Indian Fairy Tales (9 page)

How came the crown in the jaws of the tiger? The king of Ujjaini had a
week before gone with all his hunters on a hunting expedition. All of a
sudden the tiger-king started from the wood, seized the king, and
vanished.

When the king's attendants informed the prince about the death of his
father he wept and wailed, and gave notice that he would give half of
his kingdom to any one who should bring him news about the murderer of
his father. The goldsmith knew full well that it was a tiger that
killed the king, and not any hunter's hands, since he had heard from
Gangazara how he obtained the crown. Still, he resolved to denounce
Gangazara as the king's murderer, so, hiding the crown under his
garments, he flew to the palace. He went before the prince and informed
him that the assassin was caught, and placed the crown before him.

The prince took it into his hands, examined it, and at once gave half
the kingdom to Manikkasari, and then inquired about the murderer. "He
is bathing in the river, and is of such and such appearance," was the
reply. At once four armed soldiers flew to the river, and bound the
poor Brahman hand and foot, while he, sitting in meditation, was
without any knowledge of the fate that hung over him. They brought
Gangazara to the presence of the prince, who turned his face away from
the supposed murderer, and asked his soldiers to throw him into a
dungeon. In a minute, without knowing the cause, the poor Brahman found
himself in the dark dungeon.

It was a dark cellar underground, built with strong stone walls, into
which any criminal guilty of a capital offence was ushered to breathe
his last there without food and drink. Such was the cellar into which
Gangazara was thrust. What were his thoughts when he reached that
place? "It is of no use to accuse either the goldsmith or the prince
now. We are all the children of fate. We must obey her commands. This
is but the first day of my father's prophecy. So far his statement is
true. But how am I going to pass ten years here? Perhaps without
anything to sustain life I may drag on my existence for a day or two.
But how pass ten years? That cannot be, and I must die. Before death
comes let me think of my faithful brute friends."

So pondered Gangazara in the dark cell underground, and at that moment
thought of his three friends. The tiger-king, serpent-king, and rat-
king assembled at once with their armies at a garden near the dungeon,
and for a while did not know what to do. They held their council, and
decided to make an underground passage from the inside of a ruined well
to the dungeon. The rat raja issued an order at once to that effect to
his army. They, with their teeth, bored the ground a long way to the
walls of the prison. After reaching it they found that their teeth
could not work on the hard stones. The bandicoots were then specially
ordered for the business; they, with their hard teeth, made a small
slit in the wall for a rat to pass and re-pass without difficulty. Thus
a passage was effected.

The rat raja entered first to condole with his protector on his
misfortune, and undertook to supply his protector with provisions.
"Whatever sweetmeats or bread are prepared in any house, one and all of
you must try to bring whatever you can to our benefactor. Whatever
clothes you find hanging in a house, cut down, dip the pieces in water,
and bring the wet bits to our benefactor. He will squeeze them and
gather water for drink! and the bread and sweetmeats shall form his
food." Having issued these orders, the king of the rats took leave of
Gangazara. They, in obedience to their king's order, continued to
supply him with provisions and water.

The snake-king said: "I sincerely condole with you in your calamity;
the tiger-king also fully sympathises with you, and wants me to tell
you so, as he cannot drag his huge body here as we have done with our
small ones. The king of the rats has promised to do his best to provide
you with food. We would now do what we can for your release. From this
day we shall issue orders to our armies to oppress all the subjects of
this kingdom. The deaths by snake-bite and tigers shall increase a
hundredfold from this day, and day by day it shall continue to increase
till your release. Whenever you hear people near you, you had better
bawl out so as to be heard by them: 'The wretched prince imprisoned me
on the false charge of having killed his father, while it was a tiger
that killed him. From that day these calamities have broken out in his
dominions. If I were released I would save all by my powers of healing
poisonous wounds and by incantations.' Some one may report this to the
king, and if he knows it, you will obtain your liberty." Thus
comforting his protector in trouble, he advised him to pluck up
courage, and took leave of him. From that day tigers and serpents,
acting under the orders of their kings, united in killing as many
persons and cattle as possible. Every day people were carried away by
tigers or bitten by serpents. Thus passed months and years. Gangazara
sat in the dark cellar, without the sun's light falling upon him, and
feasted upon the breadcrumbs and sweetmeats that the rats so kindly
supplied him with. These delicacies had completely changed his body
into a red, stout, huge, unwieldy mass of flesh. Thus passed full ten
years, as prophesied in the horoscope.

