Lallu Lal

“ To live for the mere sake of living, is the way in which dogs and crows, even, cherish life. Those who lay down their lives for the sake of a Brahman, a cow, a friend, or a wife, nay, more, for the sake of a stranger, assuredly dwell in paradise for ever.’”
“Garur said, ‘Everyone in the world cherishes his own life; and scarce, indeed, are those in the world who lay down their own lives to save the lives of others.’ After saying this, Garur added, ‘Ask a boon; I am pleased with thy courage.’ On hearing this, Jïmüt-bãhan said, ‘O god! ”

“ On this he asked, ‘Hast thou told this story to thy husband, or not?’ She replied, saying, ‘I have mentioned the whole affair, and after becoming acquainted with everything, he has allowed me to come to thee.’ Somdatt said, ‘This matter is like jewels without apparel, or food without clarified butter, or singing out of tune—all these things are alike. Similarly, dirty garments mar beauty, bad food saps the strength, a wicked wife deprives of life, a bad son ruins the family. ”

“ And having gone close and observed, he perceived a corpse fastened by a string, and hanging head downwards. He was glad to see the corpse, thinking his trouble had been rewarded. Taking his sword and shield, he climbed the tree fearlessly, and struck such a blow with the sword that the rope was severed and the corpse fell down, and instantly began to weep aloud. On hearing his voice the king was pleased, and began to say to himself, “Well! this man at least is alive.” ”

“ After beholding this spectacle there, the minister turned back and came to his own city, and, proceeding to the king, made obeisance, and joining his hands, said, ‘Your Majesty! I have witnessed a marvellous sight!’ The monarch said, ‘Describe it.’ The minister said, ‘Your majesty! men of olden time have said that one should not speak of such things as are beyond the comprehension of any one, and which no one would credit. ”

“ To be brief, it happened one day that the king questioned him, saying, ‘Haridãs! has the Iron Age (i.e. the fourth age of the world, or the age of vice) begun yet or not?’ On this he put his hands together and said, ‘Your majesty! we are already in the Iron Age (lit. the Iron Age is present) ; for falsehood is rife in the world, and truth has decreased; people utter soft words to one’s face, while they harbour deceit in their hearts; virtue has vanished; vice has increased; the earth has begun to yield less fruit; kings have begun levying contributions by violence ”

“ The ways of the Creator are utterly inscrutable; for men propose a thing to themselves, and He brings something quite different to pass.’”
“On hearing this, Dhanvati said, ‘O man! who art thou?’ He replied, ‘I am a thief; this is my third day on the impaling-stake, and life will not quit the body.’ She said, ‘For what reason?’ He replied, saying, ‘I am unmarried; if thou wilt give me thy daughter in marriage, I will give thee ten millions of gold-mohurs.’ It is notorious that greediness of gain is the root of all evil, pleasure the source of pain, and love the source of sorrow. ”

“ One comes, another goes, and ultimately all life must depart—not one of these will remain. Many and various bodies are there, and many and various minds, and many and various affections, and various kinds of delusions has Brahma created; but the wise escape these, and quenching hope and desire, shaving their heads, taking a staff and water-pot in their hands, subduing the passions of love and anger, become ascetics, and wander barefooted from one place of pilgrimage to another ”

“ When this news reached the king, he said to his son, ‘What shall we do now?’ The prince said, ‘Your majesty! you be pleased to abide here in peace; I will away and destroy them this instant.’ The king said, ‘O son! this body is frail, and riches, too, are unabiding; when a man is born, death, too, attends him; hence we should now give up dominion, and practise religious duties. It is not right to commit a heinous sin for the sake of such a body, and for the sake of a kingdom ”

“ Hearing these words the jeweller said, “O king! you have spoken the truth. He whose integrity is safe, his all is safe: integrity alone accompanies us, and that it is which proves of advantage in both worlds. ”

“ The king agreed to his condition and went off with him. Then the sprite said, “O king! those who are learned, discerning, and wise—their days are passed in the delight of song and the shãstras, while the days of the unwise and foolish are spent in dissipation and sleep. ”

“ And when Yama * carries off a man, wealth remains behind in his house, and father, mother, wife, son, brothers and kindred—no one proves of any avail; his good and evil deeds, his vices and his virtues alone accompany him; while those same kinsfolk take him to the burning-ground and burn him. And see (how) the night comes to an end on one side, while day dawns on the other; here the moon sets, there the sun rises. In the same way youth departs, old age comes on; thus, also, time goes on passing away, and yet, even while perceiving this, man does not learn wisdom. ”

“ The wife of another is as a mother, and the wealth of another is on a par with mud. Hear me, brother! As a man regards his own heart, so should he regard the hearts of others.’ Balbhadra spoke again, saying, ‘She is my servant. When I give her to your majesty, how can she any longer be the wife of another?’ The king replied; ‘I will not commit an act whereby reproach would attach to me in the world.’ The commander-in-chief said again, ‘Your majesty! ”

“ When the king had celebrated the praises of the goddess to this extent, a voice issued from the temple of Devi, saying, ‘King! I am well pleased with thee; ask any boon that thou may’st desire.’ The king said, ‘Mother! if thou art pleased with me, grant me a son.’ Devi replied, ‘King! thou shalt have a son (who shall be) very powerful and very glorious.’ Then the king made offerings of sandal, unbroken rice, flowers, incense, lamps and consecrated food, and paid adoration. ”

“ After reaching this point of the story, the sprite said, “Your majesty! who was the greatest fool of those four?” King Vikram replied, “He who restored it to life was the greatest fool. And it is said, that knowledge without wisdom is of no use whatever; on the contrary, wisdom is superior to learning; and those who lack wisdom die just as he who raised the tiger to life died.” When the sprite heard these words, he went and suspended himself on that same tree. Again did the king bind him, place him on his shoulder, and carry him away as before. ”

“ Thereafter the minister said one day to the king, ‘Attend, O king! to an exposition of the sacred law Whosoever takes the life of any one, this same takes his life also in another state of existence. It is on account of this sin that living and dying are inseparable from man on his entering this world. He is born again and again, and again he dies. Hence, it behoves man, on his being born into the world, to treasure up virtuous deeds. Observe (how) Brahmã, Yishnü, Mahãdeva, in one form or another, become incarnate in the world under the influence of love, anger, covetousness, or infatuation! ”

“ He said, ‘I have learned the science of restoring the dead to life.’ As soon as they heard this, they said, ‘If you have learned this, restore our beloved to life.’ He replied, ‘Make a heap of the ashes and bones, and I will restore it to life.’ They gathered together the ashes and bones. ”

“ In the meantime an arrow struck the king’s forehead with such force that he reeled and fell, and one of them came up and out off the king’s head. When the queen and princess saw the king dead, they took their way back to the jungle weeping and beating their breasts. ”

“ When three days passed without the minister’s eating and drinking, then, indeed, all the officials combined, and said to the king, ‘Your majesty! the minister’s son is in a precarious state, and in the event of his dying, the minister, too, will not survive. And on the minister’s dying, the affairs of the state will come to a stand-still. It is better that you consent to that which we state.’ Hearing this, the king gave them permission to speak. Then one of them said, ‘Your majesty! it is long since that old Brahman left this, and he has not returned; God knows whether he is dead or alive. ”

“ The full duration of a man’s life is a hundred years; of this, half passes away in night, and half of the half in childhood and old age; the remainder is spent in contention, the (distress arising from) separation from those we love, and affliction. Further, the soul that is, is as restless as a watery wave; how, then, can it yield man any peace? And now, in this Iron Age, to meet with truthful men is a difficult matter; while countries are daily laid! waste, kings are avaricious, the earth yields little fruit, thieves and evil doers commit violence on the earth ”

“ Having told so much of the tale, the sprite said, “O king! to which of these does the guilt of killing a Brahman attach?” The king said, “Poison exists in a snake’s mouth as a matter of course; therefore no guilt attaches to it. Again, the Brahman gave him alms, considering him to be hungry; (therefore) guilt does not attach to him. Further, the Brahman’s wife had given him alms at the bidding of her husband; she, too, is without sin. And he ate the milk and rice unwittingly, and hence he also is guiltless. In short, whoever imputes guilt to anyone of these, is himself a sinner.” ”

“ At that time, Vishnusharma, the king’s family priest, came and began reasoning with him, saying, ‘When this (being) man enters the mother’s womb, he first suffers pain there; secondly, falling under the influence of love in youth, he endures the anguish of separation from his beloved; thirdly, becoming old, he is involved in suffering through his body being feeble. ”

“ Therefore, to worship the gods, is not well: worship the cow in this world. And it is a duty to protect the life of every animal, from the elephant to the ant; including beasts, birds, &c., up to man; there is no duty equal to that in the world. Those who add to their flesh by eating the flesh of other creatures, ultimately suffer the torments of hell. Hence it is incumbent on man to preserve life. ”

“ A friendship arose between Jïmüt-bãhan and a holy sage’s son. One day the king’s son and the son of the sage went out together for a stroll on the top of the mountain. A temple, sacred to Bhawãnï, came in sight there. Within the temple, a princess, with a lute in her hands, was singing in front of the goddess. The eyes of the princess and those of Jïinüt-bãhan met, and both became smitten with love. But the princess, restraining her feelings, and stricken with shame, turned her steps homeward ”

“ The saying is well known that, The more they rub sandal-wood, the more it gives out its perfume; and the more they go on peeling the sugar-cane, and cutting it up into pieces, the more does its flavour increase; and the more they pass gold through the fire, the more surpassingly beautiful does it become. Those who are noble do not give up their natural qualities even on losing their lives. What matters it whether men praise them or blame them? ”

“ And those who pride themselves on riches, youth, or knowledge, are unwise. Again, they who turn devotees, and, taking a water-pot in hand, beg alms from door to door, and nourishing their bodies with milk, clarified butter, and sugar, become lustful, and have sexual intercourse with women, they nullify their religious meditations.’ After repeating so much, he proceeded, saying, ‘I will now go on a pilgrimage.’ On hearing these words, his relations were much pleased. ”

“ The short of the story is this, that you three men have been born under one asterism, one conjunction, and in one moment. You took birth in a king’s house; the second was an oilman’s (child) ; the third, the devotee, was born in a potter’s house. You still govern here, while the oilman’s son was the ruler of the infernal regions; but that potter, bringing his religious meditations to thorough perfection, has killed the oilman, turned him into a demon in a burning-ground and placed him hanging head-downwards on a siris-tree, and is intent on killing you. If you escape him, you will rule. ”

“ Such was the apartment to which the princess Padmãvatï took the prince and gave him a seat, and having his feet washed, and applying sandal to his body, and placing a garland of flowers round his neck, and sprinkling rose-water over him, began fanning him with her own hands. Upon this the prince said, ‘At the mere sight of you I have become refreshed; why do you take so much trouble? These delicate hands are not fit to handle a fan; give me the fan; you be seated.’ Padmãvatï replied, ‘Great king! ”

“ When I have lost the woman, what will I do with the wealth? Brute beasts are better off in the world than those who do not possess themselves of handsome wives. The fruit of merit is wealth, and the advantage of wealth is ease, and the consequence of ease is (the taking) a wife; now, what happiness can there be where there is no wife?’ On hearing this, Müldeva said, ‘I will give thee whatsoever thou may’st ask for.’ Then he said, ‘O Brahman obtain that same maiden’s hand for me.’ Müldeva thereupon said, ‘So be it ”