An Essence of the Dusk, 5th Edition

by F. W. Bain

  [6] Still the name of Marwar.

  So as he drew near it, he saw a crowd upon its wall. And when he wasdistant from it but a little way, suddenly its great gate's mouth wasthrown open, and a stream of people shot from it like a long tongue, andrapidly came towards him, so that he said to himself: Ha! then, as itseems, I am expected by the citizens of this delightful city, who are aseager to come to me as I am to get to them. And they came closer,clamouring and buzzing as it were like bees; and he looked and lo! theywere all women, and there was not a man among them all. And as hewondered, they ran up, and reached him, and threw themselves upon himlike a wave of the sea, laughing and crying, and drowning him in theirembraces: and they took him as it were captive, and swept him awaytowards the city, all talking at once, and deafening him with theirjoyful exclamations, paying not the least attention to anything that hetried to say. And Aja let himself go, carried away by all those womenlike a leaf in a rushing stream. And he said to himself, inastonishment: What is this great wonder? For all these women fight forme, as if they had never seen a man in their lives before. Where thencan the men be, to whom they must belong? Or can it be, that I have cometo a city composed of women without a man? Have I escaped the desert,only to be drowned in a sea of women? For what is the use of a singleman, in an ocean of the other sex? Or are they dragging me away to offerme up to the Mother[7], having sacrificed all their own husbandsalready? Or have I really died in the desert, and is all this only adream of the other world? Can these be the heavenly Apsarases, come in abody to fetch me away, as if I had fallen in battle? Surely they are,for some of them are sufficiently beautiful even for Indra's hall. Andanyhow, it is better to be torn to pieces by beautiful women, even ifthere are far too many, than to die in the desert, all alone.

  [7] Durga or Parwati.

  So as they bore him along, chattering on like jays and cranes, he saidagain to the women next him: Fair ones, who are you, and where are youtaking me, and why in the world are you so greatly delighted to see me?And then at last, they replied: O handsome stranger, ask nothing: verysoon thou shalt know all, for we are carrying thee away to our King. AndAja said to himself: Ha! So, then, there is a King. These women have,after all, a King. Truly, I am fain to see him, this singular King of afemale city. And weak as he was, he began to laugh, as they all werelaughing: and so they all surged on like a very sea of laughter, throughthe gates of the city, and along the streets within, till they came atlast to the King's palace. And all the way, Aja looked, and there wasnot to be seen so much as the shadow of a man in all the streets, whichoverflowed with women like the channel of a river in the rainy season.

  Then the guards of the palace doors, who were also women, took him, andled him in; and all the women who had brought him crowded in behind.And they mounted stairs, and after a while, they entered at last a greathall, whose pillars of alabaster were reflected in its dark greencrystal floor, giving it the semblance of a silent pool in which amultitude of colossal swans had buried their necks beneath the water.And there Aja found himself in the presence of the King.

  And instantly, all the women screamed together: Victory to thee,Maharaja! for here have we brought thee another husband for thy lovelydaughter. And Aja started. And he said to himself: Another husband! Howmany husbands, then, has this strange King's daughter got already? Hasshe an insatiable thirst for husbands, whose number I am brought toswell? So as he stood reflecting, the King leaped from his throne, andcame towards him. And as Aja looked at him, he was seized with amazementgreater than before. For the King resembled a very incarnation of theessence of grief, yet such, that it was difficult to behold him withoutlaughter, as if the Creator had made him to exhibit skill in combiningthe two. For his long thin hair was pure white, as if with sorrow, andhis eyes were red, as if with weeping, and great hollow ruts werefurrowed in his sunk and withered cheeks, as if the tears had wornthemselves channels in which to run. And though he was tall, he wasbent and old, as if bowed down by a load of care. And he tried, as if invain, to smile, as he said in a mournful voice that quavered andcracked: O man, whoever thou art, long have I waited for thee, and gladindeed I am to see thee, and inclined to dance like a peacock at thesight of a rainy cloud.

  And as he gazed upon the King, Aja was seized with sudden laughter thatwould not be controlled: saying within himself: Much in common they havebetween them, a dancing happy peacock, and this doleful specimen of aweeping King! And he laughed, till tears ran down his cheeks also, as ifin imitation of those of the King. And when at last he could speak, hesaid: O King, forgive me. For I am very weak, and have come within alittle of dying in the desert. And I laughed from sheer exhaustion, andfor joy to see in thy person as it were the warrant of my escape fromdeath. Give me food, and above all, water, if thou wouldst not have medie at thy feet. And afterwards, show me, if thou wilt, thy daughter, towhom, as it seems, I am to be married, whether I will or no. And theKing said: O thou model of the Creator's cunning in the making of man,thy hilarity is excused. Food thou shalt have, and water, andeverything else thou canst require, and that immediately. But as for mydaughter, there she is before thee. And she could teach dancing even toTumburu himself[8].

  [8] A Ghandarwa, or heavenly musician, and the dancing master of the Apsarases. [Pronounce tum- to rhyme with _room_, rather short.]

  III.

  And then, as the laughter surged again in Aja's soul, saying withinhimself: Out on this pitiable old scarecrow of a King, whose onlythought is dancing! the King turned, and stood aside. And Aja looked,and instantly, the laughter died out of his heart, which ceased as itwere to beat. And he murmured to himself: Ha! this is the most wonderfulthing of all. King and women and desert and all vanished out of hismind, as if the sentiment that suddenly seized it filled it socompletely as to leave room for nothing else. And he stood still gazing,feeling as though he were spinning round, though he was standing stillas death. For there before him stood this enigmatical King's daughter.And like her father, she also seemed an incarnation of the soul ofgrief, not as in his case ignominious, and an object of derision, butrather resembling a heavenly drug, compounded of the camphor of the coldand midnight moon, that had put on a fragrant form of feminine and fairybeauty to drive the world to sheer distraction, half with love and halfwith woe. For like the silvery vision of the newborn streak of that Lordof Herbs, she was slender and pale and wan, formed as it seemed of somenew strange essence of pure clear ice and new dropt snow, and she loomedon the soul of Aja out of the blackness of his trance like a large whitedrooping lily, just seen in the gloom of an inky night. And her hair andbrow were the colour of a thunder-cloud in the month of Chaitra[9], andlike that cloud, the heavy sorrow hung in her great dark mournful eyes,drenching him as it were with a shower of dusky dreamy dewy beauty, anddrawing him down bewitched and lost like the victim of a haunted poolinto the snaky eddy of their silent unfathomable recess. And yet herdeep red lips trembled, as it were on the very border of a smile, as ifthey were hinting against their will of a mine of laughter and subtlesnares that they were not allowed to use. And she had risen up to comeand meet him, yet was hanging back as if reluctant, and so she stood,all reflected in the polished floor, with her head thrown back to lookat him, for she was very small, like one on the very point of imploringhelp, yet shrinking, as if too proud to ask it from a stranger, balancedas it were between reliance on her own pure and pleading beauty anddoubtfulness of its reception. So she halted irresolute, with gloriousthroat that was hovering still over the swell of her lifted breasts,poised as it were on the very verge of tumultuous oscillation, like thatof Rati, preparing with timidity to cast herself at the feet of thethree-eyed God, to beg back the body of her burned-up husband in apassion of love-lorn tears.

  [9] April.

  And Aja stood before her, like the sea when the digit of the moon risessuddenly over its waves, stirred with a tumult of strange emotions, andyet lit by a heavenly ray, a mass of agitated darkness mixed withdancing, trembling light; all unaware that he was
himself to the King'sdaughter exactly what she was to him, a weapon of bewilderment in thehands of the cunning god of the flowery bow, who shot him suddenly ather, like an arrow of intoxication, and pierced her through the verymiddle of the soft lotus of her heart.

  So they two stood awhile in silence. And all at once, Aja spoke, notknowing that he spoke aloud. And he said, very slowly: How manyhusbands, then, have already had this lustrous beauty, who looks for allas pure and pale and undefiled as a new young delicate jasmine bud? Andinstantly, as if roused from sleep by his reproach, he saw the colourleap up into her cheek, and spread like dawn flushing over her burningthroat and brow. And she drew a sudden breath, and her bosom heavedabruptly as if with a sob of shame. And at that moment, the voice of theKing her father broke harshly into Aja's dream, saying: Alas! alas!Never a husband has had her yet, though she is now long past sixteen,and could even teach Tumburu dancing.

