Old Deccan Days; or, Hindoo Fairy Legends Current in Southern India

by Unknown

The next morning all had disappeared; but the Rajah, enchanted with what he had seen, remained true to his promise, and agreed to give Seventee Bai the half of his kingdom and his daughter in marriage; for, said he to himself, “A man who can convert the jungle into a paradise in one night must surely be rich enough and clever enough to be my son-in-law.” But Seventee Bai said, “I am now employed on an errand of my Rajah’s; let me, I beg, first accomplish it, and on my homeward journey I will remain a while in this town, and will marry the Princess.” So they gave him leave to go, and the Rajah and all the great men of his kingdom accompanied Seventee Bai to the borders of their land. Thence the Wuzeer’s daughter went on journeying many days until she had left that country far behind; but as yet she had gained no clue as to the way to the Rakshas’ land. In this difficulty she bethought her of Hera Bai, and played upon the little golden flute. Hera Bai immediately appeared, saying, “Husband, what can I do for you?” Seventee Bai answered, “Kind Hera, I have now been wandering in this jungle for many days, endeavoring in vain to discover the Rakshas’ country, whither my Rajah has ordered me to go. Can you help me to get there?” She answered, “You cannot go there by yourself. For a six months’ journey round their land there is placed a Rakshas’ guard, and not a sparrow could find his way into the country without their knowledge and permission. No men are admitted there, and there are more Rakshas employed in keeping guard than there are trees on the face of the earth. They are invisible, but they would see you, and instantly tear you to pieces. Be, however, guided by me, and I will contrive a way by which you may gain what you seek. Take this ring (and so saying, she placed a glorious ring on Seventee Bai’s finger); it was given me by my dearest friend, the Rajah of the Rakshas’ daughter, and will render you invisible. Look at that mountain, whose blue head you can just see against the sky; you must climb to the top of that, for it stands on the borders of the Rakshas’ territory. When there, turn the stone on the ring I have given you toward the palm of your hand, and you will instantly fall through the earth into the space below the mountain where the Rakshas’ Rajah holds his court, and find yourself in his daughter’s presence. Tell her you are my husband; she will love and help you for my sake.” Hera Bai so saying disappeared, and Seventee Bai continued her journey until she reached the mountain top, where she turned the ring round as she had been bidden, and immediately found herself falling through the earth, down, down, down, deeper and deeper, until at last she arrived in a beautiful room, richly furnished, and hung round with cloth of gold. In every direction, as far as the eye could reach, were thousands and thousands of Rakshas, and in the centre of the room was a gold and ivory throne, on which sat the most beautiful Princess that it is possible to imagine. She was tall and of a commanding aspect; her black hair was bound by long strings of pearl; her dress was of fine spun gold, and round her waist was clasped a zone of restless, throbbing, light-giving diamonds; her neck and her arms were covered with a profusion of costly jewels; but brighter than all shone her bright eyes, which looked full of gentle majesty. She could see Seventee Bai, although her attendants could not, because of the magic ring; and as soon as she saw her she started and cried, “Who are you? How came you here?” Seventee Bai answered, “I am Seventee Rajah, the husband of the Lady Hera, and I have come here by the power of the magic ring you gave her.” The Rakshas’ Princess then said, “You are welcome: but you must know that your coming is attended with much danger; for, did the guard placed around me by my father know of your presence, they would instantly put you to death, and I should be powerless to save you. Tell me why did you come?” Seventee Bai answered, “I came to see you, beautiful lady; tell me your name, and how it is you are here all alone.” She replied, “I am the Rakshas’ Rajah’s only daughter, and my name is Tara Bai (the Star Lady), and because my father loves me very much he has built this palace for me, and placed this great guard of Rakshas all round for many thousand miles, to prevent any one coming in or out without his permission.

“So great is the state they keep that I seldom see my father and mother; indeed, I have not seen them for several years. Nevertheless, I will go now in person to implore their protection for you; for though I never saw king nor prince before, I love you very much.”

So saying, she arose to go to her father’s court, bidding Seventee Bai await her return.

