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Simhasanadvatrimshika 27

English (machine translation) 27

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27.p1

Again, as the king was attempting to sit upon the throne, another statuette spoke: “O King, he who possesses the virtues of generosity and the rest, like Vikrama, is fit to sit upon this throne.” Bhoja said, “O statuette, tell the account of his virtues such as generosity.” She said, “Listen, O King. King Vikramārka, for the sake of touring the earth, went from city to a certain city. The kings there, extremely righteous and devoted to the performance prescribed by the Vedas and tradition, properly protected the four castes—brahmins and the rest—residing there; all the people too were devoted to good conduct, fond of guests, and full of compassion. Thinking, ‘I will stay here for five days,’ King Vikrama went to an exceedingly charming temple, bowed to the deity, and sat down in the assembly hall. Meanwhile, someone of exceedingly charming appearance like a prince, wearing silk garments, adorned with various ornaments, his body smeared with sandalwood mixed with fragrant scents such as camphor, saffron, agallochum, and musk, came there along with courtesans; having made diverse amorous conversation, introduction, amusement, and the like with them, he went out again with them. The king also, having seen him, remained wondering, ‘Who is this?’ Then on the second day, that man, having a miserable face, stripped of garments and the like, with only a loincloth remaining, came alone and fell in the temple's assembly hall. Seeing him, the king said, ‘O Devadatta, yesterday you came here with your body adorned with garments, ornaments, and the like, like a prince, attended by courtesans; today, how have you arrived at such a condition of distress?’ He said, ‘O master, why do you ask this? Yesterday I was indeed in that state; now, through the stroke of fate, I am in this state. For indeed:

27.1

Those bees that grew plump on the rut-fluid of elephant-temples,
whose bodies were perfumed with the pollen of fully blown lotuses,
now spend their time day after day, through the stroke of fate,
upon neem trees and upon arka blossoms.

27.2

The bee, once devoted to dalliance amid the fragrance of juicy mangoes and palmyras,
now, under the sway of destiny, wanders in an arka thicket crowded with śarabhas.

27.3

Those royal geese that grew up amidst the pollen of golden lotuses,
amid the pure blue waves of the Mandākinī,
they now daily, indeed,
take refuge in water tangled with a net of moss.

27.p2

Moreover:

27.4

Radiant with a yellow body-cosmetic of pollen fallen from lotuses tossed by the wind,
who, hearing the sweet buzzing of the bees, felt a burst of joy,
and who was unable even to grasp the morsel of lotus fiber hanging from his beloved’s beak-tip,
that very goose, now gone to a desert, seeks wretched grass.

27.p3

Moreover, what distress does a person bound by his past deeds not obtain? And so it is said:

27.5

By whom Brahmā was restrained like a potter inside the pot of the universe,
by whom Viṣṇu was thrown into the great dilemma of the wilderness of ten incarnations,
by whom Rudra, with a skull in the cup of his hand, attends to begging for alms,
and the sun wanders perpetually in the sky—obeisance to that Karma.

27.p4

The king said, ‘Who are you?’ He said, ‘I am a gambler.’ The king said, ‘Do you know the game of gambling?’ He said, ‘In the matter of gambling, I alone am skilled. Furthermore, I know the board game of chess; but fate alone is powerful. And it is said:

27.6

‘Seeing the captivity of elephants, serpents, and birds,
the affliction by eclipse of the moon and the sun,
and the poverty of the intelligent,
my thought is: “Ah, Destiny is powerful!”’

27.p5

And likewise:

27.7

‘Neither physical appearance yields fruit, nor family, nor character,
nor even learning, nor even service performed with effort;
indeed, fortunes accumulated by former austerities
bear fruit for a man in due time, just like trees.’

27.p6

The king said, ‘O Devadatta, you are very wise; how do you set your mind on the very sinful act of gambling?’ He said, ‘Even a wise man, impelled by his past deeds, what will he not do? And so it is said: What does a wise man do when impelled by his own past deeds?

27.8

For the intellect of human beings follows beforehand their past deeds.’

27.p7

The king said, ‘O good sir, gambling is the root of great sin; the practice of gambling is the resort of all vices. And it is said:

27.9

‘Gambling is an abode of ill-fame, the house of thieves, courtesans, and the like,
the lord of vices, a repository of severe calamities, the seed of sin,
a forerunner on the uneven paths to hell—what mortal of clear intellect would engage in it?’

27.p8

And likewise: Where is ill-fame, where is poverty, where are misfortunes, where are anger, greed, and the like, and where is the vice of theft and the rest, and where is the torment in hell for men who have died?

27.10

Noble men declare: if the mind does not delight in gambling through heavy delusion, / a wise man on earth is remembered among wicked men when all else is lost.

27.p9

For that reason, the seven vices, which are great sins, ought to be abandoned by an intelligent man. And it is said:

27.11

Gambling, meat, liquor, prostitutes, hunting, theft, and another's wife— / the wise man should abandon just these seven vices, which are great sins.

27.p10

And furthermore: he who is attached to even one vice inevitably perishes; how much more so one overwhelmed by all seven vices? And it is said:

27.12

Through gambling the son of Dharma, through meat Baka here, through liquor the son of Yadu, / Śakra through adultery, through slaughtering deer that King Brahmadatta; / through theft Yayāti, through association with another’s woman the mighty ten-headed [Rāvaṇa]— / destroyed by a single vice each are these men: who would not perish through all of them?

27.p11

“Therefore these vices must be abandoned by you as well.” He said: “Sir, this is my very livelihood; how can it be given up? If you show mercy to me and tell me some means of acquiring wealth, then I will abandon gambling.” At this moment, two foreign brahmins came and sat down in a part of the temple, conferring with each other. There one said: “I have examined the entire manual of fiendish script. In it, this is written: in the north-eastern part of this temple, at a distance of five bow-lengths, three jars filled with gold coins are buried. Near it is an image of Bhairava. After sprinkling Bhairava with one's own blood, it is to be taken.” Then the king, hearing his words, went there, and just as he was sprinkling Bhairava with his own body's blood, Bhairava, pleased, said: “O king, I am pleased; choose a boon.” The king said: “If you are pleased with me, then give these three jars filled with gold coins to this gambler.” Then Bhairava gave that wealth to the gambler.

27.p12

The gambler also praised the king and went to his own place. King Vikrama too returned to his own city. Having told this story, the statuette said to the king: “O king, if such virtues as generosity exist in you, then sit on this throne.” Hearing that, the king remained silent. Thus ends the twenty-seventh tale.

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