A Syrup of the Bees
Page 6
I
Now, in the meanwhile, it happened, that when all the other Widyadharawould-be bridegrooms had broken up and gone away in wrath, disgusted atbeing turned to shame by Makarandika's rejection, there was one who wentaway with a heart that was more than half broken, for Makarandika wasdearer to him than his own soul. And he would have given the threeworlds to have had the precious garland put round his own neck. And whenall was over, he took himself off, and remained a long while buried indejection on the slopes of the Snowy Mountain, pining like a_chakrawaka_ at night-time for his mate, and striving to forgether,--all in vain: for his name was Smaradasa,[29] and his nature likehis name. And at last, unable to endure the fiery torture of separationany longer, he said to himself: I will return, on the pretext of payinga visit to her father; and there, it may be, I shall at least get asight of her. And who knows but that she may change her mind? for womenafter all are not like rocks, but skies. And at the thought, hopesuddenly arose, reborn in his heart. For disconsolate lovers are likedry chips or straws, easily taking fire, and tossed here and there bythe gusts of hope and desperation.
[Footnote 29: i.e. _the slave of love, or recollection_.]
So as he thought, he did. But when he arrived at Mahidhara's home, andinquired about her, he received an answer that struck him like athunderbolt. For Mahidhara said: As for Makarandika, she has utterlydisappeared, having gone somewhere or other, nobody knows where. And if,as I conjecture, she is looking for a husband among mortals, who willnever even dream of any other woman than herself, she will not soonreturn. For it will be long before she finds him.
And then, that unhappy Smaradasa said to himself: I will find her, nomatter how long it may take me, if at least she is able to be found. Soafter meditating for a while, he went away to seek assistance from thebrother of the Dawn. And he said to him: O Garuda,[30] I am come to theefor refuge. And it is but a little thing that I ask, and very easy, forthe Lord of all the birds of the air. There is a Widyadhari namedMakarandika, who is dearer to me than life itself. Help me, if thouwilt, to discover where she is: for she has disappeared, without leavingany trace.
[Footnote 30: The King of Birds. (The final _a_ is mute.)]
Thereupon Garuda said: Stay with me for a little in the meanwhile, tillI see what I can do. And he summoned all the sea-birds and the vulturesin the world; and said to them: Go to the eight quarters of heaven, andfind out what has become of Makarandika, a Widyadhari who is lost.
So then, after a few days, they returned. And their spokesman, who was avery old vulture named Dirghadarshi,[31] said: Lord, this has been avery simple thing. For some of my people saw her, a little while ago,flying westwards. And following her track, on thy order, they saw hersitting on the palace roof of King Arunodaya, who has married her, andmade her his queen.
[Footnote 31: i.e. _long-sighted_.]
And instantly, hearing this news, which pierced his ear like a poisonedneedle, Smaradasa uttered a loud cry, and fell down in a swoon: so greatwas the shock, that turned in the twinkling of an eye all the love inhis soul to jealousy and hate. And when, with difficulty, he came tohimself, he hurried away so fast that he forgot even to worship Garuda.But that kindly deity only laughed, and forgave him, saying: Well mighthe forget not me only, but everything in the three worlds, on learningthat his love was lying in somebody else's arms.
But Smaradasa summoned instantly all his brother suitors. And he toldthem all about it, and he said: This matter is no longer what it was.For if she flouted us all, by refusing to choose a husband from amongus, yet no one could compel her, since she did but exercise theprivilege of all kings' daughters. But now, not only has she placed thismortal above us all, but by marrying beneath her caste, she has degradedall the Widyadharas at once, and broken the constitution of theuniverse. Therefore she deserves to be punished. Moreover, she is at ourmercy, since she has lost all her magic sciences, by marrying a man.
So then, when they had all unanimously pronounced her worthy of death,one suggesting one death, and another another, Smaradasa saidscornfully: What is the use of putting her to death? For death isabsolutely no punishment at all, since she will abandon one body only toenter another. Rather let us find some punishment suited to her crime,and worse than any death. And the best way would be, to contrive somemeans of making her behaviour recoil upon her own head. And this couldbe done, if only we could get this husband she has chosen to desert herfor another. For as a rule, a rival is like _kalakuta_ poison to everywoman: and she is not only jealous, but as it were jealousy itself. Andthus she would become her own punishment. But first let us discover allabout her: for then we can determine how to go to work.
So, when they all consented, Smaradasa went back to Garuda, and he said:O Enemy of Snakes, do me one more favour, and I will trouble thee nomore. Find out for me only, how matters stand with her husband andherself: since her independent conduct is a matter of concern to all theWidyadharas, of whom she is one.
And Garuda said: Smaradasa, this commission is very different from thefirst. For if I am not mistaken, the Widyadharas mean mischief, and itis no business of mine. And yet, I will not do thee kindness by halves:but let this be the last. So after meditating for a while, he sent forthe crows. And he said to them: Crows, you know everything abouteverybody, and see the world, and fly about the streets of cities, andeat the daily offerings,[32] and listen to all the scandal of thebazaars, and penetrate even into the palaces of kings. Go, then, to thecity of Arunodaya, and spy about and listen, and bring back a fullaccount of all you can discover, about him and his wife.
[Footnote 32: _Balibuk, an eater of daily offerings_, is a commonepithet of the crow.]
And, after a week, the crows returned. And their spokesman, who wascalled Kalapaksha,[33] said: Lord, this King and Queen are never apart,being as inseparable as Ardhanari.[34] And as for Makarandika, it isclear that she is a _patidewata_, who loves her husband more than herown soul. And though he has nothing to do with any woman but herself,yet something is wrong, though we cannot discover what it is. But thecitizens think that she is jealous, because she suspects that he isalways dreaming, not of her, but the wife of his former birth.
[Footnote 33: Meaning either _black-wings, the dark half of the lunarmonth_, or _time-server_.]
[Footnote 34: The combined form of Maheshwara and his "other half."]
And as Smaradasa listened, he exclaimed in delight: Ha! what difficultyis there in doing a thing which is half done already? For this is asituation which will ripen almost without assistance, resembling as itdoes a balance already trembling, in which the addition of a single hairwill turn the scale. And it wants only a touch, for Makarandika to turnher suspicions into certainties of her own accord. And thus she willbecome the instrument of her own torture, and expiate her error, thevictim of her own choice, with nobody but herself to blame. For she wasa Widyadhari, and is absolutely inexcusable.
