FIRE OF BEAUTY
(Salutation to Ganesa the Lord of Wisdom, and to Saraswate the Lady ofSweet Speech!)
This story was composed by the Brahmin Visravas, that dweller on thebanks of holy Kashi; and though the events it records are long past, yetit is absolutely and immutably true because, by the power of his yoga,he summoned up every scene before him, and beheld the persons movingand speaking as in life. Thus he had naught to do but to set down whatbefell.
What follows, that hath he seen.
I
Wide was the plain, the morning sun shining full upon it, drinking upthe dew as the Divine drinks up the spirit of man. Far it stretched,resembling the ocean, and riding upon it like a stately ship was theleague-long Rock of Chitor. It is certainly by the favour of the Godsthat this great fortress of the Rajput Kings thus rises from the plain,leagues in length, noble in height; and very strange it is to see theflat earth fall away from it like waters from the bows of a boat, as itsoars into the sky with its burden of palaces and towers.
Here dwelt the Queen Padmini and her husband Bhimsi, the Rana of theRajputs.
The sight of the holy ascetic Visravas pierced even the secrets of theRani's bower, where, in the inmost chamber of marble, carved until itappeared like lace of the foam of the sea, she was seated upon cushionsof blue Bokhariot silk, like the lotus whose name she bore floating uponthe blue depths of the lake. She had just risen from the shallow bath ofmarble at her feet.
Most beautiful was this Queen, a haughty beauty such as should be aRajput lady; for the name "Rajput" signifies Son of a King, and thislady was assuredly the daughter of Kings and of no lesser persons. Andsince that beauty is long since ashes (all things being transitory),it is permitted to describe the mellowed ivory of her body, the smoothcurves of her hips, and the defiance of her glimmering bosom, halfveiled by the long silken tresses of sandal-scented hair which a maidenon either side, bowing toward her, knotted upon her head. But evenhe who with his eyes has seen it can scarce tell the beauty of herface--the slender arched nose, the great eyes like lakes of darknessin the reeds of her curled lashes, the mouth of roses, the glance,deer-like but proud, that courted and repelled admiration. This cannotbe told, nor could the hand of man paint it. Scarcely could that fairwife of the Pandava Prince, Draupadi the Beautiful (who bore upon herperfect form every auspicious mark) excel this lady.
(Ashes--ashes! May Maheshwara have mercy upon her rebirths!)
Throughout India had run the fame of this beauty. In the bazaar ofKashmir they told of it. It was recorded in the palaces of Travancore,and all the lands that lay between; and in an evil hour--may the Godscurse the mother that bore him!--it reached the ears of Allah-u-Din, theMoslem dog, a very great fighting man who sat in Middle India, lootingand spoiling.
(Ahi! for the beauty that is as a burning flame!)
In the gardens beneath the windows of the Queen, the peacocks, thosemaharajas of the birds, were spreading the bronze and emerald of theirtails. The sun shone on them as on heaps of jewels, so that they dazzledthe eyes. They stood about the feet of the ancient Brahmin sage, hewho had tutored the Queen in her childhood and given her wisdom as thecrest-jeweled of her loveliness. He, the Twice-born sat under the shadeof a neem tree, hearing the gurgle of the sacred waters from the Cow'sMouth, where the great tank shone under the custard-apple boughs; and,at peace with all the world, he read in the Scripture which affirms thetransience of all things drifting across the thought of the Supreme likeclouds upon the surface of the Ocean.
(Ahi! that loveliness is also illusion!)
Her women placed about the Queen--that Lotus of Women--a robe of silkof which none could say that it was green or blue, the noble colours somingled into each other under the latticed gold work of Kashi. They setthe jewels on her head, and wide thin rings of gold heavy with greatpearls in her ears. Upon the swell of her bosom they clasped thenecklace of table emeralds, large, deep, and full of green lights, whichis the token of the Chitor queens. Upon her slender ankles they placedthe chooris of pure soft gold, set also with grass-green emeralds, andthe delicate souls of her feet they reddened with lac. Nor were her armsforgotten, but loaded with bangles so free from alloy that they could bebent between the hands of a child. Then with fine paste they painted theSymbol between her dark brows, and, rising, she shone divine as a nymphof heaven who should cause the righteous to stumble in his austeritiesand arrest even the glances of Gods.
