The Story of Surasundarī 16
English (machine translation) 16
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16.1
King Makaraketu too, having married the maidens given by the Vidyādharas, / gave to the Vidyādharas villages and cities as was appropriate.
16.2
He made all the kings of the southern half of Bharata obey his commands,
and freed the entirety of the lands from the fear of riots and thieves.
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He adorned the multitude of villages, mines, and cities
born in the Aryan country with high, white, and enchanting shrine-dwellings.
16.4
He exempted all the lay followers from taxes, duties, and tolls,
and drove away everyone who opposed the community of the Jina's teaching.
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He granted unhindered wandering through the realms to the community of monks,
and directed his own feudatories toward affectionate devotion to their fellow-believers.
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He established alms-houses of diverse kinds in various places,
which gave heaps of all excellent goods desired by living beings.
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He protected his kingdom, engaged only in the maintenance of blameless deeds and status,
inflicting harsh restraint upon the wicked, insolent, pillaging, and deceitful.
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He brought satisfaction to humble folk, subjugated the offspring of all enemies,
delighted the conquered multitudes, and made safe all the difficult paths.
16.9
Thus, while King Makaraketu, accompanied by Queen Surasundarī and others,
was enjoying worldly pleasure containing the essence of Dharma, wealth, and love;
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sometimes, out of devotion, having Jina shrines built
of flawless stone slabs, radiating pure beams into the ten directions;
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adorned with various hues, fashioned from flawless gems, jewels, and gold,
serving as ships for beings sinking in the ocean of saṃsāra to cross over;
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sometimes having images of the Jinas crafted in excellent forms
by a multitude of skilled artisans who rejoiced at being given abundant wealth;
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sometimes directing the consecration of the Jina images
according to the ritual of the āgamas, with protection provided to creatures and foremost worship offered to the congregation;
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sometimes performing the anointing of the Jinas' images
with materials such as the essence of camphor mixed with gośīrṣa and yellow sandalwood;
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sometimes arranging the worship of the Jinas in many different ways
with abundant flowers of five colours emitting strong fragrance;
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sometimes having canopies made in the Jina shrines,
splendid with expensive, precious fabrics imported from supreme and foremost cities;
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sometimes releasing captives from prisons, and joyfully
watching chariot festivals at the foremost temples of the Jinas with zealous care;
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fulfilling the desires of the destitute, helpless, and poor folk
who gathered at the time of the festival, by granting them the best gifts;
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sometimes delighting his fellow-believers who came to the chariot festival,
with great joy, by giving food, clothes, ornaments, and the like;
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sometimes entering the inner quarters and enjoying erotic pleasure
together with his wives endowed with various graceful gestures;
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sometimes watching spectacles accompanied by excellent singing,
splendid with various bodily postures performed by accomplished, foremost courtesans;
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and performing all other such deeds approved by distinguished folk,
practised by his ancestors, and consistent with his own lineage,
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befitting his own station, praised by good people,
not conflicting with worldly tradition or scripture, and practised by former kings;
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performing all these things in their proper times in due succession,
plunged in an ocean of happiness, free from sorrow—
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as he was devoted to the Jina's teaching, several hundred thousand [years],
rich in affection, passed together with Surasundarī.
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Then one night, having fallen asleep with the king,
Surasundarī saw a dream at the hour of dawn:
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"Indeed, a certain black serpent bit me, who was coupled with the king,
and entered into my belly." Having seen this, she awoke.
16.28
Terrified, while she reflected: "Alas! This dream is not auspicious.
So what is the use of telling the king this inauspicious thing?"
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Just then, the morning drum was beaten by the musicians appointed for the hour,
mingled with the clear sounds of small drums and manifested musical tones.
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Hearing that, Makaraketu awoke; he meditated in his mind upon the Fivefold Homage,
and carried out the purification of his body befitting that hour.
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Going to a spacious Jina temple, where darkness was dispelled by jewels and gems,
adorned with the image of the first Jina of the age, he worshipped the Jina's image in the prescribed manner.
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Having performed the chaitya-vandanā and made the appropriate renunciation,
he then arrived at the assembly hall crowded with courtesans.
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When the auspicious morning songs had been performed by the excellent courtesans,
the king held court for an instant and then arose.
