Story of Harisinha.
And there was a king named Harisinha, of ordinary power but versed in the true science of policy, who had surrounded himself with devoted and wise ministers, possessed forts, and stores of wealth; he made his subjects devoted to him and conducted himself in such a way that, though attacked by an emperor, he was not defeated.
“Thus discernment and reflection are the main things in governing a kingdom; what is of more importance?” Having said this, each taking his part, Gomukha and his fellows ceased. Naraváhanadatta, approving that speech of theirs, though he knew that heroic action is to be thought upon,[21] still placed his reliance upon destiny whose power surpasses all thought.
Then he rose up, and his ardour being kindled by delay, he went with them to visit his beloved Madanamanchuká; when he had reached her palace and was seated on a throne, Kalingasená, after performing the usual courtesies, said with astonishment to Gomukha,[22] “Before the prince Naraváhanadatta arrived, Madanamanchuká, being impatient, went up to the top of the palace to watch him coming, accompanied by me, and while we were there, a man descended from heaven upon it, he was of divine appearance, wore a tiara, and a sword, and said to me ‘I am a king, a lord of the Vidyádharas named Mánasavega, and you are a heavenly nymph named Surabhidattá who by a curse have fallen down to earth, and this your daughter is of heavenly origin, this is known to me well. So give me this daughter of yours in marriage, for the connexion is a suitable one.’ When he said this, I suddenly burst out laughing, and said to him, ‘Naraváhanadatta has been appointed her husband by the gods, and he is to be the emperor of all you Vidyádharas.’ When I said this to him, the Vidyádhara flew up into the sky, like a sudden streak of lightning dazzling the eyes of my daughter.” When Gomukha heard that, he said, “The Vidyádharas found out that the prince was to be their future lord, from a speech in the air, by which the future birth of the prince was made known to the king in private, and they immediately desired to do him a mischief. What self-willed one would desire a mighty lord as his ruler and restrainer? For which reason Śiva has made arrangements to ensure the safety of this prince, by commissioning his attendants to wait on him in actual presence. I heard this speech of Nárada’s being related by my father. So it comes to pass that the Vidyádharas are now hostile to us.” When Kalingasená heard this, she was terrified at the thought of what had happened to herself, and said, “Why does not the prince marry Madanamanchuká now, before she is deceived, like me, by delusion?” When Gomukha and the others heard this from Kalingasená, they said, “Do you stir up the king of Vatsa to this business.” Then Naraváhanadatta, with his heart fixed on Madanamanchuká only, amused himself by looking at her in the garden all that day, with her face like a full-blown lotus, with her eyes like opening blue water-lilies, with lips lovely as the bandhúka, with breasts like clusters of mandáras, with body delicate as the śirísha, like a matchless arrow, composed of five flowers, appointed by the god of love for the conquest of the world.
The next day Kalingasená went in person, and proffered her petition to the king for the marriage of her daughter. The king of Vatsa dismissed her, and summoning his ministers, said to them in the presence of the queen Vásavadattá, “Kalingasená is impatient for the marriage of her daughter: so how are we to manage it, for the people think that that excellent woman is unchaste? And we must certainly consider the people: did not Rámabhadra long ago desert queen Sítá, though she was chaste, on account of the slander of the multitude? Was not Ambá, though carried off with great effort by Bhíshma for the sake of his brother, reluctantly abandoned, because she had previously chosen another husband? In the same way this Kalingasená, after spontaneously choosing me, was married by Madanavega; for this reason the people blame her. Therefore let this Naraváhanadatta himself marry by the Gándharva ceremony her daughter, who will be a suitable wife for him.” When the king of Vatsa said this, Yaugandharáyaṇa answered, “My lord, how could Kalingasená consent to this impropriety? For I have often observed that she, as well as her daughter, is a divine being, no ordinary woman, and this was told me by my wise friend the Bráhman-Rákshasa.” While they were debating with one another in this style, the voice of Śiva was heard from heaven to the following effect: “The god of love, after having been consumed by the fire of my eye, has been created again in the form of Naraváhanadatta, and having been pleased with the asceticism of Rati I have created her as his wife in the form of Madanamanchuká. And dwelling with her, as his head-wife, he shall exercise supreme sovereignty over the Vidyádharas for a kalpa of the gods, after conquering his enemies by my favour.” After saying this the voice ceased.
