Madhumalati
Page 16
Only he can dream, O Pemā,
whose eyes can rest happily in sleep.
Since she revealed herself in a dream and left, sleep has disappeared from my eyes.
Please help me now, for God’s sake, so that my life’s breath can return to my body.
244. ‘Tell me now the sweet tale I ask for,
for its rasa would revive this dying man.
Where is she who is as dear to me
as life itself? How do you know her?
Today, O Pemā, is an auspicious day,
for today I shall hear news of Madhumālatī.
Advise me how I can meet that girl,
whose virtues are my daily rosary.
O God, when will that day come
when I shall see that matchless moon-face?
As Lakmaa was struck by the mighty lance, so I am filled with separation’s pain.
O Pemā, you must be my Hanumān, and find for me the life-restoring herb!’*
245. As he spoke, he began to faint,
but then he remembered where he was
and his strength returned of its own accord.
One moment he was aware,
and the next, restless and unaware.
What victim of love can restrain himself?
He put his head on her feet and wept,
and the water from his eyes
washed that moon-faced maiden’s feet.
‘O Lord,’ she said, ‘giver of life
to the triple world, why do you not
let him meet the one whom he loves?
Since you have brought such a Prince
into the world, O Master, do not
give him the agony of separation!
Let them suffer all other sorrows as they occur in the world around,
only, O God, do not give these young lovers the pain of separation!’
246. That excellent maiden, full of virtue and beauty,
began then to recount a tale sweet as nectar.
‘O Prince,’ she said, ‘Become conscious now
and listen carefully to this nectar-sweet tale.
Vikram Rāi is the King of Mahāras.
His power extends ten thousand leagues.
In his house is a maiden daughter,
the matchless light of the three worlds.
The sun and moon do not rival her beauty.
I do not have wit enough, O Prince,
to describe even the reflection of her beauty.
Her auspicious beauty is like an ocean whose limits cannot be conceived.
How can my poor and helpless tongue hope to traverse this sea?
247. ‘Listen to another pleasing thing:
Madhumālatī is like a sister to me.
We have known each other from the time
when we were children in our mothers’ laps.
One day her mother was standing
with a girl-child held in her arms,
and ten handmaidens stood around them.
My mother’s glance fell on them.
She saw a group of several women
and apprehension grew within her heart.
One of them was foremost in beauty and virtue; on her brow shone the line of fortune.
She held in her embrace a girl who was like the incarnation of a heavenly nymph.
248. ‘My mother gathered up her courage to greet her
and bowed her head low to the ground.
Then my mother entreated softly,
“Come and sit down by me, O best of women!
I feel extreme shyness and cannot speak,
but sit down by me and I shall serve you.”
When she saw my mother’s good nature,
she knelt down on one foot and then sat down.
Sitting there the two embraced closely
and swore to be as sisters to each other.
My mother anointed her with catursama paste,* and dressed her in a new sari.
Glad songs were sung throughout the city, and kettledrums beaten in every house.
249. ‘Then my mother asked her thus:
“My sister, swear to God to tell the truth.
I see on you all the signs of royalty,
and my mind is confused and amazed.
Tell me your name and where you are from.
Of which royal family are you the Queen?
Are you a gandharva,* goddess, or nymph?
Or have you been created in mortal form?
Enlighten me about the skill by which
you are able to fly, now here, now there.
Since you have come here, and we have recognized our mutual love and affection,
I shall preserve this love between us, O beautiful one, even to the end of my life!”
250. ‘That excellent maiden spoke then,
in slow words, sweet and tender.
She said, “My city is Mahāras, its king,
Vikram Rāi, protector of the earth!
He is a great king of the gandharvas,
endowed with virtue, power, and might.
I am his wife, Rūpamañjarī,
blessed by fortune with beauty and goodness.
The child that you see in my embrace
is the greatest fruit of my life.
Now that such love has been born in my heart for you, I shall come
on the second day of every month, to meet you and to renew our affection.”
251. ‘Until now she has fulfilled her promise,
and she comes to our house
each month on the second day.
In one year, that excellent lady
comes twelve times to our house.
And the Princess Madhumālatī
always accompanies her mother.
O Prince, if you go to Citbisarāiu,
go to our house and mention me.
My brother and sister, father and mother,
all will serve you and love you devotedly.
If they hear news of me, they will listen compassionately to your tale of grief.
They will arrange for you to meet Madhumālatī, think of this as my own word to you!
252. ‘All my girlfriends and companions
will be most attentive to your need.
All my family and relations
will help you as much as they can.
