Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore
General
Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore
Folklore -- Russia
To the hero's adventures while with the Water King,
and while escaping from him, an important parallel is
offered by the end of the already mentioned (at p. 92)
Indian story of Sringabhuja. That prince asks
Agnisikha, the Rákshasa whom, in his crane-form, he
has wounded, to bestow upon him the hand of his
daughter--the maiden who had met him on his arrival at
the Rákshasa's palace. The demon pretends to consent,
but only on condition that the prince is able to pick
out his love from among her numerous sisters. This
Sringabhuja is able to do in spite of all the demon's
daughters being exactly alike, as she has told him
beforehand she will wear her pearls on her brow
instead of round her neck. Her father will not remark
the change, she says, for being of the demon race, he
is not very sharp witted. The Rákshasa next sets the
prince two of the usual tasks. He is to plough a great
field, and sow a hundred bushels of corn. When this,
by the daughter's help, is done, he is told to gather
up the seed again. This also the demon's daughter does
for him, sending to his aid a countless swarm of ants.
Lastly he is commanded to visit the demon's brother
and invite him to the wedding. He does so, and is
pursued by the invited guest, from whom he escapes
only by throwing behind him earth, water, thorns, and
lastly fire, with all of which he has been provided by
his love. They produce corresponding obstacles which
enable him to get away from the uncle of his bride.
The demon now believes that his proposed son-in-law
must be a god in disguise, so he gives his consent to
the marriage. All goes well for a time, but at last
the prince wants to go home, so he and his wife fly
from her father's palace. Agnisikha pursues them. She
makes her husband invisible, while she assumes the
form of a woodman. Up comes her angry sire, and asks
for news of the fugitives. She replies she has seen
none, her eyes being full of tears caused by the death
of the Rákshasa prince Agnisikha. The slow-witted
demon immediately flies home to find out whether he is
really dead. Discovering that he is not, he renews the
pursuit. Again his daughter renders her husband
invisible, and assumes the form of a messenger
carrying a letter. When her father arrives and repeats
his question, she says she has seen no one: she is
going with a letter to his brother from Agnisikha, who
has just been mortally wounded. Back again home flies
the demon in great distress, anxious to find out
whether he has really been wounded to death or not.
After settling this question, he leaves his daughter
and her husband in peace. See Professor Brockhaus in
the "Berichte der phil. hist. Classe der K. Sächs.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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