When he heard this speech of the adorable Śiva, the king of Vatsa, with his retinue, worshipped him, and joyfully made up his mind to celebrate the marriage of his son. Then the king congratulated his prime minister, who had before discerned the truth, and summoned the astrologers, and asked them what would be a favourable moment, and they, after being honoured with presents, told him that a favourable moment would arrive within a few days. Again those astrologers said to him—“Your son will have to endure some separation for a short season from this wife of his; this we know, O lord of Vatsa, by our own scientific foresight.” Then the king proceeded to make the requisite preparations for the marriage of his son, in a style suited to his own magnificence, so that not only his own city, but the whole earth was made to tremble with the effort of it. Then, the day of marriage having arrived, Kalingasená adorned her daughter, to whom her father had sent his own heavenly ornaments, and Somaprabhá came in obedience to her husband’s order. Then Madanamanchuká, adorned with a heavenly marriage thread, looked still more lovely; is not the moon truly beautiful, when accompanied by Kártika? And heavenly nymphs, by the order of Śiva, sang auspicious strains in her honour: they were eclipsed by her beauty and remained hidden as if ashamed, but the sound of their songs was heard. They sang the following hymn in honour of Gaurí, blended with the minstrelsy of the matchless musicians of heaven, so as to make unequalled harmony—“Victory to thee, O daughter of the mountain, that hast mercy on thy faithful votaries, for thou hast thyself come to-day and blessed with success the asceticism of Rati.” Then Naraváhanadatta, resplendent with excellent marriage-thread, entered the wedding-pavilion full of various musical instruments. And the bride and bridegroom, after accomplishing the auspicious ceremony of marriage, with intent care, so that no rite was left out, ascended the altar-platform where a fire was burning, as if ascending the pure flame of jewels on the heads of kings. If the moon and the sun were to revolve at the same time round the mountain of gold,[23] there would be an exact representation in the world of the appearance of those two, the bride and the bridegroom, when circumambulating the fire, keeping it on their right. Not only did the drums of the gods in the air drown the cymbal-clang in honour of the marriage festival, but the rain of flowers sent down by the gods overwhelmed the gilt grain thrown by the women. Then also the generous Kalingasená honoured her son-in-law with heaps of gold studded with jewels, so that the lord of Alaká was considered very poor compared with him, and much more so all miserable earthly monarchs. And then the bride and bridegroom, now that the delightful ceremony of marriage was accomplished in accordance with their long-cherished wishes, entered the inner apartments crowded with women, adorned with pure and variegated decoration, even as they penetrated the heart of the people full of pure and various loyalty. Moreover, the city of the king of Vatsa was quickly filled with kings, surrounded with splendid armies, who, though their valour was worthy of the world’s admiration, had bent in submission, bringing in their hands valuable jewels by way of presents, as if with subject seas.[24] On that high day of festival, the king distributed gold with such magnificence to his dependants, that the children in their mothers’ wombs were at any rate the only beings in his kingdom not made of gold.[25] Then on account of the troops of excellent minstrels and dancing girls, that came from all quarters of the world, with hymns, music, dances and songs on all sides, the world seemed full of harmony. And at that festival the city of Kauśámbí seemed itself to be dancing, for the pennons agitated by the wind seemed like twining arms, and it was beautified with the toilettes of the city matrons, as if with ornaments. And thus waxing in mirth every day, that great festival continued for a long time, and all friends, relations and people generally were delighted by it, and had their wishes marvellously fulfilled. And that crown-prince Naraváhanadatta, accompanied by Madanamanchuká, enjoyed, though intent on glory, the long-desired pleasures of this world.
[1] i. e. Káma the Hindu Cupid.
[2] This probably means in plain English that she wore glittering anklets.
