STORY NINETEEN
The king again went to the Shimshapaa tree; placed the
Vetaala on his shoulder and started to walk. Vetaala again said to him-
“Listen I will tell you an interesting story.
There is a city named Vakrolaka equaling the heavenly city
of Amaraavati .
The city was ruled by a king named SooryaPrabha equaling Indra.
Like Hari who lifted the earth in the form of the boar सौकर्योद्यतया मूर्त्या
and gave happiness to all, the king also held the city on his shoulders
with a form risen to give comforts to the people सौकर्योद्यतया मूर्त्या to give happiness to
all.
In his country-
Shedding of tears अश्रुपात (through eye-irritation) was there- only when
smoke rose up in sacrificial rites ( not अश्रुपात shedding of tears due to tragic
circumstances).
The talk of ‘Maara’ मार(Manmatha) was there only when engaged in
love-making (not the ‘Maara’ मार– ‘beating up’ anywhere).
Golden-clubs हेमदण्ड were there only in the hands of door-guards (not
the हेमदण्ड levying of fine
of gold in the people).
The king had all the wealth in the world; but only one thing
was lacking; though he had many queens, he had no offspring.
Meanwhile there lived a merchant named DhanaPaala in the
city of TaamaraLiptaa .
A daughter named Dhanavati beautiful like a curse-bearing
apsaraa fallen on earth, was born to him. When she reached her youth, the
merchant died. All his wealth was taken
away by the relatives with the help of law.
Then, the merchant’s widow named Hiranyavati took some
hidden jewels kept with her secretly; and escaped from her home at night along
with her daughter Dhanavati afraid of her relatives robbing of her meager
wealth.
Filled with darkness inside and outside, holding the hands
of her daughter she somehow managed to get out of her city.
As fate would have it, as she was slowly walking in the
blinding darkness, she happened to push with her shoulder, a thief who had been
punished by getting stuck on the spear.
That thief screamed in pain and said-
“Ha! Who pushed me? I am already hurt. I am more hurt now
by your pushing. Who poured salt on my wounds?”
Frightened, the merchant’s wife asked-
“Who are you?”
The thief replied-
“I am a thief. Even now, though stuck on the spear, the
lives have not departed from this sinful soul. It is alright, good lady! Tell
me who you are! Where are you going in this dark night?”
The merchant’s wife told him her story. By that time the Sun lighted up the face of
the eastern direction.
When the directions were filled with light, the thief saw
the merchant’s daughter Dhanavati. He said the merchant’s wife-
“Mother! I have
one request to make. I will give you thousand gold coins. Give your daughter in
marriage to me.”
“What do you gain by that?” asked the lady with a
smile.
The thief again said-
“I will be dead soon. But I have no son. A person without
a son will not attain higher worlds. If this girl gets any child anywhere else
with my permission, he will be my son born in another ‘field’. That is why I
made this request mother. Please fulfill my request.”
Greedy for his money, the merchant’s wife agreed to his
proposal; brought some water from somewhere and sprinkled water on his hand and
said-
“This daughter has been given to you.”
The thief gave permission to the daughter to have a child
through another man as he intended and said to the merchant’s wife-
“Go mother! Dig under the fig tree nearby and take the
thousand gold coins buried there by me. When I die, perform proper funeral
rites for me; deposit my bones in some sacred river; go to the city of
Vakrolaka; live there in that city without any apprehensions under the care of
the good king SooryaPrabha along with other people who are happy under his ruler ship”.
He felt thirsty and asked for some water. After swallowing a
few drops of water he died by the pain of the spear struck to his body.
The merchant’s wife took the gold coins buried under the fig
tree as he had said and went to the house of one of the close friends of her
husband along with her daughter. With his help she got the thief‘s body
cremated and deposited his bones in a sacred river.
Then along with her daughter she started for the city of Vakrolaka with hidden
money. Soon they reached the city. She bought a house from a merchant named
VasuDatta and started to live in that house along with her rich daughter.
One day the daughter of the merchant saw that emaciated yet
handsome youth from her house-terrace. She was attracted by him. She remembered
the words of the thief and said to her mother-
“Mother! Look at that handsome young Brahmin youth and
get your eyes bathed in nectar.”
The merchant’s wife understood that her daughter was
attracted by that boy and thought-
‘As per the order of my daughter’s husband, she has to
marry someone or other to get a child. Then why not request this youth?’
She immediately sent a maid to fetch him. The maid took him
to a lonely place and gave him the message of the merchant’s wife (about
wanting to get a child by him).
The pleasure loving youth said to her-
“If your mistress can offer me fiver hundred coins, then
I will spend one night with her.”
The maid reported back to her mistress what the youth
demanded. The merchant’s wife sent the required money through the maid to
ManahSwaamy. He went to the merchant’s daughter’s house as promised and felt
happy by seeing her like a chakora bird by the sight of the moon. He spent the
night happily in her company and left their house in the morning and went away.
Soon the merchant’s daughter became pregnant.
In course of time, she gave birth to a beautiful son. She
was very happy by getting that son. At night when she was sleeping Lord Shiva
appeared in her dream and said-
“Along with thousand golden coins take this child to King
SooryaPrabha’s palace and leave it in a cradle on the threshold and come off.
This will be for your good only.”
The daughter related the dream to her mother in the morning.
They both took the child as ordered by the God to the palace and left him there
at the gate in a cradle along with thousand gold coins.
Lord Shiva appeared in the dream of King SooryaPrabha also
and said-
“King! Get up! Somebody has left a beautiful child in a
cradle along with gold on the threshold of your ‘Lion-Gate’. Quickly take him.”
