If we two are harmonious, we will become the ornament of the world.
If you understand this, it’s sweet to the ears.
If not, there is no way to explain it.
O minister, keep this in your heart.
Thus she sang.
The minister said, “It’s hard to trust the words of a person you have just met. Are you really Drugmo?” “I am indeed Drugmo,” she swore. She thought, “I suppose I should offer the Long-Life Queen of Siddhi Liquor to Joru, but since he’s a master of illusion, I think it’s acceptable to offer it with my mind.” Touching her ring finger to the nectar, she offered the first select portion, and a drop fell right at the foot of the minister. She thought that was curious, and then she offered the minister the rest of the drink, while the two of them shared a lengthy and very romantic conversation. They enjoyed the playful song and dance of empty bliss, and this generated the delight and authentic splendor of all the dralas of their body, speech, and mind. All haughty worldly spirits were magnetized to action. The auspicious connection for the defeat of the four māras of the four directions occurred. They sealed37 their love for one another by placing a great boulder as a sign that their love was as enduring as the earth. They pledged their vows to one another by swearing an oath. To seal their decision, Drugmo gave the minister from India a white offering scarf with nine knots. The minister in turn gave Drugmo a crystal bracelet. Scarcely able to part, they planned to be reunited in Shady Valley Rich Royal Forest and each went their separate ways.
Then Drugmo went over the mountain pass and arrived in Khenlung Ridrug. Whether in the shade or in the sun, wherever there was a pika hole, there at the entrance she saw a Joru. Frightened by Joru’s magical display, she dared not go any farther. She hid herself next to a boulder that was naturally shaped like a horse. After a short while, Joru condensed all his emanations into one, and that one Joru killed a large pika and just sat there. Drugmo stood up and called out “Joru!” three times. At the moment Joru saw her, he pretended that he mistook Drugmo for a demoness and, pulling out his slingshot Chumig Gudril [Spring Nine Turns], he loaded it with the pika’s waste, intestines, and liver, and, standing up by the gateway, he sang this short song, Invocation to the Slingshot:
The song is Ala Ala Ala.
Thala is the melody of the song.
I supplicate the Three Jewels of Refuge.
May the boy Joru tame the māras and cannibal rākṣasas.
This land of Lower Ma is a place of demons and pikas;
The boy Joru is the one who subdues demons and māras.
Since I, Joru, first arrived here,
Forget about demons, even the humans can’t pass through;
Forget about humans, even the icy wind can’t pass here without my permission.
This is the place where the gods on high bring down rainfall;
This is the archery range of the nyen.
Here, in the seat of the wealth of the nāga Tsugna
Today a demoness has been running around.
Not only have you come, but you’ve been screaming and yelling.
If you’re a tsen, get you to the peak of three mountains;
If you’re a demon, get you down to three valleys;
If you’re a demoness, get you between two towns;
If you’re a the’u rang, go into a rocky cave;
If you’re a gyalgong, go to the crossroads of the three paths.
If there’s a success-preventing demon,38 let it dissolve your teeth;
Those thirty teeth will be the ransom for the demon.
If there is a demon following behind you, then force it into your hair,
And I’ll present your braids to the demon following you as material for an effigy.
More than the joyful laugher that was there before traversing these three mountain passes,
I delight in this tantrum of the negative demons of the mountain pass.
Happiness follows sadness just as day follows night;
The glow of dawn guides us out of the dark of night.
This unprovoked demon’s splendor
Is threatening an unqualified exorcist.
When the exorcist targets the demons,
That suffering will lead them to bliss.
This colorful short slingshot is the drala’s castle;
This waste and intestines are the mamos’ power substance.
If you are a demon, then your consciousness will be led to Sukhāvatī.
If you’re a human, you will be released from the obstacles of māra.
If you understand this, it’s sweet to the ears.
If not, it cannot be explained.
