Who is the more
deserving?
Then the king went
back to the sissoo tree, put the goblin on his shoulder as before, and started.
And as he walked along, the goblin said: "O King, I will tell you a story
to amuse your weariness. Listen."
On the shore of the Eastern
Ocean is Tamralipti City .
There a king named Chandasena lived. He turned his back to other men's wives,
but not to fighting men. He destroyed his enemies, but not other men's wealth.
One day a popular
prince named Sattvasheela came from the south to the king's gate. He introduced
himself, but did not get what he wanted from the king. And he thought: "If
I am born a prince, why am I so poor? And if I am to be poor, why did God give
me so many desires? For this king pays no attention to me, though I wait upon
him and grow weary and faint with hunger."
While he was
thinking, the king went hunting. He went with many horsemen and footmen, and
the prince ran along in the dress of a pilgrim with a club in his hand. And
during the hunt the king chased a great boar a long distance, and so came into
another forest. There he lost sight of the boar, for the trail was covered with
leaves and grass. And the king was tired and lost his way in the forest. Only
the pilgrim-prince thought nothing of his life, and hungry and thirsty as he
was, he followed on foot the king who rode a swift horse.
And when the king
saw him following, he spoke lovingly: "My good man, do you perhaps know
the way we came?"
And the pilgrim
bowed low and said: "I know, your Majesty. But first rest yourself a
moment. The blazing sun, the middle jewel in the girdle of heaven's bride, is
terribly hot." Then the king said eagerly: "See if there is water
anywhere."
And the pilgrim agreed
and climbed a high tree and looked around. And he saw a river and climbed down
and took the king to it. He unsaddled the horse, gave him water and grass, and
let him rest. And when the king had bathed, the pilgrim took two fine mangoes
from his skirt, washed them and gave them to the king.
"Where did
you get these?" asked the king, and the pilgrim bowed and said: "Your
Majesty, I have lived on such food for ten years. While I was serving your
Majesty, I had to live like a monk." And the king said: "What can I
say? You deserve your name of Sattvasheela (Good)." And he was filled with
pity and shame, and thought: "A curse on kings, who do not know whether
their servants are happy or not! And a curse of their attendants, who do not
tell them this and that!" And when the pilgrim insisted, the king was
prevailed on to take the two mangoes. He rested there with the pilgrim and ate
the mangoes and drank water with the pilgrim, who was accustomed to eat mangoes
and drink water.
Then the pilgrim
saddled the horse and went ahead to show the way, and at last, at the king's
command, mounted behind on the horse; so the king found his soldiers and went
safely home. And when he got there, he proclaimed the devotion of the pilgrim,
and made him a rich man, but could not feel that he had paid his debt. So Sattvasheela
stayed there happily with King Chandasena and stopped living as a pilgrim.
One day the king
sent Sattvasheela to Ceylon
(Srilanka) to ask for the hand of the daughter of the King of Ceylon. So he set
out after sacrificing to the proper god, and entered a ship with some Brahmans
chosen by the king. And when the ship had safely reached the middle of the
ocean, there suddenly arose from the waves a very large flag-pole made of gold,
with a top that touched the sky. It was adorned with waving banners of various
colours and was quite astonishing.
At the same moment
the clouds gathered, it began to rain violently, and a mighty wind blew. And
the ship was driven by the storm winds and caught on the flag-pole. Then the
pole began to sink, dragging the ship with it into the raging waves. And the
Brahmans who were there were overcome with fear and cursed the name of their
king Chandasena.
But Sattvasheela
could not endure that because of his devotion to his king. He took his sword in
his hand, girt up his garment, and threw himself after the flag-pole into the
sea. He had no fear of the pole which seemed a refuge from the ocean. Then as
he sank, the ship was battered by the winds and waves and broke up. And all in
it fell into the mouths of sharks.
But Sattvasheela
sank into the ocean, and when he looked about he saw a wonderful city. There he
entered a shrine to Gauri, tall as the heavenly mountain, with great
gem-sprinkled banners on walls made of different kinds of jewels, in a golden
temple blazing with jewelled pillars, with a garden that had a pool, the stairs
to which were made of splendid gems. After he had bowed low and praised and
worshipped the goddess there, he sat down before her in amazement, wondering if
it was all a conjuror's trick.
Just then the door
was suddenly opened by a heavenly maiden. Her eyes were like lotuses, her face
like the moon. She had a smile like a flower and a body soft as lotus-stems.
And a thousand women waited upon her. She entered the shrine of the goddess and
the heart of Good at the same moment. And when she had worshipped the goddess
there, she went out from the shrine, but not from the heart of Sattvasheela.
She entered a
circle of light, and Sattvasheela followed her. And he saw another splendid
house, that seemed like a place of meeting for all riches and all enjoyments.
And he saw the girl sitting on a jewelled couch, and he approached and sat
beside her. He was like a man painted in a picture, for his eyes were fastened
on her face.
Now a servant of
the maiden saw that his body was thrilled, that he was intent upon the maiden,
that he was in love. She understood his feelings and said to him: "Sir,
you are our guest. Enjoy the hospitality of my mistress. Arise. Bathe.
Eat." And he felt a little hope at her words and went to a pool in the garden
which she showed him.
