70 - About the Auttana Manv-antara.

 This should be Auttama, see page 419, note *. 

King Uttama finds the brahman's wife in the forest and is courteously received by the Rakshasa, who says he carried her off in order to impair the brahman's religious merit.—At the king's request the Rakshasa consumes her evil disposition and restores her to her husband. 

Markandeya spoke:

1 Then the king prostrated himself before the great muni, and mounted his chariot, and went to the forest Utpalavata

2 mentioned by him. And the king saw † the brahman's wife, in appearance such as her husband described her, eating the

† For dadarsa read dadarsha.

3 fruit of the bel tree; †† and asked—” How didst thou come to this forest, lady? tell me plainly; art thou tlie wife of Su-sharman Vaishali? * 

†† Shri-'phala, the fruit of the bilva or vilva tree, Egle marmelos, and also the tree itself. It is a pretty large tree, a native of the monntainons parts of the East coast, and also found in the low lands; its fruit is considered” nutritious, warm, cathartic; in taste delicious; in fragrance exquisite”— Roxburgh's Flora Indica, vol II. 579-80. See page 25 note *; but I have made an error there in assigning the name bel-phul to this tree. Bel-phul is the name of the double Arabian jasmine, Jasminum Zambac, Roxb. (I. 88) or J. Samiac, Oliver. This jasmine is a shrub with delightfully fragrant white flowers, and is in common cultivation. Its Sanskrit name is mallika, and also saptala; and bel-phul is the common modern name both for the flower and for the plant itself. It has unmerons other vernacular names, and Roxbnrgh says bela is one of them, but this seems doubtful. 

* Son of Visala; see next verse.

The brahman woman spoke:

4 I am daughter of the brahman Ati-ratra, who dwells in the forest, and wife of Vishala'a son whose name thou hast uttered.

5 Being such, I was carried off by the evil-minded Rakshasa Valaka, while asleep at the extremity of my house, and parted

 6 from ray brothers and mother. May that Rakshasa become ashes, by whom I have been parted thus from my mother, brothers and other relatives! Here I remain in great affliction.

 7 Bringing me to this very dense forest he has cast me off. I know not what is the reason he neither has intercourse with me nor devours me. 

The king spoke:

8 Perchance thou knowest, where has the Rakshasa gone after leaving thee? I have been sent here by thy husband indeed, brahman lady. 

The brahman woman spoke:

9 The night-stalking demon stands at the edge of this very forest. Enter and see him. Sir, if thou dost not fear him.

Markandeya spoke:

10 Then he entered by the path that she showed, and saw the

11 Rakshasa attended by his retinue. Then the Rakshasa hurrying, the moment he saw him, touching the earth with his head from afar indeed, approached his feet. 

The Rakshasa spoke:

12 Thou hast done me great favour in that thou hast come to my abode here. Give me thy command. What shall I do,

13 such as [ am here? I dwell within thy country. Accept thou this arghya offering, and let this seat be placed for thee. We are servants, thou. Sir, art master; command me firmly. 

The king spoke:

14 Thou hast done everything-, even every rite due to a guest. * Why hast thou brought the brahman's wife here, O night

* There appears to be a mistake in tMs line, read kritavan eva tvam instead of kritam eva tvaya? or else sarvd evdtithi-kriyah for sarvam evatithi-kriyam? unless krita-van is anderetood in the second half of the line. 

15 stalker? She is not comely; there are others comely, if thou didst carry her off for a wife; if to devour her, why hast thou not eaten her? Tell me this. 

The Rakshasa spoke:

16 We do not feed on men; such are other Rakshasas, But we eat the fruit that springs from a good deed, O king; and we

 17 consume the natural disposition of men and women, being treated with disrespect, and yet honoured; we are not eaters

18 of living creatures. When we have eaten the patience of men, they become enraged; and when we have eaten their

 19 evil nature, they also become virtuous. We have Rakshasis who are fascinating, rivalling the Apsarases in beauty, O king; while they are with us, how should we delight in the females of mankind? 

The king spoke:

20 If she is not for sensual enjoyment nor for food, O night roamer, why then didst thou enter the brahman's house and carry her off? 

The Rakshasa spoke:

21 That excellent brahman, learned in spells, keeps on expelling me, when I go to sacrifice after sacrifice, by uttering spells that

22 destroy Rakshasas, O king. By reason of his spells and expulsive rites we were a-hungered; where shall we go? that

23 brahman† is the priest at every sacrifice. Therefore we inflicted this damage †† on him; without a wife a man becomes unfit to perform sacrifices. 

†Dvijah seems preferable to dvija. 

†† Vaikalyam,” impaired or mutilated condition.”

Markandeya spoke:

24 At his announcement of the high-minded brahman's impaired condition the king became exceedingly dejected then,

25 thinking” While ho speaks of the brahman's impaired condition, it is me indeed he censnres. That best of munis also

 26 said I was unworthy of the argha offering. As the Rakshasa also has spoken to me of that brahman's impaired condition, I heing in like plight am placed in a great strait, because I am wifeless.” 

Markandeya spoke:

27 While he thus thought, O muni, the Rakshasa spoke again to the king, bowing in obeisance and placing his hands to- 

28 gather respectfully—” O king, favour with thy command me, thy servant, prostrate before thee*, a dweller within thy realm.” 

* For tvam read tvam? 

The king spoke:

29 Since thou hast said, O night-roamer— “We feed on a, person's disposition,” hear then from me what deed we solicit.

30 Do thou consume this brihman woman's evil disposition this day; since she will have her evil disposition eaten by thee,

31 she may then become good in behaviour. Take her to his house whose wife she is, O night-roamer. When this is done, thou hast done all for me who am come as a guest to thy house. 

Markandeya spoke:

32 Thereupon the Rakshasa, entering within her though his own faculty of illusion, devoured her evil disposition by his

33 own power at the king's command. Being rid entirely of that very violent evil disposition that brahman's wife said

34 to the king—” By the maturing of the fruit of my own actions I was separated from that magnanimous man, my husband; this night-roaming demon was the cause thereof.

35 He is not in fault, nor that magnanimous vian, my husband; mine in truth was the fault, no one else's. A good deed is 

36 verily enjoyed. In some former life I separated myself from some husband; that same separation † has been encountered  again even by me. * What fault is there in this magnanimous man?” 

† Or perhaps dosha,” fault,” should be understood. 

* Or perhaps for maydpy-upagatah we should read mayy-apy-upagaiah

The Rakshasa spoke:

37 I will cause her to reach her husband's house at thy command, my lord. Enjoin me whatever else should be done for thee, O king 

The king spoke:

38 When this is done, thou hast done all for me, nightroamer. And thou must come, O hero, at the time of action when I recall thee to mind, †

† For ch'a te read tvaya, in order to make a pronoun agreeing with smritena? See canto lxxii, verses 15 and 16.

Markandeya spoke:

39 “So be it!” then quoth the Rakshasa, and taking the brahman woman conveyed her, purified then by the removal of her evil disposition, to her husband's house.