Simhasanadvatrimshika f2: Frame-story II: King Bhartṛhari and the fruit that gave immortality

There is a city named Ujjayinī, extensive with all kinds of riches, surpassing by its virtues the dwelling-place of Purandara. There lived a king named Bhartṛhari, whose pair of lotus feet was reddened by the vermilion of the hair-partings of all the wives of his feudatories, skilled in all arts and versed in all learned treatises. He had a younger brother named Vikrama, who stripped the valour of his enemies by his own valour. That Bhartṛhari had a wife named Anaṅgasenā, who surpassed celestial maidens in beauty, charm, and other virtues. In that city a certain brahmin, versed in all learned treatises and especially knowing the science of mantras, yet extremely poor, pleased Bhuvaneśvarī by the practice of mantras. Pleased, she said to the brahmin: ‘Brahmin, choose a boon!’ The brahmin said: ‘O goddess, if you are pleased with me, make me free from old age and death.’ Then the goddess gave him a divine fruit and said: ‘Son, eat this fruit; you will become free from old age and death.’ Then the brahmin took that fruit, returned to his house, bathed, performed worship of the deity, and as he was about to eat the fruit, such a thought arose in his mind: ‘Why this? I am exceedingly poor; having become immortal, whom will I benefit? And even living for a long time, begging alone must be done. Therefore, even a short life of a benevolent man is for the better. Moreover, he who lives even for a moment endowed with qualities such as wisdom and power—his life alone is fruitful. And so it is said:

That a man lives even for a moment endowed with celebrated / qualities such as wisdom, valour, and power, / the wise declare to be the fruit of his life; / even a crow lives long and eats the funeral offering. || 1

And likewise:

That which is lived accompanied by fame and righteousness, that is true life; / devouring damp offerings of food, a crow lives long. || 2

Furthermore:

He alone lives, whose living allows many to live; / does even a crane not fill its belly with its beak? || 3

And moreover:

Vile men are in the thousands, whose bellies are filled by the work of nourishing themselves; / he whose self-interest is only the welfare of others is the one foremost among the good: / the submarine fire drinks the lord of rivers to fill its hard-to-fill belly, / but the cloud does so to dispel the torment of the world heated by summer. || 4

For a man who does not accomplish any purpose through caste, action, or virtues, / his birth is merely for a name, like an arbitrary word. || 5

Reflecting thus: ‘If this fruit is given to the king, he, having become free from old age and death, will protect the four castes according to righteousness,’ he took that fruit and, coming into the king’s presence—

‘Bearing a garland of non-serpents [or: great serpents], and a body clothed in yellow garments, / may Hara and Hari bring you auspiciousness, O king!’ || 6

Pronouncing this blessing, he placed the fruit into the king's hand and said: ‘O king, eat this wondrous fruit obtained by the grace of a deity's boon; you will become free from old age and death.’ Then the king took that fruit, dismissed him having given him many royal land grants, and reflected: ‘Ah, by eating this fruit immortality will be mine. My love for Anaṅgasenā is immense. She will die while I am still alive. I cannot bear the grief of separation from her. Therefore, I will give this fruit to Anaṅgasenā, who is dearer to me than life.’ So he summoned Anaṅgasenā and gave it to her. A certain groom was exceedingly dear to that Anaṅgasenā; she in turn reflected and gave that fruit to him. A certain maidservant was exceedingly dear to that groom; he gave it to her. The maidservant, too, had affection for a certain cowherd; she gave it to him. He too had great love for a certain cow-dung collector; he too gave it to her. Then that cow-dung collector, having gathered cow-dung outside the village, placed the basket of cow-dung on her head, set that fruit upon it, and as she came along the royal road, King Bhartṛhari, riding out for pleasure with the princes, saw that fruit resting on top of the cow-dung placed on her head, took it, turned back, and came home.

Then, having summoned that brahmin, he said: ‘O brahmin, is there another fruit like the one given by you?’ The brahmin said: ‘O king, that fruit was divine, obtained by the grace of a deity’s boon; there is no such fruit in the mortal world. Moreover, a king is indeed God manifest; falsehood must not be spoken before him. He should be looked upon like a god. And so it is said:

A king is celebrated by the sages as composed of all the gods; / therefore a wise man should look upon him like a god, and should not speak a lie. || 7

Then the king said: "If such a fruit is seen, how [could it be]?" The brahmin said: "Was that fruit eaten or not?" The king said: "That fruit was not eaten by me; it was given to Anaṅgasenā, the beloved of my life." The brahmin said: "Then ask her whether that fruit was eaten." Then the king summoned Anaṅgasenā and, making her take an oath, asked. She said: "That fruit was given to the groom." Then he was summoned, and being asked, he said it was given to a maidservant. The maidservant said it was given to a cowherd, and the cowherd said it was given to a woman who gathers cow dung. Then, having become convinced of the truth, the king fell into deep despair and recited a verse:

In captivating beauty and in youth,
men's pride is entirely in vain;
for whatever the mind-born Lord of Love desires
in the hearts of arched-browed women, that he does. || 8

And furthermore: "Ah, the mind and conduct of women cannot be known by anyone." And so it is said:

The bounding of a horse and the thunder of Indra,
the heart of women and the destiny of a man,
drought and torrential rain—
even a god does not know, so how could a mortal? || 9

And likewise:

They can seize a tiger in the forest, a bird perched in the sky,
a fish moving in the midst of a river, but never the fickle mind of women. || 10

Moreover:

A barren woman's son might obtain royal glory, and the sky the beauty of a flower,
[all this] might indeed happen, but not the slightest purity of mind in women. || 11

And also:

Even those who understand pleasure, pain, victory, defeat, life, and death,
even those knowers of the truth are surely bewildered by the actions of women. || 12

And furthermore:

Even when they have obtained a man like the god of love, all women
by their very nature crave another man; so speak those whose hearts are pure. || 13

And likewise:

Without recitation, mantra, esoteric ritual, or modesty,
women deceive a man, even one rich in wisdom, in an instant. || 14

One fallen from family and caste, vile, behaving wickedly,
untouchable, base—such, I think, is generally the preferred lover of women. || 15

Amid dignities, distinctions, virtues, and myriads of worshipful things,
women nevertheless plunge vainly by themselves into the mire of faults. || 16

They laugh and they weep for the sake of wealth;
they inspire trust in a man, yet they never trust;
therefore a man of good family and conduct should always
avoid women like the urns of a cremation ground. || 17

And furthermore:

There is no fortune higher than dispassion, no joy other than enlightenment,
no other protector than Hari, no greater enemy than worldly existence. || 18

Having recited this verse, Bhartṛhari attained supreme dispassion, consecrated Vikramārka upon the throne, and himself departed for the forest. Thus ends the story of the dispassion of Bhartṛhari.