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Mounting an aerial vehicle created by magic, accompanied by Surasundarī and his other wives,
and surrounded by a host of Vidyādharas, he went swiftly to the peak of the snowy mountain.
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Then, for recreation, he descended into a garden
thick with many sandal trees, resembling the beauty of the Nandana grove.
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His mind was captivated by excellent songs, instrumental music, and dramatic performances
on charming jewel slabs surrounded by banana groves.
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Then, while the illustrious Makaraketu, lord of the Vidyādharas, accompanied by the women of his inner quarters,
was on the Himavat mountain, the hour of midday arrived.
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The cook informed him there: "It is time for dining."
He worshipped the image of the Jina, performed the chaitya-vandanā in the prescribed manner,
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and, surrounded by the crowd of Vidyādharas, ate an invaluable, excellent meal;
then, together with Surasundarī, he entered a bower of plantain trees.
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Falling asleep on the bed, after enjoying the pleasure of lovemaking for a moment,
Surasundarī awoke and then spoke to the king:
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"Dearest! Let us remain for a moment in the amusement of the learned;
recite some riddle!" Thereupon the king said:
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"Who flies in the sky? What do people desire? Where does one full of doubt go?
Surasundarī, in what is mutual affection praised every day?"
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Surasundarī said: "Beloved of my heart, state the thread of syllables!"
The king said: "‘Tītaṁ te.’" The queen grasped [the answer]: ‘Vī-saṁ-bhe.’
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The king quickly said: "Queen, you have solved this riddle!
Now you say [one]!" Then the queen spoke:
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"Who is first among thirty? In what is a king destroyed when ruined?
What [word meaning] 'passed' is Sanskrit? Who is dear to you, my lord?
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How should Lakṣmī be addressed? Or what is melodious in a song?
What is the thread of syllables for the riddle given by you?"
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The king said: "Ah! The queen is exceedingly skilled in riddles,
in that she has immediately turned the thread of syllables itself into a riddle!"
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"‘Garment’ is obtained forwards, and likewise ‘garment’ would be [obtained] backwards; / [when read] forwards it is complete in four [letters], O queen: tī-taṁ-tē."
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Again the king said:
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"What does every person desire? And explain Indra's weapon! / What is taken by travelers? O queen, let this too be told!"
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Surasundarī said: "This [answer] consists of increasing letters, O lord! / ‘Saṁ-ba-la’ is the answer here." The king said: "Beloved, speak!
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Address Lakṣmī! Where does the intellect of dwellers perish? / Where does a champion not perish? Dearest, tell this to us!"
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The king was told: "O beautiful lady! These syllables increase in reverse order: / it is ‘saṁ-gā-mē’ (in battle)." Then, the king said: "Beloved, speak!
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What does the full moon bear? Or what do poor folks desire in the field? / Address [someone] with a heavy ending! Or what is pleasure after pleasure?
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Seeing what does the flower-forest blossom, bringing joy to people's hearts? / How indeed is another man's woman first enjoyed by paramours?"
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Surasundarī reflected and said: "This too is known, O lord! / Two-worded and having two senses, the answer here for you is ‘sa-saṁ-kaṁ’ (with the moon / with doubt)."
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While the hearts of the queen and king were thus utterly absorbed in the joy of solving riddles, / a great black serpent arrived there.
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Then, having been an enemy in a previous birth, that wicked serpent, with fierce rage, / bit both persons on the region of their backs.
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Hearing the commotion of the queen as she cried, "Snake! Snake!", / his bodyguards arrived at once with swords raised in their hands.
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The serpent too, its body trembling with fear and flurry because it had committed an offense, / was struck by them as it fled and cut into pieces.
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Immediately thereafter, a great uproar arose from the retinue, / just as the alteration caused by the poison took effect in the bodies of the king and queen.
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Then:
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Eminent snake-doctors who had mastered the treatises on snake-charms were summoned; / recitations of mantras were performed; roots were brought.
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Unbroken streams of water were poured with consecrated water; / knots were tied; antivenoms were made ready.
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Thus, while the assembly of sky-farers accompanied by snake-doctors became distressed, / the alteration of the poison grew stronger, like a fire sprinkled with ghee.
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While speaking indistinctly: "Bring the divine jewel!", / the ruler of men fell unconscious there before the eyes of the watching sky-farers.