II
And meanwhile Makarandika, ignorant and careless of all that wasoccurring in that world of the Widyadharas which she had thrown awaylike a blade of grass, and utterly forgotten, was living like a siddhain a moon without a spot, having, so to say, attained emancipation inthe form of the husband of her own choice. And for his part, Arunodaya,having lit upon the very wife of his former birth, contrary toexpectation, and married her again, lived with her like one plunged foran instant in an ocean of intoxication, salt as her beauty[35] andinfinite as her devotion, and unfathomable as her eyes. And for a while,he seemed to be the very image of a bee drowned in the honey of a redlotus, or a _chakora_ surfeited with the beams of a young moon. And inorder to make up to Makarandika, and console her for the loss of herpower of flying through the air, which of all her sciences she mostregretted, he built for her innumerable swings, with gold and silverchains, and one, that she loved the best, on the very roof she firstarrived on. And she used to pass her time in it, whenever she hadnothing else to do, swinging softly to and fro, and looking across thesea; tasting, by means of the swing and her own i
magination, somevestige of her lost equality with all the birds of heaven. And thoughshe never so much as whispered it aloud, yet sometimes, her unutterablelonging to possess once more that power which she had lost for ever, asshe watched the sea-birds flying, brought tears into her eyes, which shenever let Arunodaya see.
[Footnote 35: A play on words, _salt_ and _beauty_ being the same(_lawanya_).]
And yet, though she had utterly lost all her magic sciences, she stillretained the whole of that other magic, which the Creator has notlimited only to Widyadharis, of feminine fascination. And like the moon,she was a very bundle of bewitching arts,[36] whose potency was doubledby the intensity of her affection for her lord. For a woman who does notfeel affection for her own husband resembles a sunset from which the sunand all his redness are withdrawn.
[Footnote 36: _Kala_ means _arts_ as well as _digits_.]
And she was, moreover, so absolutely bent upon erasing from hisrecollection every vestige of the dim image of the wife of his formerbirth, for whom she had substituted herself, like a new moon eclipsingan old one, that she thought of nothing else: and the thought of thisformer wife resembled a thorn that was fixed ineradicably in her ownheart. And she busied herself all day and night, in occupying his wholeattention, and laying snares for his soul, by dancing, and singing, andtelling him innumerable stories, and making as it were slaves of all hissenses, enthralling his eyes with the variety of her beauty, andcaptivating his ears with the sorcery of her voice, and chaining hisdesires to herself by never-ending wiles of caressing attention, in theform of embraces of soft arms, and kisses like snowflakes, and glancesshot at him out the very corner of her eye, enveloping him with such amist of the essence of a woman's sweetness as to keep him from seeingany other thing at all. For her Widyadhari nature gave to all herbehaviour grace that was far beyond the reach of any ordinary mortal,and she seemed like an incarnation of femininity, divested of all thegrossness and clumsy imperfection that it carries when mixed with theelement of death, so that her touch seemed softer, and her step seemedlighter, and her outline rounder, and her smile far sweeter and herpassion purer, and her whole love ecstasy deeper and truer than anywoman's could ever be.
But as for the prime minister, when he came, according to agreement, andArunodaya showed her to him on the day of the full moon, he was soutterly bewildered by the very sight of her that she turned him as itwere to stone. And after staring at her in stupefaction, being whollybereft of appropriate speech, and as it were deserted by his reason,which lay prostrate at her little golden-bangled feet, he went away insilence. And after a long while, he said to himself as he sat alone:Beyond a doubt, this inexplicable King has somehow or other managed tofind a very miracle of a queen, as far as beauty goes. For her veryankles alone, are enough to drive a lover mad, and worth more than thewhole body of any other woman; so that whoever began to look at her,beginning with her feet, would never get any higher, but remain for everworshipping their slender and provoking curve, with a thirst that wasnever quenched. She must be Rati or Priti, fallen, nobody knows how,into a mortal birth, and leaving Kama in despair. And yet, whether shebe, as he supposes, the very wife of his former birth, or not, I amirretrievably disgraced. For he has managed this matter all alone,without so much as consulting me. And thus, not only have I lost myopportunity, of taking as it were tribute from all the surroundingkings, but I am very much mistaken if some of them, or even all, willnot take umbrage at the slight put upon all their daughters by thisunrelated queen,[37] and band together, and suddenly attack him,bewildered as he is by her disastrous intoxication; and so, the kingdomwill be uprooted, since he is likely to be so entirely wrapped up in herthat he will think of nothing else. And it may be that he will discoverin the future that he has lost more, by disregarding his prime minister,than he has gained, by marrying even for the second time the wife of hisformer birth. And if, as I suspect, this is all but a trick, time willshow up the imposture, and then it will be my turn. For if ever heshould discover she has cheated him, all the coquetry and coaxing in theworld will not keep him from abhorring her, for stealing his affection,and diverting it away from its proper object, to herself. For as a rule,men object to being cheated, even to their own advantage, since thecheater seems to argue that the cheated is a fool. But in the meantime Imust wait, since it is useless to do anything, till the charm has lostits magic by dint of repetition. For beauty resembles amber: itattracts, but does not hold: and like a razor, loses virtue every timethat it is used: till at last, it becomes altogether blunt, andimpotent, and without either edge or bite. And then, unless I am verymuch mistaken, this lovely false wife of his previous existence willfind, that she has to reckon with a formidable rival, in hisrecollection of the true.
[Footnote 37: Every reader of Scott will recall the "kinless loons."]
III
But Arunodaya, careless of his minister, gave himself up a willingcaptive to the witchery of his Widyadhari wife. And for a time, her taskwas very easy. For owing to his inexperience, he resembled a child, andevery woman was to him an illusion, and a mystery, so that he would havesunk under the spell, even had it been less potent than it actually was.And Makarandika was as it were his _diksha_,[38] incarnate in a form ofmore than mortal fascination: and like a priestess she took him by thehand and led him into the _garbha_[39] of that strange temple built notof stone, but of the materials of elementary infatuation, and made himperform, so to say, a _pradakshina_ round the image of the divinity[40]of which she was herself a bewildering and irresistible incarnation. Andlost in the adoration of a neophyte, he lay like a drunken bee in alotus-cup, rolling in honey, and forgetting utterly not only his kingdomand its affairs, but everything else in the three worlds.
[Footnote 38: _i.e._ initiation.]
[Footnote 39: The Greek [Greek: adyton], or sanctuary.]
[Footnote 40: The Hindoo shrine, says Mr. A. K. Coomaraswamy, isessentially a place of pilgrimages and circumambulations, to which mencome for _darshan_, to "see" the god.]
