Problem of the three suitors
King Trivikrama
went back under the sissoo tree to fetch the goblin again. And when he got there and
looked about, he saw the goblin fallen on the ground and moaning. Then, when
the king put the body with the goblin in it on his shoulder and started to carry
him off quickly and silently, the goblin on his shoulder said to him: "Oh
King, you have fallen into a very disagreeable task which you do not deserve.
So to amuse you I will tell another story. Listen."
On the bank of Kalindi River
is a farm where a very learned Brahman lived. And he had a very beautiful
daughter named Mandaravati. When the Creator fashioned her fresh and peerless
loveliness, surely he must have despised the cleverness he showed before in
fashioning the nymphs of heaven.
When she had grown
out of childhood, there came from the city of Kanauj three Brahman youths, endowed with all
the virtues. And each of them asked her father for her, that she might be his
own. And though her father would rather have died than give her up to anyone,
he made up his mind to give her to one of them. But the girl would not marry
any one of them for some time, because she was afraid of hurting the feelings
of the other two. So they stayed there all three of them day and night,
feasting on the beauty of her face, like the birds that live on moonbeams.
Then all at once Mandaravati
fell sick of a burning fever and died. And when the Brahman youths saw that she
was dead, they were smitten with grief. But they adorned her body, took it to
the cemetery, and burned it.
And one of them
built a hut there, slept on a bed made of her ashes, and got his food by
begging. The second took her bones and went to dip them in the sacred Ganges river. And the third became a monk and wandered in
other countries.
And as he
wandered, the monk came to a village called Vajrapura, and was entertained in
the house of a Brahman. But when he had been honoured by the master of the
house and had begun to eat dinner there, the little boy began to cry and would
not stop even when they petted him. So his mother took him on her arm, and
angrily threw him into the blazing fire. And being tender, he was reduced to
ashes in a moment.
When the monk saw
this, his hair stood on end, and he said: "Alas! I have come into the
house of a devil. I will not eat this food. It would be like eating sin."
But the master of the house said to him: "Brahman, I have studied to good
purpose. See my skill in bringing the dead to life." So he opened a book,
took out a magic spell, read it, and sprinkled water on the ashes. And the
moment the water was sprinkled, the boy stood up alive just as before. Then the
monk was highly delighted and finished his dinner with pleasure.
And the master of
the house hung the book on an ivory peg, took dinner with the monk, and went to
bed. When he was asleep, the monk got up quietly, and tremblingly took the
book, hoping to bring his darling Mandaravati back to life. He went away and
travelled night and day, until he finally reached the cemetery. And he caught
sight of the second youth, who had come back after dipping the bones in the Ganges . And he also found the third youth, who had made a
hut and lived there, sleeping on the girl's ashes.
Then the monk
cried: "Brother, leave your hut. I will bring the dear girl back to
life." And while they eagerly questioned him, he opened the book, and read
the magic spell, and sprinkled holy water on the ashes. And Mandaravati
immediately stood up, alive. And the girl was more beautiful than ever. She
looked as if she were made of gold.
When the three
youths saw her come back to life like that, they went mad with love, and fought
with one another to possess her.
One said: "I
brought her to life by my magic spell. She is my wife."
The second said:
"She came to life because of my journey to the sacred river. She is my wife."
The third said:
"I kept her ashes. That is why she came to life. She is my dear
wife."
O King, you are
able to decide their dispute. Tell me. Whose wife should she be? If you know
and say what is false, then your head will split into a thousand pieces.
When the king
heard this, he said to the goblin: "The man who painfully found the magic
spell and brought her back to life, he did only what a father ought to do. He
is not her husband. And the man who went to dip her bones in the sacred river,
he did only what a son ought to do. He is not her husband. But the man who
slept with her ashes and lived a hard life in the cemetery, he did what a lover
ought to do. He deserves to be her husband."
When the goblin heard
this answer of King Trivikrama, he suddenly escaped from his shoulder and went
back. And the king wished to do as the monk had asked him; so he decided to go
back and get him. Great-minded people do not waver until they have kept their
promises, even at the cost of life.
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