  And then, as if the King's words had suddenly lifted a weight from hissoul, Aja burst into a shout of laughter. And he tottered, as if tofall. And he caught at the old King's arm, and gripped it so that healmost screamed, exclaiming amid his laughter: Ha! King, I am also theson of a King: and now I will be thy son-in law. And she shall have ahusband at last, and teach him, if she pleases, dances, that evenTumburu does not know. And with that, he fell into such a paroxysm oflaughter, that weak as he was, he could not stand, but fell: and hislaughter turned to sobbing. Then the King's daughter turned to herfather, with an angry flush on her brow. And she said, with strongemotion: O father, wilt thou delay for ever to send for food and water?Dost thou not see that this King's son, great and powerful though he be,is weak, and it may be, perishing, before thy face, of hunger andthirst, having escaped by a miracle out of the desert to die by thyneglect.

  And she clapped her hands, stamping her foot in indignation. Then thewomen ran, and took up Aja, and carried him away. And they bathed him,and tended him, and fed him till he was recovered: and after a while,they brought him back, into the presence of the King.

  IV.

  So he came once more into that hall, looking like another man. And heseemed in the eyes of the King like the rising sun of his daughter'smarriage, but in those of his daughter like the very God of Love, newlyrisen from his own ashes. And he said joyously: O King, now I am againmyself: and my reason and my strength have both again returned to me.And if in their absence, I behaved strangely and without good manners,it behoves thee to lay the blame rather on the desert of sand, thatsurrounds thy city, than on myself. For I was like one delirious, andhalf distracted, by wonder and other feelings coming to the aid ofhunger and thirst. Then he told the King his name and family, and allhis story, looking all the while at the King's daughter, as she did allthe while at him, with glances that resembled sighs. But as he watchedher, Aja said to himself in wonder: What has happened to her, since Isaw her first, and what is the matter with her, now? For her quiet griefhas abandoned her, and she looks like one in a burning fever; and twored spots, like suns, burn and blaze upon her cheeks, and her great eyesshine and glow, as if there was a fire within her soul. So when he hadfinished his own tale, he said: Now, then, O King, I have told thee allthat I have to tell. And now it is thy turn to speak. Explain to me allthis wonder; for I seem to move in a maze of extraordinary events. Whyare there, in thy city, no men, but only women? And what is the cause ofthy grief? And, greatest wonder of all, how comes it that thou hastfound a difficulty in finding a husband for this thy daughter? For, asfor myself, know, that, make any terms thou wilt, I am ready to marryher, blindfold, on any conditions whatever: nay, would she only be mywife, I should consider the fruit of my birth attained.