And yet, strange! there lay all the while lurking in the recesses of hissoul a vague misgiving, mixed with a faint and unintelligibledissatisfaction, resembling a taste of something bitter in the draughtof his infatuation, and an ingredient that qualified and just preventedhis gratification from reaching its extreme degree, of ecstasy withoutalloy. And yet he hardly dared to acknowledge it, even to himself,accusing himself of ingratitude and treachery, and saying to his ownsoul: How is it possible to requite such infinite affection, anddevotion, and service, and beauty, by returning nothing in exchange forit all but suspicion, and distrust, and doubt? For even if she were notthe very wife of my former birth, what could I possibly wish for, more?And yet, it is very strange. For notwithstanding all she does, she doesnot seem to reach and satisfy the craving for recognition in my heart,which obstinately refuses to corroborate her asseverations: nor do Iever feel that confidence and certainty, arising from the depths ofrecollection, which, if she really were my former wife, surely I oughtto feel. Is it my fault, or hers? Alas! instead of meeting her half-way,I am oppressed with what is very nearly disappointment, and feel almostlike a dupe, that have allowed myself to fall into the snare of beauty,so as to yield to another what should belong to one alone. Little indeedwould she have to complain of in the warmth of my return, had she justthat one thing that she lacks, the stamp of genuine priority: for thenshe would get in full the very thing I long to give her.
Aye! I am as it were dying to do, the thing I cannot do, and dividedfrom supreme bliss by a partition composed of the most exasperatinginability to know for certain, what all the time may after all be true.For if she is only playing a part not really hers, how in the world didshe discover the way to take me in, by exhibiting a knowledge of thosevery same dim vestiges of recollection which I have never told to anyonebut my own prime minister? And very sure I am, that it was not he whotold her, since he almost lost his reason with astonishment, andadmiration that was mixed with envy and annoyance, when her beautystruck him dumb. So
after all, perhaps I am mistaken, and only torturingmyself for nothing. Out on me, if what she says be really true! for thenindeed I deserve something even worse than death, for treating her withsuch monstrous ungenerosity. Can it be that her memory is truer andstronger, putting mine, for its fidelity, to utter shame? Or why, again,should I struggle any longer against conviction, and persevere inlonging for what I have not got? Who knows whether even if I actuallygot it, I should be any better off than I actually am? Could the verywife of my former birth be a better wife than this? Is not this wifejust as good as any wife could ever be? Does she not as it were combinethe virtues of even a hundred wives? Yet if she be not the true, can itbe that the other is even now upbraiding me, somehow, somewhere, forfalling with such inconstancy straight into another's snares, andwasting on a stranger the love that belongs to her? Alas! alas! Why didthe Creator make my memory too strong for blank oblivion, and yet sofeeble as to leave me without a proof, and plunge me in such perplexityin this matter of a wife?
IV
So then, time passed, and these two lovers lived together, she in theheaven of having discovered the very fruit of her birth, and he half inheaven and half outside, hovering for ever between delight anddiscontent, balanced in a swing of hesitation between assertion anddenial, that like that other swing of hers was hardly ever still. Andlittle by little, as surfeit brought satiety, and custom wore away thebloom of novelty, and familiarity began to rob her beauty of the edge ofits appeal, and emotion lost, by repetition, its sincerity, andpassion's fire began to cool, and the flood of desire to ebb, thenexactly as that cunning Gangadhara foretold, the doubt that, like aseed, lay waiting in his soul began, seeing its opportunity, to swelland grow, till there came to be no room for any feeling but itself. Andunawares, he used to sit gazing at her, with eyes that did not seem tosee her, as if continually striving to compare her with some other thingthat was not there, till under their scrutiny she shrank away and leftthem, unable to endure, turning away a face that became paler and everpaler, half with apprehension of discovery, and half with jealousy andresentful indignation: for only too well her heart understood what waspassing in his soul, though he never dared to tell her, out of shame athaving to confess, that in return for the free and absolute gift of hersoul, he was yielding her only a fragment of his own, and even that,with suspicion and reluctance: converting the very completeness of hersurrender into an argument against her, as if she did from policy alonewhat came from the very bottom of her heart. And he seemed to her to sayby his behaviour: Did she not throw herself into my arms uninvited,without even waiting to be asked, of her own accord, like an_abhisarika_, and could such a one as this be really the wife that I waslooking for? Does it become a maiden, even a Widyadhari, to be bolderthan a man? And why is it, that for all that she can say, and all thatshe can do, she never can succeed in arousing any correspondingsympathy, or producing a conviction that we ever met before? And is thisthe union I expected, devoid of that overwhelming mutual recognitionthat would leap like fire out of the darkness of oblivion, if theassociations of a previous existence were really there?
So she would sit thinking, and watching him furtively, sitting in herswing, and swaying gently to and fro, gazing out over the sea. And sheused to say sadly to herself: Now, as it seems, all my endeavours havebeen fruitless; for do what I can, all my labours are unavailing. And Ihave given myself away, and sacrificed all my magic sciences, fornought. For it is clear that he cares for absolutely nothing, incomparison with this dream of this wife of his previous birth. And yetwhat could she, or any other wife whatever, give to him, or for him,more than I have given. What! is the wife of the present birth soabsolutely less than nothing, compared with the wife of the past? What!has not one birth the same value as another? And if she was the wife ofthat birth, then I am the wife of this. Very sure I am, that she cannotlove him as well as I. Have I not become, from a Widyadhari, a mortal,solely on his account. And yet, who knows? For it may be, I amimpatient, and am hoping to succeed, too soon; anticipating, andexpecting to pluck the flower of his full affection before the seed thatI have sown has had full time to grow. Well then, I will water it, andwatch it, and let it ripen. And I will strive, in the very teeth of hisprepossession, to overcome his stubborn recollection, and uproot it, notby ill-humour or peevish premature despair, but by flooding him with allthe sweetness that I can. Yes, I will conquer him by becoming so utterlyhis slave, that for very shame he will find himself obliged to sacrificehis dream to me.
V
So then, as she said, she did. And making herself as it were of noaccount, and utterly disregarding the absence of reciprocal affection ina soul that held itself as it were, with obstinacy, aloof, she setherself to thaw his ice by a constancy of service that resembled therays of a burning sun. And she met all his suspicion and his scrutiny bysuch invariable tenderness, and with such a total absence of even theshadow of complaining or reproach, that his heart began, as if againstits will, to melt, unable to hold out against the steady stream ofaffectionate devotion, welling from an inexhaustible spring. And littleby little, he began to say to himself as he watched her: Surely it werea crime to doubt her any longer. For such an irresistible combination ofunselfishness and beauty could not possibly flow from any other sourcethan the unconscious reminiscence of old sympathies, and adamantinebonds, forged and welded in a previous existence. For she gives and hasgiven all, in return for almost nothing, resembling a mother rather thana wife; and so far from resenting any lack of confidence, she makes upfor all that I do not give her, by increasing the quantity and qualityof her own, as if she had incurred an obligation to myself, in someformer and forgotten state, which she was never able to repay. And whatproof other than this could I demand? And if this good fortune of mine,in her form, be not the reward of works, done in that birth which Istruggle to remember, what else can it be?