Thus he sang, and loosed his slingshot, hitting Drugmo’s hair and teeth. Becoming as hairless as a copper ladle, and with her mouth as toothless as an empty bag, she sat there, suffering unbearably as she wept.
Joru then went back home and told his mother Gogmo, “Today Drugmo came, but she was preceded and pursued by many demons and māras, and I tamed them all. Drugmo herself sat there, close to the horse-shaped boulder, screaming and wailing. In reality, I did this in order to tame the various bride demons and in order to increase the majestic splendor of Drugmo’s body.”
Immediately, Gogmo ran to Drugmo’s side and asked her what happened. As Drugmo sat there in a helpless state, Gogmo said, “Girl, don’t be miserable. Let’s go up and ask Joru to come and make your appearance even more beautiful than before. Every act he performs is solely a feat of magical illusion, so there’s no problem,” and she led her [Drugmo] back up to Joru.
Joru asked, “Hey, are you Drugmo? Oh, I mistook you for a demoness. Looks like I’ve made a big mistake! Why didn’t you just come in rather than screaming from over there? If you didn’t wish to meet me, why did you come to Lower Ma? Besides, if you had just said, ‘Hey, I’m Drugmo,’ this wouldn’t have happened. However, what’s the point of regretting past deeds?” Then Kyalo Sengchen Drugmo sang this song about seeing suffering and the reason why she came to invite him to White Ling in the melody of Unchanging Longevity:
The song is Ala Ala Ala.
Thala is the melody of the song.
Compassionate mother, White Tārā, goddess of longevity,
Look upon this girl who possesses devotion with kindness.
If you don’t recognize this place,
It is Yulung Sumdo of Lower Ma.
If you don’t recognize me,
I am called Sengcham Drugmo from Kyalo, of the Ga clan.
I wasn’t born in the summer; I was born in the winter.
That winter, between the months of the Tiger and the Hare,
Is the time that I, this damsel, was born.
At that time the lion’s roar reverberated from the white snow mountains,
On the marshy fields a wild kyang neighed,
In the midst of the azure firmament the dragon thundered;
That’s why I was named Sengcham Drugmo.
Ever since I was born in my dearest mother’s lap,
My beauty has stood out from the crowd.
Well then, good sir, divine son Joru,
Listen here to some examples of how it is:
On the majestic mountains above the verdant grasslands,
Broad-racked bucks roam free.
The hunter who carries arrows thinks this place is their pathway.
He hopes to get the superb white horn,
He hopes to get the nutritious prime meat for food.
The innocent deer so content to wander,
How sad to think that this is the way of karma.
Rocked peacefully in the calming waves of the churning ocean,
The white-bellied fish frolic in the water.
The thought to pierce their cheeks with a curved iron hook,39
The thought to snare them in sturdy nets,
Thinking this delicious meat is food fit for a guest.
The innocent fish just drinking pure water,
How sad to think that this i
s the way of karma.
In the wealthy district of Father Kyalo
I, the maiden Drugmo, was content in my own home.
The hordes of mighty warriors of Ling think I am just a plaything,40
You think this is just a place where you can dance around on your horses,
And you, boy Joru, think I’m just somebody to disdain.41
This innocent maiden staying in her home,
How sad to think this is the way of karma.
The prayer flags hoisted on the high mountains peaks are lovely from a distance,
They are powerless to leave, their poles anchored in the mountains.
Unable to remain still, they are constantly flapping in the wind.
The high mountains don’t suffer, they just happen to be there,
The icy winds don’t suffer, they just happen to be moving through,
But the innocent prayer flags are the ones that are punished.
I, Sengcham Drugmo of wealthy Kyalo,
Am powerless to go because I belong to the brethren,
And powerless to stay because Joru scoffs at me.42
The brethren of Ling don’t suffer, because they just happen to be competing,
Boy Joru, you don’t suffer, because you just happen to be playing,43
All suffering and punishment falls on poor Drugmo’s shoulders.