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In the meantime, having learned the situation, Priyamvadā, the king's dear sister, / said: "Go, go quickly, Bāhuvega, you!
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Having gone to Candravega, the lord of the sky-farers, the son of Bhānuvega, / ask him in the city of glorious Kuñjarāvarta in my name;
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and say: ‘That divine gem which was formerly taken from my presence / by you for protection when striving for the mastery of magical sciences—
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let it be dispatched quickly!’" Addressed thus, he departed with swift speed; / after going, within a moment he returned with Candravega.
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Together with that sky-farer, after bestowing the gem-water, / both of them were at once freed from all alterations of the poison.
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The host of sky-farers was delighted, as were Priyamvadā and the entire retinue; / the king too returned to the city, contemplating the true nature of worldly existence:
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Moreover:
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"For living beings whose vital essence is seized hither and thither by diverse misfortunes, / there is no refuge except the Dharma of the Jina.
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Through the alarms of colic, snakes, poison, cholera, water, weapons, and fire, / a living soul makes the transition to another body in a moment.
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Therefore, in such a fickle life, souls infatuated with sensory objects, / seized by the great planet of delusion, nevertheless become negligent toward Dharma."
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Then, rejoicing that the calamity had passed, the host of sky-farers, / having entered the elephant-city, offered congratulations to the king.
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Queen Surasundarī too, counting that very day as the first, / became pregnant, and [grew] devoid of affection for her own beloved.
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Moreover:
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The more the fetus grew, the more the queen, through the influence of the fetus, / became cruel-hearted and thought: "I will kill the king with my own hands."
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Then:
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Even when spoken to, she grew angry; she spoke harshly; she desired no pleasure; / terrifying with bitten lips and knitted brows, she stood turning her face away when seen.
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Seeing that contrary behavior, Priyamvadā said: "Noble lady, / why, devoid of affection, do you not respect the king at all?"
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Surasundarī said: "By the fault of this sinful fetus, / a deep hatred arises in me, an evildoer.
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Therefore, go and inform the king, so that / seeing me with faded love, he does not suspect any infidelity in me.
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And tell my beloved: ‘I, a woman of sinful deeds, must not be seen, / until the delivery of this evil embryo, this fetus, is completed.’"
16.87
Going [to him], Priyamvadā related everything to Makaraketu; / hearing that, the king too, with an astonished mind, said this:
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"Alas! She who was unable to endure separation from me even for an instant, / cruel through the influence of the fetus, desires not to see me!
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Could this then not be that very soul of Subandhu, an enemy from a former birth, / who, under the power of destiny, has arisen in the queen's womb?"
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Pondering thus, not showing himself to the queen, / the king remained in mental anguish due to suspicion of his enemy.
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Meanwhile, seeing the queen grim with evil resolve toward the king, / her breasts, as if they were dear friends, became dark-faced [at the nipples].
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As though yearning in separation from the bliss of union with the excellent king, / the surface of the queen's cheeks shed their dark luster and became pale.
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Thinking, "Heaviness has been attained by all others, but not by me," her belly, seizing its opportunity, / expanded at the arising of the king's foe.
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As if seeing the belly's heaviness and filled with intense pride, / the orb of her hips expanded with the thought, "Let me not be surpassed!"
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Gradually, when the time of delivery arrived, with the moon situated in Mūla, / the lagna being aspected by malefic planets, during the viṣṭi [period],
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Surasundarī gave birth to a son with great difficulty. Then, / with an anxious heart, the king summoned an eminent astrologer;
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and asked: "Tell the multitude of virtues of this son born at this moment!" / Shaking his head, he too said: "O ruler of men, listen!
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A boy born at such a time does not bode well for his father; / growing up in his father's house, he destroys his lineage and royal fortune."
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"Your Majesty, you must not be angry: as long as you do not see him, / so long will you have well-being; if he is seen, there is danger even to your life."
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The king said: "Noble sir, what anger could there be in this true reality of things, / when expounded by those whose minds understand impartial truth confirmed by scripture?"
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When [the astrologer] had been honored and had gone to his own place, the king summoned Priyamvadā, / who was seated on a fine seat, and, tormented by sorrow, said to her:
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"On the day of a first son's birth, joy indeed comes to parents; / but for us, through the power of fate, it has turned out otherwise.