So then at last, there came a day, when they sat together in thetwilight on the palace roof, watching the moon, that wanted only asingle digit, rising like a huge nocturnal yellow sun, looking for theother that had sunk to flee, far away on the eastern quarter, on thevery edge of the sea, which seemed for fear to tremble like anincarnation of dark emotion, while a lunar ray, like a long pale narrowfinger, ran over straight towards them, stepping from wave to wave, andseeming to say with silent laughter: Like me on the surge of the deep'sdesire, love bridges over the waves of time. What is the tide withoutme, but the livery of death?
And as she gazed, the eyes of Makarandika shone, for very excess ofhappiness, and there came into each a crystal tear, that caught andreflected the moon's ray, like a twin imitation of himself. And as shelooked, she murmured: Now at last, as I think, the victory is all butmine, for I have never brought my husband yet so near the very edge oflove's unfathomable deep, as I have to-day. And now, with just one moreeffort, he will fall into the bottomless abysses of my soul, and I shallhave him for my own. Strange! that she did not understand, she washerself tottering on the very brink of a fatal gulf that would swallowher up for ever, and plunge her, by a single step, into the mouth ofhell!
For even as she spoke, she turned, and looked for a single instant, withunutterable affection, into her husband's face. And then, she saidaloud: _Aryaputra_, dost thou know, of what I am now thinking? And hesaid: No. Then she said: How short a time it seems, since I settled onthat parapet in the form of a sea-bird, and saw thee first: and yet, thedifference is eternity!
VI
And then, the very instant she had spoken, recollection suddenly rushedacross her: and she knew, like a flash of lightning, that she haduttered her own doom. And as she gazed at him with eyes, whose lovesuddenly turned to terror, Arunodaya, all at once, started to his feet.And he exclaimed: Ha! wert thou the bird? Ha! now, at last, Iunderstand. So this, then, was the means of thy discovery, and theorigin of thy deceit, thy listening to the conversation of my ministerand me? And all thy story was a lie, and thou thyself art nothing but aliar and a cheat. And like a worm, that is hidden in the recesses of a
flower, thou hast placed thyself on a king's head, being only fit to becast away and trodden underfoot: as I myself will tread thee, and castthee away like a blade of grass, fit only to be burned. And I will sweepthe very shadow of thy memory from my heart, into which thou hastwriggled, by treachery and fraud, to the prejudice of its proper owner,the true wife of my former birth.
So as he spoke, with eyes that consumed her, as it were, with the fireof their hatred and contempt, she stood for a single instant still,stupefied and aghast, shrinking from his fury, and confessing by herconfusion her inability to clear herself of the charge he broughtagainst her, looking like a feminine incarnation of the acknowledgmentof guilt. But as he ended, the thought of the rival whom he cast intoher teeth entered her heart like the stab of a poisoned sword. And as helooked at her, all at once he saw her change. And the fierce fire of hisown emotion suddenly died away, annihilated as it were and turned in atrice to ashes as he watched her, by the intensity of hers. For fromcrouching as she was, she slowly stood erect, becoming so ashy pale thatlife seemed on the very point of leaving her a thing composed of snowand ice in the white rays of the moon. And she looked at him with eyes,in which the love of but a moment since had frozen into a glitter, asthough the blood that filled her heart had suddenly turned to venom thatwas black instead of red. And so she stood for a moment, and then all atonce she leaped at him and clutched him by the hand, with fingers thatshut upon it and squeezed into it like teeth. And she said, withdifficulty, as if the breath were wanting to make audible the words:Dost thou repay me thus? And have I thrown away my state of aWidyadhari, and all my magic sciences, for such a thing as thee, andthis? And have I sacrificed a countless host of suitors, who would havegiven the three worlds for a single glance of my eye, for thee totrample on my beauty and my affection, counting it all as absolutelyless than nothing, in comparison with another who is nothing but adream? Make, then, the very most of all the sweetness and the love thatshe will give thee; for mine thou hast lost, and it is dead, and it isgone. See, whether the affection of the wives of thy future and thy pastwill make up to thee for that of thy wife of the present, which thouhast despised, and outraged, and mangled and annihilated, and wilt neversee again.
And she turned, abruptly, and looked for a single instant away acrossthe sea. And she said: I cannot leave thee as I would have done, for Ihave lost my power of flying through the air. But bid adieu to the wifeof the present, and sing hey! for the wife of the past.
And as she spoke, her voice shook. And she went away very quickly intothe palace, and left him there on the roof alone.
VII
Now in the meanwhile, the prime minister was well-nigh at his wits' end.For ever since his marriage, Arunodaya had entirely neglected hiskingdom and his state affairs, throwing upon Gangadhara the burden ofthem all. And this would have been exactly to his taste, in any othercircumstances but those in which it happened: since it was just the verymarriage itself which occasioned all his anxiety and care.
And one day as he sat alone, musing in his garden, at last he couldcontain himself no longer, but broke out into exclamations, imagininghimself alone. And he said: Ha ha! now, as I feared, this lunatic of aKing and his mad marriage are about to bring destruction on this kingdomand myself. And as to my own part, it would be bad enough alone, that Ishould have lost not only crores of treasure, which I could easily havegained, but also the opportunity of making favourable politicalalliances with the strongest of the other kings. But even worse thingsare impending over the kingdom and myself. For not one only, but all thekings together are collecting to attack us, considering themselvesslighted; and as I am made aware, by means of my own spies, the King'smaternal uncle is in league with them in secret, hoping by the ruin ofhis nephew to secure the kingdom for himself. And between them, I alsoshall be crushed, since they consider me as one with the King my master;and it will all end in my losing, not only my property, but my officeand my life: since I cannot even get this King to listen, were it onlywith one ear, to any business at all: and without him, there is nothingto be done. Thus I myself, and he, and his kingdom, will all go togetherto destruction, like sacrifices offered to his idol, in the form of hiswife. And yet there is something unintelligible even in his relationswith his wife, which even my spies are unable to detect. For though theKing and Queen are never separate, even for a moment, yet they do notseem to be at one: and though he has got, as it seems, exactly what hewanted, yet he does not appear to be content. Something, beyond a doubt,is wrong, though nobody can discover what it is. And in the meantime, weshall all presently discover something else, that we are all involved ina common catastrophe: and very soon, it will be too late, even to hopeto take any measures whatever against it at all. For as a rule, delay isfatal at any time: but above all now. And I cannot see any other waythan to throw in my lot with the King's maternal uncle, and so save thekingdom and myself, at the King's expense. And if I do, he will haveabsolutely nobody to blame but himself, for having scouted me and mypolicy, and like a mad elephant rather than a king, imagined that he wasat liberty to marry anyone he chose, behaving just as if he were asubject, and not a king with political necessity to consider, before anyprivate inclination. And now, could I only discover some means ofbringing it about, I should be more than half resolved to oust thisunmanageable King from his throne. But the difficulty is, how to get ridof him and his strange windfall of a queen, without incurring suspicionand the blame of the bazaar. For I can get no satisfactory solution ofthis mystery, even from my spies.
So as he spoke, all at once a voice fell out the air upon his head, asif from the sky. And it said: O Gangadhara, there are ready to assistthee other and far better spies than thy own.
VIII
And as Gangadhara started, and looked up in wonder, he saw Smaradasajust above him, hovering in the air. And that celestial roamer descendedgently, and stood upon the ground beside him. And he said to the primeminister, who humbly bowed before him: Gangadhara, I am Smaradasa, aking of the Widyadharas, and I have come to let thee know so much as maybe necessary, and tell thee in this matter what to do: which is, to sitwith thy hands folded, like an image of Jinendra on a temple wall, for avery little while, and the conclusion will arrive of itself, without thyinterference: since others are concerned as well as thou, in punishingthis king, and his outcast of a queen, who like a wheel has left thetrack, and run out of her proper course, downhill.
And Gangadhara said: My lord, I am favoured by the very sight of thee:and I am curious to know all the circumstances of this extraordinarymatter, if it be permitted to such a one as me.
And Smaradasa said: O Gangadhara, creatures of every kind fall intodisaster by reason of their own characters and actions, and this is sucha case. And there is no necessity for thee to be acquainted with any ofthe particulars, since curiosity is dangerous, and those who pry intothe business of their superiors run the risk of getting into trouble,which they might have avoided had they been discreet. So much only willI tell thee, that this queen's independent behaviour is on the eve ofgiving birth to its own punishment, which will in all probabilityinvolve in it that of her silly lover as well as her own. And theWidyadharas have fixed upon thee, to be an agent in bringing it about.And I bring thee a commission, which if thou dost refuse, evil will comeupon thee, very soon, and very sudden, and very terrible. But as Ithink, thou wilt undertake it, seeing that the result will tallyprecisely with objects of thy own. For as I said, spies better than thyown have had their eyes on thee and all the others, unobserved.
Then Gangadhara trembled, and he said: This servant of thine is ready todo anything, no matter what.
And Smaradasa said: There is little to be done, and it will be veryeasy. Know, as it may be that thou knowest already, that Arunodayadesires nothing in the world so much, as to recollect the incidents ofhis previous existence: since this is what perpetually troubles him,that he seems to be hovering for ever on the very brink of graspingrecollection, which nevertheless invariably slips from his grasp:leaving
him in such a state of irritated longing and disappointment,that to quench it, he would give the three worlds. Go, then, toArunodaya, and give him this fruit. And say to him this: Maharaj, one ofthe neighbouring king's ministers, whom I have recently befriended, sentme this fruit, with its fellow, brought to him by a traveller fromanother _dwipa_.[41] And such is their virtue that whoever eats one,just before he goes to sleep, will dream, all night long, of the verything that he most desires. And so, wishing to test it, I ate one; andthat night I saw in my dreams such mountains of gold and gems, that evenMeru and the ocean could not furnish half the sum of each. And now Ihave brought thee the other, thinking that the experience might amusethee: and now it is for Maharaj to judge. And when he hears, Arunodayawill think the fruit to be no other than the very fruit of his own birthin visible form before his eyes. For it will enable him to realise hisdesire, and discover the events of his former birth.
[Footnote 41: (Pronounce _dweep_)--a far-off continent or island.]
And Gangadhara took the fruit into his hand, and looked at itattentively, resembling as it did a pomegranate, but smaller. And thesmell of it was so strong, and so strange, and so delicious, that itseemed to say to its possessor: Refrain, if you can, from tasting, whattastes even better than it smells. And then, he shuddered, and he raisedhis eyes, and looked steadily at Smaradasa: and he said: Is it poison?
And that crafty Widyadhara laughed, and he said: Nay, O Gangadhara: itis exactly what I told thee to say, and thy account will be the verytruth.
Then said Gangadhara again: But if this is so, how can Arunodaya'seating it advantage either thee or me?
And Smaradasa said: Gangadhara, it is dangerous for anybody, and muchmore for this King, to recollect his former birth, even in a dream.Beware of eating it thyself: for it is tempting. But now, mark verycarefully what I have to say. See, when thou dost give it him, and tellhim, that the Queen is by. I say, mark well, that at the time of thytelling, she overhears thee: and beware, at thy peril, of forgettingthis condition, for in it will all the poison of the fruit be contained;and without it, it is naught.
Then said Gangadhara: I do not understand.
And Smaradasa laughed, and he said: Gangadhara, no matter: for thyunderstanding is not an essential condition of success. But be under noconcern: for Arunodaya will not die of poison, and the fruit is free ofharm. For poison of the body is a very clumsy contrivance, and onesuited only to mortals who are void of the sciences, not knowing how orbeing able, like Widyadharas, to work indirectly by poisoning the soul.
IX
So then, Gangadhara did very carefully just as he was told. Andeverything came about exactly as Smaradasa had predicted. For the soulof Arunodaya almost leaped out of his body with delight, in anticipationof the satisfaction of his curiosity, by making trial of the fruit;while the lips of Makarandika grew whiter, and shut closer, at the sightof it, as if it contained her rival in its core.
And that very night, Arunodaya went up upon his palace roof, accordingto his custom, to sleep. And he took with him the fruit, which hecarried in his hand, not being willing to let it out of sight for amoment, for fear that Makarandika might steal it, in order to thwart hisexpectation, and prevent him from having as it were an assignation withany other woman, even in a dream. And as it happened, that night astrong wind was blowing from the east, and the waves of the sea brokeagainst the rocks of the palace foot, as if they were endeavouring tomove it from its place.
And while Arunodaya threw himself upon his bed, Makarandika went andsat, a little way away, in her swing, that rocked and swayed to and froin the wind, looking out across the sea, with gloom in her eyes: andcasting, every now and then, glances at him as he lay, out of the cornerof her eye, that seemed as it were to say to him: Beware! And like herbody, her soul was tossed to and fro in the swing of unutterable longingand despair. And she said to herself: Even in my presence, which heabsolutely disregards, he is preparing for a meeting in his dreams withthis wife of his former birth. And at the thought, she frowned, andturned paler, clutching tighter unawares the chains of her swing, andsetting her teeth hard, and casting at Arunodaya, lying in his couch, asit were daggers, in the form of dark menace from eyes that were filledwith misery and pain. And the moon in the first quarter of its waneseemed as it were to say to her: See, thy power is waning, exactly likemy own.
