On hearing these words, O great king! Banasoor, joining his hands and bending his head, said, with the greatest humility, “O lord of compassion! you have shown me great favour in promising me a boon, I solicit that you will first make me immortal, and confer on me the sovereignty of the whole world, and afterwards make me so powerful that no one will obtain a victory over me.” Muhadeo Jee replied, “I grant you this boon, and release you from all fear; in the three worlds no one shall have power equal to yours; and, even Bruhmù shall have no authority over you: you have played excellent music, and afforded me extreme gratification, being greatly rejoiced in mind, I have bestowed upon you a thousand arms, go home now, and, free from all anxiety, exercise a sovereignty, which cannot be shaken.”
Banasoor, O great king! having heard this speech of Bholanath, and, having received a thousand arms, was highly delighted; and, going to the right, by way of adoration, and bowing his head, took leave, and dwelt by permission at Shronitpore, afterwards having conquered the three worlds, and having brought all the gods under subjection, he dug a broad deep ditch with water, springing at the bottom, and built castles of fire and air; being free from all dread or fear of any one, he began to carry on his government happily; after the lapse of some time his arms, in consequence of his not fighting, became very strong: he rubbed them and shook them about. Banasoor said to himself, “With whom shall I fight, on whom shall I make an attack? I have become infected with itch in consequence of not fighting, who will fulfil the desires of my mind?”
Having thus spoken, Banasoor went outside his house, and began to root up hills, and dash them to pieces, and wander about different countries. When he had destroyed all the hills, and the irritation and itching of his hands had not left him, Banasoor said, “With whom shall I now fight, and what shall I do with so many arms? How shall I support the huge weight of my own strength, I will go again to Muhadeo, and speak to him on the subject.”
O great king! Banasoor, having thus reflected, went into the presence of Muhadeo Jee, and, joining his hands and bowing his head said, “O lord of the three worlds! in whose hand is the trident, you did me the kindness to bestow upon me a thousand arms, which I find too heavy for my body, I cannot support the weight of them, be pleased to remedy this, and point out some one possessed of great strength with whom I may fight, I cannot find any one in the three worlds so powerful as to face me in an encounter; as you have, through compassion, bestowed on me great strength, do me the kindness now to fight with me and satisfy the yearnings of my mind, or else point out some other very strong being with whom I may contend, and dissipate the troubles of my mind.”
Having narrated thus much of the history, Shree Shookdeo Jee said,—O great king! Muhadeo Jee was angry at hearing Banasoor thus address him, and began to say to himself, “I granted him a boon, thinking him a holy man, and now he is ready to fight with me; this fool has become proud of his strength and shall not escape with life; he who indulges in pride never lives long.” Muhadeo having these thoughts in his mind, said, “Banasoor! do not distress yourself, in a short time a fit antagonist for you, Shree Krishnù, will descend upon the earth in the family of Judoo, with exception of him there is no one in the three worlds who can contend with you.” Banasoor was very much pleased when he heard this, and said, “Lord! when will that man descend upon the earth, and how shall I know that he has been born?” Raja Shivù presenting Banasoor with a banner, said to him, “Take this flag and place it on the top of your house, and when this flag shall fall of itself and be broken to pieces, then know that your enemy is born.”
When Muhadeo, O great king! had thus explained to him, Banasoor took the flag and returned home. On arriving there, he fixed the flag upon his house, and daily offered up prayers that the man might appear, with whom he could fight. When some time had elapsed, his chief queen, named Banawutee, became pregnant, and when her time was completed, brought forth a girl; on that occasion Banasoor having sent for astrologers, and given them seats, said, “Fix upon the name, and point out the mental qualities of this girl.” When he had thus spoken, the astrologers determined quickly upon the year, month, half month, lunar day, day of the week, hour, division of time equal to forty-eight minutes and the twenty-seventh division of the zodiack; and, having considered the proper moment, named the girl “Ookha,” and said, “O great king! this girl will be a mine of beauty, and good qualities of mind and disposition; and will be very intelligent; we can discover this from her planet and other signs.”