[3] Cp. the conduct of the Meerweib in Hagen’s Helden-Sagen, Vol. I, p. 55.
[4] i. e. Śiva.
[5] Prajápati.
[6] Literally—placing it upon his head.Cp. also the following passage from Brand’s Popular Antiquities, Vol. II, p. 78. “Borlase quotes from Martin’s Western Islands. ‘The same lustration by carrying of fire is performed round about women after child-bearing, and round about children before they are christened, as an effectual means to preserve both the mother and the infant from the power of evil spirits.’” Brand compares the Amphidromia at Athens. See Kuhn’s Westfälische Märchen, Vol. I, pp. 125, and 289: Vol. II, pp. 17 and 33–34.
[7] The superstitious custom of lighting fires, lamps &c., to protect children against evil spirits is found in many countries. Liebrecht (Zur Volkskunde, p. 31,) refers us to Brand’s Popular Antiquities, edited by Hazlitt, Vol. II, p. 144, for the prevalence of the practice in England. “Gregory mentions ‘an ordinary superstition of the old wives who dare not trust a child in a cradle by itself alone without a candle.’ This he attributes to their fear of the night-hag;” (cp. Milton, P. L. II, 662–665). He cites authorities to prove that it exists in Germany, Scotland, and Sweden. In the latter country, it is considered dangerous to let the fire go out until the child is baptized, for fear that the Trolls may substitute a changeling in its place. The custom exists also in the Malay Peninsula, and among the Tájiks in Bokhara. The Roman custom of lighting a candle in the room of a lying-in woman, from which the goddess Candelifera derived her name (Tertullian Adv. nation, 2, 11) is to be accounted for in the same way. See also Veckenstedt, Wendische Sagen, p. 446. The same notion will be found in Bartsch’s Sagen, Märchen, und Gebräuche aus Meklenburg, Vol. I, pp. 17, 64, 89, 91; Vol. II, p. 43.
[8] For treasures and their guardians see Veckenstedt’s Wendische Sagen, pp. 356–374 and p. 394. For the candle of human fat see Benfey in Orient und Occident, Vol. I, p. 383. For treasures and their guardians see Bartsch’s Sagen, Märchen, und Gebräuche aus Meklenburg, Vol. I, p. 243 and ff., and for the candle of human fat, Vol. II, pp. 333 and 335 of the same work. Cp. also Birlinger, Aus Schwaben, pp. 251 and 262–270.
It appears from Henderson’s Folk-lore of the Northern Counties, that in Europe a candle of human fat is used with the Hand of Glory by robbers for the purpose of preventing the inmates of a house from awaking. He gives several instances of its use. The following will serve as a specimen: “On the night of the 3rd of January 1831, some Irish thieves attempted to commit a robbery on the estate of Mr. Napier of Loughcrew, county Meath. They entered the house armed with a dead man’s hand with a lighted candle in it, believing in the superstitious notion that a candle placed in a dead man’s hand will not be seen by any but those by whom it is used, and also that if a candle in a dead hand be introduced into a house, it will prevent those who may be asleep from awaking. The inmates however, were alarmed, and the robbers fled, leaving the hand behind them.” The composition of the candle is evident from the following extract from the Dictionnaire Infernal of Colin de Planey. “The Hand of Glory is the hand of a man who has been hanged, and is prepared in the following manner. Wrap the hand in a piece of winding-sheet, drawing it tight to squeeze out the little blood which may remain; then place it in an earthen-ware vessel with saltpetre, salt and long pepper all carefully and thoroughly powdered. Let it remain a fortnight in this pickle till it is well dried, then expose it to the sun in the dog-days till it is completely parched, or if the sun be not powerful enough, dry it in an oven heated with vervain and fern. Next make a candle with the fat of a hanged man, virgin wax, and Lapland sesame. The Hand of Glory is used to hold this candle when it is lighted. Wherever one goes with this contrivance, those it approaches are rendered as incapable of motion as though they were dead.” Southey in Book V of his Thalaba the Destroyer represents a hand and taper of this kind as used to lull to sleep Zohak, the giant keeper of the caves of Babylon. (See the extracts from Grose and Torquemada in the notes to Southey’s poem.) Dousterswivel in Sir Walter Scott’s Antiquary tells us that the monks used the Hand of Glory to conceal their treasures. (Henderson’s Folk-lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders, p. 200 and ff.)