He plunged into
the pool, and when he rose to the surface, he found himself in the pool of King
Chandasena in Tamralipti
City . And when he saw
that he had come there so suddenly, he thought: "Oh, what does it mean?
Where is that heavenly garden? What a difference between the sight of that girl
which was like nectar to me, and this immediate separation from her which is
like terrible poison! It was no dream. I was awake when the serving-maid
deceived me and made a fool of me."
He was like a madman
without the girl. He wandered in the garden and mourned in a lovelorn way. He
was surrounded by wind-blown flower-pollen which seemed to him the yellow
flames of separation. And when the gardener saw him in this state, he went and
told the king.
And the king was
troubled. He went himself to see Sattvasheela, and asked him soothingly:
"What does this mean? Tell me, my friend. Where did you go? And where did
you come? And where did you stay? And what did you fall into?"
Then Sattvasheela
told him the whole adventure. And the king thought: "Ah, it is fortunate
for me that this brave man is lovelorn. For now I have a chance to pay my debt
to him." So the king said to him: "My friend, give over this vain
grief. I will go with you by the same road, and bring you to the heavenly
maiden." So he comforted Good, and made him take a bath.
The next day he
transferred his royal duties to his counsellors and entered a ship with Sattvasheela.
Sattvasheela showed the way through the sea and they saw the flag-pole with its
banners rising as before in the middle of the ocean. Then Sattvasheela said to
the king: "Your Majesty, here is the magic flag-pole standing up. When I
sink down there, you must sink too along the flag-pole." So when they came
near the sinking pole, Sattvasheela jumped first, and the king followed him.
They sank down and
came to the heavenly city. And the king was astonished, and after he had
worshipped the goddess, he sat down with Sattvasheela. Then the girl, like
Beauty personified, came out of the circle of light with her friends.
"There she is, the lovely creature," said Sattvasheela, and the king
thought: "He is quite right to love her." But when she saw the king
looking like a god, she wondered who the strange and wonderful man might be,
and entered the shrine to worship the goddess.
But the king took Sattvasheela
and went into the garden to show how little he cared about her. A moment later
the girl came from the shrine; she had been praying for a good husband. And she
said to a girl friend: "My friend, I wonder where I could see the man who
was here. Where is the great man? You girls must hunt for him and ask him to be
good enough to come and accept our hospitality. For he is a wonderful man, and
we must be polite to him."
So the girl found
him in the garden and gave him her mistress' message very respectfully. But the
brave king spoke loftily to her: "Your words are hospitality enough.
Nothing else is necessary."
Now when her
mistress had heard what he said, she thought he was a noble character, better
than anybody else. She was attracted by the courage of the king in refusing a
sort of hospitality which was almost too much to offer a mere man, and thought
about the fulfilment of her prayer for a husband. So she went into the garden
herself. She drew near to the king and lovingly begged him to accept her
hospitality.
But the king
pointed to Sattvasheela and said: "My dear girl, he told me of the goddess
here, and I came to see her. And by following the flag-pole I saw the goddess
and her very marvellous temple. It was only afterwards that I happened to see
you."
Then the girl said:
"O King, you may be interested in seeing a city which is the wonder of the
three worlds." And the king laughed and said: "He told me about that,
too. I believe there is a pool for bathing there." And the girl said:
"O King, do not say that. I am not a deceitful girl. Why should I deceive
an honourable man, especially as your noble character has made me feel like a
servant? Pray do not refuse me."
So the king agreed
and went with Sattvasheela and the girl to the edge of the circle of light.
There a door opened and he entered and saw another heavenly city like a second
hill of heaven; for it was built of gems and gold, and the flowers and fruits
of every season grew there at the same time.
And the princess
seated the king on a splendid throne and brought him gifts and said: "Your
Majesty, I am the daughter of the great asura Kalanemi. But Vishnu sent my
father to heaven. And I inherited these two magic cities where one has
everything he wants. There is no old age or death to trouble us here. And now
you are in the place of my father to rule over the cities and over me." So
she offered him herself and all she had. But the king said: "In that case
you are my daughter and I give you in marriage to my brave friend Sattvasheela."
In the king's
words she saw the fulfilment of her prayer, and being sensible and modest, she
agreed. So the king married them and gave all the magic wealth to happy Sattvasheela,
and said: "My friend, I have paid you now for one of the two mangoes which
I ate. But I remain in your debt for the second."
Then he asked the
princess how he could get back to his city. And she gave the king a sword
called Aparajitam (Invincible), and the magic fruit which wards off birth, old
age, and death. And the king took the sword and the fruit, plunged into the
pool which she showed him, and came up in his own country, feeling completely
successful. But Sattvasheela ruled happily over the kingdom of the princess.
When the goblin
had told this story, he asked the king: "O King, which of these two
deserves more credit for plunging into the sea?"
And the king was
afraid of the curse, so he gave a true answer: "Sattvasheela seems to me
the more deserving, for he did not know the truth beforehand, but plunged
without hope into the sea, while the king knew the truth when he jumped."
And as soon as the
king broke silence, the goblin slipped from his shoulder as before without
being seen and went to the sissoo tree. And the king tried as before to catch
him. Brave men do not waver until they have finished what they have begun.
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