And in the meanwhile, Arunodaya took his fruit and ate it, and lay down,with a soul so much on tiptoe with desire and agitation that sleepseemed to fly from him as if on purpose, out of sympathy with her. Andfor a long while he tossed to and fro upon his bed, listening to theroar of the waves and the wind. And so as he lay, little by little hegrew quiet, and sleep stole back to him silently and took him unaware.And his soul flew suddenly into the world of dreams, leaving Makarandikaalone in the darkness, awake in her swing.
X
But Arunodaya fell into his dream, to find himself walking in a row ofkings, into a vast and shadowy hall. And as they went, that hallre-echoed with a din that resembled thunder: and he looked, and lo! thathall was as full of pandits as heaven is of stars, all dressed in whitewith their right arm bare, and each so exactly like the other that itseemed as though there was but one, reflected by the innumerable facetsof a mirror split to atoms, all shouting together, each as loud as hecould bawl: See, see, the suitor kings, coming to marry the pandit'sdaughter! Victory to Sarojini, and the lucky bridegroom of her ownchoice!
And as Arunodaya looked and listened, all at once there rushed upon hissoul as it were a flood of recollection. And he exclaimed in ecstasy:Ha! yes, thus it was, and I have fallen back, somehow or other, into thebliss of my former birth. And there once more, I see them, the panditsand the hall, exactly as they were before, all shouting for Sarojini.Aye! that was the very name, which all this time I have been strugglingto remember. And strange! I cannot understand, now that I recollect it,how I should ever have forgotten it, even for a single instant. Butwhere then is she, this Sarojini, herself?
So as he spoke in agitation, he looked round as if to search, and hisheart began to beat with such violence that he stirred as he slept uponhis couch. And at that moment, there suddenly appeared to him a woman,coming slowly straight toward him, followed by her maid. And as shecame, she looked at him intently, with huge, bewildering, gazing eyesthat seemed to fasten on his soul, filled as they were with anunfathomable abyss of melancholy, and longing, and dim distance, anddreamy recognition, and wonder, and caressing tenderness, and reproach.And her body was straight and slender, and it swayed a little as shewalked, like the stalk of the very lotus whose name she bore, as if itwere about to bend, unable to support the weight of the beautifulfull-blown double flower standing proudly up above it in the form of herround and splendid breast. And she was clothed in a dusky garmentexactly matching the colour of her hair, which clung to her and wrappedher as if black with indignation that it could not succeed in hiding,but only rather served to display and fix all eyes upon the body that itstrove to hide, adding as if against its will curve to its curves andundulation to all its undulations, and bestowing upon them all an extratouch of fascination and irresistible appeal, by giving them theappearance of prisoners refusing to be imprisoned and endeavouring toescape. And as it wound about her, the narrow band of gold that edged itran round her in and out, exactly like a snake, that ended by folding ina ring around her feet. And she held in her right hand, the arm of whichwas absolutely bare, an enormous purple flower, in which, every now andthen, she buried, so to say, her face, all except the eyes, which shenever took from Arunodaya, even for a single instant. And she seemed tohim, as he watched her, like a feminine incarnation of the nectar ofreunion, after years of separation, raised into a magic spell by anatmosphere of memory and mystery and dream.
So as he gazed, lost in a vague ocean of intoxication, all at once herattendant maid, who seemed for her boldness and her beauty like a mandressed in woman's clothes, or some third nature that hovered betweenthe two, came out before her mistress. And she seized by the
hand asuitor king, and led him up to Sarojini, and said to him aloud: O King,listen and reply to the question that the husband of Sarojini mustanswer well.
And as she spoke, Sarojini withdrew her eyes from Arunodaya, and letthem rest for a moment on the king that stood before her. And she saidin a low voice, that sounded in the sudden stillness of that hall likethe note of a _kokila_ lost in the very heart of a wood: Maharaj, say:should I choose the better, or the worse?[42]
[Footnote 42: This cannot be expressed in English with the point of theoriginal, because the word expressing preference means also _bridegroom_(_waram_).]
And that unhappy king said instantly: The better.
Then said Sarojini: O King, I am unfortunate indeed, in losing thee.
And instantly, she turned her eyes back upon Arunodaya, and at thatmoment, all the pandits in the hall began to shout: Sarojini, Sarojini,_jayanti_! And as he listened, lo! she and her eyes, and the hall withall its pandits, wavered, and flickered, and danced before his eyes, andwent out and disappeared. And the clamour and the tumult of the panditschanged, and altered, and melted into the roar of the waves and thewind. And in a frenzy of terror lest the dream should have concluded, hewoke with a cry, and raised his head from its pillow, and opened hiseyes; and they fell straight upon Makarandika, who was looking at himfixedly, sitting in her swing.
And suddenly she said to him: Of what art thou dreaming? And heanswered: Of pandits. And immediately, his head fell back upon itspillow, and his soul sank back into his dream.
XI
But Makarandika started, and she exclaimed within herself: Pandits! Ha!Then, as it seems, he really is dreaming of the things of his formerbirth. And her eyes grew darker as she watched him, sitting in herswing, very still, with one foot upon the ground. And all at once, sheleft the swing, and came to him very quickly, and knelt, sitting uponher feet, upon the ground, beside him, gazing at him in silence as heslept, with eyes that never left his face for even a single instant.
But the soul of Arunodaya, leaving his body lying on the couch, flewback like a flash of lightning eagerly to his dream. And once more hefound himself in that hall, with all its pandits shouting, just as if hehad never left it to awake. And lo! the eyes of Sarojini were fastenedon his own, as if with joy; and in his relief, occasioned by suddenfreedom from the fear of the dream having reached its termination, andthe recovery of those eyes, his heart was filled with such a flood ofecstasy that, all unaware, he laughed in his sleep. And in the meantime,that unabashed and clever maid came forward, and seized by the handanother king, and led him forward like the last. And she said, exactlyas before: King, listen and reply to the question that the husband ofSarojini must answer well.
And then once more, the eyes of Sarojini lingered for a little on thoseof Arunodaya, and left him, as if reluctant to depart, and rested, as ifcarelessly, upon that second king. And she said in the silence thatwaited, as it were, for her to speak: Maharaj, say, shall I choose thegreater or the less?
And that unhappy king hesitated for an instant; and he said: The less.
Then said Sarojini: Alas! O King, once more I am unfortunate: for Ishould be inexcusable, in choosing thee.