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Therefore, gentle lady, take the child, along with a wet-nurse, / quickly to your father-in-law's house; he must be brought up right there."
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Saying "So be it," she took him to the city of Suranandana, / and related that account to her beloved, the lord of the Vidyādharas,
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to Jalakānta, son of Citralekhā, beloved wife of the Vidyādhara lord Jvalanaprabha; / and he too showed her great respect.
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Then Jalakānta performed the birth festivities and all [other] duties, / and on an auspicious day gave him the name Madanavega.
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Growing up by degrees, that Madanavega attained youth, / ill-mannered, ill-behaved, devoted to improper deeds, and ungrateful.
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A son of the Vidyādhara Jalakānta, born from the womb of Kāñcanadevī, / named Jalavega, became his friend, delighting in studying together.
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Surasundarī, in time, indicated by a dream of a lion, / gave birth to a second son under an auspicious lunar day and asterism.
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In beauty equal to Anaṅga, valiant, generous, sweet-spoken, clever, / named Anaṅgaketu, he was obedient to his parents.
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When in course of time he attained youth, he was installed in the rank of crown prince; / having mastered the magical sciences, he roamed at will among the cities of the Vidyādharas.
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When the spring month arrived, the king, accompanied by his harem, / went to the peak of Vaitāḍhya for the Aṣṭāhnika festival.
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The Vidyādharas dwelling on Vaitāḍhya arrived in great splendor; / while the Aṣṭāhnika [festival] was proceeding, replete with music and dance,
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there arrived from Gaṅgāvarta, attended by a host of Vidyādharas, / an exceedingly beautiful maiden named Anaṅgavegā.
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She was seen by the crown prince, and he too, by her loving glance, / was pierced by the arrows of Love and immediately overcome by passion.
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Anaṅgaketu asked his companion named Vasanta: "Noble friend, / whose is this excellent woman? Whose daughter is she, or what is her name?"
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Vasanta said: "In Gaṅgāvarta there was an excellent king / named illustrious Gandhavāhana, and his wife was Madanāvalī.
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She had three sons: the first was Nabhovāhana, [then] Makaraketu, / and the third was Meghanāda—heroes proud of the power of their magical sciences.
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When Nabhovāhana renounced the world along with his father, Makaraketu / became king; and while he was mastering a magical science in a solitary place,
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he was slain through an error by your father, who cut down the thicket of bamboos; / and your father, moved by deep compassion, installed [his brother] on the throne.
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This Meghanāda was granted numerous villages and cities; / he was given the excellent Padmodarā, daughter of the Vidyādhara Citragati.
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This maiden named Madanavegā is her daughter; / and, Prince, Priyamvadā seeks her for her beloved son,
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Jalavega, the son of Jalakānta born from the womb of Kāñcanadevī; / but whether she has been given or not, I do not know for certain."
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Hearing this, the prince said: "Vasanta, listen to my words! / Without this jewel of a maiden I have no hope of life.
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If you care for my life, or if I am dear to you, / then go and speak to my father in such a way that he quickly obtains her [for me]."
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Then that childhood friend, knowing the prince's resolve, / went to the king and related everything as it happened.
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The king too summoned Meghanāda and asked for the maiden; / and he gave her to him, with a blooming lotus-like face.
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In Gaṅgāvarta the marriage was performed with great magnificence, / and Madanavegā was taken by the prince to his own city.
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Hearing of the marriage, Jalavega was grieved at heart; / afflicted by separation from the maiden, he suffered hell-like torment.
16.130
Furious with Anaṅgaketu, he pondered various means to slay him; / having devised a plan, he went and revealed it to Madanavega:
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"Friend, you do not know: you are indeed the eldest son of Makaraketu, / the son of Surasundarī, brought here on the day of your birth.
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Friend, you have been despised by your father with a very cruel mind, / for he has consecrated your younger brother as crown prince.
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Your parents do not wish to see you at all; / they treat you like an enemy, keeping you constantly far away.
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You are not even allowed to go in the direction where your father is; / so, comrade, what is the use of living for one humiliated by his father?"
16.135
Fed with the oblation of honey and ghee of such words, the great fire of his hatred / flared up, stirred by connections bound in past births.
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Then, overcome with rage, he said: "Show me my enemy father! / I will show that wicked man the fruit of his disrespect!"
