Simhasanadvatrimshika 18.p6

18.p6

ārtāya dānaṃ dātavyam; dharmasthāne manasā karmaṇā vācā paropakāraḥ karaṇīyaḥ. etat sāmānyapuruṣāṇāṃ nītiśāstram upadiṣṭam. sa vikramo rājā svabhāvata eva sakalanītiśāstrajñaḥ. evaṃ kāle gacchaty ekadā kaścid vaideśiko rājānaṃ dṛṣṭvo 'paviṣṭaḥ. tato rājñā bhaṇitam: bho devadatta, tava nivāsaḥ kutra? teno 'ktam: bho rājan, ahaṃ vaideśikaḥ; mama ko 'pi nivāso nā 'sti; sarvadā paribhramaṇam eva karomi. rājño 'ktam: pṛthvīparyaṭanāt tvayā kim-kim apūrvaṃ dṛstam. teno 'ktam. bho rājan, mayā mahad ekam āścaryaṃ dṛṣṭam. rājño 'ktam. kiṃ tat? kathaya. teno 'ktam: udayācalaparvata ādityasya mahān prāsādo 'sti. tatra gaṅgā pravahati, gaṅgātaṭe pāpavināśanaṃ śivālayam asti. tad gaṅgāpravāhāt kaścit suvarṇastambho nirgacchati. tasyo 'pari navaratnakhacitaṃ siṃhāsanam asti. sa suvarṇastambhaḥ sūryodayād upari pṛthvīṃ prāpnoti, madhyāhne sūryamaṇḍalaṃ prāpnoti, tataḥ sūryo yāvad astaṃ prāpnoti, tāvat svayam apy uttīrṇo gaṅgāpravāhe nimajjati. pratidinam eva tatra bhavati. etan mahad āścaryaṃ mayā dṛṣṭam. rājā vikramo 'pi tac chrutvā tena saha tat sthānaṃ gato rātrau nidrāṃ gataḥ. prabhātasamaye yāvat sūrya udayaṃ prāpnoti, tāvad gaṅgāpravāhād ratnasiṃhāsanayukto hemastambho nirgataḥ. tasmin stambhe rājā svayam upaviṣtaḥ. stambho 'pi sūryamaṇḍalaṃ gantuṃ pravṛtto yāvat sūryasamīpaṃ gacchati, tāvad agnikaṇasadṛśaiḥ sūryakiraṇair dagdhaṃ rājaśarīraṃ māṃsapiṇḍākāram abhūt. tataḥ piṇḍarūpeṇa sūryamaṇḍalaṃ prāpya:

Give gifts to the poor; practise the service of others with mind, deed, and word, abiding firm in righteousness. Such is the science of good policy as expounded for the benefit of ordinary men. But this King Vikrama knew all the science of policy by his very own nature.

Now in the course of time once a certain stranger came and visited the king, and seated himself. And the king said to him: “Devadatta [‘John Doe’], where is your home?” The man replied: “O king, I am a foreigner; I have no fixt abode, but simply wander about all the time.” The king said: “What strange thing may you have seen in wandering about the earth?” He answered: “O king, I have seen one great marvel.” The king said: “What is it? Tell me.” He said: “On Sunrise Mountain there is a great temple of the sun. There the Ganges flows by. And on the bank of the Ganges there is a temple of Çiva; the temple is (called) Purger from Sin. Now a certain golden pillar arises out of the stream of the Ganges, and upon it is a throne studded with all the nine jewels. Just after sunrise this golden pillar rises above the surface of the earth; and at midday it reaches the sun’s disk. After this, when the sun sets, it also comes down of itself and sinks in the water of the Ganges. Every single day this happens there. This great marvel have I seen.” And when King Vikrama heard that he went with him to that place, and at night slept there. And in the morning, when the sun arose, the golden pillar with the jeweled throne arose out of the stream of the Ganges. And the king himself mounted on the pillar. And the pillar began to rise to the sun’s orb; and when it came near the sun, the king’s body, burned by the sun’s rays like sparks of fire, came to look like a lump of meat. And when in this form he reacht the sun’s orb, he praised the Sun with many songs of praise, such as this: 6. "Homage to Savitar [the Sun], the sole eye of the world, the cause of the birth, maintenance, and decay of living beings, having the nature of the Three (Vedas), bearing the character of the three qualities [guṇas, as in Sāṁkhya philosophy], and containing the essence of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Çiva." Thus he paid homage. Then the Sun sprinkled him with nectar, and the king received a wonderful form. The king said: "I am blessed!" The Sun said: "O king, you are more than a great hero; for you have gained this my orb, which has never been reacht by anyone before. Therefore I am pleased with you; choose a wish." The king said: "O god, what greater boon is there than this? For your abode, which I have reacht, was inaccessible even to the great sages. By your grace I have everything that I need." Greatly pleased by his words, the sun gave him two rings of his own, studded with all the nine gems, and said: "O king, these two rings yield every day a load of gold." Then the king accepted the two rings, and again bowing to the sun came down from there. And as he was coming back to Ujjayinī, on the road a certain brahman fell in with him, and first spoke a blessing: