C. A. Kincaid

“ Now it happened that on that very night Shiva and Parwati were in their chariot driving through the air over that very place. Parwati said suddenly to her husband, “I hear a woman crying, let us go and see what it is.” The god Shiva drove his chariot down to earth. He and Parwati got out and saw the Brahman’s youngest daughter crying. They asked her what the reason was, and she told them. Then Parwati pitied her and said, “Your aunt has acquired great merit by her piety and devotions. You go to her and get her to give you all her merit and so you will bring your husband back to life.” ”

“ For none among you is so wretched as I am. In former years I was the most fortunate of all the lamps in Atpat. No other lamp had such honours paid it as I had, and this year I have to drag out my days In unspeakable misery.” All the other lamps tried to comfort it, and asked it how it was that ill-fortune had overtaken it. “O brother lamps, how can I tell you?” repeated the big lamp. “I am the chief among the lamps that shine In the palace of the King of Atpat. One day the king’s little daughter-in-law ate some sweetmeats and to save herself blamed the mice. ”

“ At last they bothered the poor Brahman so much that he felt worried to death. “I love,” he said, “my children as if they were made of gold, but they will not mind what I say. They will not understand that it is nothing but poverty which prevents my buying food and offering it to Parwati. I might go out and beg, but when I do, no one ever gives me anything. Death is better than a life like this.” ”

“ Once upon a time there was a town called Atpat.1 In it there lived a bania who had no son. Every day a religious mendicant used to come to his house and call out, “Alms! Alms! In the name of God, give me alms.” But when the bania’s wife offered him alms he refused them, because she had no children. She told her husband, who advised her to play a trick on the mendicant. She hid behind her door, and as he called out “Alms! alms!” she slipped a gold piece into his wallet. But the mendicant caught her and became very angry. ”

“ In the afternoon I shall take that of a young married woman. In the evening I shall become an old hag.” After the goddess had taken all three shapes, Queen Chimadevrani called her into the palace and bathed and anointed her. She gave her a silk skirt and a platform to sit upon. Then she sent for Wonderways, and both of them worshipped the old beggar-woman and blew on earthen pots in her honour. The king heard the blowing on the pots and told a sepoy to find out why there was such a noise in Queen Chimadevrani’s quarters. ”

“ One day the rishi, or sage, Vasishta1 paid the king a visit. The king prostrated himself before the great sage and gave him a throne to sit upon. Vasishta looked at the king’s face and saw how sad and careworn it was. He asked the cause, and the king told him. Then the rishi rose, and the king went with him to the palace of the four queens. When they reached it, they called to the queens to come out. The rishi then asked them why they quarrelled. The first queen cried out, “Why should I have to do the dairy work?” And the second queen cried out, “Why should I be only a cook-woman?” ”

“ The Brahman did as the old woman ordered him, and that evening he called to the cows and buffaloes by name to come to his courtyard. And from every direction the cows and buffaloes came running up. And behind them galloped all the little calves with their heels in the air and their tails stuck out straight behind them. At last the Brahman’s courtyard was filled so full that no more cows or buffaloes could enter. And he milked them all, and next day his wife cooked a milk-pudding such as one would not see again if one lived a thousand years. ”

“ So she fell at the elder Brahman’s feet and said, “We have been very wicked and have deserved to become poor. But please forgive us and tell me how we may become rich as we were before.” The elder Brahman said, “Every Wednesday and every Thursday you must invite a Brahman to dinner. And if you have no money to pay for the dinner, draw a pair of cow’s feet on your money-box. If you want grain for the dinner, draw a pair of cow’s feet on your corn-bin. Then worship the feet and welcome the Brahmans. For you will find that you will have money in your box and grain in your corn-bin. ”

“ But, when the seventh little boy was born only to die just as his guests were beginning to enjoy their dinner, the poor Brahman lost all patience. He took the newly-born child and placed it in his daughter-in-law’s lap and then drove her out of the house and into the jungle. The poor woman walked along until she came to a great, dark forest. In it she met the wife of a hobgoblin,2 who asked, “Lady, Lady, whose wife are you, and why do you come here? Run away as quickly as you can. For, if my husband the hobgoblin sees you, he will tear you to pieces and gobble you up.” ”

“ The Brahman was very angry with her, and so how do you [70] think he punished her? He first searched about and found six rich and handsome boys. Then he married them with great pomp and display to his six eldest daughters. But the youngest girl he gave in marriage to a miserable beggar-man. You never saw such a beggar-man as he was! There was not a spot on his skin that was not black with leprosy, and his feet and hands had rotted right off. If you had seen him you would have said, “If that beggar-man does not die to-day he will certainly die to-morrow. For he cannot possibly live any longer!” ”

“ The old woman went away crying with joy, and promising to worship the sun in the way the wood-fairies had instructed the Brahman. Next day the cavalcade reached the fourth halting-place. Food was cooked, and the queen first filled the king’s plate and then her own. After dinner she sent her [12] servants as before to bring in some poor and hungry man from the neighbouring village. They found a man whose eyes were so crooked that he could hardly see, who had no arms or legs, and who had not even a name. ”

