Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c4.939

c4.939

“Punished without proof! It will appear only to so him who is punished”. Thinking thus the King asked Aśokadatta to give the man some water. “Who will go to a burial-ground in the night? I myself shall take water to him”. Saying so Aśokadatta took water and went to the burial-ground and the King went to the palace. The world was in darkness. With here and there a spark of fire and light of fire-flies and lightning mingled with the shouting of ghosts and the roaring of the demons and occasional cries of birds and animals the burial-ground was a dreadful place, where Aśokadatta came and asked, “Who asked the King for water?” He heard a voice saying “Myself” and he went to the place of the voice and saw a man lying on a scaffold. An extremely beautiful woman also was lying under the scaffold crying, and getting ready to jump into the burning fire since she could not bear the separation of her husband on the new moon day. She had plenty of golden ornaments on her body. Aśokadatta asked her, “Madam! who are you, why are you crying here?” She replied, “I, an unfortunate woman, am the wife of the man on the scaffold. My intention is to burn myself along with his body. I am waiting for his life to depart. Because of my sin he is not dying. This is the third day since he is lying like this. He will be asking for water now and then. So I have brought some water. But his face being high I cannot reach it and I am seeing him burning with thirst, and am swallowing the grief.” Aśokadatta said, “See! The King has sent this water for him. Now climb on my back and you yourself give him this water.”