  And then, to his amazement, that strange old King began to weep oncemore. And tears flowed down his cheeks like rain, as he said: Alas!alas! O son-in-law that would be, so fine a man art thou, that I amdistressed indeed to see thee, and to hear thee so eagerly proposing totake my daughter for thy wife. For all that have preceded thee, and theywere many hundreds, have said the very same: and yet all withoutexception have come to a miserable end: and there she is, unmarriedstill[10]. And yet this is no fault of hers, unless indeed it be a faultto be beautiful beyond compare. Nor has her maiden purity been sulliedin the least degree by ever a suitor of them all. But all this has comeabout by reason of a fault of mine, itself, beyond a doubt, the bitterfruit of the tree of crimes committed in a former birth. For know, thatlong ago, when I was young, I conquered the entire earth, and brought itall, from sea to sea, under the shadow of one umbrella. So when I wasreposing, after my exertions, one day there came to see me Narada andanother _rishi_. And Narada entered first. And when he complimented me,as the chosen husband of the earth, I said to myself: Now, I must makehim some suitable return. And accordingly, I presented him with thewhole earth. Then he replied: O King, what is the use of the earth tome? And he gave it back to me, with his blessing, saying: Obtain anincomparably beautiful offspring[11]! and so he went away. And then theother great _rishi_ entered, and congratulated me also. And I presentedhim also with the entire earth. Then that _rishi_ looked at me with eyesthat were red with anger. And he said slowly: What! Is my merit utterlydespised? Dost thou presume to offer me only the leavings of another?Thou shalt indeed obtain offspring, but only of the female sex. Andbeautiful it shall be indeed: but little shall that beauty profiteither thyself or her. So having uttered his curse[12], he laughed, andinstantly went away, refusing to be propitiated or to throw any lightupon the future. And thereafter in due time there was born to me, notthe nectar of a son, but this lump of grief in the form of a daughter.And as if her sex were not enough[13], her almost inconceivable beautyand accomplishments have only added to my calamity: nay, they are thevery root of it, and the essence of its sting. For all has come to pass,exactly as that testy old _rishi_ said. For though she is, as thouseest, beautiful as the moon, and like it, full of arts[14], and aboveall, a dancer that would turn even Tumburu green with envy, all thisnectar has become poison by the curse of that old ascetic, and the veryperfection of her beauty has become the means of undoing us both. Forabout two years ago, as we were walking together at midnight, on theterrace of the palace, that forms the edge of the city wall, enjoyingthe cold camphor of the moon after the heat of a burning day, suddenly,out of the desert, we heard as it were the rush of wings. And as westood and listened, there arose in the air a sound of voices, like thoseof a man and woman in vehement dispute. But though we could distinguishthe tones, we could not understand the meaning, for the language wasunknown to us. And then, after a while, those two invisible air-goersappeared all at once before our eyes, seated on the battlements, in theform of a pair of vultures[15]. And immediately, the male vulture spokewith a human voice, saying: O King, give me now this daughter of thineto wife. And instantly I answered rashly: Never will I bestow mydaughter on a bird of ill-omen such as thou art. Thereupon thatevil-minded suitor laughed like a hyaena: and instantly my daughter fellinto a swoon. And as she lay in the moonlight, she looked soindescribably and unutterably beautiful, that even that loathsome birdwas moved. And he said to his companion: Daughter, I was right, andthou wert wrong. Look, and see, and allow, that she is far morebeautiful than even thou art. Thereupon that _gridhri_[16] laughed also,and she said: Time shall show. Listen, King. This is Kirttisena, anephew of Wasuki, King of the Snakes, and I am his only daughter. Forthis form of vulture was assumed by us, only to converse with thee. Nowhe maintained thy daughter to be more beautiful than I am. Thereupon Ivowed vengeance. But I agreed to leave her unmolested, if thou didstgive her to him for a wife. So to preserve her from my vengeance, heasked her of thee in marriage. Now, then, since thou hast rejected hissuit, despising him hastily for his outward form, and since my ownbeauty has been slighted by his comparison, ye two shall be punished,she for her beauty, and thou for thy insolence, and through the means ofthat very beauty, on account of which my father and I have becomecontemptible. See, O thou who despisest a suitor, whether thou cansteasily procure another. This shall be the cond
ition of thy daughter'smarriage. Whatever suitor shall lay claim to her, thou shalt send up tothis terrace alone at flight. And if he claims, and does not come, wewill swallow thy city whole, houses and all. Then those two vulturesdisappeared. And not long afterwards, hearing that my daughter was to begiven in marriage, suitors arrived like swarms of bees from everyquarter of the world, attracted by her fame. For she is calledYashowati, because the fame of her fills the world. Then all thosesuitors followed one another, like the days of the year in which theywent, up upon the terrace of the city wall: and like those days, not oneof them all has ever returned, but they have vanished utterly, noneknows how, or where. And when all the distant suitors were exhausted,and all the neighbouring kings, then, in my ardent desire to get hermarried, no matter how, to no matter whom, I offered her to the men ofmy own city, showing her to them from the palace windows. And every manthat saw her ran to win her; and one by one, the men of the cityfollowed after her former suitors, till they grew few in the city.Thereupon the women banded together, and took their husbands and theirsons and everything in the shape of a man, and hid them: and now as thouseest, there is not a man to be seen or found, in the whole city. Butevery stranger that comes to the city, they catch, and bring himstraight to me, as they have done in thy case also. And the mere sightof my daughter always makes him not only willing, but, as thou art, eveneager, to marry her at any cost. And yet they have all utterly vanished,like stones, dropped, one after another, into a well without a floor.And there is my daughter, maiden and unmarried still. And I can see myancestors, wringing their hands for grief: knowing well, that as soon asI myself am dead, it is all over with their race. For who will offerthem water, since the fatal beauty of my only daughter has set a term tomy ancient line?