(Ahi! that the Transient should be so fair!)
II
Now it was the hour that the Rana should visit her; for since the comingof the Lotus Lady, he had forgotten his other women, and in her was allhis heart. He came from the Hall of Audience where petitions were heard,and justice done to rich and poor; and as he came, the Queen, hearinghis step on the stone, dismissed her women, and smiling to know herloveliness, bowed before him, even as the Goddess Uma bows before Himwho is her other half.
Now he was a tall man, with the falcon look of the Hill Rajputs, andmoustaches that curled up to his eyes, lion-waisted and lean in theflanks like Arjoon himself, a very ruler of men; and as he came, hishand was on the hilt of the sword that showed beneath his gold coat ofkhincob. On the high cushions he sat, and the Rani a step beneath him;and she said, raising her lotus eyes:--
"Speak, Aryaputra, (son of a noble father)--what hath befallen?"
And he, looking upon her beauty with fear, replied,--
"It is thy beauty, O wife, that brings disaster."
"And how is this?" she asked very earnestly.
For a moment he paused, regarding her as might a stranger, as onewho considers a beauty in which he hath no part; and, drawn by thisstrangeness, she rose and knelt beside him, pillowing her head upon hisheart.
"Say on," she said in her voice of music.
He unfurled a scroll that he had crushed in his strong right hand, andread aloud:--
"'Thus says Allah-u-Din, Shadow of God, Wonder of the Age,Viceregent of Kings. We have heard that in the Treasury of Chitor is ajewel, the like of which is not in the Four Seas--the work of the handof the Only God, to whom be praise! This jewel is thy Queen, the LadyPadmini. Now, since the sons of the Prophet are righteous, I desire butto look upon this jewel, and ascribing glory to the Creator, to departin peace. Granted requests are the bonds of friendship; thereforelay the head of acquiescence in the dust of opportunity and name anauspicious day.'"
He crushed it again and flung it furiously from him on the marble.
"The insult is deadly. The sorry son of a debased mother! Well he knowsthat to the meanest Rajput his women are sacred, and how much more thedaughters and wives of the Kings! The jackals feast on the tongue thatspeaks this shame! But it is a threat, Beloved--a threat! Give me thycounsel that never failed me yet."
For the Rajputs take counsel with their women who are wise.
They were silent, each weighing the force of resistance that could bemade; and this the Rani knew even as he.
"It cannot be," she said; "the very ashes of the dead would shudder tohear. Shall the Queens of India be made the sport of the barbarians?"
Her husband looked upon her fair face. She could feel his heart laborbeneath her ear.
"True, wife; but the barbarians are strong. Our men are tigers, eachone, but the red dogs of the Dekkan can pull down the tiger, for theyare many, and he alone."
Then that great Lady, accepting his words, and conscious of the danger,murmured this, clinging to her husband:--
"There was a Princess of our line whose beauty made all other women seemas waning moons in the sun's splendour. And many great Kings sought her,and there was contention and war. And, she, fearing that the Rajputswould be crushed to powder between the warring Kings, sent unto eachthis message: 'Come on such and such a day, and thou shalt see my faceand hear my choice.' And they, coming, rejoiced exceedingly, thinkingeach one that he was the Chosen. So they came into the great Hall, andthere was a table, and somewhat upon it covered with a gold cloth; andan old veiled woman lifted
the gold, and the head of the Princess laythere with the lashes like night upon her cheek, and between her lipswas a little scroll, saying this: 'I have chosen my Lover and my Lord,and he is mightiest, for he is Death.'--So the Kings went silently away.And there was Peace."
The music of her voice ceased, and the Rana clasped her closer.
"This I cannot do. Better die together. Let us take counsel with theancient Brahman, thy guru [teacher], for he is very wise."
She clapped her hands, and the maidens returned, and, bowing, broughtthe venerable Prabhu Narayan into the Presence, and again those rosesretired.