And instantly, she turned, and her eyes met those of Arunodaya, waitingin the extremity of agitation, with a glance that seemed to say to him:Be not afraid. And as he sighed in his sleep, for delight, lo! onceagain, she and her eyes, and the pandits, and the shouting, and thehall, shivered, and wavered, and receded into the darkness, and went outand disappeared. And the din of the triumph of the pandits changed andaltered and ended in the roar of the waves and the rushing of the wind.And once more he awoke and opened his eyes: and lo! there just in frontof him was Makarandika, with eyes that gazed, as if with wrath, straightinto his own.
And when she saw his open, she said in a low voice, very slowly: Of whatwert thou dreaming? And Arunodaya murmured: Of pandits. And instantly,he closed his eyes, as if to shut her from his soul. And then, he forgother in an instant, and flew back, as if escaping from a pursuer, intohis dream.
XII
But Makarandika's face fell. And after a while, he began to laugh, withlaughter that quivered, as if it hesitated between agony and scorn. Andshe exclaimed: Pandits! Does anybody laugh, as he did in his sleep, whodreams of pandits? What has laughter such as his to do with pandits?Nay, he is trying to hide from me a secret, not knowing, that in theabsence of his soul, his body is playing traitor to him against hiswill. Ah! well I understand, he closed his eyes, to keep me on theoutside of his soul, which he opens in the sweetness of a dream tosomeone else. So, now, let him beware. And she drew still closer to hisside, and leaned over him, with her eyes fixed upon his lips, and aheart that beat with such agitation that she pressed one hand upon herbreast, as if to bid it to be still, lest its throbbing should rouse himfrom his sleep.
And as she gazed, there came over her soul such a sense of desolation,mixed with the fire of jealousy, and wrath at her own inability tofollow him into his dream and snatch him for her own from everybodyelse, that her breath was within a little of stopping of its own accord.And she yearned to find, as it were, a refuge, in tears that refused toflow, and her head began to spin. And all at once, a shudder that washalf a sob shook her as she kneeled, mixed with an almost irresistibledesire to clasp him in her arms, and claim him for what he actually was,her husband, and the only lord without a rival of her own miserableheart. And a fever that turned her hot and cold by turns began to hurrythrough her limbs. And she murmured to herself, without knowing what shesaid: Shall he leave me here, deserted, alone in the darkness of thispalace and the night? to meet in a dream where I cannot follow him thewife I cannot oust from his soul? Who knows? It may be that at this verymoment, they are laughing me to scorn, locked in each other's arms.
And so as she continued, gazing at him with a soul set as it were onfire by suspicion and images of her own creating, and a heart stung bythe viper of recollection, and yet, strange! swelling with a passionateand hopeless yearning for his affection to return, meanwhile, the soulof Arunodaya, all heedless of the passion that menaced his abandonedbody, lay, as it were, drowned in the honey of his dream. And onceagain, amid the tumult of the pandits, the eyes of Sarojini were drawinghis soul towards her own, as if with cords, woven of the triple strandsof colour and reminiscence and the intensity of a love that was returnedtenfold. And so as he lay, conscious of absolutely nothing but the abyssof those unfathomable eyes, all at once that shameless maid came forwardyet again, and took the hand of yet another king, and said as before:King, listen and reply to the question that the husband of Sarojini mustanswer well.
And Sarojini, hearing her speak, drew her eyes away sadly fromArunodaya, and turned them slowly on that waiting king. And she said:Maharaj, say, shall I choose the bitter or the sweet?
And then, that miserable king, as if he feared the fate of hispredecessors, stood for a while in silence. And he said at last: Thesweet.
Then said Sarojini: King, beyond all doubt my crimes in a former birthare bearing fruit, in depriving me of such a husband as thyself.
And instantly, all the pandits broke into a shout, and as they did so,she shot at Arunodaya a glance that seemed as it were to say to him: Bepatient, for thy turn also will presently arrive.
And at that very moment, something took him as it were by the throat.And as the dream suddenly went out and disappeared, he awoke, in theroar of the waves and the wind, to find that Makarandika had her handupon his breast, to wake him from his dream. And she said absolutelynothing. But her eyes were fixed upon his own, filled to the very brimwith entreaty, and affection, and terror and grief, and despair.
And seeing her, he frowned, as if the very sight of her was poison tohis soul. And he shut his eyes, and fell back upon his pillow, to goback to his dream.
XIII
But Makarandika shrank from the glance that he cast upon her, exactly asif he had struck her in the face with his clenched hand. And she turnedsuddenly white, as if the marble floor sh
e sat on had claimed her forits own. And all at once she fell forward, and remained, crouching, withher face upon her hands, like a feminine incarnation of Rati when shesaw Love's body burned to ash. And time passed, while the moon lookeddown at her as if with pity, wondering at her stillness, and saying asit were in silence: Can it be that she is dead? And then, suddenly,Arunodaya laughed aloud in his sleep, and he murmured, as if withaffection: Sarojini, Sarojini.
And then, Makarandika looked up quickly. And lo! there came over her asmile, like that of one suddenly rejoicing at the arrival of unexpectedopportunity. And all at once she stood erect, as if all her agony hadbeen changed in a moment to resolution. And she looked down at him as heslept, and she said, very slowly: Ah! lover of Sarojini, dost thou leaveme, as it were, spurned from thee with aversion, alone on the roof ofthy palace, to spend thy time with her? What! shall the wife of thisbirth sit, weeping as it were outside the door, while she embraces theewithin? Ah! but thou hast forgotten, that if I cannot enter, at least Ican interrupt thee, since I am mistress of the dream.
And she put her hands up to her head, and undid the knot of her braidedhair. And she took from it, as it fell around her, as if to shroud heraction in the darkness of a cloud, a long thin dagger,[43] thatresembled a crystal splinter of lightning picked up on a mountain peak,and shone in the moon's rays like a streak of the essence of vengeancemade visible to the eye. And she went close up to him, and remainedstanding silent, watching his face turned upwards as he lay before her,with a smile on her lips that resembled the gleam of her own dagger, asit waited in her trembling hand.
[Footnote 43: "Did not Windumati slay Widuratha the Wrishni with astiletto that she had hidden in her hair?" (_Harsha charita_).]
XIV
But in the meanwhile Arunodaya fled as it were from Makarandika to takerefuge in his dream. And he found Sarojini as it were waiting for himwith anxiety, with eyes that seemed to say to him: Amidst all thistumult of the pandits, thou and I are as it were alone together. And itseemed to Arunodaya as he watched her, that her lips moved, and werestriving to say to him something, that by reason of the distance and theshouting, he could not understand. And in his delight, he began to laughin his sleep, and murmur back to her in answer: Sarojini, Sarojini. Andfilled with unutterable desire to approach her, and take her in hisarms, he was on the very point of rushing forward, urged by theirritation of an impatience that was becoming unendurable, when onceagain that maid devoid of modesty came straight towards him, and almostbroke his heart in two by taking by the hand not himself, but the kingwho stood beside him. And as he muttered to himself: Out on thisinterloping king, who comes between me and my delight! beginning totremble all over as he lay, that maid said again: King, listen and replyto the question that the husband of Sarojini must answer well.
