“‘You stop screaming at me.’
“‘Watch it, lady!’
“‘You watch it.’
“‘You can’t steal another woman’s husband.’
“‘You can’t steal another woman’s husband.’
“By now Rambha One and Rambha Two were becoming rowdy, even though the man was trying to cool them down.
“Narada, the sage who feeds on quarrels and provokes them for his own amusement, arrived on cue, plucking his vina and waving his fan. He was delighted at the fight. All three of them bowed at his feet in respect.
“He was smiling.
“‘Nalakubara,’ he said, ‘which of these women is yours? I can’t bless you with a long, loving life unless I know who is who. Did you create the other one to teach Rambha a lesson, because she was so full of herself, so certain she would never have a rival? Or maybe she doubled herself because one body was not enough to have all of you? In any case, tell me if you love both of them the same. You’ve certainly made them fight for quite a while. I was watching it all from the sky.’
“‘Me? I made them fight?’ said Nalakubara. ‘I’m confused myself by their identical appearance and their quarrel.’ Then he narrated the story of how he was having a good time with one Rambha when he heard a woman’s cry; how, moved by compassion, he went to save her and caught me, Manistambha, as I was fleeing the scene; how, as he was pulling me back there, his woman came and persuaded him to let me go; how they then made love for a while until the second Rambha showed up and said what she said, so that they quarreled.
“Nalakubara pointed to one of the two Rambhas. ‘This is the woman that I was with before that one came. (He pointed to the second.) She, number one, had a fresh musk mark on her forehead. Fresh ketaki flowers were sewn onto her braids. She had a trace of golden pollen at the part of her hair. Strings of black and red kuravinda beads, tightly strung, rested on her breasts.’
“Rambha Two folded her hands toward the sage. ‘With all due respect, Sir, what you said the other day on the outskirts of Dvaraka has caused all of this.’ And Rambha One immediately echoed this: ‘That’s true!’ The sage looked at both of the women and said with a smile, ‘Both of you are right. My words did come true, didn’t they? I was even able to see it all myself. Now, young ladies, I’ll take my leave.’
“Nalakubara turned to him. ‘You say both of them are speaking the truth. How is it possible? Please clarify things.’
“‘That was the day I couldn’t bear to hear Rambha bragging about how beautiful she was and how much her lover loved her, and only her. So I said to her, “You might have a rival someday. Can you read the future?” One of these two ladies was citing those words just now. The other one was remembering how she had wanted to make love to her man by assuming Rambha’s form and had made me give her this ability in a different context.6 That’s why she also said that what I said had caused all this. Both are right.’
“‘But which woman is remembering which words? I want you to tell me clearly who is true and who is false.’
“‘What is true and what is false? Is the form you now have the real one? Come to think of it, what is real in this world? Anyway, you’re in a win-win situation. You can use one woman to control the other when she gets out of hand. You can enjoy things however you like. You’ve doubled your luck.’
“‘Sir: if I keep chatting with you here, who knows what will come out? Please go. I’m afraid to keep you here.’
“So Narada smiled and left, saying, ‘You’re quite right. All the best. Goodbye.’
“Nalakubara took the hand of the woman he had been with all along. ‘Who is that woman after all?’ He pointed to the other. ‘Why should we pay attention to such obstacles and miss our pleasures? Come.’
“He turned to Rambha Two and dismissed her. ‘Whatever you may say, it all looks to us like lies. Go look for somebody who could prove your identity.’ Actually, he was consumed by an irresistible desire to make love at that moment and needed privacy.
“Rambha One was jealous and scornful of the interloper. ‘Don’t you have even a little shame? How can you intrude upon a husband and wife when they’re alone together? What can I say to you if you have such a scheming mind?’
“Rambha Two was furious. Her eyes turned red. ‘All this is your fault. And it’s his fault too, being so infatuated with you. But this isn’t the end. There’s Kubera, my father-in-law.7 And Indra, our king. And Brahma, the Creator. There’s dharma. They’re all here to save the truth. I wouldn’t party yet.’
