The Baitâl Pachchisi: The Twenty-Five Tales of a Sprite by John Platts & Duncan Forbes

Author:John Platts & Duncan Forbes [Platts, John & Forbes, Duncan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Moral, Stories, India, Classic
ISBN: 9789354545696
Google: JShwzgEACAAJ
Amazon: 9354545696
Barnesnoble: 9354545696
Publisher: Vibhatsu
Published: 2021-05-01T18:30:00+00:00

TALE 11

Why Did The Minister Die?

The sprite said, “Your majesty! there is a city named Punyapur, the king of which was named Ballabh, and his minister’s name was Satyaprakash, (and) the name of the minister’s wife was Lakshmi. One day the king said to his minister, ‘If one who is a king does not enjoy himself with beautiful women, his holding sovereignty is in vain.’ Having said this, and made over the burthen of government to the minister, he himself gladly entered upon a course of amorous pleasures. He abandoned all cares of the state, and commenced spending his days and nights in enjoyment.”

“It so happened that, one day, the minister was sitting dejected at home, when his wife asked him, ‘Husband! you seem to me to be very weak?’ He replied, saying, ‘Night and day the cares of government weigh heavily on me, and hence my body has become feeble; while the king is the whole day long occupied with his own pleasures and enjoyment.’ The minister’s wife said, ‘O husband! you have carried on the government for a long time, now take leave of the king, and undertake a pilgrimage for few days.’”

“He remained silent on hearing this speech of hers. Afterwards, when he stirred out (lit. when he rose thence), he went to the king at the time of his holding a court, and, obtaining his permission to go, set out on a pilgrimage. Journeying on, he reached Setband Rãmeshwar, * on the sea-coast. As soon as he arrived there, he visited the shrine of Mahãdeva, and came out (of the temple), when, his gaze happening to stray towards the sea, what does he behold, but a (marvellous) tree of gold come up out of it, the leaves of which were emeralds, the blossoms topazes, the fruits corals,—it presented a most beautiful sight! And seated on the tree was a very beautiful woman, holding a lute in her hands, and singing in most soft and sweet strains. After a few minutes the tree disappeared in the ocean.”

* etband (from the Sanskrit setu-bandha) signifies a dike or bridge, and is applied to the ridge of rooks between the Coromandel coast and Ceylon. This dike or bridge is said to have been built by the allies of Rama (i.e., the monkey army under the leadership of Hanuman), when he invaded Ceylon to recover his wife Sltã, who had been carried off thither by Bãvan. It is said that, as fast as the monkeys built up the dike, Bãvan destroyed it; so, to prevent his doing this, Bãma erected a temple to Shiva (the god adored by Bavan) at the extremity of the dike. Thenceforth Setband Rãmeshwar became a place of pilgrimage.

“After beholding this spectacle there, the minister turned back and came to his own city, and, proceeding to the king, made obeisance, and joining his hands, said, ‘Your Majesty! I have witnessed a marvellous sight!’ The monarch said, ‘Describe it.’ The minister said, ‘Your majesty! men of olden time

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.