Ten complete years rolled away in close imprisonment. On the last
evening of the tenth year one of the serpents got into the bed-chamber
of the princess and sucked her life. She breathed her last. She was the
only daughter of the king. The king at once sent for all the snake-bite
curers. He promised half his kingdom and his daughter's hand to him who
would restore her to life. Now a servant of the king who had several
times overheard Gangazara's cries, reported the matter to him. The king
at once ordered the cell to be examined. There was the man sitting in
it. How had he managed to live so long in the cell? Some whispered that
he must be a divine being. Thus they discussed, while they brought
Gangazara to the king.

The king no sooner saw Gangazara than he fell on the ground. He was
struck by the majesty and grandeur of his person. His ten years'
imprisonment in the deep cell underground had given a sort of lustre to
his body. His hair had first to be cut before his face could be seen.
The king begged forgiveness for his former fault, and requested him to
revive his daughter.

"Bring me within an hour all the corpses of men and cattle, dying and
dead, that remain unburnt or unburied within the range of your
dominions; I shall revive them all," were the only words that Gangazara
spoke.

Cartloads of corpses of men and cattle began to come in every minute.
Even graves, it is said, were broken open, and corpses buried a day or
two before were taken out and sent for their revival. As soon as all
were ready, Gangazara took a vessel full of water and sprinkled it over
them all, thinking only of his snake-king and tiger-king. All rose up
as if from deep slumber, and went to their respective homes. The
princess, too, was restored to life. The joy of the king knew no
bounds. He cursed the day on which he imprisoned him, blamed himself
for having believed the word of a goldsmith, and offered him the hand
of his daughter and the whole kingdom, instead of half, as he promised.
Gangazara would not accept anything, but asked the king to assemble all
his subjects in a wood near the town. "I shall there call in all the
tigers and serpents, and give them a general order."

When the whole town was assembled, just at the dusk of evening,
Gangazara sat dumb for a moment, and thought upon the Tiger King and
the Serpent King, who came with all their armies. People began to take
to their heels at the sight of tigers. Gangazara assured them of
safety, and stopped them.

The grey light of the evening, the pumpkin colour of Gangazara, the
holy ashes scattered lavishly over his body, the tigers and snakes
humbling themselves at his feet, gave him the true majesty of the god
Gangazara. For who else by a single word could thus command vast armies
of tigers and serpents, said some among the people. "Care not for it;
it may be by magic. That is not a great thing. That he revived
cartloads of corpses shows him to be surely Gangazara," said others.

"Why should you, my children, thus trouble these poor subjects of
Ujjaini? Reply to me, and henceforth desist from your ravages." Thus
said the Soothsayer's son, and the following reply came from the king
of the tigers: "Why should this base king imprison your honour,
believing the mere word of a goldsmith that your honour killed his
father? All the hunters told him that his father was carried away by a
tiger. I was the messenger of death sent to deal the blow on his neck.
I did it, and gave the crown to your honour. The prince makes no
inquiry, and at once imprisons your honour. How can we expect justice
from such a stupid king as that? Unless he adopt a better standard of
justice we will go on with our destruction."

The king heard, cursed the day on which he believed in the word of a
goldsmith, beat his head, tore his hair, wept and wailed for his crime,
asked a thousand pardons, and swore to rule in a just way from that
day. The serpent-king and tiger-king also promised to observe their
oath as long as justice prevailed, and took their leave. The gold-smith
fled for his life. He was caught by the soldiers of the king, and was
pardoned by the generous Gangazara, whose voice now reigned supreme.
All returned to their homes. The king again pressed Gangazara to accept
the hand of his daughter. He agreed to do so, not then, but some time
afterwards. He wished to go and see his elder brother first, and then
to return and marry the princess. The king agreed; and Gangazara left
the city that very day on his way home.