When the Rajah and Ranee of the Rakshas heard that their daughter was coming to see them, they were very much surprised, and said, “What can be the matter with our daughter? Can she be ill? or can our Tara Bai be unhappy in the beautiful house we have given her?” And they said to her, “Daughter, why do you come? what is the matter?” She answered, “Oh, my father! I come to tell you I should like to be married. Cannot you find some beautiful Prince to be my husband?” Then the Rajah laughed, and said, “You are but a child still, my daughter; nevertheless, if you wish for a husband, certainly, if any Prince comes here, and asks you in marriage, we will let you wed him.” She said, “If some brave and beautiful Prince were to come here, and get through the great guard you have placed around the palace, would you indeed protect him for my sake, and not allow them to tear him in pieces?” The Rajah answered, “If such a one come, he shall be safe.” Then Tara Bai was very joyful, and ran and fetched Seventee Bai, and said to her father and mother, “See here is Seventee Rajah, the young Prince of whom I spoke.” And when the Rajah and Ranee saw Seventee Bai they were greatly astonished, and could not think how she had managed to reach their land, and they thought she must be very brave and wise to have done so. And because also Seventee Bai looked a very noble Prince, they were the more willing that she should marry Tara Bai, and said, “Seventee Rajah, we are willing you should be our son-in-law, for you look good and true, and you must be brave, to have come so long and dangerous a journey for your wife; now, therefore, you shall be married; the whole land is open to you, and all that we have is yours; only take good care of our dear daughter, and if ever she or you are unhappy, return here and you shall find a home with us.” So the wedding took place amidst great rejoicings. The wedding festivities lasted twelve days, and to it came hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Rakshas from every country under heaven; from the north and the south and the east and the west, from the depths of the earth and the uttermost parts of the sea. Troop after troop they came flocking in, an ever-increasing crowd, from all parts of this wide world, to be present at the marriage of their master’s daughter.

It would be impossible to count all the rich and costly presents that the Rakshas’ Rajah and Ranee gave Tara Bai. There were jewels enough to fill the seas; diamonds and emeralds, rubies, sapphires and pearls; gold and silver, costly hangings, carved ebony and ivory, more than a man could count in a hundred years; for the Rajah gave his daughter a guard of 100,000,000,000,000 Rakshas, and each Rakshas carried a bundle of riches, and each bundle was as big as a house! and so they took leave of the Rakshas’ Rajah and Ranee, and left the Rakshas’ country.

When they got to the country of the Rajah who had dreamed about the silver tree, with leaves of gold and fruit of pearl (because the number of their retinue was so great that if they had come into a country they would have devoured all that was in it like a swarm of locusts), Seventee Bai and Tara Bai determined that Tara Bai should stay with the guard of Rakshas in the jungle, on the borders of the Rajah’s dominions, and that Seventee Bai should go to the city, as she had promised, to marry the Rajah’s daughter. And there they stayed a week, and the Rajah’s daughter was married with great pomp and ceremony to Seventee Bai; and when they left the city the Rajah gave Seventee Bai and the bride, his daughter, horses and camels and elephants, and rich robes and jewels innumerable; and he and all his court accompanied them to the borders of the land.

Thence they went to the country where lived the Princess whose great marble bath Seventee Bai had jumped over; and there Seventee Bai was married to her, amid great rejoicings, and the wedding was one of surpassing splendor, and the wedding festivities lasted for three whole days.

And leaving that city, they traveled on until they reached the city where Seventee Bai had tamed the Rajah’s wild pony, and there they spent two days in great honor and splendor, and Seventee Bai married that Princess also; so with her five wives—that is to say, Hera Bai the Rajah of the Cobras’ daughter, Tara Bai the Rajah of the Rakshas’ daughter, and the three other Princesses—and a great tribe of attendants and elephants and camels and horses, she returned to the city where she had left Parbuttee Bai.

Now when news was brought to Seventee Bai’s master (the friendly Rajah), of the great cavalcade that was approaching his city, he became very much alarmed, taking Seventee Bai for some strange Rajah who had come to make war upon him. When Seventee Bai heard how alarmed he was, she sent a messenger to him, on a swift horse, to say, “Be not alarmed; it is only thy servant, Seventee Rajah, returning from the errand on which thou didst send him.” Then the Rajah’s heart was light, and he ordered a royal salute to be fired, and went out with all his court to meet Seventee Bai, and they all went together in a state procession into the city. And Seventee Bai said to the Rajah, “You sent your servant to the Rakshas’ country to fetch a golden saree for the Ranee. Behold, I have done as you wish.” And so saying, she gave to the Rajah five Rakshas’ bundles of rich hangings and garments covered with jewels (that is to say, five housefuls of costly things; for each Rakshas carried as much in the bundle on his shoulders as a house would hold); and to the Wuzeer she gave two bundles.

After this, Seventee Bai discharged almost all her immense train of attendants (for fear they should create a famine in the land), sending them to their own houses with many valuable presents; and she took the three Princesses, her wives, to live with her and Parbuttee Bai; but Hera Bai and Tara Bai, on account of their high rank and their surpassing beauty, had a splendid palace of their own in the jungle, of which no one knew but Seventee Bai.