Respectful salutation was then offered by the King and the Queen to thatsaint, hoary with wisdom--he who had seen her grow into the lovelinessof the sea-born Shri, yet had never seen that loveliness; for he hadnever raised his eyes above the chooris about her ankles. To him theKing related his anxieties; and he sat rapt in musing, and the twowaited in dutiful silence until long minutes had fallen away; and at thelast he lifted his head, weighted with wisdom, and spoke.
"O King, Descendant of Rama! this outrage cannot be. Yet, knowing thestrength and desire of this obscene one and the weakness of our power,it is plain that only with cunning can cunning be met. Hear, therefore,the history of the Fox and the Drum.
"A certain Fox searched for food in the jungle, and so doing behelda tree on which hung a drum; and when the boughs knocked upon theparchment, it sounded aloud. Considering, he believed that so round aform and so great a voice must portend much good feeding. Neglecting onthis account a fowl that fed near by, he ascended to the drum. The drumbeing rent was but air and parchment, and meanwhile the fowl fled away.And from the eye of folly he shed the tear of disappointment, havingbartered the substance for the shadow. So must we act with this budmash[scoundrel]. First, receiving his oath that he will depart withoutviolence, hid him hither to a great feast, and say that he shall beholdthe face of the Queen in a mirror. Provide that some fair woman ofthe city show her face, and then let him depart in peace, showing himfriendship. He shall not know he hath not seen the beauty he wouldbefoul."
After consultation, no better way could be found; but the heart of thegreat Lady was heavy with foreboding.
(A hi! that Beauty should wander a pilgrim in the ways of sorrow!)
To Allah-u-Din therefore did the King dispatch this letter by swiftriders on mares of Mewar.
After salutations--"Now whereas thou hast said thou wouldest look uponthe beauty of the Treasure of Chitor, know it is not the custom of theRajputs that any eye should light upon their treasure. Yet assuredly,when requests arise between friends, there cannot fail to followdistress of mind and division of soul if these are ungranted. So, underpromises that follow, I bid thee to a feast at my poor house of Chitor,and thou shalt see that beauty reflected in a mirror, and so seeing,depart in peace from the house of a friend."
This being writ by the Twice-Born, the Brahman, did the Rana sign withbitter rage in his heart. And the days passed.
III
On a certain day found fortunate by the astrologers--a day of earlywinter, when the dawns were pure gold and the nights radiant with acool moon--did a mighty troop of Moslems set their camp on the plain ofChitor. It was as if a city had blossomed in an hour. Those who lookedfrom the walls muttered prayers to the Lord of the Trident; for thesemen seemed like the swarms of the locust--people, warriors all, fiercefighting-men. And in the ways of Chitor, and up the steep and windingcauseway from the plains, were warriors also, the chosen of the Rajputs,thick as blades of corn hedging the path.
(Ahi! that the blossom of beauty should have swords for thorns!)
Then, leaving his camp, attended by many Chiefs,--may the mothers andsires that begot them be accursed!--came Allah-u-Din, riding toward theLower Gate, and so upward along the causeway, between the two rows ofmen who neither looked nor spoke, standing like the carvings of war inthe Caves of Ajunta. And the moon was rising through the sunset as hecame beneath the last and seventh gate. Through the towers and palaceshe rode with his following, but no woman, veiled or unveiled,--no, noteven an outcast of the city,--was there to see him come; only the men,armed and silent. So he turned to Munim Khan that rode at his bridle,saying,--
"Let not the eye of watchfulness close this night on the pillow offorgetfulness!"
And thus he entered the palace.
Very great was the feast in Chitor, and the wines that those accursedshould not drink (since the Outcast whom they call their Prophet forbadethem) ran like water, and at the right hand of Allah-u-Din was set thegreat crystal Cup inlaid with gold by a craft that is now perished; andhe filled and refilled it--may his own Prophet curse the swine!
But because the sons of Kings eat not with the outcasts, the Ranaentered after, clothed in chain armor of blue steel, and having greetedhim, bid him to the sight of that Treasure. And Allah-u-Din, his eyesswimming with wine, and yet not drunken, followed, and the two wentalone.
