The Beginnings of Buddhist Art and Other Essays in Indian and Central-Asian Archaeology c6.s1.4

c6.s1.4

XVII. A fragment of another medallion, found only by the greatest chance, bears as title the three first words of the one stanza which constitutes the ancient nucleus of *Jâtaka* 62 : « The music that the Brahman... » : and, in fact, it shows us a caste man seated, with his eyes bandaged and playing the harp, whilst a couple dance before him (CUNNINGHAM, XXVI, 8). He is the chaplain of the king of Benares, and had, we are told, a habit of gaming with his master. But the king, each time he threw the dice, used, in order to bring himself good luck, to hum four verses, taken from some popular song, which were not very respectful to the virtue of women, and by force of this truth he won every time. The Brahman, in a fair way to being ruined, gives up playing and decides to rear a new-born girl-child without her ever seeing any other man than himself. She has scarcely reached marriagable age when he, in his turn, challenges the king, whose word, having become false, is no longer efficacious, so that he loses game after game. Thwarted, and guessing what is the snake under the rock, he charges one of his agents to seduce the only real virtue in his kingdom. This plan does readily succeed; and it must be believed that intelligence comes to a girl still more quickly than to a boy. The young novice's mind is so readily and so effectually enlightened, that she consents to organize the little scene of comedy represented by the bas-relief, and it is with her lover that she is dancing to the sound of the harp played by the blinded Brahman. I lay no stress upon the rest of the story or how she succeeds in exonerating herself by making a false oath true, a device equally well known to our folk-lore : the important thing is that in this Indian heroine you have been allowed to salute in passing the type of the eternal Agnes.