“ So each day of the week has its separate tale. And all through Shravan or August, probably because it is the wettest month in the year, Deccan mothers tell afresh every week-day that day’s story. And little Deccan children listen to the tales as they fall due with the same unvarying attention. For in nurseries, Indian as well as English, tales are loved the better when no longer new, and where the end is well known to, and therefore the better understood by, the tiny round-eyed listeners. ”

“ The bania climbed upon Ganpati’s stomach and ate as many mangoes as he could. He next filled a large bundle full of mangoes and stepped down. But when he reached the ground he found that there was only one mango in the bundle. He climbed up again and refilled his bundle, but when he stepped down he again found only one mango. This happened three or four times. At last Ganpati got very sore and angry with having his stomach trampled on. So he shouted out, “One mango is all you’ll get. So be off home!” The bania was frightened out of his wits and galloped home with his one mango. ”

“ With these words the mendicant took up his wallet and went to collect alms elsewhere. When her husband returned home Dhanvanti told him what had happened. “Some one,” she added, “must go across the seven seas, to fetch Soma, the washerwoman.” The father and mother called up their sons and said, “Those of you who honour your parents will take your sister and cross the seven seas to bring Soma here.” But all the sons turned to their mother and said, “All you care about is your daughter. You do not love us the least little bit. ”

“ He shouted at her, “A beggar woman must, I suppose, act like a village sow, and will not go away although told to. But do not come to-morrow. If you do, I’ll have you turned out.” Next day, however, she again went with her children to her brother’s house. But near the entrance his servants caught her and turned her out before she could eat anything. She went home sad and hungry and prayed to Shukra. Now the goddess had been pleased with her devotion and so took pity on her. She helped the poor woman’s husband so that he rapidly acquired great wealth. ”

“ As the boys and girls grow up, the stories fade gradually from their minds. But a time comes when they have children of their own. And then, to amuse the children, they can find no tales more thrilling than those which fascinated them in their own childhood. ”

“ The little girl ran back, put some more alms before the mendicant, and again prostrating herself asked for his blessing. Once more he said, “Observe the precepts of religion,” Then Dhanvanti asked him why he gave her daughter such a strange blessing. The mendicant replied, “Because widowhood will come upon her immediately after her marriage,” Dhanvanti threw herself before the Brahman and grasped his feet and cried, weeping, “Tell me how I may escape this evil; what shall I do to save my one little [81] girl from becoming a widow?” The Brahman pitied her and said, “Lady, lady, do not weep ”

“ But because the flour and ghee and treacle were not sent, the king was unable to complete his ceremonial, and it was all spoilt. And the god Shiva instead of being pleased became very angry indeed. And he told the king that, if he kept the queen as his wife, he would lose his kingdom and die a beggar. Next day the king sent for his chief minister and told him what had happened. At first the minister said, “The kingdom belongs to the queen’s father. If you drive her out your [104] subjects will hate you.” ”

“ And then she blessed the poor old woman’s son and said, “You will get half the kingdom of Atpat and half the king’s treasure. He will build you a house as high as his own, and he will give you the name of ‘Navalvat’ or ‘Wonderways.’ For this very morning the king’s mighty enemy will break his neck and be found lying dead in the king’s courtyard,” With these words [44] the goddess vanished and flew to Kolhapur,3 and the old woman’s son went home. Now at dawn Queen Patmadhavrani got up and went into the king’s courtyard, and there she saw Nandanbaneshwar lying dead from a broken neck. ”

“ And every day they became poorer and poorer. First all the men servants ran away, then the male members of the family left, and at last the seven daughters-in-law were left alone in the house. They were starving, but they did not know how to get any food. One day they heard that a king in a neighbouring country wished to construct a tank and was calling for labourers. So they decided to go to the tank and work there just like common coolie women. Now who do you think the king was? He was the youngest son of the prince of Atpat and the husband of the youngest daughter-in-law. ”

“ When Englishmen and Englishwomen are little boys and girls, they listen with open ears to the tales of Golden-hair and the three Bears, of Cinderella and the Prince, and of the Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood. ”

“ They drew on the wall a picture of Shiva and Parwati, and they put the children to bed beneath it. Parwati appeared to the little girl in her sleep. The goddess said, “My child, a snake will come to bite your husband: give it milk to drink. Then put near it a new earthen jar. When the snake has finished drinking, it will enter the earthen jar. Then at once pull off your bodice and stuff it into the jar’s mouth. Next morning give the jar to your mother.” Next evening everything happened as Parwati had said. The snake came to bite her husband as he slept. ”

“ It must be remembered that the [viii] main Hindu gods are three in number. They are all sprung from a common origin, Brahma, but they are quite separate beings. They do not form a trinity, i.e. three in one or one in three. And each of them has a wife and a family. The following genealogical tree will, I hope, help the reader.
Brahma Shiva = Parwati Ganpati = the daughters of Agni Kartakswami1 Vishnu = Mahalaxmi Brahmadev = Saraswati
Of the above gods, Shiva, his son Kartakswami, and his wife Parwati, Vishnu and his wife Mahalaxmi only are mentioned in the following stories. ”