115.

Su-prabha continues her story to Nabhaga—That Pramati reduced Nala to ashes, and, on Su-deva’s imploring pardon, mitigated the curse on Su-deva, with the promise that he should regain his kshatriya-hood—Also that she had been the daughter of the royal rishi Su-ratha, and had heen cursed hy Agastya to he born a vaishya women temporarily. 

Markandeya spoke:

1 After imprecating the curse on him then, Pramati, the descendant of Bhrigu, enraged and burning up, as it were, the three worlds by reason of his wrath, spoke to Nala, O dvija;- 

2 “Inasmuch as thou. Sir, intoxicated with lust, forcibly seizest my wife here in my hermitage, become thou therefor ashes 

3 forthwith.” And then immediately as he uttered that speech, Kala, consumed hy the fire that sprang from the rishi’s body, became forthwith a heap of ashes. 

4       On seeing that rishi’s power then Su-deva sobered thereat, bending himself in reverence, said thus— “Grant pardon!

5 grant pardon! Let that which I have spoken,* adorable sir, a thing disordered by reason of intoxication through drinking spirituous liquor, be pardoned; be thou gracious; let this

* For yad uktavams tvam,iead. yad uktavams tvam as in the Poona edition, and the commentator says aham must be understood. 

6 curse be turned aside!” Being thus propitiated by him, Pramati, the descendant of Bhrigu, whose anger had passed off when Nala was burnt up, replied with mind devoid of strong 

7 feeling; — “The word which I have uttered shall not be otherwise nevertheless being gracious I will do thee a supreme favour.

8 Thou, sir, shalt be a vaishya by race— of this there can be no doubt; thou, a kshatriya, shalt be a vaishya  soon in the very

9 next birth. When a kshatriya’s son shall seize thy daughter by force, thou being seized by one of thy own race shalt then

10 become † a kshatriya again, O vaishya.” Thus that Su-deva as a vaishya became my father, O king. 

† For bhavishyati read bhavishyasi, 

11 Hear also, illustrious sir, all the story †† who I am. There was of yore a royal rishi named Su-ratha on mount Gandhamadana, who practised austerities, restricted his food, abandoned 

†† For tvat-sarvam read tat sarvam. 

3p12 worldly associations, and abode in the forest. On his seeing then a maina § fallen from a hawk’s beak to the ground, compassion sprang up within that high-souled rishi, 

§ Sharika, a bird. 

13 and he swooned therewith; then when the swoon passed off, I was produced from his body, and seeing me he took me with

14 a loving mind. “Because she has been born from me, while I was overcome with compassion, she shall therefore be known by

15 the name Kripa-vati” || —so said he, my lord. Thereafter growing up in his hermitage, I used to wander day and night througli the woods also with my girl-companions of the same

||“Full of compassion.”

16 age. Then the muni Agastya’s brother, who was known as A’gastya,* while seeking for forest-products in the forest,

* Or Agastya. 

17 was angered by my girl-companions and cursed me; and I said — “No offence haye I committed against thee, O best of dvijas; why because of an offence by other girls hast thou cursed me ?” 

The rishi spoke:

18 “By reason of contact with the bad even that which is not bad becomes bad, just as a jar containing the five substances obtained from cows † becomes spoilt if a drop of spirituous 

† Milk, cheese, butter, urine and dung. 

19 liquor falls into it. Since tho a hast fallen prostrate and propitiated me hy declaring ‘I am not bad,’ hear therefore what††

†† For shrinuyat read shrinu yat, as in the Poona edition. 

20 favour I will do to thee, O maiden. When, being born in   a  vaishya  family, thou shalt admonish thy husband § to undertake kingly rule, thou shalt then fully recover the remembrance

§ Tvam putram, “thou shalt admonish thy son, &c.,” is the reading in the Calcutta and Poona editions, but the latter in its Corrigenda alters it to svapatim, and I have followed this. 

21 of this existence; and thou shalt resume thy kshatriya caste along with thy husband and shalt obtain heavenly pleasures. Go now, let fear depart from thee!” 

22 Thus was I cursed formerly by that great; O king of kings; and my father was thus cursed by Pramati formerly.

23 So thou art not a vaishya, O king; nor was my father a vaishya ; nor indeed am I; || how dost thou, who art not degraded, become degraded in marrying me who am not degraded ? 

|| Na tvam hi is the reading in the editions, but is incorrect. I venture to amend it to na tv aham, and have translated it accordingly. Another emendation is to read sa for na, and then the meaning of these and the following words would be— “How indeed dost thou, who art such and who art undegraded, become degraded in marrying me who am undegraded?”