And Sarojini turned half towards him, leaving as it were her eyesbehind, fastened still on Arunodaya, as if unable to bear again the painof separation, and calling as it were to him, from over the sea of time.And then she said, as if her words were meant for him alone! Maharaj,Maharaj, say, shall I choose the past or the present, the living or thedead?
And then, ere that unhappy king could answer, Arunodaya leaped towardsher, while all his body quivered as he lay upon his bed, as ifstruggling in desperation to accompany his soul. And he cried out, notonly with his soul, but his body: Sarojini, Sarojini, never shall thouchoose, since I will not leave the choice to thee at all. Dead orliving, I am thine and thou art mine. And as she threw herself into hisarms, he caught her, and pulled her to his breast, while she put up herface to him, as if dying to be kissed.
And then, strange! that face suddenly eluded him, with a derisive sneer.And his ears rang with a din composed of the shouting and laughter ofpandits, mingled with the roar of the wind and the sea. And she and thedream together suddenly went out and disappeared. And he saw her face,for the fraction of a second, change, as if by magic, into the face ofMakarandika, pale as ashes: and then, something suddenly ran into hisheart like a sword. And his soul abandoned his body, with a sharp cry,never to return.
XV
So then, the very moment it was done, Makarandika woke, herself, as itwere, from a dream. And horror at her own action, as if it had waitedtill the very moment when it should be unavailing, suddenly flowed inupon her soul. And as she gazed at Arunodaya, lying still in themoonlight with her dagger in his heart, and found herself withabsolutely no companions but the dead body, and the darkness, and thewind and the waves, alone on that palace roof, she murmured to herself,as if she hardly understood: What! can this be of my doing? What! have Iactually slain the husband of my own choice, jealous of his very dreams?
And she stood, for a little while, with one hand upon her head, andthen, she uttered a scream. And she seized him by the hand, and shook itviolently, as if endeavouring to wake him and recall him from a dream,in which she herself had buried him for ever, cutting off itstermination, and prisoning his soul in an everlasting dungeon, like astone dropped beyond recovery, fallen with a hollow echo into the blackdarkness of a well.
And lo! that shriek reverberated as it were in heaven, and was answeredby a peal of laughter that fell on her from the sky. And she looked upinto the air, and saw, hovering in rows above her, all those Widyadharasuitors whom she had rejected long ago, gazing down at her with facesthat were distorted with malice and derision. And as she stood,confounded, with their laughter ringing in her ears, Smaradasa swoopedtowards her, and called to her ironically: Ha! Makarandika the scornful,how is it with thy mortal husband? How could he prefer another to such abeauty as thyself?
And Makarandika gazed at them all for an instant, with eyes that exactlyresembled those of a fawn, on the very verge of escaping from itspursuers by leaping from a cliff. And her reason fled away from her, asif anticipating her own flight. And strange! at that moment, as ifbewildered by her own deed and the very sight of those Widyadharas ofwhom she had been one, she utterly forgot for an instant that sheherself was no longer a Widyadhari, and had lost her own power of flyingthrough the air. And she made a bound to the edge of the parapet, andleaped off, thinking to fly over the sea, and escape, and be at rest.But instead of flying, she fell, and was broken to pieces at the bottomof the wall, in the foam of the waves that were also broken, at the footof the palace rock.
* * * * *
So then, when at last Maheshwara ended, the Daughter of the Mountainasked eagerly: But, O thou of the Moony Tire, tell me, how as to thedream. Was it the very truth, and Sarojini the very wife of his formerbirth?
And Maheshwara said slowly: Nay, O Snowy One, not at all. For it was noteven a true dream. For if it had really been a dream, it would not havecontinued, as it actually did, in spite of its interruptions. But thewhole was a delusion, and a contrivance of the Widyadharas, who luredhis soul out of his body by means of a magic drug, and acted all beforehim, exactly like a play. For the Widyadharas were the pandits, and thegreat hall was nothing whatever but the sky. And the noise was nothingwhatever but that of the wind and waves, and Sarojini herself wasMakarandika's own sister, who hated her for her beauty, which wasgreater than her own. And as for Makarandika, she was all the time herown rival; for she herself, and no other, was the real wife of hisformer birth.
And the Daughter of the Mountain started, and she uttered a little cry.And she exclaimed: Ah! no! O Moony-crested, it cannot be. Surely thouart only jesting? What! was their happiness divided from them by so thina wall as that? What! when they would have given, each his soul, to knowit? Alas! alas! what cruelty of the Creator, to bring the cup ofhappiness as it were to their very lips, without allowing them to taste!simply by reason of a film of utter darkness, that prevented them fromseeing it was actually there!
And after a while, that Lord of Creatures said slowly: O Daughter of theMountain, yet for all that it was true. And many a traveller crossesover seas and years of separation, surmounting every peril, to perish atthe very last moment, when the ecstasy of reunion is almost in h
isgrasp, on the step of his own door. And be not thou hasty to lay crueltyto the door of the Creator, who is absolutely blameless in the matter,seeing that all these and similar misfortunes come about, as thenecessary consequence of works. And though the extremity of happiness,arising from mutual recognition, was divided from Arunodaya andMakarandika by a screen thinner than the thickness of a single hair,they could not reach it, for thin as it was, that screen had beenerected by their own wrong-doing, and was nothing whatever but the doompronounced against themselves by their own misbehaviour in a formerbirth. And thus it came about, that Makarandika played the part ofArunodaya's former wife, never even dreaming that she was only claimingto be what she actually was: while Arunodaya shrank, in his ignorance,from the very wife whom he would have given the three worlds todiscover, in pursuit of a phantom, that was substituted for her by hisown unilluminated longing for a treasure that, all unaware, he heldalready in his hand. For souls that wander to and fro in the waste ofthe world's illusion resemble chips tossing aimlessly up and down on theheaving waves of time, driving about at random they know not how orwhere, under a night that has no moon, in an ocean without a shore: forwhom the very quarters of heaven are lost in an undistinguishableidentity, and even distance and proximity are but words without a sense.
So, now, let us leave these our images to become once more, by ourdeparture, nothing but the stony guardians of this empty shrine. Andto-morrow Gangadhara will learn, by listening to the story of yondersleeper, what Smaradasa meant, and unriddle his enigma of the poisoningof the soul.