Banasoor was highly gratified at hearing this; and, having bestowed many gifts upon the astrologers, allowed them to take leave; and afterwards, having sent for singers and dancers and musicians, gave a festive entertainment. As the girl grew up, Banasoor treated her with the greatest affection. When Ookha was seven years of age, her father, Banasoor, sent her to the mountain Kuelas, which is near Shronitpore, with many attendants and companions to Shivù and Parbutee, for the purpose of learning to read. Ookha, having propitiated Guneshù and Suroswutee, went into the presence of Shivù and Parbutee; and, having joined her hands and bending her head, thus submissively spoke: “O seas of compassion! Shivù and Devee, grant me, your servant, the gift of knowledge, and acquire for yourselves renown in the world by so doing.” O great king! Shivù and Parbutee, being pleased with the humility of Ookha’s speech, began to impart knowledge to her; she went constantly to them for the purpose of reading; and after some time had been thus spent, she read all the Shastrùs, and became very proficient in knowledge, and played upon all kinds of musical instruments. One day Ookha played a duet with Parbutee on the lute, and sang scientifically, when Shivù Jee came and said to Parbutee, “Beloved! Shree Krishnù Chund has restored to life Kamdeo, whom I burnt to death.” Having thus spoken, Shree Muhadeo went to the banks of the Ganges with Parbutee, and bathing both himself and her, became very amorous, and began to assist Parbutee in dressing with great affection of manner, and to make love to her. At length, in the ecstasy of his passion, he began to play upon a hand-drum, and dance frantically with violent gesticulation, singing according to the science of music, explained in the Shastrùs, and fondly embracing his wife. Ookha, beholding the mutual joy and fondness of Shivù and Parbutee, and feeling a desire to have a husband, began to say to herself, “If I had a husband, I would enjoy amorous diversion with him, in the manner of Shivù and Parbutee. A woman without a husband is as defective in beauty as night without the moon.”
When, O great king! Ookha had thus expressed her thoughts to herself, Shree Parbutee, acquainted with the secrets of the heart, knowing her thoughts, invited her with the greatest affection to come near, and thus with the most tender regard addressed her, “Daughter! suffer not any anxiety of mind, thou shalt obtain a husband in a dream; search for him and enjoy amorous pleasure with him.” Having thus given her a bridegroom, the wife of Shivù allowed Ookha to take leave. Having attained a great proficiency in knowledge, and received a promise of a husband, she made a salutation, and went to her father; who gave her a very beautiful house, apart from all others, to live in. And she, taking with her several of her friends and companions, lived there, and increased in stature daily.
O great king! when the young maiden had reached the age of twelve years, the full moon hid its diminished rays on beholding the lustre of her moon-like countenance; compared with the blackness of her hair, the darkness of the night at the change of the moon seemed trifling. On seeing her taper locks, snakes cast their skins and fled away; the bow began to palpitate, on beholding the arch of her eye-brows; deer, fishes and wagtails were abashed at the sight of her large and rolling eyes; the sesamum withered on gazing at the elegance of her nose; the fruit of the binba tree was restless at the redness of her lips; the breast of the pomegranate was lacerated, on viewing the regularity of her teeth; the rose ceased to blow when she saw the softness of her cheeks; pigeons were fidgetty at the roundness of her neck; on taking a side view of her breasts, the buds of the lotus fell into the tank; the lioness retired into the forest when she saw her slim waist; the plantain ate camphor on beholding the smoothness of her thighs; gold was abashed at the fairness of her body, and the chumpa hid itself; the lotus lost all its estimation in comparison with her hands and feet. Such was she, with the gait of an elephant, the voice of a kokila, and in the very flower of youth and beauty, and by the splendour of her charms eclipsed all the abovementioned.
On a subsequent day, the maiden, having applied perfumes and paste, and bathed and rubbed herself in pure water, combed her hair, and divided it, and fastening pearls where the hair is divided, made use of antimony and tooth-powder, and stained herself with “mehadu” and “lac;” and, having eaten pawn and decked herself out in all kinds of jewels and ornaments wearing an elegant, brilliant petticoat, with a border of large pearls, and a cloth round her body with a hem of great splendour, a shining boddice, and a sparkling and perfumed veil, came forth thus adorned and smiling with her female companions and attendants like Luchmee, and saluted her parents. When Ookha stood before them after having made a salutation, Banasoor, on beholding the splendour of her beauty, allowed her to take leave, with this thought in his mind, “That she was now of a fit age to be married;” and he afterwards sent many male demons to guard her house, and many females for the protection of her person; the male demons exercised the greatest vigilance night and day, and the females were in constant attendance upon her.