“Candrasvāmin performed all the tasks in the required manner, yet his mind was far from pure. His dedication was only so that he could enjoy the illusions that brought him the maiden, and not to put such power to more noble use.”
“His mind wavered even after he was woken up from the delusion…he had doubts and misgivings. And so, even though he successfully went through all the steps, he did not attain what he sought.”
“The sanyasi lost his powers, since he had attempted to bestow them on an undeserving aspirant.”
एकोनिवशो वतेालः
The nineteenth story
The son of the thief
अथ गत्वा पुनः स्कन्धे वेतालं शिंशपाद्रुमात् ।
स त्रिविक्रमसेनस् तं गृहीत्वोदचलन् नृपः ॥ १२,२६.१ ॥
आगच्छन्तं च तं भूयो वेतालः सो ऽभ्यभाषत ।
राजञ् शृणु कथम् एकां हृद्यां ते कथयाम्य् अहम् ॥ १२,२६.२ ॥
King Vikram went back to the tree, and bringing down the Vetāla, placed him across his shoulders and started to walk back.
The Vetāla said to the king “Oh brave king, let me tell you an interesting story!”
अस्ति वक्रोलकं नाम पुरं सुरपुरोपमम् ।
तस्मिन् सूर्यप्रभाख्यो ऽभूद् राजा जम्भारिसंनिभः ॥ १२,२६.३ ॥
सौकर्योद्यतया मूर्त्या दत्तानन्दो वसुंधराम् ।
इमां हरिर् इवोद्धृत्य यो बभार चिरं भुजे ॥ १२,२६.४ ॥
धूमासङ्गे ऽश्रुसंपातः शृङ्गारे मारसंकथाः ।
द्वाःस्थेषु हेमदण्डाश् च राष्ट्रे यस्याभवन् प्रभोः ॥ १२,२६.५ ॥
सर्वसंपत्समृद्धस्य तस्यैकाभूद् अनिर्वृतिः ।
नोदपद्यत यत् पुत्रो बहुष्व् अन्तःपुरेष्व् अपि ॥ १२,२६.६ ॥
There exists a city named Vakraloka, which is equal in opulence to the magnificent Āmrāvati. This city was ruled by a valorous king named Sūryaprabha, who was no less than Indra in stature.
Just like Viṣṇu, in his Varaha avatara, lifted the earth and rescued it, spreading happiness to all, Sūryaprabha too bore the burden of his city, and in turn gave many comforts to his subjects.
In his city, अश्रुपात (shedding of tears) only happened when smoke rose up during yagnās, and not due to tragic circumstances…
The talk of मार (Manmatha) only happened during lovemaking, and not due to people speaking of death…
हेमदण्ड (clubs of gold) only existed in the hands of doorkeepers, and not as levies of fines and taxes on people…
And so Sūryaprabha was rich in all manners, and had all the wealth in the world, but he also had one source of grief…even though he had many wives, he had no offspring.
Now in this point of the story…
to be continued…