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He then reached a village, and chanced upon the house of a Brāhman named Padmanābha, who was conducting a yagna.
Harisvāmin saw many Brāhmans lined up outside the house, waiting to be fed, and so he managed to reach the doorpost, and leaned against it, silent and motionless.
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तथास्थितं तम् आलोक्य सत्त्रिणस् तस्य गेहिनी ।
पद्मनाभस्य संजातदया साध्वी व्यचिन्तयत् ॥ १२,२०.३६ ॥
अहो क्षुन् नाम गुर्व्य् एषा न कुर्यात् कस्य लाघवम् ।
यद् एवम् अयम् अन्नार्थी को ऽप्य् आस्ते द्वार्य् अधोमुखः ॥ १२,२०.३७ ॥
दूराध्वाभ्यागतः स्नातस् तावत् क्षीणेन्द्रियः क्षुधा ।
तद् एषश् चान्नदानस्य पात्रम् इत्य् अवधार्य सा ॥ १२,२०.३८ ॥
परमान्नभृतं साध्वी तस्मै सघृतशर्करम् ।
पात्रम् उत्क्षिप्य पाणिभ्याम् आनीय प्रश्रिता ददौ ॥ १२,२०.३९ ॥
जगाद चैतं भुङ्क्ष्वैतद् गत्वा वापीतटे क्वचित् ।
इदं स्थानं समुच्छिष्टं भुञ्जानैर् ब्राह्मनैर् वृतम् ॥ १२,२०.४० ॥
Padmanābha’s wife observed Harisvāmin standing this way, and feeling pity for him, thought to herself…
“Oh, how mighty is hunger, for it holds the power to bring down any man! The man who stands there looks like a grihasth (a householder), but seems to have travelled a long way, and so he is dusty and obviously hasn’t eaten for a long time…is he not someone who deserved to be fed by now?”
Thinking this way, she went inside, fetched a bowl filled with kheer (a dish made of rice, ghee and sugar), and approached Harisvāmin, saying…
“Oh revered Brāhman, here is some food for you. There is a lake nearby, so go there and have this food in peace, since there are too many people here.”
तथेति सो ऽन्नपात्रं तद् गृहीत्वा नातिदूरतः ।
गत्वा स्थापितवान् वाप्यास् तटे वटतरोर् अधः ॥ १२,२०.४१ ॥
प्रक्षाल्य पाणिपादं च वाप्याम् आचम्य चात्र सः ।
यावद् भक्षयितुं तुष्टः परमान्नम् उपैति तत् ॥ १२,२०.४२ ॥
तावद् गृहीत्वा कृष्णाहिं चञ्च्वा पादयुगेन च ।
श्येनः कुतश्चिद् आगत्य तरौ तस्मिन्न् उपाविशत् ॥ १२,२०.४३ ॥
तेन तस्योह्यमानस्य सर्पस्याक्रम्य पक्षिणा ।
उत्क्रान्तजीवितस्यास्याद् विषलाला विनिर्ययौ ॥ १२,२०.४४ ॥
सा तत्राधःस्थिते तस्मिन्न् अन्नपात्रे ऽपतत् तदा ।
तच् चादृष्ट्वा हरिस्वामी स एत्यान्नम् अभुङ्क्त तत् ॥ १२,२०.४५ ॥
क्षुधार्तस्य तदा तस्य मृष्टान्नं तत् क्षणेन तत् ।
कृत्स्नं भुक्तवतस् तीव्रा प्रोदभूद् विषवेदना ॥ १२,२०.४६ ॥
अहो विधौ विपर्यस्ते न विपर्यस्यतीह किम् ।
यद् विषीभूतम् अन्नं मे सक्षीरघृटशर्करम् ॥ १२,२०.४७ ॥
Harisvāmin thanked her profusely, took the vessel of rice, and walked up to the nearby lake. He placed the vessel below a banyan tree at the edge of the lake and went in to wash his hands and feet.
While he was in the lake, an eagle flew up and sat on a big branch on the banyan tree, just above the vessel that Harisvāmin had brought from the Brāhman’s house. In it’s talons it held a black cobra, that it had just killed in fierce combat.
It so happened that the venom from the fangs of the dead cobra fell into the vessel.
Meanwhile, Harisvāmin, having finished his bath, came up to the tree, took the vessel in his hand, and started to eat hungrily.
As soon as he finished his food, he felt nauseous, and understood that there had been poison in the food that he just ate.
Writhing in agony, he exclaimed…
“Oh, when fate is against you, even good things that happen to you turn bad in the end! This delicious kheer has now become poisonous for me!”
Lamenting this way, Harisvāmin started back towards the Brāhman’s house, stumbling in pain all along the way…
to be continued…