Kathasaritsagara 8.7.142
Kathāsaritsāgara 8.7.142
- Language
- Sanskrit
8.7.142
bhoktavyam adya yuṣmābhiḥ sarvair eva gṛhe mama /
anugrahaś ca kartavyo baddho mūrdhni mayāñjaliḥ //
Then the wedding being over, Sumeru said to all present; " Gods, Asuras, Vidyádharas, mothers of the gods, and all. To-day all of you must eat in my house, you must do me this honour, I entreat you with palms folded above my head." They all were inclined to refuse Sumeru's invitation, but in the meanwhile Nandin arrived; he said to them, who bowed humbly before him, " Śiva commands you to feast in the house of Sumeru, for he is the god's servant, and if you eat his food, you will be satisfied for ever." All of them, when they heard this from Nandin, agreed to it. Then there came there innumerable Ganas sent by Śiva, under the leadership of Vináyaka, Mahákála, Vírabhadra and others. They prepared a place fit for dining, and caused the guests to sit down in order, gods, Vidyádharas and men. And the divine beings Vírabhadra, Mahákála, Bhringin and others, ministered to them viands produced by Sumeru by magic, and others supplied by the cow Kámadhenu ordered to do so by Śiva, and they waited upon every single guest according to his rank, and then there was a concert, charming on account of the dancing of heavenly nymphs, and in which the bards of the Vidyádharas kept continually joining out of delight. And at the end of the feast, Nandin and the others gave them all celestial garlands, robes, and ornaments. After they had thus honoured the gods and others, all the chiefs of the Ganas, Nandin and the others, departed with all the Ganas as they had come. Then all the gods and Asuras, and 479 those mothers of theirs, and Śrutaśarman and his followers took leave of Sumeru, and went each to his own place. But Súryaprabha and his wife, accompanied by all his former wives, went in the chariot first to that ascetic grove of Sumeru. And he sent his companion Harsha to announce his success to the kings and to his brother Ratnaprabha. And at the close of day he entered the private apartments of his wife Kámáchúdámani, in which were splendid jewelled couches, and which were admirably built. There he flattered her by saying to her, " Now other women dwell outside of me, but you alone live in my heart." Then the night and his sleep gradually came to an end.
Translations (1)
- The Kathá Sarit Ságara, or Ocean of the Streams of Story — Charles Henry Tawney 1880, English