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22The MagicianAndTheDeadYouth
Somdev Bhatt 11th Century. Original in
Sanskrit.
English Translation: C. A. KINCAID, c. v. o.
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| Background. "Vikram Aur
Betaal" is a series of enchanting tales derived from the
11th-century work 'Betaal Pachisi' by Kashmiri poet Somdev Bhatt. The
narrative follows the wise and adventurous King Vikramaditya of Ujjain.
When a mendicant consistently gifts him fruits containing rubies, the
king's curiosity is piqued. Meeting the mendicant under specific, eerie
conditions, Vikramaditya learns of a task only he can perform: to
retrieve a corpse, Betaal, from an ancient tree for the mendicant's
mystical rituals. As King Vikramaditya carries the corpse, Betaal's spirit tells him tales, concluding each with a riddle. If Vikramaditya knows the answer but stays silent, his head will shatter. But answering breaks his vow, and Betaal returns to the tree, making the king restart his mission. After 25 stories, Betaal reveals the mendicant's ulterior motive: to gain unparalleled powers by sacrificing the king. Forewarned by Betaal, Vikramaditya confronts the mendicant and, through his wit, triumphs over the deceitful ascetic. |
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THE TWENTY-SECOND TALE THE MAGICIAN AND THE DEAD YOUTH
ONCE upon a time a king named Vidagadha lived in Vishvapur city. In it
also lived a Brahman called Narayan. One day he thought to himself, "My
body is old. It will be a good thing to abandon my old body and enter
some young man's body." For, he had learnt how to do this. When the
chance came he did so. Then he wept and then he laughed. Then in his new
body he returned home. He said to his friends who knew his skill as a
magician, "I have now become an anchorite. He who turns his mind into a
corpse by the fire of austerities upon the shores of the lake of hope
and at the same time cools his limbs, he is the skilled anchorite. For
the state of men who live in this world is as follows:
The body is wasted, the hair is gray;
The face falls in and the teeth decay;
Man takes a stick to support his frame
But hope in his heart rules just the same.
Evening falls when the day is dead.
When night is over the dawn glows red,
Grow the days to weeks, the weeks to years,
And childhood goes with its smiles and tears.
On the heels of youth Old Age comes fast
And Death, grim Death, claims all at last." "
But as no one knows who he himself is, or who others are, why should any
look for another?
The Magician and the dead Youth 137
In the end all go and none remains. The body, the mind, the love
of this world are all false roads. The wise guards himself against them.
He puts aside hope and ambition, and taking a stick in his hand, becomes
an ascetic. He puts aside love and anger, greed, intoxication and envy
and spends the rest of his life in visiting the sacred places. Thus he
attains salvation. This world is as false as a dream. Why, therefore,
like anything in it or set your heart upon it? Just as the rind of the
plantain has no sweetness, so there is no sweetness in this world. Those
who take pride in their riches, their youth or their learning are fools.
So too are those anchorites who wandering with a staff in their hands
grow fast by begging milk and sweetmeats
and smile on women. For they vainly exchange an imperishable for
a perishable happiness. I am now going to make a pilgrimage to the
various shrines of India." When his relatives heard this pious
discourse, they were greatly edified.
At this point the oilman's son said, "King Vikrama, why did the man
first weep and then laugh?" " Because," answered King Vikrama, "he
remembered the sports of his childhood and the joys of his youth and he
wept because he was leaving a body in which he had lived so long and
which he had grown to love. Then when he saw that by his own unaided
skill he had won for himself a new body, he laughed with pleasure.
When the king had finished speaking, he saw that he was alone. He saw
that he had again broken his promise. He returned to the burning
138. Tales of King Vikrama
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