“Rambha One still had all the poise a woman gets when her man supports her. She didn’t even listen to what the other woman was saying. ‘Stop blabbering. Go away. When your hands grow teeth, you can come and bite us. Go complain to whoever listens. God knows who that will be.’
“Rambha Two replied, ‘Just wait. Don’t rush. Do you think the day dawns only for you? Some god will listen to me. I’ll prove my case and get you punished.’ She went off in a huff, but after a few paces the agony she felt because she was separated from her lover and her burning desire to be with him got the upper hand over her anger. She couldn’t bear to be away from him. Her body grew thin; her bracelets fell from her wrists. She turned back, with a plan.
“‘You put on a good show, you bitch. You know how to yell. So you think you can scare me off? Why should I go around whining to others? Come with me to the world of the gods. They’ll decide.’ She pulled at the other woman’s sari.
“Rambha One called to her lover in alarm. ‘Look at her. She pays no attention to your presence, and nothing deters her. You can’t even call her a woman. More like a prowling demoness. We were too soft with her to begin with. Look what has happened.’
” ‘What’s there to lose?’ he asked. ‘Let’s go up to heaven and tell them about her aggressive ways. Let’s get her punished. Why waste time being angry now?’
“Rambha One looked at Rambha Two.8 “If you’re so sure of yourself, let’s find out who you really are. I won’t let you off, no matter how angry you are. Let’s go to the assembly.” And she walked with her a few paces, then thought a bit and said to Nalakubara, ‘Wait. I am the most famous of all the gods’ courtesans. Urvasi, Menaka, and other such beauties treat me with high respect. No one has ever pointed a finger at me. People say that you are lucky because of me. After all this, how can I go to the gods’ court and stoop so low as to fight with her? Think about it. Anger and sin go together. When women fight in public, you never know what curses will be hurled. You’re a man. Is this any way to live? And you know what else? All the male gods will have a field day. “Rambha met with a rival who dragged her into court.” I’ll never hear the end of it. They’ll turn it into a circus. Even the quarrel that has happened here is beneath my dignity. Whatever happens, I’m not going to leave this earth and go to heaven. I swear it. How can I look the gods in the eye once they hear about this dispute? If you want to go, fine. I’m willing to risk the separation.’
“Rambha Two listened to this speech. ‘My dear husband! Did you hear what she said? She’s afraid that if she goes to heaven her disguise will be exposed, so she’s made up this excuse about not being able to look the gods in the eye. She’s sworn she’ll never leave this earth. It makes you wonder if she’s even able to fly, doesn’t it? How did you fall for her in the first place?’
“‘What you say sounds right,’ said Nalakubara, drawing his own conclusion.
“‘You imposter!’ he said, pushing away Rambha One, who had no answer to these words. Rambha Two saw her opportunity. She was getting angrier by the minute. ‘You drove my husband away from me. Because of you I almost died, struck down by the sharp blade of love.’ Then she looked at her rival one more time and pronounced this curse: ‘You, too, will die, struck by the blade of a sword.’
“Nalakubara, under the spell of the moment, unable to distinguish right from wrong, said, ‘She deserves this curse.’ And he pressed her further. “Who are you? What’s your real name?”
>
“Rambha Two, however, said, impatiently, ‘Isn’t it bad enough that she’s kept us apart for so long? Why do you keep talking to that bitch? You don’t seem to see how badly I want you. Now.’ And she drove the other woman far away.”
[ Nalakubara Meets Nalakubara ]
Watching Sumukhasatti, the Siddha continued: “While Rambha was driving off pseudo-Rambha, Nalakubara, approving of this in his heart, made no objection to her harshness. Actually, he wanted Rambha Two. That’s how men are. They’re always looking for a new woman.”
