18 - Honouring the Mothers

The king said:

1-3. “O timid lady, I did not assume authority to take up the duties of the king. Since I was very tired, I was over­powered by a pleasing slumber. I told Dharmangada thus: “Take Mohini to your apartment that is bedecked in all jewels, that could be ventilated or controlled (and protected from) wind (at will) and that is pleasing in all the seasons. O son of beautiful eyes resembling the petals of a lotus, worship her duly. She is my most beloved wife.”

4. After commanding my son thus, I went to sleep after reaching the bed with great difficulty like a man of ill-luck attaining wealth.

5. The moment I woke up I have hastened to your presence at once. O gentle lady, there is no doubt about this that I shall carry out whatever you say.”

Mohini said:

6. O leading king, appease these wives of yours who are very miserable. They are dejected by your marrying me. They have lost all hopes of satisfying their passionate desire for worldly pleasures.

7-8. O king, O Lord of the subjects, if any one were to strike and pierce into the heads of the Senior wives of comely appearance, the wedge known as the younger wife, he will not have salvation nor will she attain the final beatitude. What peace can I have when I have been burnt in the scalding tears of chaste women?

9. O king, the gentle and chaste ladies may reduce even my procreator (Brahma) to ashes. What then about an ordinary persons like you or me?

10. O king, there is no woman like Sandhyavali in all the three worlds. With all her limbs bound by love towards you, she had been feeding me with food-stuffs having all the six tastes.

11-12. Thanks to the honour and weightage given to you, she spoke pleasing and coaxing words to me. There are hundreds of women like these in your abode and O king, I am not even equal to the dust of their feet.”

On hearing these words of Mohini, the king became ashamed.

13. The king was then standing near the eldest wife who was accompanied by her son. The son who was a person understanding the inner feelings of other persons, knew that the king had gone through all the ten states of love-lorn persons.

14. He understood that his father was overwhelmed by passionate love and    was fascinated by Mohini. He       called together all the mothers. (i.e. the   queens of Rukmangada) beginning with Sandhyavali.

15. With palms joined in reverence, he spoke to them these pleasing words-Mohini, the daughter of Brahma and the newly wedded wife (of my father) is my (step) mother.

 16. O gentle ladies, she yearns for a secret meeting with the king for dalliance with him. Hence delightfully approve of it.

The Mothers said:

17. O son, who will approve of and encourage the swallowing of one self by a serpent? O foremost one among embodied beings, who will place fire over himself and kindle it?

18. Who will swallow the terrible poison? Who will cut off one’s own head? Who will tie a terrible stone round one’s neck and try to cross the sea?

19. Who will enter the jaws of leopards. Who will try to pluck hairs from the manes of a fierce lion? Who will sit over the sharp edge of a sword that dazzles in the sky.

20. Which lady will approve of the dalliance of her co­wife with her husband (?) One would rather give everything that one has than entertain thoughts about this in the mind.

21. Which woman will see with her own eyes her husband respected (and openly loved) by another woman? It would be by far the better that her head is cut off with an excellent sharp-edged sword.

22. Who is that lady, if at all any one is like that any­where, who will be able to bear that her husband whom she considers her own vital breath is pressing and caressing the breasts of another lady?

23-25a. Much less who will be able to see it with her own eyes. This is the most miserable of all miseries bringing in end­ less grief if a woman is compelled to sec with her own eyes her husband enamoured of another woman. O son, it is even better if all your mothers die simultaneously; but the king, our husband, should not be seen united with Mohini.

Dharmangada said:

25b-26a. O ladies of splendid faces, if you are not prepared to accord happiness to my father, I will mix poison and drink it. After I die you can have the happiness.

26b-27a. If any lady were to carry out anything mentally, verbally or physically causing misery to my father, she is my enemy, she deserves to be killed by me even if she were Sandhyavali.

27b-28a. That gentle lady Mohini is superior to all. She is the most beloved of my father. The maiden has come from her abode on the mountain Mandara for the purpose of dalliance.

28b-29. On hearing these words of their step-son, the mother-queens trembled with grief in a faltering tone they spoke wishing for the benefit of their step-son.

“Your statement must of necessity be executed. It is reasonable by all means.

30-32. But your father may approach Mohini after giving gifts duly to his other wives. If any husband wishes to marry a second or a subsequent wife, he must give the eldest wife twice the amount (of dowry received from her?) Otherwise he is a debtor. If the husband takes the permission of the eldest wife and marries another lady, he 1nust give what the eldest wife desires and demands-so opine the persons who know the traditional customs and manners. The excellent man must perform Ishtapurta (i.e. sacrifices, digging of wells and charitable rites) in the company of the eldest wife.

33a. This is the Dharma (religious practice). Otherwise it will be injustice and there will be complete destruction of Dharma as well.

33b-34. On hearing the words of the mothers the son (i.e. Dharmangada) gave with a delightful heart each of them many presents. The prince gave them more than a crore each. He gave away a thousand cities and a thousand villages to them as well.

35. To each of them he gave eight chariots fitted with garlands of gold and yoked to four female mules.

36-37. He gave them ten thousand garments the price of each of which was more than a hundred coins. To each of his mothers the prince gave a hundred thousand pure gold pieces of everlasting (lustre) excavated from Mount Meru. The son of the king gave each of them more than a hundred men servants and women slaves.

38. To each of them he gave ten thousand cows, each of which yielded a big potful of milk (at a time). He gave them a thousand good poles to which the yokes are to be fixed, severally.       

39. The son of the king gave each of them ten kinds of grains. Laughingly he gave a hundred thousand gardens.

40. He gave ten thousand pots of ghee and oil separately. To each of them he offered innumerable goats and ewes.

41. The highly devoted son presented them (the queen­ mothers) thousands of gold ornaments studded with diamonds (and precious stones).

42. He gave them necklaces made of brilliant pearls of the size of embylic myrobalan fruits. He gave them five and seven (a dozen) bangles each.

43. Sandhyavali was already wearing on her person two hundred and fifty pearls resembling the moon.

44 The son presented each of them two necklaces that captivated the mind. He gave them Prastha measures of Saffron, sandal paste and camphor.

45-46. The son gave them huge quantity of musk. Desirous of the happiness of his father he impartially distributed to them different kinds of vessels, water pots, ghee pots, milk pots, and pots for different kinds of beverages.

47. The prince gave them gold plates, pots and vessels one thousand and fourteen hundred in number (?)

48. To each of them he gave three hundred to five hundred she-elephants of great speed with muscular and fleshy shoulders.

49. He gave them twenty she-camels each and hundred palanquins with brawny men with excellent dress (uniform).

50-51. To the mothers he gave seventy horses of happy pleasing trot. After giving thus to them much wealth, the blessed prince who had the affluence and brilliance of Kubera circumambulated them. With palms joined in reverence he addressed these words.

52-53. I bow down to you with my head bent low. It is my importunity to you all that all of you should say thus to my father.-O king, enjoy Mohini freely. We have no trace of malice towards you nor should you be malicious towards us. Sport with Mohini the good natured daughter of Brahma, with hundreds of secret pleasures from her.

54. On hearing the statement of the son, all of them were thrilled with delight. They spoke to their husband the king. “Sport with the daughter of the self-born deity for a long time like the leading scion of the family of Raghu, (Rama) with the daughter of the king of Videha (i.e. Sita).

55. There is no doubt about it that the daughter of Brahma cannot be a cause of poignant grief to us because of her sexual connection with you. Know that these words are uttered by us without any heart-burning misery. Thanks to the brilliance of your son.