Purdahs [curtains] of great splendour were hung in the great Hall thatis called the Raja's Hall, exceeding rich with gold, and in front of theopening was a kneeling-cushion, and an a gold stool before it a polishedmirror.
(Ahi! for gold and beauty, the scourges of the world!)
And the Rana was pale to the lips.
Now as the Princes stood by the purdah, a veiled woman, shrouded inwhite so that no shape could be seen in her, came forth from within,and kneeling upon the cushion, she unveiled her face bending untilthe mirror, like a pool of water, held it, and that only. And the Kingmotioned his guest to look, and he looked over her veiled shoulderand saw. Very great was the bowed beauty that the mirror held, butAllah-u-Din turned to the Rana.
"By the Bread and the Salt, by the Guest-Right, by the Honour of thyHouse, I ask--is this the Treasure of Chitor?"
And since the Sun-Descended cannot lie, no, not though they perish, theRana answered, flushing darkly,--"This is not the Treasure. Wilt thouspare?"
But he would not, and the woman slipped like a shadow behind the purdahand no word said.
Then was heard the tinkling of chooris, and the little noise fell uponthe silence like a fear, and, parting the curtains, came a woman veiledlike the other. She did not kneel, but took the mirror in her hand, andAllah-u-Din drew up behind her back. From her face she raised the veilof gold Dakka webs, and gazed into the mirror, holding it high, and thatAccursed stumbled back, blinded with beauty, saying this only,--"I haveseen the Treasure of Chitor."
So the purdah fell about her.
The next day, after the Imaum of the Accursed had called them to prayer,they departed, and Allah-u-Din, paying thanks to the Rana for honoursgiven and taken, and swearing friendship, besought him to ride to hiscamp, to see the marvels of gold and steel armor brought down from thepasses, swearing also safe-conduct. And because the Rajputs trust theword even of a foe, he went.
(A hi! that honour should strike hands with traitors!)
IV
The hours went by, heavy-footed like mourners. Padmini the Rani knelt bythe window in her tower that overlooks the plains. Motionless she kneltthere, as the Goddess Uma lost in her penances, and she saw her Lordride forth, and the sparkle of steel where the sun shone on them, andthe Standard of the Cold Disk on its black ground. So the camp of theMoslem swallowed them up, and they returned no more. Still she knelt andnone dared speak with her; and as the first shade of evening fell acrossthe hills of Rajasthan, she saw a horseman spurting over the flat; andhe rode like the wind, and, seeing, she implored the Gods.
Then entered the Twice-Born, that saint of clear eyes, and he bore ascroll; and she rose and seated herself, and he stood by her, as herladies cowered like frightened doves before the woe in his face as heread.
"To the Rose of Beauty, The Pearl among Women, the Chosen of the Palace.Who, having seen thy loveliness, can look on another? Who, having tastedthe wine of the Houris, but thirsts forever? Behold, I have thy King ashostage. Come thou and deliver him. I have sworn that he shall return inthy place."
&
nbsp; And from a smaller scroll, the Brahman read this:--
"I am fallen in the snare. Act thou as becomes a Rajputni."
Then that Daughter of the Sun lifted her head, for the thronging ofarmed feet was heard in the Council Hall below. From the floor shecaught her veil and veiled herself in haste, and the Brahman with bowedhead followed, while her women mourned aloud. And, descending, betweenthe folds of the purdah she appeared white and veiled, and the Brahmanbeside her, and the eyes of all the Princes were lowered to her shroudedfeet, while the voice they had not heard fell silvery upon the air, andthe echoes of the high roof repeated it.
"Chief of the Rajputs, what is your counsel?" And he of Marwar steppedforward, and not raising his eyes above her feet, answered,--
"Queen, what is thine?"
For the Rajputs have ever heard the voice of their women.
And she said,--
"I counsel that I die and my head be sent to him, that my blood mayquench his desire."
And each talked eagerly with the other, but amid the tumult theTwice-Born said,--
"This is not good talk. In his rage he will slay the King. By my yoga, Ihave seen it. Seek another way."
So they sought, but could determine nothing, and they feared to rideagainst the dog, for he held the life of the King; and the tumult wasgreat, but all were for the King's safety.
Then once more she spoke.
"Seeing it is determined that the King's life is more than my honour,I go this night. In your hand I leave my little son, the Prince Ajeysi.Prepare my litters, seven hundred of the best, for all my women go withme. Depart now, for I have a thought from the Gods."
Then, returning to her bower, she spoke this letter to the saint, and hewrote it, and it was sent to the camp.
After salutations--"Wisdom and strength have attained their end. Haveready for release the Rana of Chitor, for this night I come with myladies, the prize of the conqueror."
When the sun sank, a great procession with torches descended the steepway of Chitor--seven hundred litters, and in the first was borne theQueen, and all her women followed.
All the streets were thronged with women, weeping and beating theirbreasts. Very greatly they wept, and no men were seen, for their liverswere black within them for shame as the Treasure of Chitor departed,nor would they look upon the sight. And across the plains went thatprocession; as if the stars had fallen upon the earth, so glittered thesorrowful lights of the Queen.
But in the camp was great rejoicing, for the Barbarians knew that manyfair women attended on her.
Now, before the entrance to the camp they had made a great shamiana[tent] ready, hung with shawls of Kashmir and the plunder of Delhi; andthere was set a silk divan for the Rani, and beside it stood the Loserand the Gainer, Allah-u-Din and the King, awaiting the Treasure.
Veiled she entered, stepping proudly, and taking no heed of the Moslem,she stood before her husband, and even through the veil he could feelthe eyes he knew.
And that Accursed spoke, laughing.
"I have won-I have won, O King! Bid farewell to the Chosen of thePalace--the Beloved of the Viceregent of Kings!"
Then she spoke softly, delicately, in her own tongue, that the outcastshould not guess the matter of her speech.
"Stand by me. Stir not. And when I raise my arm, cry the cry of theRajputs. NOW!"
And she flung her arm above her head, and instantly, like a lionroaring, he shouted, drawing his sword, and from every litter sprang anarmed man, glittering in steel, and the bearers, humble of mien, wereRajput knights, every one.
And Allah-u-Din thrust at the breast of the Queen; but around themsurged the war, and she was hedged with swords like a rose in thethickets.
Very full of wine, dull with feasting and lust and surprised, theMoslems fled across the plains, streaming in a broken rabble, cursingand shouting like low-caste women; and the Rajputs, wiping their swords,returned from the pursuit and laughed upon each other.
But what shall be said of the joy of the King and of her who hadimagined this thing, instructed of the Goddess who is the other half ofher Lord?
So the procession returned, singing, to Chitor with those Two in themidst; but among the dogs that fled was Allah-u-Din, his face blackenedwith shame and wrath, the curses choking in his foul throat.
(Aid! that the evil still walk the ways of the world!)
V
So the time went by and the beauty of the Queen grew, and her King couldsee none but hers. Like the moon she obscured the stars, and every dayhe remembered her wisdom, her valour, and his soul did homage at herfeet, and there was great content in Chitor.
It chanced one day that the Queen, looking from her high window thatlike an eagle's nest overhung the precipice, saw, on the plain beneath,a train of men, walking like ants, and each carried a basket on hisback, and behind them was a cloud of dust like a great army. Already thecity was astir because of this thing, and the rumours came thick and thespies were sent out.
In the dark they returned, and the Rana entered the bower of Padmini,his eyes burning like coal with hate and wrath, and he flung his armround his wife like a shield.
"He is returned, and in power. Counsel me again, O wife, for great isthy wisdom!"
But she answered only this,--
"Fight, for this time it is to the death."
Then each day she watched bow the baskets of earth, emptied upon theplain at first, made nothing, an ant heap whereat fools might laugh. Buteach day as the trains of men came, spilling their baskets, the greatearthworks grew and their height mounted. Day after day the Rajputs rodeforth and slew; and as they slew it seemed that all the teeming millionsof the earth came forth to take the places of the slain. And the Rajputsfell also, and under the pennons the thundering forces returned daily,thinned of their best.
(A hi! that Evil rules the world as God!)
And still the earth grew up to the heights, and the protection of thehills was slowly withdrawn from Chitor, for on the heights they madethey set their engines of war.
