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
wealth; so forsake this pauper, do not ruin yourself." When she heard
this speech of her mother's, Rúpiniká said in a rage, "Do not talk
in this way, for I love him more than my life. And as for wealth,
I have plenty, what do I want with more? So you must not speak to
me again, mother, in this way." When she heard this, Makaradanshtrá
was in a rage, and she remained thinking over some device for getting
rid of this Lohajangha. Then she saw coming along the road a certain
Rájpút, who had spent all his wealth, surrounded by retainers with
swords in their hands. So she went up to him quickly and taking him
aside, said--"My house is beset by a certain poor lover. So come there
yourself to-day, and take such order with him that he shall depart from
my house, and do you possess my daughter." "Agreed," said the Rájpút,
and entered that house. At that precise moment Rúpiniká was in the
temple, and Lohajangha meanwhile was absent somewhere, and suspecting
nothing, he returned to the house a moment afterwards. Immediately
the retainers of the Rájpút ran upon him, and gave him severe kicks
and blows on all his limbs, and then they threw him into a ditch full
of all kinds of impurities, and Lohajangha with difficulty escaped
from it. Then Rúpiniká returned to the house, and when she heard
what had taken place, she was distracted with grief, so the Rájpút,
seeing that, returned as he came.
Lohajangha, after suffering this brutal outrage by the machinations
of the kuttiní, set out for some holy place of pilgrimage, in order to
leave his life there, now that he was separated from his beloved. As he
was going along in the wild country, [166] with his heart burning with
anger against the kuttiní, and his skin with the heat of the summer,
he longed for shade. Not being able to find a tree, he lighted on
the body of an elephant, which had been stripped of all its flesh
[167] by jackals making their way into it by the hind-quarters;
accordingly Lohajangha being worn out crept into this carcase, which
was a mere shell, as only the skin remained, and went to sleep in
it, as it was kept cool by the breeze which freely entered. Then
suddenly clouds arose from all sides, and began to pour down a
pelting shower of rain; that rain made the elephant's skin contract
so that no aperture was left, and immediately a copious inundation
came that way, and carrying off the elephant's hide swept it into
the Ganges; so eventually the inundation bore it into the sea. And
there a bird of the race of Garuda saw that hide, and supposing it
to be carrion, took it to the other side of the sea; there it tore
open the elephant's hide with its claws, and, seeing that there was
a man inside it, fled away. But Lohajangha was awaked by the bird's
pecking and scratching, and came out through the aperture made by
its beak. And finding that he was on the other side of the sea,
he was astonished, and looked upon the whole thing as a day-dream;
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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