It so happened that unwittingly he took a wrong road, and had to pass
near a sea-coast. His elder brother was also on his way up to Benares
by that very same route. They met and recognised each other, even at a
distance. They flew into each other's arms. Both remained still for a
time almost unconscious with joy. The pleasure of Gangazara was so
great that he died of joy.

The elder brother was a devout worshipper of Ganesa. That was a Friday,
a day very sacred to that god. The elder brother took the corpse to the
nearest Ganesa temple and called upon him. The god came, and asked him
what he wanted. "My poor brother is dead and gone; and this is his
corpse. Kindly keep it in your charge till I finish worshipping you. If
I leave it anywhere else the devils may snatch it away when I am absent
worshipping you; after finishing the rites I shall burn him." Thus said
the elder brother, and, giving the corpse to the god Ganesa, he went to
prepare himself for that deity's ceremonials. Ganesa made over the
corpse to his Ganas, asking them to watch over it carefully. But
instead of that they devoured it.

The elder brother, after finishing the puja, demanded his brother's
corpse of the god. The god called his Ganas, who came to the front
blinking, and fearing the anger of their master. The god was greatly
enraged. The elder brother was very angry. When the corpse was not
forthcoming he cuttingly remarked, "Is this, after all, the return for
my deep belief in you? You are unable even to return my brother's
corpse." Ganesa was much ashamed at the remark. So he, by his divine
power, gave him a living Gangazara instead of the dead corpse. Thus was
the second son of the Soothsayer restored to life.

The brothers had a long talk about each other's adventures. They both
went to Ujjaini, where Gangazara married the princess, and succeeded to
the throne of that kingdom. He reigned for a long time, conferring
several benefits upon his brother. And so the horoscope was fully
fulfilled.

There was a certain Brahman in a certain village, named Harisarman. He
was poor and foolish and in evil case for want of employment, and he
had very many children, that he might reap the fruit of his misdeeds in
a former life. He wandered about begging with his family, and at last
he reached a certain city, and entered the service of a rich
householder called Sthuladatta. His sons became keepers of
Sthuladatta's cows and other property, and his wife a servant to him,
and he himself lived near his house, performing the duty of an
attendant. One day there was a feast on account of the marriage of the
daughter of Sthuladatta, largely attended by many friends of the bride-
groom, and merry-makers. Harisarman hoped that he would be able to fill
himself up to the throat with ghee and flesh and other dainties, and
get the same for his family, in the house of his patron. While he was
anxiously expecting to be fed, no one thought of him.

Then he was distressed at getting nothing to eat, and he said to his
wife at night, "It is owing to my poverty and stupidity that I am
treated with such disrespect here; so I will pretend by means of an
artifice to possess a knowledge of magic, so that I may become an
object of respect to this Sthuladatta; so, when you get an opportunity,
tell him that I possess magical knowledge." He said this to her, and
after turning the matter over in his mind, while people were asleep he
took away from the house of Sthuladatta a horse on which his master's
son-in-law rode. He placed it in concealment at some distance, and in
the morning the friends of the bridegroom could not find the horse,
though they searched in every direction. Then, while Sthuladatta was
distressed at the evil omen, and searching for the thieves who had
carried off the horse, the wife of Harisarman came and said to him,
"My husband is a wise man, skilled in astrology and magical sciences;
he can get the horse back for you; why do you not ask him?"

When Sthuladatta heard that, he called Harisarman, who said, "Yesterday
I was forgotten, but to-day, now the horse is stolen, I am called to
mind," and Sthuladatta then propitiated the Brahman with these words—
"I forgot you, forgive me"—and asked him to tell him who had taken
away their horse. Then Harisarman drew all kinds of pretended diagrams,
and said: "The horse has been placed by thieves on the boundary line
south from this place. It is concealed there, and before it is carried
off to a distance, as it will be at close of day, go quickly and bring
it." When they heard that, many men ran and brought the horse quickly,
praising the discernment of Harisarman. Then Harisarman was honoured by
all men as a sage, and dwelt there in happiness, honoured by
Sthuladatta.