Read the previous part here…
When the cunning Padmāvatī heard this, she replied sweetly “My love, I have a question to ask you. Were you the one to guess correctly the subtle signs that I had made, or was it your friend Buddhiśarīra?
ज्ञाता किं किम् उवा तेन सख्या मन्त्रिसुतेन ते ।
एवम् उक्तवतीम् एतां राजपुत्रो जगाद सः ॥ १२,८.१३५ ॥
न ज्ञातं तन् मया किंचिज् ज्ञात्वा सर्वं च तेन मे ।
आख्यातं मन्त्रिपुत्रेण दिव्यप्रज्ञानशालिना ॥ १२,८.१३६ ॥
एतच् छ्रुत्वा विचिन्त्यैव भामिनी सा जगाद तम् ।
तर्ह्य् अयुक्तं कृतं यन् मे चिरात् स कथितस् त्वया ॥ १२,८.१३७ ॥
स मे भ्राता सखा यस् ते तस्य च प्रथमं मया ।
ताम्बूलादिसमाचारः कर्तव्यो हि सदा भवेत् ॥ १२,८.१३८ ॥
इत्य् उक्तवत्यानुमतस् तया पूर्वपथेन सः ।
रजापुत्रो ऽन्तिकं तस्य सख्युर् आगात् ततो निशि ॥ १२,८.१३९ ॥
शशंस च कथामध्ये तत् तस्मै यत् तदाश्रयम् ।
संज्ञाविज्ञानकथनं कृतं तेन प्रियान्तिके ॥ १२,८.१४० ॥
मन्त्रिपुत्रस् तु सो ऽयुक्तम् इति न श्रद्दधे ऽस्य तत् ।
तावच् च सा तयोस् तत्र विभाताभूद् विभावरी ॥ १२,८.१४१ ॥
अथैतयोर् विधौ सांध्ये निवृत्ते कुर्वतोः कथाः ।
आगात् पक्वान्नताम्बूलहस्ता पद्मावतीसखी ॥ १२,८.१४२ ॥
सा मन्त्रिपुत्रं कुशलं पृष्ट्वा दत्तोपचारिका ।
निषेद्धुं राजपुत्रस्य भोजनं तत्र युक्तितः ॥ १२,८.१४३ ॥
कथान्तरे स्वामिनीं स्वां भोजनादौ तदागमम् ।
प्रतीक्षमाणाम् आवेद्य क्षणाद् गुप्तं ततो ययौ ॥ १२,८.१४४ ॥
ततस् तं मन्त्रिपुत्रः स राजपुत्रम् अभाषत ।
कौतुकं पश्य देवैकं दर्शयाम्य् अधुना तव ॥ १२,८.१४५ ॥
“Why, of course it was my friend who understood these meanings!”, said VajraMukuta. “He is the brightest man in our kingdom, and possibly the whole world…”
Padmāvatī heard this and kept quiet for a while, thinking to herself.
She finally replied “My dear, then you have not done the right thing, by not telling about this in the beginning. Since he is such a dear friend of yours, he is like my brother, and I must honor him with delicious food and lavish gifts!”
In a few hours, the prince left by the same way that he had come. He reached the hut, and eagerly discussed the incidents that had transpired that day. He also mentioned the bit about Padmāvatī wanting to honor him, but Buddhiśarīra said that such an honor would not be proper to accept, given that he had just done his duty as a minister’s son, and as a dear friend. The night passed, and soon it was dawn, but the two friends continued to be engrossed in conversation.
In the morning, a maid of Padmāvatī came to the hut, carrying some cooked food and a few gifts. She greeted Buddhiśarīra and enquired about his well-being, and gave him the gifts and food. She also implored him to not allow the prince to eat, since his beloved Padmāvatī was waiting for him eagerly, without having a morsel of food herself. She wanted to break her fast with the prince, said the maid.
When she left, Buddhiśarīra smiled at VajraMukuta and said “Now observe carefully, my friend, I will show you some magic…”
इत्य् उक्त्वा भक्ष्यम् एकं स पक्वान्नं दत्तवांस् ततः ।
सारमेयाय स च तत् खादित्वैव व्यपद्यत ॥ १२,८.१४६ ॥
तद् दृष्ट्वा किम् इदं चित्रम् इति राजसुतो ऽत्र सः ।
पप्रच्छ मन्त्रिपुत्रं तं स चैतं प्रत्यभाषत ॥ १२,८.१४७ ॥
संज्ञाज्ञानेन धूर्तं मां विदित्वा हन्तुकामया ।
तया विषान्नं प्रहितं मम त्वदनुरक्तया ॥ १२,८.१४८ ॥
नास्मिन् सति मदेकाग्रो राजपुत्रो भवेद् अयम् ।
एतद्वशश् च मुक्त्वा मां नगरीं स्वां व्रजेद् इति ॥ १२,८.१४९ ॥
तन् मुञ्च मन्युम् एतस्यां बन्धुत्यागान् महात्मनः ।
कुर्यास् त्वं हरणे युक्तिं वक्ष्याम्य् आलोच्य याम् अहम् ॥ १२,८.१५० ॥
इत्य् उक्तवन्तं तं मन्त्रिसुतो राजसुतो ऽत्र सः ।
सत्यं बुद्धिशरीरस् त्वम् इति यावत् प्रशंसति ॥ १२,८.१५१ ॥
अशङ्कितं बहिस् तावद् दुःखाकुलजनारवः ।
हा धिग् राज्ञः सुतो बालो विपन्न इति शुश्रुवे ॥ १२,८.१५२ ॥
तदाकर्णनहृष्टो ऽथ मन्त्रिपुत्रो नृपात्मजम् ।
जगाद हन्त गच्छाद्य पद्मावत्या गृहं निशि ॥ १२,८.१५३ ॥
तत्र तां पाययेस् तावद् यावत् पानमदेन सा ।
निःसंज्ञा नष्टचेष्टा च गतजीवेव जायते ॥ १२,८.१५४ ॥
ततस् तस्याः सनिद्रायाः शूलेनाङ्कं कटीतटे ।
दत्त्वाग्नितप्तेनादाय तदाभरणसंचयम् ॥ १२,८.१५५ ॥
आगच्छेस् त्वं गवाक्षेण रज्जुलम्बविनिर्गतः ।
ततः परं यथा भद्रं भवेज् ज्ञास्याम्य् अहं तथा ॥ १२,८.१५६ ॥
He gave a bit of the cooked food that the maid had brought for them, to a dog. The dog had the food, and fell dead instantly.
When VajraMukuta saw this he was intrigued. “What is the meaning of this?”
Buddhiśarīra replied “Well, the issue is that Padmāvatī has found out that I am intelligent, since I understood the meaning of what she had conveyed to you. She sent me this poisoned food, in order to kill me. She is deeply in love with you, and she thinks that you will never be fully devoted to her while I am alive, and that I may influence you to leave her, and return to our own kingdom….”
“But, don’t get angry with her. I will think of something that will solve this problem and still keep her happy.”
VajraMukuta said ” my friend, you are rightly called Buddhiśarīra – you are truly wisdom-incarnate!”
As they were speaking, they heard a commotion outside. “The king’s youngest son is dead! The king’s youngest son is dead!”
“This is an opportune moment”, said Buddhiśarīra. “Now listen carefully. Got to Padmāvatī’s house tonight, and make her drink so much wine that she gets heavily intoxicated. When she is drunk, make a mark on her hip with this”, as he passed on a small iron trishul to the prince, “take away all her ornaments and let yourself down from the window by the same rope. I will do the rest…”
to be continued…