Read the previous part here…
Now I have a question for you. Who among the three – Samudradatta,Dharmadatta or the thief, was the most generous? Whose was the most genuine sacrifice? Remember, if you know the answer, and don’t tell me the truth, your head will burst into a hundred pieces!
तच् छ्रुत्वा स महीपतिर् उज्झितमौनस् तम् आह वेतालम् ।
एषां चौरस् त्यागी न पुनर् वणिजाव् उभाव् अपि तौ ॥ १२,१७.६४ ॥
यो हि पतिस् ताम् अजहाद् अत्याज्यां तादृशीं विवाह्यापि ।
कुलजः सो ऽन्यासक्तां भार्यां जानन् कथं वहतु ॥ १२,१७.६५ ॥
यो ऽप्य् अपरः स भयात् ताम् अत्याक्षीत् कालजीर्णसंवेगः ।
विदितार्थो भर्तास्याः प्रातर् ब्रूयान् नृपायेति ॥ १२,१७.६६ ॥
चौरस् तु गुप्तचारी निरपेक्षः पापकर्मकृत् प्राप्तम् ।
स्त्रीरत्नं यद् अमुञ्चत् साभरणं तेन स त्यागी ॥ १२,१७.६७ ॥
एतच् छ्रुत्वैवांसतस् तस्य राज्ञो
वेतालो ऽगात् पूर्ववत् स्वं पदं सः ।
राजा भूयो ऽप्य् अत्र संप्राप्तुम् एतत्
प्रायाद् एवाखण्डितोद्दामधैर्यः ॥ १२,१७.६८ ॥
King Vikram replied…
“Of the three, the thief was the only true generous man. The other two were not generous at all, nor did they sacrifice anything. The husband let her go, even though it was his duty to protect her. Dharmadatta was impulsive – had his passion for Madanasenā had subsided and he was also afraid that he would be reported if he took advantage of the girl.”
“But the thief, now here was a man who committed evil acts and didn’t care much about law and morality. And this same person let a beautiful lady, who also had a lot of expensive jewelry on her, go free. The other two were well-educated, the thief probably wasn’t. Yet he demonstrated more generosity and genuineness than the other two men. He was the most generous of all.”
As the king uttered these words, the Vetāla flew off his shoulder, laughing. And King Vikram once more started to walk towards the banyan tree, determined to fetch him.
एकादशो वतेालः
The Eleventh Story
The delicate wives of King Dharmadhvaja
ततो गत्वा पुनः प्राप्य शिंशपातो ऽग्रहीन् नृपः ।
स त्रिविक्रमसेनो ऽंसे वेतालं तं चचाल च ॥ १२,१८.१ ॥
आयान्तं च तम् अंसस्थो वेतालः सो ऽब्रवीन् नृपम् ।
राजन् विचित्राम् एकां ते वर्णयामि कथां शृणु ॥ १२,१८.२ ॥
King Vikram brought down the Vetāla once again, put him across his shoulder, and started to walk back towards his destination.
The Vetāla spoke to him and said “You work too hard, o king. So here is a story that can help entertain you.”
उज्जयिन्याम् अभूत् पूर्वं नाम्ना धर्मध्वजो नृपः ।
तिस्रस् तस्याभवन् भार्या राजपुत्र्यो ऽतिवल्लभाः ॥ १२,१८.३ ॥
एका तास्व् इन्दुलेखेति तारावल्य् अपरा तथा ।
नाम्ना मृगाङ्कवत्य् अन्या निःसामान्यवपुर्गुणाः ॥ १२,१८.४ ॥
ताभिः स विहरन् राजा राज्ञीभिस् तिसृभिः सह ।
आसांचक्रे कृती तत्र जिताशेषरिपुः सुखम् ॥ १२,१८.५ ॥
एकदा तत्र संप्राप्ते वसन्तसमयोत्सवे ।
प्रियाभिः सहितस् ताभिर् उद्यानं क्रीडितुं ययौ ॥ १२,१८.६ ॥
तत्रालिमालामौर्वीकाः पश्यन् पुष्पानता लताः ।
चापयष्टीर् अनङ्गस्य मधुना सज्जिता इव ॥ १२,१८.७ ॥
शृण्वंश् च तद्द्रुमाग्रस्थकोकिलोदीरितां गिरम् ।
सम्भोगैकरसस्याज्ञाम् इव मानसजन्मनः ॥ १२,१८.८ ॥
सिषेवे ऽन्तःपुरैः साकं स राजा वासवोपमः ।
पानं मदस्य कंदर्पजीवितस्यापि जीवितम् ॥ १२,१८.९ ॥
तन्निःश्वाससुगन्धीनि तद्बिम्बौष्ठरुचीनि च ।
प्रियापीतावशेषाणि पिबन् रेमे मधूनि सः ॥ १२,१८.१० ॥
तत्र तस्येन्दुलेखाया राज्ञः केलिकचग्रहात् ।
तस्याः पपात कर्णाग्राद् उत्सङ्गे त्वङ्गद् उत्पलम् ॥ १२,१८.११ ॥
तेनोरुपृष्ठे सहसा क्षते जाते ऽभिघातजे ।
अभिजाता महादेवी हा हेत्य् उक्त्वा मुमूर्च्छ सा ॥ १२,१८.१२ ॥
In the ancient city of Ujjayinī lived a mighty king named Dharmadhvaja ( the one who upholds the flag of Dharma). He had three wives – Indulekhā, Tārāvalī and Mṛgāṅkavatī. All the three were extremely beautiful and had charming personalities.
The king, who had seen many battles in his prime, had now retired and lived happily in his palace, enjoying his time with his queens.
One day in spring, when the winter had just ended and the flowers had started to bloom, the king went down to the royal gardens, along with his three queens.
The garden itself presented a beautiful sight, with the creepers weighed down with flowers, resembling Kāmadeva’s bow, and a row of bees resembling the string of the bow, ready to shoot arrows of love straight into beholders hearts.
The king himself strode like the king of the devas, the mighty Indra, hearing the soft sounds of the cuckoos, and sipping wine that had just been tasted by the red lips of his queens.
Indulekhā was playing with the king’s hair, when a blue lotus accidentally slipped from her ear and fell onto her lap. Immediately, a wound formed on her thigh, where the lotus had fallen, and the delicate queen let out a feeble cry and fainted.
to be continued…