16.137
Then Jalakānta said: "Your father is guarded by many Vidyādharas, / with sharp swords, maces, and weapons in their hands.
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Friend, take this form-transforming magical science that has come down in our family, / by which you will soon accomplish your desired purpose."
16.139
The magical science was given by him; [Madanavega] went to the forest and mastered it in due course. / Coming to Gajapura, he remained in the queen's palace in the guise of a maidservant.
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Abducting Surasundarī's maid Lalitā and leaving her in a distant land, / he stayed in her form in order to kill the king.
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From the day he had been bitten by the black serpent, the king, / wearing a divine ring on his finger, stayed away from sexual intercourse and the like.
16.142
Then one day the king, having dined, accompanied by Vidyādhara chamberlains, / entered the queen's quarters and was seen by that wicked maidservant.
16.143
Leaving his bodyguards outside, after auspicious rites were performed by the queen, / he entered the bedchamber adorned with jewels, together with the queen.
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Having lingered for a moment in jest and the like, at the commencement of lovemaking, / the queen placed the ring in the jewelry casket.
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And when their lovemaking had begun, suddenly drawing a sword, / the son, disguised as a maidservant, arrived there like Death.
16.146
The son stood ready to slay his father who was intent on lovemaking with his mother! / Alas, alas! The utmost improper deed! A curse upon dwelling in saṃsāra!
16.147
Knowingly his own son slays his father joined with his mother, / because he is overwhelmed by hatred. Ah, dreadful is this hatred!
16.148
From attachment arises hatred; from hatred arises the bond of enmity; / from enmity comes the slaughter of living beings; and from that, the bondage of heavy karma.
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Heavily laden with karma, the multitude of living beings falls into the impenetrable thicket of the misery of animals and hells; / overcome by sorrow, doing evil, they wander again and again.
16.150
From hell into animal existence, and from animal existence back into hell, / the living being performs the cycle of rebirth accompanied by hundreds of miseries.
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Knowing this, O people, abandon attachment and hatred, / so that you may cross over saṃsāra, abounding in the afflictions of hundreds of births!
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Seeing a woman with drawn sword, the king too was astonished. / He thought: “Ah, insolent girl! She has entered here intent on slaying me!”
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Uttering a cry and roaring out a “huṅ”, by means of a paralyzing spell / her body was paralyzed; she became motionless like a painted figure.
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The queen too, amazed in mind, said: “Lalitā! Why have you begun this? / O wicked girl! By what villain were you sent to slay the king?”
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The king said: “Such daring is not possible for a woman. / Therefore, O queen, some villain, marked by Death, is this man!”
16.156
Invoking a spell that cuts the spells of others, the king / severed his spells that had been mastered for a long time.
16.157
Upon their severing, he returned to his natural state, his body trembling. / The king said: “O queen, he resembles the prince!
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Therefore, surely he is that first son of yours, none other!” / Hearing this, she became bewildered with fear, shame, and grief.
16.159
On that very day, from Suranandana, an envoy belonging to Jalakānta, / Sphuṭavacana by name, arrived on royal business.
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He was summoned by the king and questioned: “Good sir, is he this very one, / the one who was sent to Priyamvadā’s side?
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On the day of his birth, according to the astrologer’s word, as soon as the son was born?” / And by him it was said: “He is indeed Madanavega.”
16.162
Hearing his word, the king, tormented with grief, thought: / “Even today, the enemy hostile from a former birth does not leave [my] back!
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Fie upon the nature of saṃsāra! Even a son becomes a terrible enemy! / Look, enraged without cause, he undertakes such an evil deed!”
16.164
Holding a secret council together with his ministers, according to their word, / he was placed in a wooden cage, guarded by men loyal to the king.
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Even there, his heart corrupted, his mind resolved upon killing his father, / seething with anger, he spent his days with difficulty.
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Then one day, when the day of Paryuṣaṇā had arrived, / as the people in the prison were being released by the king’s command,
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the king remembered his eldest son kept in the wooden cage. / He thought: “Alas, it is dreadful! Such conduct is not proper for me!
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Even though he has committed an offense, is ill-behaved, alas, he is my son! / Nevertheless, while he is confined, I do not take pleasure in the joy of kingship.
