ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ 11.17

11.17

“The woman went to the house to see, and returned to inform the mother of what she saw—that the householders had taken the baby as if it were their own. The mother thought, ‘It’s not right if the baby and I both suffer. It’s better for the baby to stay where it is.’ With this thought, she left.

“She encountered some travelers along the way and traveled with them until bandits fell upon them. The leader of the bandits kidnapped the woman and brought her back to his dwelling to make her his mate. That night, the woman, not wanting to sleep with him, thought, ‘I have to find a way to prevent him from taking my hand, no matter what.’ She disheveled her hair, put on blue clothes, and smeared her face and teeth with red lac dye. Then she hefted a sword, entered the cave where he lived, and waited. The man entered the cave, thinking, ‘Now I’ll have a good time with that woman,’ but just then the woman charged at him, brandishing the sword, and cried out, ‘You’ll never escape from here!’

“Terrified, the man threw himself at her feet. ‘Kind woman,’ he pleaded, ‘I beg you, please spare my life!’

The woman replied, ‘There is only one way to stop me from killing you. If you never act on your desire for me—not now, not ever—nor tell anyone I am here, then I will spare your life.’

“ ‘As you wish,’ said the leader of the bandits.

“They swore an oath, and the woman remained there in his dwelling. Eventually the leader of the bandits began to wonder, ‘How long must I provide for her? I will find a clever way to sell her off.’ So he sold her off to a sex worker.

“The sex worker told her, ‘Sweet girl, from now on you’re staying right here and you will be a sex worker.’