The love between you is long established
and you have made promises to each other.
Just as you suffer the pangs of separation,
so too will she be suffering in her body.
Nobody will know anything, not even a whisper,
and you will spontaneously win
Madhu, the object of your deepest love.
Since the love between you is old and true, here is my advice for you:
go from here to my homeland, and there you will find your soul-mate.’
The Prince’s Resolve
253. When the Prince heard this story
of love, full of the sweetest nectar,
his body turned pale yellow.
He paled at the mention of his beloved,
but his soul remained with him.
His sad face, full of despair,
blossomed like a lotus as he listened.
As he understood more and more,
he rejoiced gladly in his heart.
For sheer happiness, his heart
could not be contained in his body.
He had been unhappy with separation’s pain,
but now he thrilled to hear his darling’s name.
As the lotus and the lily blossom in the light of the sun and the moon,
just so the Prince’s heart exulted with love, when he heard this nectar-sweet tale.
254. His heart exulted, his mind rejoiced,
like the lotus and the water-lily open
to the sun’s radiance and the moonlight.
‘Listen, O Princess,’ said the Prince,
‘From now, I vow to regard you as a sister.
&
nbsp; You have given me good counsel
and sustained me, now I will be kind to you.
I was without hope, my existence was lifeless,
and you sprinkled nectar and revived me.
How can I go and leave you like this?
How can I abandon you to save myself?
I know that your family would hurry out to welcome me with all homage,
but merely to tell them your message would be a stain on my family’s honour.’
255. Hearing the Prince’s words, Pemā was moved,
and her lotus eyes filled with tears.
She laid her head on the ground and cried.
Such was her grief that she wished to die.
Heaving a deep sigh, she said,
‘O Prince, abandon hope for me.
Do not destroy yourself for my sake,
but do as I have advised you.
Whatever happiness I have granted you,
take it and go forward on your path.
Do not throw away your life in vain!
There is no hope of salvation for me while I live, O Prince!
Do not destroy yourself in vain, for the sake of saving my life.
256. ‘Do not be anxious about me, O Prince,
but go and taste your own promised fruit.
I am dying through my own luck,
do not, O Prince, die for my sake!
I am a maiden in a demon’s clutches.
Who else but God could rescue me?
Even if we were to go a thousand kosas,
and hide ourselves inside the earth,
in the twinkling of an eye he would come
and wipe all trace of us from the world.
For one, my heart was always grieving before this at my own distress.
Now that I have heard your sorrow, my grief has doubled all the more.’
257. Hear now the brave words which the Prince
happily spoke to the beautiful maiden.
‘If God grant me victory,
I shall kill this demon and rescue you.
Banish fear from your heart, O maiden,
for I am a demon-slayer of the line of Raghu.
Pemā, if I do not protect women and cows,
my mother’s family will be dishonoured.
If I leave you and run away now,
even death will not be able to wash away
the shameful stain on my family’s honour.
If I run away and abandon you for fear of this demon, O Pemā!
I shall earn disgrace for the rest of my life, and stain my family name.
258. ‘Why do you frighten me with this demon?
Why scatter ashes to make me afraid of fire?
What can the demon dare to do to me?
He is like a worm who will die easily
when he comes into the light.
Just you see how I take his life,
and destroy him in an instant!
I shall raise fire with the brilliant edge
of my sword, and blow away the demon
in clouds of wind and smoke.
If a warrior flees at the moment of danger,
he brings disgrace to his family
and his mother is ashamed of him.
Except for the truth, O Pemā, nothing is immortal in this Kali age!
If I abandoned you and fled, I would shame my family’s name.
259. ‘You have taken Madhumālatī’s name,
so how can I leave you and go?
O excellent maiden, just you see what I can do
when I recall my love for Madhumālatī.
O best of women, through faith in my beloved
I can do things I never could accomplish.
In one blow I shall fell him to the ground,
and cut him up into many pieces.
See how I let flow a river of blood,
and satisfy the jackals and vultures with his flesh!
If God gives me victory over the demon, then there will be celebrations.
If not, then I shall take Madhumālatī’s name, and care not whether I live or die!’
260. When the Prince had spoken these brave words,
Pemā’s heart was set at ease.
The two, absorbed in pleasant talk, forgot
that the time for the demon’s return drew near.
Then Pemā said, ‘Listen, O Prince,
be alert now, for this is the time
when the demon returns every day.’
Hearing this he became very frightened and said,
‘I have no weapons, how can I slay the foe?’
Pemā responded, ‘Have no fear!