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Even my Paryuṣaṇā is not pure while he remains in bondage.” / Reflecting thus, he released him, and addressed him with tender words:
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“O son, abandon your despondency! Grant your favor by enjoying the prince’s appanage! / At the time of my receiving initiation, I will establish you in my own position.”
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Giving a hundred villages at the border of the country, accompanied by his own trusted men, / he was sent off; and he too departed, not letting go of enmity in his heart.
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That ungrateful one devised the murder of his father through various means; / plotting deceitful schemes, he found no sleep at night.
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And there, as he dwelt near a settlement in the mountain thicket, / searching for a magical root, a smoke-faced yogi arrived.
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He was served by him with bed, seat, food, and the like; / pleased, he gave him an ointment of invisibility.
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With both eyes anointed, having become invisible, he thought in his mind: / “I shall slay that enemy, so that my mind may obtain satisfaction!
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This is my obtaining of the kingdom: that the father must be slain by my own hand! / A kingdom given by an enemy surpasses hell!”
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Then, his body invisible, having deceived the entire guard of men, / he arrived in Gajapura and looked for a vulnerability in the king.
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Standing in the privy, as his father came for the purpose of bodily evacuation / without his protective gem, the wicked one [struck him] from behind with a dagger.
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Not seeing the villain, the king instantly rushed out / and declared: “Bar the door! Someone invisible is present!”
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While the spearmen barred the door, crying “Kill! Kill!”, / out of fear of death Madanavega jumped into an enclosed well.
16.181
A man of cruel disposition plans evil for an enemy, / but through the other’s merits, suffering falls back upon himself alone.
16.182
Surrounded at that moment by bodyguards, the king, whose wound had grown, / became free from pain when sprinkled with the jewel-water.
16.183
Arriving from the frontier region, the guarding men reported: “Lord, / having become invisible, Madanavega has escaped us!”
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Then the king, shaken with spiritual urgency, reflected on this deed of his son: / “Knowing [this], why am I even today without exertion in practicing Dharma?
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If I, attached to pleasures and devoid of the Jina’s Dharma, had somehow died / fallen into anguished meditation, what would my destination have been then?”
16.186
Then at another time, he was informed by an appointed sky-goer: / “The ācārya named Cittavega has arrived in Kusumākara.”
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His face smiling, giving a reward to him, / accompanied by his inner court, the king approached the ācārya.
16.188
Circumambulating the monk three times, he bowed with lotus-head bent low in humility; / and having paid homage with devotion, along with Amaraktu and the others, he sat down.
16.189
Inspiring disillusionment with saṃsāra, crushing the enemies such as attachment and hatred, / and producing spiritual urgency, an extensive sermon was delivered by the master.
16.190
Hearing it, shaken with spiritual urgency, the king asked: “Tell me, Blessed One, / why does my son Madanavega bear such an attitude of enmity?
16.191
And where does he stay now?” The ācārya said: “Listen, O lord of men! / He who was the soul of Subandhu was your god Kālabāṇa.
16.192
Having suffered the severance of his spells, his life-span exhausted at the abduction of Surasundarī, / he was born as a wild buffalo and died in the forest, burnt by a forest fire.
16.193
In the womb of a hungry bitch tormented by a swarm of consumer-worms, / he was born as a dog; and on the fifth day his mother died.
16.194
Tormented by the abuse of boys and dying of hunger, he was born then in a brahmin’s house / as an ox for an ox-cart, tormented by strokes of the goad.
16.195
Distressed by his aged weakness, the brāhmaṇa gave him to an excellent oil-presser; / pulling at the sesame-press day and night, he became weak.
16.196
With his body eaten by worms and rubbing his feet for a long time, / he was born as a serpent in the Himavant [mountains], rich in groves of gośīrṣa-sandal trees.
16.197
O best of men! He bit your bodyguard engaged in question and answer / along with his beloved; slain, he was born as that Madanavega.
16.198
Under the sway of previously forged enmity, that son of your elder brother, / remaining invisible, struck you then in the privy.
16.199
Surprised by sudden suspicion, in fear and confusion he fell into the pit of the privy; / feeding on excrement, he remained there for a long time.
16.200
When at last the cover of the door was removed by the sweepers who cleanse impurities, / he escaped by night and fled in terror of you, O king!
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Linked texts (1)
- Surasuṃdarīcariya — Dhaneśvara, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit