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Simhasanadvatrimshika 25

English (machine translation) 25

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English

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When the king was about to sit upon the throne again, another statuette spoke: "O King, he who possesses the virtues of generosity and the like as Vikrama did is capable of sitting upon this throne." The king said: "O statuette, tell the story of his virtues such as generosity." She said: "Listen, O King. While Vikramāditya was ruling the kingdom, one day an astrologer arrived and,

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having given a blessing: "May the sun grant valor, the moon the rank of Indra, Mars the six auspicious things, / Mercury good intellect, Jupiter greatness, Venus good fortune, and Saturn peace; / may Rāhu grant strength of arms constantly, and Ketu the elevation of your family; / may all the planets ever be favorable and bring delight to you." || 1

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he read the almanacs. Hearing the almanacs, the king asked the astrologer: "O astrologer, what is the fruit in this year?" The astrologer said: "In this year, the king is the Sun, the minister is Mars, the lord of grain is Saturn, and the lord of clouds is Mars. Furthermore: Saturn, Mars, and Venus will pierce the wain of Rohiṇī; therefore there will definitely be a drought. And it has been said by Varāhamihira:

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"'If the son of the Sun, Mars, and Venus split / and pierce the wain of Rohiṇī, the cloud assuredly does not rain for twelve years.' || 2

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And likewise:

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"'If the son of the Sun pierces the wain of Rohiṇī, / the earth will partake of torrents of blood; / what more can I say? Without an ocean of water, / the whole world will perish.' || 3

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According to another opinion:

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"'When this Saturn pierces the wain of Rohiṇī, / then the cloud does not rain here for twelve years.' || 4

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Hearing this astrologer's statement, the king asked: 'O astrologer, is there no remedy to avert this lack of rain?' The astrologer answered: 'There is none besides this: if an observance such as an oblation to the planets is performed, rain will fall.' Then the king, having summoned learned Vedic brahmins and told them the preceding account, undertook to have them perform the oblation. Then all the materials for the oblation were gathered, the brahmins performed the sacrifice to the nine planets in the manner prescribed by the ritual manuals, and the final oblation was offered to ensure the efficacy of the sacrifice; the king gratified the brahmins with wealth, food, garments, and so on, and gave the ten gifts; then the poor, blind, deaf, hunchbacked, and others were gratified with lavish gifts; yet rain did not fall. In the absence of it, everyone was starved and fell into extreme misery. The king too, distressed by their sorrow, once sat in the sacrificial hall and was pondering this, when a disembodied voice spoke: 'O king, if an offering of a man endowed with the thirty-two marks is given before the wish-fulfilling goddess residing in the temple standing ahead, rain will surely fall.' Hearing that, the king went to the temple, bowed to the goddess, and as he was applying the sword to his neck, he was seized by the goddess and told: 'O king, I am pleased with your fortitude; choose a boon.'

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The king said: 'O goddess, if you are pleased, then avert the drought.' The goddess said: 'I shall do so.' Then the king returned to his own palace. Having narrated this tale, the statuette said to the king: 'O king, if such fortitude is present in you, then sit upon this throne.' Hearing that, the king fell silent. Thus ends the twenty-fifth tale.

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