Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Simhasanadvatrimshika 10

English (machine translation) 10

Language
English

10.p1

Again, as the king was about to sit upon the throne, another statuette spoke: "O king, he who possesses the virtues of Vikramāditya, such as generosity, is worthy to sit upon this throne." The king said: "O statuette, tell the story of his generosity." She said: "Listen, O king! While Vikrama was ruling the kingdom, a certain yogin came to Ujjayinī. He was skilled in all the arts—the Vedas, the learned treatises, medicine, astronomy, mathematics, Bharata's dramaturgy, and the rest. In short, there was no other like him; he was omniscience incarnate. One day King Vikrama, having heard of his fame, sent the family priest to invite him. He went into his presence, bowed, and said: 'O master, the king invites you; you must come there.' The yogin said: 'O wise man, what purpose do we have with seeing a king?

10.1

We eat alms, we wear the quarters of space as our garments, / we sleep upon the surface of the earth; what have we to do with lords? || 1

10.p2

And furthermore:

10.2

One without desire should not hold office; one without passion does not love ornaments; / an uncultured man would not speak pleasantly; an outspoken speaker is no deceiver. || 2

10.p3

Hearing these words of the yogin, the priest recounted all that speech before the king. Then the king came in person to see him, bowed to him, and sat down. Holding conversation with him, whatever he asked, the yogin explained it all. Thereafter, exceedingly pleased, the king came near him every day and engaged in various spiritual discussions. One day he asked him: "O master, how many years old are you?" He said: "O king, why do you ask this? A man who knows worldly wisdom should not disclose his own age. These nine are to be kept secret:

10.3

Age, wealth, domestic trouble, mantra, medicine, sexual union, / charity, honour, and dishonour—these nine one should cause to be kept secret. || 3

10.p4

And furthermore: he who is a master of yoga lives for a very long time by deceiving time. O king, if you have the capacity to practice it, I will give you instruction in a mantra." The king said: "What is gained by your instruction in the mantra?" The yogin said: "By practicing that mantra, you will become free from old age and death." The king said: "Then instruct me in the mantra; I will practice that mantra." Then the yogin, having instructed him in the mantra, said: "O king, recite this mantra in celibacy for one year, and make an oblation of a tenth part with sprouts of dūrvā grass. Then, at the time of the final oblation, a certain man with a fruit in his hand will emerge from the sacrificial pit and give that fruit to you. By eating that fruit, you will become free from old age and death and possess an adamantine body." Having thus instructed the king in the mantra, that yogin went to his own abode. The king too, having recited the mantra outside the city in celibacy for one year, and having made an oblation of a tenth part in the fire with blades of dūrvā grass, just as he was making the final oblation, a certain man emerged from the sacrificial pit and gave a divine fruit to the king. The king, having received that fruit, entered the city, and as he was proceeding along the royal road, a certain brahmin whose limbs were all wasted away by the disease of leprosy uttered a blessing to the king and said: "O king, a king is appointed in the place of mother and father for the brahmins. And it is said:

10.4

The king is a kinsman to the kinless, the king is an eye to the sightless, / the king is father and mother, and the king is a sorrow-dispelling elder. || 4

10.p5

Therefore remove the sorrow of the world. By this disease my body is perishing; through the destruction of the body, ritual practice is destroyed too. For the body alone is the means for all righteous action. And it is said:

10.5

Is sacrificial fuel and kuśa grass easy to obtain for your ritual? / Are the waters adequate for your bathing rites? / Do you proceed with your austerities according to your strength? / For the body is indeed the prime instrument of righteousness. || 5

10.p6

Thus. Therefore, act in such a way that this body of mine may become healthy and fit for ritual practice." Hearing the words of that brahmin, the king gave him that fruit. Then the brahmin, having attained the highest satisfaction, went to his own place. The king also went to his own palace. Having told this tale, the statuette said to King Bhoja: "O king, if such generosity exists in you, then sit upon this throne." Hearing that, the king remained silent. Thus ends the tenth tale.

Translations (1)

Linked texts (1)