Then in a red dawn that great saint Narayan came to the Queen, where shewatched by her window, and spoke.
"O great lady, I have dreamed a fearful dream. Nay, rather have I seen avision."
With her face set like a sword, the Queen said,--
"Say on."
"In a light red like blood, I waked, and beside me stood theMother,--Durga,--awful to see, with a girdle of heads about her middle;and the drops fell thick and slow from That which she held in her hand,and in the other was her sickle of Doom. Nor did she speak, but my soulheard her words."
"Narrate them."
"She commanded: 'Say this to the Rana: "In Chitor is My altar; in Chitoris thy throne. If thou wouldest save either, send forth twelve crownedKings of Chitor to die.'"
As he said this, the Rana, fore-spent with fighting, entered and heardthe Divine word.
Now there were twelve princes of the Rajput blood, and the youngest wasthe son of Padmini. What choice had these most miserable but to appeasethe dreadful anger of the Goddess? So on each fourth day a King ofChitor was crowned, and for three days sat upon the throne, and on thefourth day, set in the front, went forth and died fighting. So perishedeleven Kings of Chitor, and now there was left but the little Ajeysi,the son of the Queen.
And that day was a great Council called.
Few were there. On the plains many lay dead; holding the gates manywatched; but the blood was red in their hearts and flowed like Indus inthe melting of the snows. And to them spoke the Rana, his hand clenchedon his sword, and the other laid on the small dark head of the PrinceAjeysi, who stood between his knees. And as he spoke his voice gatheredstrength till it rang through the hall like the voice of Indra when hethunders in the heavens.
"Men of the Rajputs, this child shall not die. Are we become jackalsthat we fall upon the weak and tear them? When have we put our womenand children in the forefront of the war? I--I only am King of Chitor.Narayan shall save this child for the time that will su
rely come. Andfor us--what shall we do? I die for Chitor!"
And like the hollow waves of a great sea they answered him,--
"We will die for Chitor."
There was silence and Marwar spoke.
"The women?"
"Do they not know the duty of a Rajputni?" said the King. "My householdhas demanded that the caves be prepared."
And the men clashed stew joy with their swords, and the councildispersed.
Then that very great saint, the Twice-Born, put off the sacred threadthat is the very soul of the Brahman. In his turban he wound itsecretly, and he stained his noble Aryan body until it resembled thePariahs, foul for the pure to see, loathsome for the pure to touch,and he put on him the rags of the lowest of the earth, and taking thePrince, he removed from the body of the child every trace of royal andRajput birth, and he appeared like a child of the Bhils--the vile forestwanderers that shame not to defile their lips with carrion. And in thisguise they stood before the Queen; and when she looked on the saint, thetears fell from her eyes like rain, not for grief for her son, nor fordeath, but that for their sake the pure should be made impure and theglory of the Brahman-hood be defiled. And she fell at the old man's feetand laid her head on the ground before him.
"Rise, daughter!" he said, "and take comfort! Are not the eyes of theGods clear that they should distinguish?--and this day we stand beforethe God of Gods. Have not the Great Ones said, 'That which causes lifecauses also decay and death'? Therefore we who go and you who stay arealike a part of the Divine. Embrace now your child and bless him, for wedepart. And it is on account of the sacrifice of the Twelve that he issaved alive."
So, controlling her tears, she rose, and clasping the child to herbosom, she bade him be of good cheer since he went with the Gods. Andthat great saint took his hand from hers, and for the first time in thelife of the Queen he raised his aged eyes to her face, and she gazed athim; but what she read, even the ascetic Visravas, who saw all bythe power of his yoga, could not tell, for it was beyond speech. Verycertainly the peace thereafter possessed her.
So those two went out by the secret ways of the rocks, and wanderingfar, were saved by the favour of Durga.
VI
And the nights went by and the days, and the time came that no longercould they hold Chitor, and all hope was dead.
