly in a springing step, 
 they throw the shawl in various graceful forms 
 about the body, and accompany the music with a 
 monotonous song. Their hands and feet are small 
 and delicate, and the contour of the figure and of 
 the countenance extremely elegant, noble and 
 beautiful. They have a very attractive feminine 
 appearance," 
 
 Space will not permit of any lengthened details 
 about them, as their castes and habits, and social 
 position differ in various parts of India. Sufficient 
 to state that — 
 
 1st. Dancing or nautch. girls have existed for 
 centuries and centuries in Hindostan. 
 
 2nd. That many of them have been celebrated 
 for great beauty and intelligence, wit and wealth. 
 
 3rd. That they are always more carefully educated 
 than other Eastern women. In the story of the 
 ten youths or princes it will be observed how the 
 mother of Kamamanjari explains to the sage 
 Marichi how well she had brought her daughter 
 up, and what care she had taken with her educa- 
 tion. The more beautiful and accomplished a 
 singer is, the more likely is she to be successful in 
 her calling. 
 
 4th. That they are essential at every native 
 party, festival, or ceremony in India, No European 
 going to that country either as a visitor or on 
 business, will have left it, without hearing at least 
 once the lively air of " Taza be taza." 
 
 " Oh ! songBtess sweet, begin the lay, 
 
 Ever fresh and ever gay ; 
 And once again the tale renew, 
 Ever old but ever new." 
 
Concluding Remarks. 153 
 
 And this brings to mind that among the stories 
 there is another thing sure to be remarked, and 
 that is the power of love over both men and 
 ■women, and also the effects of love at first sight, 
 which strikes both individuals at one and the same 
 time, and which cannot be denied, though it is so 
 difficult to be accounted for. On the subject of 
 love the Hindoos have a large written literature, and 
 they deal with it more from a physical and material, 
 than from a sentimental point of view, desire and 
 imagination being, in their opinion, the cause of the 
 malady. They divide their women into four 
 classes — viz., the Padmini, or lotus woman; the 
 Chitrini, or art woman ; the Shankini, or conch 
 woman; and the Hastini, or elephant woman. 
 And then follows a detailed description of each 
 class. 
 
 She in whom the following signs and symptoms 
 appear is called a Padmini. Her face is pleasing 
 as the full moon; her body, well clothed with 
 flesh, is soft as the shiras, or mustard flower; 
 her skin is fine, tender, and fair as the yellow lotus, 
 never dark coloured. Her eyes are bright and 
 beautiful as the orbs of the fawn, well cut, and 
 with reddish corners. Her bosom is hard, full, 
 and high ; her neck is shaped as the conch shell, 
 so delicate that the saliva can be seen through it ; 
 her nose is straight and lovely, and three folds or 
 wrinkles cross her middle. Her mouth resembles 
 the opening lotus bud, and her perfume is as 
 the lily that has newly burst. She walks with 
 swan-like gait, and her voice is low and mu- 
 sical as the note of the Indian cuckoo; she 
 delights in white raiment, in fine jewels, and in 
 rich dresses. She eats little, sleeps lightly, and 
 being as respectful and religious as she is clever 
 and courteous, she is ever anxious to worship the 
 
154 , Omi' Adding. Jtemm-ks. 
 
 gCMis, and in enjoy the canversatiMai ©f BEatetans. 
 Sioeh, tken, is the Padmini, or lotus Tvcranan. 
 
 The Ghitrini is of the middle siee, neither short 
 nor tall, with lamp-black hair, thin, round, shell- 
 like neck; tender feody; waist lean, girthed as the 
 lion's ; hard, full breasts ; well-turned thighs, and 
 heaTily made below the hips. Her skin is soft, 
 with &e perfume of hcmey. Her eyes roll, and 
 her walk is coquettish like the swing of an 
 elephaait, whilst £er T^oice is that of the -peaeo©k. 
 She is fond of pleasure and variety; she delights 
 in singing and in every kind of aeessmplishment, 
 especially the manual; her desires are not strong, 
 and she loves her ■" pets," parrots, and other birds. 
 Such is the Chitrini, or art woman. 
 