Preller, in his Römische Mythologie, p. 488, has a note on incubones or treasure-guarding spirits. Treasures can often be acquired by stealing the caps worn by these incubones as a symbol of their secret and mysterious character. See also the Pentamerone of Basile, p. 96; Grohmann, Sagen aus Böhmen, p. 29 and ff; Bernhard Schmidt’s Griechische Märchen, p. 28. The bug-bears were no doubt much of the kind found in Schöppner’s Sagenbuch der Bayerischen Lande, Vol. I, p. 87. For the “hand of glory” see Baring Gould’s Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, pp. 405–409. Brand in his Popular Antiquities Vol. I, p. 312, quotes from Bergerac’s Satirical Characters and Handsome descriptions in his Letters translated out of the French by a Person of Honour, 1658, p. 45, “I cause the thieves to burn candles of dead men’s grease to lay the hosts asleep while they rob their houses.” A light has this property in Waldau’s Böhmische Märchen, p. 360; and in Kuhn’s Westfälische Märchen, Vol. I, p. 146.
[9] There is probably a pun too on varti, the wick of a lamp.
[10] Literally “made by the gods.”
[11] i. e. prabhutva, the majesty or pre-eminence of the king himself; mantra, the power of good counsel; utsáha energy.
[12] Cp. Odyssey, VII. 116; Spenser’s Faery Queene, III, 6, 42.
[13] The pun here lies in the word kalá, which means “accomplishment,” and also a sixteenth of the moon’s diameter.
[14] This lotus is a friend of the moon’s and bewails its absence.
[15] Or perhaps books.
[16] I read virága-vishabhṛid.
[17] i. e. Nágavana. For serpent-worship see Tylor’s Primitive Culture, Vol. II, pp. 217–220. The author of Sagas from the Far East remarks; “Serpent-Cultus was of very ancient observance, and is practised by both followers of Bráhmanism and Buddhism. The Bráhmans seem to have desired to show their disapproval of it by placing the serpent-gods in the lower ranks of their mythology, (Lassen. I, 707 and 544, n. 2). This cultus, however, seems to have received a fresh development about the time of Aśoka circa 250 B. C. (Vol. II, p. 467). When Madhyantika went into Cashmere and Gandhára to teach Buddhism after the holding of the third synod, it is mentioned that he found sacrifices to serpents practised there (II. 234, 235). There is a passage in Plutarch from which it appears to have been the custom to sacrifice an old woman (previously condemned to death for some crime) to the serpent-gods by burying her alive on the banks of the Indus (II. 467, note 4) Ktesias also mentions the serpent worship (II. 642). In Buddhist legends serpents are often mentioned as protecting patrons of certain towns. (Sagas from the Far East, p. 355). See also Mr. F. S. Growse’s Mathurá memoir, p. 71.
[18] Literally thorns.
[19] The upáyas which are usually enumerated are four, viz. sowing dissension, negotiation, bribery and open attack.
[20] The six guṇas—peace, war, march, halt, stratagem and recourse to the protection of a mightier king.
[21] I read abhyagát with a MS. in the Sanskrit College.
[22] I read vismitá with a MS. in the Sanskrit College.
[23] i. e. mount Sumeru. The moon being masculine in Sanskrit, the words “form of the moon” are used in the original, to satisfy the requirements of classical Hindu Rhetoric, according to which feminine things cannot be compared to masculine.
[24] The sea is always spoken of as full of “inestimable stones, unvalued jewels.” There is a double meaning throughout. Sadváhiní, when applied to the sea, may mean “beautiful rivers.”
[25] Játarúpá also means “having assumed a form,” so that there is another pun here. I read abhavan for abhavad, in accordance with a MS. lent me from the Sanskrit College.