On a certain day the Rana and the Rani stood for the last time in herbower, and looked down into the city; and in the streets were gatheredin a very wonderful procession the women of Chitor; and not one wasveiled. Flowers that had bloomed in the inner chambers, great ladiesjewelled for a festival, young brides, aged mothers, and girl childrenclinging to the robes of their mothers who held their babes, crowded theways. Even the low-caste women walked with measured steps and proudly,decked in what they had of best, their eyes lengthened with soorma, andflowers in the darkness of their hair.
The Queen was clothed in a gold robe of rejoicing, her bodice latticedwith diamonds and great gems, and upon her bosom the necklace of tableemeralds, alight with green fire, which is the jewel of the Queens ofChitor. So she stood radiant as a vision of Shri, and it appeared thatrays encircled her person.
And the Rana, unarmed save for his sword, had the saffron dress of abridegroom and the jeweled cap of the Rajput Kings, and below in thehall were the Princes and Chiefs, clad even as he.
Then, raising her lotus eyes to her lord, the Princess said,--
"Beloved, the time is come, and we have chosen rightly, for this isthe way of honour, and it is but another link forged in the chain ofexistence; for until existence itself is ended and rebirth destroyed,still shall we meet in lives to come and still be husband and wife. Whatroom then for despair?"
And he answered,--
"This is true. Go first, wife, and I follow. Let not the door swing tobehind thee. But oh, to see thy beauty once more that is the very speechof Gods with men! Wilt thou surely come again to me and again be fair?"
And for all answer she smiled upon him, and at his feet performed theobeisance of the Rajput wife when she departs upon a journey; and theywent out together, the Queen unveiled.
As she passed through the Princes, they lowered their eyes so that nonesaw her; but when she stood on the steps of the palace, the women allturned eagerly toward her like stars about the moon, and lifting theirarms, they began to sing the dirge of the Rajput women.
So they marched, and in great companies they marched, company behindcompany, young and old, past the Queen, saluting her and drawing couragefrom the loveliness and kindness of her unveiled face.
In the rocks beneath the palaces of Chitor are very great caves--leaguelong and terrible, with ways of darkness no eyes have seen; and itis believed that in times past spirits have haunted them with strangewailings. In these was prepared great store of wood and oils andfragrant matters for burning. So to these caves they marched and,company by company, disappeared into the darkness; and the voice oftheir singing grew faint and hollow, and died away, as the men stoodwatching their women go.
Now, when this was done and the last had gone, the Rani descended thesteps, and the Rana, taking a torch dipped in fragrant oils, followedher, and the Princes walked after, clad like bridegrooms but with nofaces of bridal joy. At the entrance of the caves, having lit the torch,he gave it into her hand, and she, receiving it and smiling, turned onceupon the threshold, and for the first time those Princes beheld the faceof the Queen, but they hid their eyes with their hands when they hadseen. So she departed within, and the Rana shut to the door and barredand bolted it, and the men with him flung down great rocks before it sothat none should know the way, nor indeed is it known to this day; andwith their hands on their swords they waited there, not speaking, untila great smoke rose between the crevices of the rocks, but no sound atall.
(Ashes of roses--ashes of roses!--Ahi! for beauty that is but touchedand remitted!)
The sun was high when those men with their horses and on foot marcheddown the winding causeway beneath the seven gates, and so forth into theplains, and charging unarmed upon the Moslems, they perished every man.After, it was asked of one who had seen the great slaughter,--
"Say how my King bore himself."
And he who had seen told this:--
"Reaper of the harvest of battle, on the bed of honour he has spread acarpet of the slain! He sleeps ringed about by his enemies. How can theworld tell of his deeds? The tongue is silent."
When that Accursed, Allah-u-Din, came up the winding height of thehills, he found only a dead city, and his heart was sick within him.
Now this is the Sack of Chitor, and by the Oath of the Sack of Chitor dothe Rajputs swear when they bind their honour.
But it is only the ascetic Visravas who by the power of his yoga hasheard every word, and with his eyes beheld that Flame of Beauty, who,for a brief space illuminating the world as a Queen, returns to birth inmany a shape of sorrowful loveliness until the Blue-throated God shallin his favour destroy her rebirths.
Salutation to Ganesa the Elephant-Headed One, and to Shri the Lady ofBeauty!
The ninth vibration and other stories Page 5