They say the boy Joru is a mandate from heaven.
If dissension has been spread among the gods, Drugmo confesses it.
If the nāgas have been troubled, Drugmo confesses it.
Well, then, good sir, divine son Joru,
When you came to the land of men, divine child,
It fell to me, Drugmo, to serve you.
You, Joru, are a lord of magical illusion.
Since that is the case, then make Drugmo’s body a vessel of splendor and blessing,
Ageless, youthfully radiant,
Free from illness, and gloriously endowed with well-being.
Among the eighteen kingdoms,44
The eighteen fair maidens are equally gorgeous.
Bring forth a wealth of beauty to make Drugmo unlike them all.
If you do that, I’ll accomplish your every command.
If you listen to this song, it is an ornament offered to your ears.
If you don’t listen, there’s no way to explain it.
Thus she sang, and Joru replied, “Yes, well then, the horse that has been karmically destined to be mine throughout the succession of all my lives resides in the midst of the herds of wild kyang. It is neither a horse, nor a kyang; it is the knowing steed, which can only be captured by the two of you: Mother Gogmo and you, Drugmo. Now you must go there. The horse understands human language and has unobstructed clairvoyance. It has the power to show any sign of accomplishment that needs to be shown. If you are afraid that you won’t catch it or that once you do it will be lost, then call out with intense yearning to both my elder and younger brothers. They will come and help you catch him with their lasso Nyida Trüldzin [Miraculously Catches the Sun and Moon]. If you catch him but lose him, it’s Mother Gogmo’s fault; if you can’t recognize the horse, it’s your own fault, Drugmo. If you fail to beckon him, then it’s both your faults. If they don’t help you, then it’s my brothers’ faults. Promise me that you’ll catch the steed, and I’ll bring forth the blessings of a splendidly youthful body and speech that possesses the power of truth.” Drugmo then promised to accomplish his command.
Joru, the divine child of Gogmo, according to worldly customs of summoning prosperity along with the bride, sat in nonconceptual meditation and sang this song to bestow the body blessings to Drugmo with the melody called White Divine Invocation:
It’s Ala Ala Ala.
Thala leads the melody of the song.
All deities of the Three Roots and dharmapālas
Come to befriend Joru.
Elder brother White-Conch Garuḍa,
The white man with the head of a garuḍa,
Who always delights with laughter,
And deities of the Three Roots, arise from your places;
Gather the splendor and blessings of all the goddesses
And confer it upon the body of Sengcham Drugmo.
Younger brother, Ludrül Ödchung,45
A dark man with the head of a snake,
Always beaming with a radiant smile,
Rise up from the land of subterranean nāgas.
Bestow all the glamorous prosperity energy of the nāginīs
On Drugmo’s speech today.
My only sister, Thalei Ötro,
A maiden clothed in a coat of fine vulture feathers
Coyly glancing with a seductive stare,
Arise from the middle space of the nyen.
Grant the prosperity energy of well-being and happiness of the human lands of China and Tibet
On Drugmo’s mind today.
Welcome guests, windhorse, wermas, and the like,
All of the patron gods of my being,
Today come and befriend this noble person.
The countenance of the youthful moon,
The radiant color of a blooming lotus,
The lustrous black like the bumblebee’s hair;
Confer all of this on Sengcham Drugmo’s body.
Sweet as the sound of a gandharva’s lute,
Delightful as the sound of the divine cuckoo,
Melodious as a kalavinka bird;
Confer all of this on Sengcham Drugmo’s speech.
Magnetizing the three worlds,
Splendidly quelling the three realms,
Seducing the life essence and minds of the elite;
Confer all of this on Sengcham Drugmo’s mind.
Make her body more beautiful than before.
May she be famed among the people for her lovely form.
She, the supernal maiden of the tribe of Ling,
May she be the ornament of all maidens of the world.
May whatever this song has sung become the dharma.