Take courage, for I will give you weapons.’
When he heard about the arms, the Prince rejoiced in his heart and asked,
‘Where did you get these weapons? Tell me everything about them!’
261. Pemā responded, ‘I’ll tell you all
about the weapons, since you ask!
These weapons which I have here
belonged to the men whom the demon ate.’
She brought before him all the arms,
and the Prince selected those he liked.
He made ready the weapons he needed:
swords and spears, lances and daggers.
He was fearless because separation’s essence
had entered his soul, and because he had on
the guise of a Gorakhnāthī ascetic.
Smearing himself with separation’s ashes, the Prince looked like Death embodied.
Now he could destroy all the three worlds, not just this wretch of a demon!
The Demon
262. When the Prince looked in all directions,
he saw signs of the demon towards the south.
He came flying between heaven and earth,
and stopped over Pemā’s pavilion.
His form was fearsome, his nature grotesque.
Both his feet were on the earth, and yet
his head reached all the way to the heavens.
The demon’s form appeared like dark clouds
lowering in the sky in the rainy month of Sāvan.*
Five heads he had, and ten mighty arms,
and his ten eyes shone like stars in the sky.
The lines of his teeth looked like white gourd-melons* put together and set in place.
His colour was black and frightening, and on seeing him, the soul was afraid.
263. When the demon saw the Prince standing there,
he blazed with anger from head to foot.
He laughed and said, ‘Who are you?
What is your name? Has Death
already seized you, that you come here?
Death is here, and hovers over your head.
Your bad luck has brought you to this pavilion.
Are you so annoyed with your life?
Or has Death come to plunder your house?
Has your life’s span reached its end?
Have you received a summons from Yama’s mouth?
O mortal, you are edible, a meal which the Creator has provided for me.
Your death draws nearer to you—I have found my favoured food!’
264. Pemā prostrated herself in the pavilion.
With joined hands, she entreated Hari.
The maiden prayed, her head on the ground,
‘O merciful Lord, grant victory to the Prince!
You give joy to the three worlds, O God.
Whom could I beseech except for you?
Do not snatch my hopes from me.
The Prince has only your protection, Lord!
I can only be courageous and do my duty,
but ultimate success is in your hands alone!
O Lord, you alone grant salvation and freedom, you are the hope of those in despair.
The earth, the heavens, and the nether world—all of Creation prays to you.’
265. When the Prince heard the demon’s words,
his whole body burned with
fury.
He said, ‘Stop bragging, demon!
It is your death that draws near now.
I shall kill you and take Pemā from here.
Then I shall be truly called a member
of the illustrious dynasty of Raghu.
Now is my manliness aroused.
Do not take deluded pride
in the size of your huge body!
I will wrench out all your ten arms,
and hack off your five heads
and throw them into the dust.
I am a spark from the fire of Raghu’s line, and you are a mound of cotton.
In an instant I shall burn you to ashes, if the Creator so desires.’
The Battle
266. When the demon heard these venomous words,
his ten eyes blazed red with rage.
The more he heard, the more he burned
with anger, and when he shouted out loud
it seemed the heavens were thundering.
The demon pounced on the Prince, saying,
‘I shall tear you up, living as you are,
and scatter the pieces in all ten directions.’
But as he jumped, the Prince drew his sword
and cut off a head and two of his arms.
The demon bowed down, picked up arms and head,
and flew up in the sky roaring with laughter.
In an instant, he had affixed his head and arms on his body,
and came down and stood ready to face the Prince in battle.
267. The Prince heard the demon coming.
He became alert and took up his bow.
When he looked carefully at the demon,
he saw that his heads and arms were intact.
The demon saw the bow and arrows
and did not approach the Prince.
From a distance he displayed his magic power.
Putting on a magical form the demon drew near,
saying, ‘Now I am going to eat you alive!’
He opened his maw, terrifying to behold,
and ran forward towards the Prince.
The Prince set arrow to bow and fired.
Just as the demon reached the Prince, the arrow struck him in his heart.
When the arrow hit, the demon became invisible, and fled roaring into the sky.
268. So the day passed and night fell.
The Prince had neither won the battle,
nor had the demon been slain.
Then the demon grew restless with hunger,
and said, ‘You and I will fight tomorrow.’
As night fell the demon left in search of food.
Pemā came then to the Prince and spoke:
‘O Prince, there was something I forgot to say.
Hear now how the demon can be killed.
I was not able to tell you before,
but I know how to slay the demon.
Though the three worlds should combine, still they would not be able to kill him.