 The Shankini is of bilious temperament, her skin 
 being always hot and tawny, or dark yellow-brown; 
 her body is large, her waist thick and her breasts 
 small; her head, bauds, and feet are thin and long, 
 and she looks out of the corner of her eyes. Her 
 mouth is always moist. Her voioe is hoarse 
 and harsh ; her gait is precipitate ; she eats with 
 moderation, and she delights in tslothes, flowers, 
 and ornaments of red colour. She is subject to 
 fits of passion, which make her head hot and her 
 brain confused. She is of choleric constitution, 
 hard hearted, insolent and vicious, irascible, rude, 
 and ever addicted to finding fault. Such is the 
 Shankini, or conch woman. 
 
 The Hastini is short of stature ; she has a stout 
 coarse body, and h,er skin, if fair, is of a dead 
 white; her hair is tawny, her lips are large, and 
 her voice is harsh, choked, and throaty ; her gait is 
 slow, and she walks in a slouching manner. Often 
 the toes of one foot are crooked. Her perfume 
 is like the juice which flows in spring ftom the 
 elephant's temples. She is gluttonous, shameless, 
 
Canehtding Remarks. 155 
 
 araid irascible. JSiiicli is tlie Hastini, or sdisphant 
 woman. 
 
 In addition to liie above, both, men and women 
 are divided into six classes, viz. — 
 
 1. The Hare-man, 4. The D«er-woman, 
 
 2. The Bull-man, 5. The Mare-woman, 
 
 3. The Horse-man, 6. The Elephant- woman, 
 
 according to the size of their limbs and bodies. 
 Hindoo authors then proceed to make a series of 
 deductions to proTe that the more assimilated the 
 limbs and bodies of the man and woman are with 
 ■eaeh other, the greater is their chance of agreement 
 and happiness in married life — the worst unions 
 being ttie hare-man and the elephant-woman, and 
 the deer-woman and the horse-man ; the best being 
 the ones placed opposite to each other. It is a 
 new idea for the West, that husbands and wives 
 should quarrel and disagree, because their bodies 
 and limbs are not suited to each other. But as 
 they do often quarrel, and cannot assign any cause 
 or reason for the same, perhaps Hindoo ideas will 
 act as a new light on the subject. 
 
 The ages of women are divided into five periods 
 — viz., childhood, say from birth to eleven ; girl- 
 hood, from eleven to sixteen ; young womanhood, 
 from seventeen to thirty ; womanhood, from thirty- 
 one to fifty -five ; and old womanhood, beyond fifty - 
 five years. In childhood and girlhood they are 
 pleased with small presents, such as flowers, sweet- 
 meats, and fruit. In young womanhood, they must 
 be won by gifts of dresses, jewels, and ornaments ; 
 in womanhood, by attention, politeness, kindness, 
 &iendship, and love; and in old womanhood, by 
 :fe(ttery. 
 
 Three temperaments are assigned to women — 
 viz., the Kapha or lymphatic, the Pitta or bilious, 
 
156 Concluding Remarks. 
 
 and the Vata or nervous. Furthermore, "women 
 require to be considered in connexion with the 
 previous state of their existence; the Satwa or 
 disposition inherited from a former life, and which 
 influences their worldly natures. 
 
 Among the Hindoos reference is made as often to 
 the former state of existence as to the future one. 
 It is presumed by them that all men and women 
 have lived previously in some shape or form before 
 their appearance here, and that our lives and events 
 in them often hinge on things which have happened 
 in an earlier stage of existence. It is an easy way 
 of accounting for eccentricities in this life that they 
 are due to a previous state, about which we are 
 completely ignorant. There is much the same want 
 of knowledge about our future, and the only thing 
 to be done is to hope for the best. 
 
 The Lokayatikas, a sect of free-thinkers, used 
 to argue against the existence of any kind of indi- 
 viduality in a future life, on the grounds of our 
 ignorance of the same in any former existence. 
 Perhaps they thought that the two were bound up 
 together, and must be considered as a whole, and 
 connected with each other. 
 
