The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of StorySomadeva Bhatta, active 11th century
General
The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
Somadeva Bhatta, active 11th century
Folk literature -- Themes, motives; Hindu mythology; India -- Social life and customs; Tales -- India
The next day, when he was sitting in the hall of assembly accompanied
by his ministers, a certain Bráhman came and cried out at the door;
"Protection for the Bráhmans! O king! certain wicked herdsmen have
cut off my son's foot in the forest without any reason." When he
heard that, the king immediately had two or three herdsmen seized and
brought before him, and proceeded to question them. Then they gave the
following answer; "O king, being herdsmen we roam in the wilderness,
and there we have among us a herdsman named Devasena, and he sits in
a certain place in the forest on a stone seat, and says to us 'I am
your king' and gives us orders. And not a man among us disobeys his
orders. Thus, O king, that herdsman rules supreme in the wood. Now
to-day the son of this Bráhman came that way, and did not do obeisance
to the herdsman king, and when we by the order of the king said to
him--'Depart not without doing thy reverence'--the young fellow pushed
us aside, and went off laughing in spite of the admonition. Then the
herdsman king commanded us to punish the contumacious boy by cutting
off his foot. So we, O king, ran after him, and cut off his foot;
what man of our humble degree is able to disobey the command of a
ruler?" When the herdsmen had made this representation to the king, the
wise Yaugandharáyana, after thinking it over, said to him in private;
"Certainly that place must contain treasure, on the strength of which
a mere herdsman has such influence. [243] So let us go there." When
his minister had said this to him, the king made those herdsmen shew
him the way, and went to that place in the forest with his soldiers
and his attendants.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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