In the morning the door-keepers informed about the child
left at the gate to the king. The king immediately went there and saw the child
which had the auspicious marks of umbrella and flag on the palms and
under-feet.
‘This is the child given by Lord Shiva’ – so
thinking, the king took the child in his hands himself and went to the harem.
He arranged for great celebrations and on the twelfth day got the child named
ChandraPrabha in an auspicious ceremony.
ChandraPrabha as he grew physically made everyone happy by
developing good qualities also. He soon entered the youthful state; was loved
by all for his valor and learning; became fit enough to bear the burden of the
kingdom.
The old king SooryaPrabha consecrated him on the throne and
went off to Vaaraanasee.
As his son ruled the country in the righteous manner, the
king performed penance vigorously and gave up his life. ChandraPrabha the noble
son of the king heard about the death of the king; performed all the due rites
and said to his ministers-
“I cannot ever do anything to the king to free myself of
the obligation for bringing me up. Yet I would like to do as much as possible
to fulfill my duties towards him. I will take the bones to the River Ganges and deposit them in the river. I will go to Gaya
rice-balls (Pinda) to all my ancestors. In this way I
will be visiting many holy places also.”
The ministers then said to him-
“Lord! You should
not do this now. The kingdom is having many problems. Even a priest can perform
all the rites; the pilgrimage is not going to serve any greater purpose than
caring for the kingdom.
Where is the tour filled with difficulties; where is the
safety of a king’s position?”
ChandraPrabha said-
“Do not stop me from going. I have to do this definitely
for my father’s sake. I should visit the holy places when I can. Who knows what
will happen tomorrow to this ephemeral body? You people take care of the
kingdom till I return.”
The ministers kept silent. The king prepared himself for the
journey.
On an auspicious day, the king took bath; performed the
fire-rites; worshipped the Brahmins; ascended a well-equipped chariot; abstained
from all pleasures; moved slowly; requested with consoling words all the
subordinate kings, princes and people who were following him to return; left
the city along with some Brahmins and the chief priest seated on the chariot
along with him.
He crossed through many lands, getting entertained by the
variety of cultures and languages of various countries. After many days he reached
the banks of River Gangaa who was constructing a staircase to ascend the heaven
for the Jeevas with her rows of constantly rising waves; who descended from the
Himavaan; who had grasped the locks of Lord Shiva being envious of Goddess
Gouri; who was worshipped by hosts of Sages and Gods.
There again he performed holy bath; rites; charity and went
to Vaaraanasee.
He spent three days there; worshiped Lord Shiva and started
towards Gaya .
Crossing over many forests and mountains he reached the place
called ‘Gaya-shira’. There also he offered charity to all the Brahmins;
performed the ‘Shraaddha ceremony’ and offered ‘Pinda’ at the Gaya-well.
Instantly, three human hands extended to receive the ‘Pinda’
offered by him for the
dead father. The king was surprised. He asked the Brahmins
there as to whom he should offer the ‘Pinda’.
They said-
“Lord! One hand seems to belong to a thief for it holds
an iron spike used for digging. The second hand belongs to a Brahmin which
holds the sacred grass; the third one belongs to the king wearing the royal
ring and bears the Kshatriya characteristics. So we do not know to which hand
you should offer the ‘Pinda’.”
The king was not able to decide also.
END
After relating this strange story, Vetaala on his shoulder
asked-
“King! Remember my curse and tell me which hand deserves
the ‘Pinda’?
The King said-
“Vetaala! This king ChandraPrabha was born in the
‘Kshetra (field)’ belonging to the thief. He is the son of the thief only not
any other’s.
He cannot be the son of the Brahmin ManahSwaamy also
because that Brahmin was purchased for one night by offering money.
He would have been the son of King SooryaPrabha because
he brought him up, spent money on him, and educated him but only if he had not
taken the gold coins kept along with the baby in the cradle. King SooryaPrabha
used up the gold coins for such expenses.
He in whose hand his mother was offered;
by whose order ChandraPrabha had his birth;
whose entire money was given to the mother;
by which money the Brahmin’s seed was bought;
that man who rightfully owned the ‘Kshetra’ of the girl;
is the thief and he is the true father of King
ChandraPrabha.
Therefore he alone deserves the Pinda offered by
ChandraPrabha.
{A woman’s womb is considered as the ‘Kshetra’ (‘Field’)
where the seed of the man is sown and the child is born.
A man who takes her hand through proper fire-rites is
usually the owner of the wife’s ‘Kshetra’.
But if a girl or her family pays him any money or material
for his companionship or the ‘seed’ he sows, then he is not considered a
husband and is not the rightful owner of the ‘Kshetra. He does not get the
higher worlds through the so-called son. He is like the Brahmin youth
ManahSwaamy who got paid for his services.
A man who pays instead money or material to the girl, owns
the ‘Kshetra’.
As he cares for her maintenance and the child’s maintenance,
he becomes the true owner of the ‘Kshetra’. He alone gets the higher worlds
through his son born in the ‘Kshetra’ belonging to him.
The thief offered whatever wealth he owned to the girl and
owned that ‘field’. Whoever sows the seed in a field, the owner only gets the
benefit of the crop.
A man who takes care of his wife or child by taking money
from others also is not the owner of the field. He is just a care-taker and has
no rights over the crop. If the king had given off the money in charity or
discarded it, he could have become the true father.
Therefore the thief alone is the rightful receiver of the
‘Pinda’ offered by ChandraPrabha.
{If the justice of King Vikramaaditya is to be trusted, a
man who takes money from either the girl to be married or her family or from
others is not considered as the husband of the girl; nor does the child becomes
his. He is never eligible for the higher worlds ordained for a man through
progeny.}
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