 To return, however, to the Priti, or love-tie con- 
 necting men and women ; and of this there are four 
 kinds — 
 
 1. l^aisargiki-priti is that natural affection by 
 which husband and wife cleave to each other like 
 the links of an iron chain. It is a friendship among 
 the good of both sexes. 
 
 2. Yishaya-priti is tho fondness born in the 
 woman, and increased by means of gifts, such as 
 sweetmeats and delicacies, flowers, perfumery, and 
 preparations of sandal wood, musk, saffron, and 
 so forth. It partakes, therefore, of gluttony, sen- 
 suality, and luxury. 
 
Concluding Remarks. 157 
 
 3. Sama-priti is also so far sensual, as it has 
 connection with the feelings of both husband and 
 wife. 
 
 4. Abhyasaki-priti is the habitual love bred by 
 mutual society ; it is shown by walking in fields, 
 gardens, and similar places, by attending together 
 at worship, penances, and self-imposed religious 
 observances, and by frequenting sportive assemblies, 
 plays and dances, where music and similar arts are 
 practised. 
 
 Leaving many other details connected with the 
 love of man for woman, and vice versa, there will 
 also be observed among the stories a continual refer- 
 ence to the powers obtained by pilgrimages, religious 
 vows, austerities, and devotions. Any visitor to 
 Benares and other holy places in India will have 
 remarked what a strong hold these have upon the 
 Hindoo mind even of to-day. Eeligious mendicants, 
 pilgrims, performers of vows, and other wanderers, 
 with or without a religious object in view, are as 
 plentiful there '"'as leaves in Vallombrosa." 
 
 Eor centuries and centuries the pious Hindoo has 
 regarded Benares as his sacred city, while the broad 
 Ganges has ever been to him the living water, 
 which would wash his sins away. Much has been 
 written against the tenets of the Hindoo faith. It 
 is not, perhaps, so pure to-day as in those ages 
 past, when the early Aryans sang their Yedic 
 hymns, dedicated to things visible and invisible. 
 But still there is as strong a religious feeling 
 throughout Hindostan as throughout Europe, and 
 charity and good works are practised just as much 
 in both countries ; and to the student of the various 
 religious sects classed under the main heads of 
 Hindoos and Buddhists, Jews and Christians, 
 Zoroastrians and Mahommedans, the moral maxims 
 of the Vedas will bear an equal comparison with 
 
158. Concluding Remarks, 
 
 the morals contained in the Tripitika, or three 
 baskets, the Old and New Testaments, the Zenda 
 Vesta, and the Koran. 
 
 Another thing that will be noted during a perusal 
 of the stories is the total absence of dates. It is 
 this want which has worried the inquirer into^ Indian 
 history, archseology, and antiquities generally ; and 
 which has compelled him to resort to a vast series 
 of conjectures, which might have been easily cleared 
 up, had proper and reliable dates been forthcoming. 
 For the perfect elucidation of the Hindoo religion, 
 of the many dynasties which have ruled in various 
 parts of Hindostan for centuries and centuries, and 
 for a complete history of early India and of Sanscrit 
 literature, a lot of reliable dates is absolutely neces- 
 sary. The subject has long attracted the attention 
 of both the scholar and the antiquarian ; and, with 
 the aid of inscriptions that have been found both 
 above and below the earth, in the shape of stones, 
 copper-plates, boundary marks, &c., it is hoped, that 
 some definite data will eventually be worked out, 
 which may be accepted as a final solution of 
 the question. 
 
 In conclusion, the stories will be found to con- 
 tain an enormous amount of essential matter, which 
 could be worked up into many other forms and 
 shapes. Many books contain some good things, 
 but they are mixed up with such a mass of padding 
 that the gems of the work are lost in their surround- 
 ings. In compiling the present work much has 
 been omitted that would be, doubtless, interesting 
 perhaps to the few, but not to the many for whose 
 edification the book has been prepared, and pub- 
 lished as cheaply as possible. 
 
 GiirroH ft Co'.v English and Foreign Printcre, BouTerie Street, London.