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Simhasanadvatrimshika 22

English (machine translation) 22

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English

22.p1

Once again, as the king tried to sit upon the throne, another statuette said: "O King, only he may sit on this throne who possesses the virtues of generosity and the like that belonged to Vikrama." The king said: "O statuette, tell the story of his generosity." She said: "Listen, O King. Once, while ruling the kingdom, Vikramāditya set out to wander the earth. Seeing diverse sacred bathing places, temples, cities, mountains, and the like, he eventually saw a city surrounded by a wall made of great jewels, adorned with sky-scraping palaces, and filled with various temples to Śiva and Viṣṇu. Going to a shrine of Viṣṇu situated outside that city, bathing in the lake located there, and bowing to the deity, he praised him with these and other verses: / 'I have realised, O Lord of the World, that silence alone is your praise; / for the supreme Brahman does not know Hari, who is beyond the reach of words. 1 / I speak of none other, I hear of none other, I think of none other, / I remember none other, I worship none other, and I resort to none other, / except for your lotus feet; / with devotion, O Puruṣottama, abode of Śrī, grant me your servitude. 2 / Whatever sin was committed by hands or feet, or born of action, speech, or body, / or born of hearing or sight, or in the mind, / whether enjoined or forbidden, forgive all this; / victory, victory, O ocean of mercy, Lord of Śrī, glorious Mukunda!' 3 / Having praised him with these and other verses, he sat down in the assembly hall. At that time, a certain brahmin came and sat near the king. The king said:

22.p2

"O brahmin, from where have you come?" The brahmin said: "I am a pilgrim, wandering the earth. From where have you come?" The king said: "I am a pilgrim just like you." The brahmin, looking closely at the king, said: "O master, who are you? You look exceedingly majestic; all the marks of royalty are visible. You are worthy of a throne; why are you wandering the earth? Or else, who can transgress what is written on the forehead? And it is said: / 'Even by Hari, even by Hara, even by Brahmā, even by the gods, / the line written on the forehead cannot be erased.' 4 / Hearing his words, the king agreed; why? Because it was endowed with reason. And it is said: / 'A statement endowed with reason is to be accepted even from a child; / and anything else, devoid of reason, is to be discarded like grass, even if spoken by the lotus-born [Brahmā].' 5 / The king said: "O brahmin, why do you look so exhausted?" He said: "What can I say about the cause of my fatigue? I have fallen into great distress." The king said: "Tell the cause of it." The brahmin said: "O King, listen. Nearby here is a mountain named Nīla. There is a goddess there named Kāmākṣī. There, the entrance to an opening to the underworld remains locked. It is opened by the recitation of the mantra of Kāmākṣī. Inside it is a jar of alchemy-elixir. By means of that elixir, the eight metals turn into gold. For twelve years the mantra of Kāmākṣī was recited [by me]. Yet the entrance to the opening is not unlocked. Because of that, I have fallen into great grief." The king said: "Show that place; I will devise some means." Then he showed that place to the king. There, both went to sleep at night. In the king's dream the goddess appeared and said: "O King, why have you come?

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Here, without sprinkling the blood of a man endowed with the thirty-two auspicious marks, the entrance to the cavern will not open." Hearing these words of the goddess, the king went to the entrance of the opening, and just as he was placing his sword to his throat, the goddess said: "O King, I am pleased with you; choose a boon!" The king said: "O goddess, if you are pleased, then give the elixir to this brahmin." The goddess also said, "So be it," opened the entrance to the cavern, and gave the elixir to the brahmin. That brahmin also praised the king and went to his own place. The king also went to his own city. Having told this story, the statuette said to the king: "O King, if such courage and generosity exist in you, then sit on this throne." The king remained silent. Thus ends the twenty-second tale.

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