134 - Dama's exploits.

Canto cxxxv in the Calcutta edition.

Dama returned home triumphant—Narishyanta transferred the kingdom to him and retired, with his queen Indra-sena to the forest.

The defeated prince Vapush-mat met him there, and in revenge killed him—Indra-sena sent tidings to Dama that he should punish the murderer. 

Markandeya spoke:

1 Thus the prince gained her, Sumana, as his wife, O most great muni, and prostrated himself* at his father's and

* Pranamya sa is the reading, but prananama would be better.

2 mother's feet; and she, beautiful-browed Sumana, bowed then before her parents-in-law. And they were both welcomed then

3 with blessings by them both. And a great festival was held in Narishyanta's city itself, since Dama had both married a 

4 wife and arrived from the city of the king of Dasarna. On hearing that he was thus connected by marriage with the lord of Dasarna and that the kings were defeated, king Narishyanta 

5 rejoiced with his son. And Dama, son of the great king, sported

with Sumana amidst choice gardens and woodland spots, in palaces and on the summits of hills. 

6 Now after a long time Sumana, daughter of the king of

7 Dasarna, while sporting with Dama conceived a child. And king Narishyanta, who had enjoyed enjoyments as lord of the earth, reached his declining years, and anointing Dama to the

8 kingdom departed to the forest; and his wife Indra-sena also went as a female ascetic. He dwelt there according to the ordinance of vana-prasthas. †

† For vanaprastha read vanaprastha.  

9 Sankrandana's son Vapush-mat, king of the Southern region, most evil in conduct, went to the forest to kill deer, with a small

10 body of followers. He saw Narishyanta as an ascetic dirty and mud-covered, and his wife Indra-sena most extremely 

11 weakened by austerities, and asked, —"Who art thou, a brahman, or a forest-wandering kshatriya, or a vaisya who has

12 reached the vana-prastha stage? †† Tell me! “The king, being under a rule of silence, gave him no answer at all then; and Indra-sena told him all that truly.

†† For vanaprastham read vanaprasthyam?

Markandeya spoke:

13 And on knowing that Narishyanta was his enemy' s father, Vapush-mat exclaiming " I have got him! " both

14 seized him angrily by his matted locks and, while Indra-sena bewailed " Alas! Alas! " with sobbing voice, drew forth his sword angrily and spoke this word, - 

15     "I will seize the father of that Dama, who defeated me in battle and who carried Sumana off from me; let Dama protect

16 him! I will kill the father of that evil-minded man, who cast off all the princes that had assembled for the maiden's sake.

17 Let that Dama, who evil-soaled naturally domineers in battles, prevent it; such as I am here, I kill that foe's father." 

Markandeya spoke:

18 So saying that king Vapush-mat, evil in conduct, cut off

19 his head also, while Indra-sena cried out. The muni folk and other forest-dwellers then said to him, "Shame! Shame!" And after looking at him he, Vapush-mat, went from the forest to his own city. 

20 When that Vapush-mat had gone, she, Indra-sena, sighing deeply despatched a sudra ascetic to her son's presence, saying, — 

21     ^" Go thou quickly and tell my son Dama my word. Thou verily knowest what tidings of my husband are told here;

22 nevertheless thou must tell my son, what I say in my very sore

affliction after having seen such an outrage* as this fallen on

*Langhana; this word in the feminine gender is not in the dictionary. It occurs again in verses 33 and 36.

23 the king; — ' Thou art king, appointed by my lord—a protector of the four stages of life. Is it fit that thou dost not safeguard

24 the ascetics? † My lord Narishyanta was engaged in the austerities of an ascetic; and there is no such lord for me who

†For mad-bharttadhikrito read mad-bhartradhikrito; for ki yuktam read kim yuktam; and for yan nirikshasi read yan na rakshasi, as in the Poona edition.

25 bewail, while thou art such a lord. †† Vapush-mat dragged him by the hair with violence and then killed him for no fault;

††This is according to the comment., with the Poona reading nathe instead of nasti.

26 thus thy king has attained to glory. In these circumstances do thou that whereby righteousness may not be violated—so do

27 thou! I must not* say more than this, for I am an ascetic. And thy father was an aged ascetic unvitiated by any offence. Do thou determine what should be done to that man who killed him.

*For cu naiva read cara na as in the Poona edition. 

28 Thou hast heroic ministers who can expound the meaning of all

the scriptures. Consider with them and do what ought to be

29 done in these circumstances. We ascetics have no authority in this matter, O king. " Do thou this "— " do thou so "

30 such is a king's speech. † As Viduratha's†† father was slain by the Yavana, so has this king, the father of thee, my son,

†The Poona edition reads bhuyo 'pi bhashitum for bhupati-bhashitam, ' We ascetics have no authority here, O king, to say thus "Do thou this," or even further "Do thou so.”’

††This may be the Viduratha mentioned above in canto cxvi, verse 10. There were other kings of the same name, but all later in time, and it does not appear any of them were killed by a Yavana; as Viduratha son of Kuru, of the Paurava race (Maha-Bh., Adi-p. xcv. 3791-5, Santi-p. xlix. 1790-97, and Hari-V., xxxii. 1816), Viduratha son of Bhajamana (Hari-V., xxxix. 2032, and Matsya Pur. xliv. 77), and another later Viduratha (Hari-V., xcii. 5015-8, and xcix. 5493-5504). 

31 been slain; thereby thy family has been destroyed. The father of the Asura king Jambha was bitten by Nagas, and that king also destroyed the Nagas who inhabited the whole of

32 Patala. Parasara, § when he heard that his father Sakti|| had been smitten by a Rakshasa, cast the whole race of

§Parasara was a famous rishi, son of Saktri or Sakti, see canto cxxxiii, verse 7. He was father by Satya-vati of Krishna Dvaipayana (Maha-Bh., Adi-p. Ix. 2209, xcv. 3801-2, and Santi-p. cooli). But he is wholly out of time in this story.

||For pitari Saktau read pitaram Saktim as in the Poona edition.

33 Rakshasas into the fire. Moreover, a kshatriya cannot verily endure the outrage which any other person makes against his lineage; how much less will he endure the murder of his

34 father? It is not this thy father who is slain, it is not on him that the weapon has been made to fall; it is thou who hast been slain here I deem, it is on thee that the weapon has been made

35 to fall. Who indeed fears this foe_, that has laid his weapon on simple forest-dwellers; let him not fear thee, my son, as king,

36 or let him fear thee. * Since this outrage has been directed against thee, do thou take thorough measures therefore against this Vapush-mat with his dependants, kinsmen and friends._' "

* This is the Poona and Bombay reading, putrasya ma bibhetu for viprasya marite tu; but both seem corrupt. 

Markandeya spoke:

37 Dismissing him, Indra-dasa, to whom this message had been

communicated, the noble-spirited lady embracing her lord's body entered the funeral pyre.