May whatever tune I sang be filled with purpose.
When he finished singing he touched her with his hand, and Drugmo’s beauty was more resplendent than ever, and everything about her changed for the better. As Drugmo felt unwilling to enter the tent of Joru and his mother when she saw how dirty and patched it was, she hesitated for a moment. Joru gazed into the sky, summoning the eight classes of deities: there was lightning, thunder, and hail as if the earth and sky were being stirred together. Drugmo, not having the slightest place of refuge outside the little tent, was forced to enter. It was then that Joru served her a meal of pika flesh and sweet potatoes. The food had been blessed with the hundred flavors of the gods, and Drugmo was seized with a measureless thirst and hunger. She consumed every bit of it, leaving not a bite. As soon as she finished eating, she immediately began to retch and filled the home with her vomit. This action sent forth auspicious connections of siddhis throughout the entire land. Kyalo Sengcham Drugmo was so confused by her experiences that she became afraid that she would forget the point of her mission. Sometimes she felt scared, sometimes sad, sometimes hungry, sometimes thirsty, and so on. So she sang this song in order to focus on the aim of her mission, singing in the tune White Melody with Six Modulations:
It’s Ala Ala Ala.
Thala leads the melody of the song.
I, the maiden Drugmo of Kyalo,
Came to Lower Ma to invite the divine child.
Sometimes the sun of happiness dawns,
Sometimes the terrifying black winds of fear swirl.
My mind’s thoughts, like a flag on the highest peak,
Are blown by the wind of fleeting experience
So that I have forgotten the crucial point of my mission.
The rich endowments of Father Kyalo
Are like the adornments of the six-smiled tigress.
If the tiger looks after his own body, there is freedom;
Once the hunter shoots an arrow, the freedo
m belongs to another.
I, this Sengcham Drugmo of Kyalo,
If my kind parents look after me, I belong to them;
Once the brethren look after me, I’m just their common possession.
Truthfully speaking, this is the way it is.
On the broad alpine meadow,
The white prosperity sheep, the shepherd, and the wolf in its prime, these three:
The white prosperity sheep think single-mindedly of the grass;46
The youthful shepherd’s thoughts are to get the pelt of the wolf;
The wolf in its prime is focused on meat.
The sheep in their stupidity graze on the mountain, distracted by the grass.
The wolf in its prime stalks the delicious meat.
The cruel shepherd with his arrows spies from a distance.
Truthfully speaking, the whole thing seems ridiculous.
But following the advice of Chieftain Trothung’s Northern God,
Father Kyalo has wagered me on a horse race.
Whoever is the fastest will take Drugmo as his bride.
That hero Bumpa Zhal-lu Karpo
Told me I must go and invite the boy Joru.
Not daring to stay at home, I, Drugmo, came here.
Child Joru, please don’t stay here; come to Ling.
Mother Gogmo, don’t stay behind; come along to Ling.
I, Drugmo, will be able to capture the noble steed.
If you know tricks, you can magically speed the running of your horse.
If you can magically disguise yourself, you can take your seat on the golden throne.
The people of White Ling, happy as a fish in water,
Will be all the happier if you show signs of the power of siddhi.
If you understand this discourse, it is sweetness to your ears.
If you don’t, then there’s no way to explain it.
Thus she sang. Then he [Joru] said, “Oh you and Mother must both capture this karmic steed, and then we will go to Ling. It will be easy to be the bridegroom of Drugmo, the lord of Kyalo’s wealth, and the holder of the golden throne of White Ling. Not only that, but I will set my yoke upon the neck of Gurkar of Hor, pierce the forehead of the māra Lutsen with my arrow, and so forth. All this will come to pass. But if you don’t get the horse, then I’m a beggar who can’t win the kingdom anymore than riding this stick could get me first prize in the race. Do you understand this: without the horse I will have no choice but to remain in my present state?”
The Epic of Gesar of Ling Page 45