Simhasanadvatrimshika 20
English (machine translation) 20
- Language
- English
20.p1
Again, as the king was about to sit upon the throne, another statuette said: "O king, let him who possesses generosity and the other virtues of Vikrama sit upon this throne." The king said: "O statuette, tell the story of his generosity." She said: "O king, listen: King Vikrama rules the kingdom for six months and travels to other lands for six months. Once, having gone abroad and wandered through various lands, he reached a city named Padmālaya. Seeing outside that city a lake with crystal-clear water in a pleasure-grove, he drank water there and sat down. Then some other men—some foreigners, some locals—came, drank water, sat down, and conversed among themselves: 'Ah, we have seen many lands, we have seen many sacred bathing places, we have climbed mountains that were exceedingly rugged and inaccessible to anyone, but nowhere have we gained the sight of an extraordinary man.' Another said: 'How could the sight of an extraordinary man come about? Where a great master of accomplishments resides, it is impossible to go; the path is treacherous; there are many obstacles along the way; there is even the destruction of the body. By an effort through which one first meets one's own destruction, who will enjoy its fruit? For this reason, a wise man should first and foremost protect himself. And it is said: "The body is indeed the primary instrument of righteousness." And likewise:
20.1
A wife may be had again, wealth again, land again, sons again, / again good and evil deeds; but the body is not had again and again. || 1
20.p2
Therefore, daring deeds must not be undertaken by a wise man. And likewise:
20.2
Tasks that are fruitless, that have disastrous ends, whose gains equal their expenses, / and those that are impossible, a discerning man should never begin. || 2
20.p3
Moreover:
20.3
A mountain that is uneven, terrifying, and infested with many dangerous beasts, / a wise man should never ascend, even when in doubt. || 3
20.p4
Moreover: whatever task is undertaken, it should be done only after reflection; a task in which the reward is trivial should not be undertaken.' Hearing their words, the king too said: 'O travelers, why do you speak thus? As long as a man does not exercise manly vigor and daring, everything is hard to attain. And it is said:
20.4
Many desired things, difficult to attain, are gained; / enough with bodies that measure circumstances, in the case of daring men! || 4
20.p5
And likewise:
20.5
Sometimes it falls into a trench from the sky, or water comes from the netherworld; / fate is inscrutable and powerful; yet is not human effort powerful here? || 5
20.6
Without giving one's person to hardship, pleasures are never attained easily in this world; / the Slayer of Madhu embraces Lakṣmī with arms weary from churning [the ocean]. || 6
20.p6
How could the wife of Viṣṇu, even the Man-Lion, not be fickle,
20.7
who goes into the water and sleeps continually for four months? || 7
20.8
Eminence is hard to attain as long as human effort is not put forth by a man; / like the radiant sun, rising to the sign of the Balance, dispels massed clouds. || 8
20.p7
Hearing those words of the king, they said: "O great-souled one, tell us then, what should be done?" The king said: "If one travels twelve yojanas from this city, there is an uneven mountain in the midst of a great forest. Upon that mountain resides a master of yoga named Trikālanātha. If one gains sight of him, he will grant whatever object is desired. I am going there." They said: "We too will come along." The king said: "Come with pleasure." Then they set out with the king, but seeing the great forest and the exceedingly rugged path, they said to the king: "O great-souled one, how far away is the mountain?" The king said: "From here it is eight yojanas." They said: "Then we shall depart; it is very far, and the path is also exceedingly rugged." The king said: "O travelers, what is distant to the determined? And it is said: What is too heavy for the capable? What is distant to the determined?
20.9
What is a foreign land to the well-educated? Who is a stranger to those who speak kindly? || 9
20.p8
Going on for another six yojanas, as they proceeded ahead, a terrifying snake with a dreadfully fierce mouth, spitting venomous fire, stood blocking the road. Seeing that snake, they fled in fear. The king, however, set out to proceed along the path. The snake approached, coiled around the king, and bit him. Then, although coiled by it, falling into a swoon from the rush of venom, he climbed that extremely impassable mountain, saw the yogin Trikālanātha, and bowed down to him. Merely upon the sight of the yogin, the snake released him and went away; the king, too, was freed from venom. The yogin said: “Noble man, why have you come with such extreme hardship to this non-human realm teeming with great perils?” The king said: “O master, I have come only to behold you.” The yogin said: “Have you experienced great hardship?” The king said: “There is no hardship at all; merely by beholding you, all sin has vanished. What is hardship? Today I am blessed, for the sight of the great is extremely difficult to obtain. Moreover: as long as this body is firm and the senses are sound, for just so long must one perform what is beneficial to oneself.”
20.p9
And likewise it is said:
20.10
As long as this body is healthy and faultless, as long as old age is far off, / as long as the power of the senses is unimpaired, as long as there is no waning of life, / for just so long should a great effort be made by a wise man towards the welfare of the soul; / what kind of effort is it to dig a well when the house is already blazing? || 10
20.p10
Then, being pleased, the yogin gave the king a magic pill, a yogic staff, and a patched cloak, and said: “O king, as many lines as are drawn on the ground with this magic pill, so many yojanas can be traversed in a single day. If one holds this yogic staff in the right hand and touches [them], dead soldiers become alive and stand up; if one holds it in the left hand and touches an enemy army, then the destruction of the entire enemy army occurs. This patched cloak also bestows whatever object is desired.” Taking them, bowing to the yogin, and receiving permission, as the king was returning, a certain prince on the road, having set up a fire nearby, was gathering firewood. The king asked him: “Good sir, what is being done here?” He said: “I am the son of a king; my kingdom was stolen by rival heirs. Poor and unable to sustain life, I am gathering firewood to enter the fire.” Then the king gave him reassurance of safety, the magic pill, the yogic staff, and the patched cloak, and explained their properties. Thereafter, the satisfied prince bowed to the king and went to his own country. King Vikrama also went to Ujjayinī.
20.p11
Having told this story, the statuette said to the king: “O king, if such generosity exists in you, then sit upon this throne.” Hearing that, the king remained silent. Thus ends the twentieth tale.
Translations (1)
- Vikrama's Adventures, or The Thirty-two Tales of the Throne — Franklin Edgerton 1926, English
Linked texts (1)
- Siṃhāsanadvātriṃśikā — Sanskrit