Sumukhasatti asked the Siddha, “What about you? Who did you think was the real Rambha? It looks to me like the one who was humiliated and went away without saying a word must, for that very reason, be the pretender. When her bluff was called, she shut up. But look how aggressively she talked before! That’s why Nalakubara let her go. Anyway, tell me what happened next. This story is full of surprises. I’ve never heard anything like it.”
So Manistambha went on. “There’s one more major surprise. Rambha, having got rid of her rival, now turned to Nalakubara. ‘You men. So much for your love. How can I trust you? I left you alone for a second, and already you picked up this gypsy. But what’s the point of blaming you? It’s my fault for hanging on to you without shame. That’s why I suffer like this.’ Big tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Nalakubara gently wiped away the tears with his fingers. ‘What did I do? I thought she was you. When it became clear that she wasn’t you, I threw her out. You shouldn’t hold it against me.’
“He hugged her and consoled her and took her to the clearing, and there he started to make love to her—when suddenly another Nalakubara turned up, screaming, ‘Who is this guy who has stolen my shape and my Rambha?’
“I was amazed,” continued Manistambha. “One illusion after another. Maybe it’s something in the soil.
“‘This looks like an entirely magical world,’ Rambha said to her lover. ‘This man looks exactly like you. I can’t see any difference. On top of this, he claims it’s you who took his shape. Tell me how how we can resolve this problem. Just a few minutes ago we thought we had gotten over the problem of that woman in my shape. Now there’s this man who’s your double and doesn’t seem to want to go away. Apparently, there’s some demon somewhere who’s jealous of us and doesn’t want us to be together, so he keeps planning trick after trick.’
“Nalakubara Two came closer. ‘Lady, you don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m your real husband. Take me. This man has very cleverly taken my shape. You’re deluded by his magic. If you don’t believe me, back off a little and watch us fight it out. I’ll cut his head off with my sword, and then you’ll know what’s real.’
“Now she was scared. She coiled herself around her man’s neck to protect him, crying, ‘Gods! Save my husband! Some tricky demon is trying to kill my innocent, unarmed husband.’
“Nalakubara Two smiled. ‘That’s smart of you, making me the demon. Don’t worry. I’m not the sort of man who would kill an unarmed, helpless person. I only said I’d kill him because I thought he’d attack me. And if he does want to stand up to me, let him go get his sword. But if you’re thinking to yourself that he’s the real Nalakubara, and that fights are unpredictable, and you’re worried about what might happen to you if something should happen to him—if this is what’s in your mind, I’ll stand back until it’s clear who he is. You figure it out. Listen to the way each of us speaks. Ask us about some intimate things that only you know. Use whatever means you have to find out who is real and who is false. It makes me very angry to see my woman hanging on to another man right before my eyes. I can’t promise I won’t go berserk even before you settle the truth. For your own safety, take your hands off him. Listen to me.’
“She understood that this was the smart thing to do if she wanted to save her lover. She moved away.
“‘Dear,’ Nalakubara One said, “you don’t have to go away. I’m not worried by his sword. I’m telling you you don’t have to be scared, but I guess it’s your nature.’
“But she was already a little distant. She kept looking at her lover and his double with alternating love and a terrible possessiveness. External forms, no matter how beautiful, are ultimately useless. Real love is born out of claiming one’s own.
Nalakubara Two looked at Rambha. ‘Think it over. You came here on a mission from Indra—to destroy Manikandhara’s discipline. What tree did you tie him to? Where did this fellow hook up with you while I was sitting around waiting impatiently for you, tossing and turning in the pain of separation? I didn’t come looking for you because I was afraid of interfering with your mission. That’s what led to all this trouble. So now I’m reduced to proving that I’m your husband while this freeloader has put you under his spell.
“‘Normally, if I come along with you, you get distracted by love and won’t attend to the job, so Indra becomes angry. If I don’t come, the god of love takes it out on me. That was my dilemma. I suffered like this for some time. Finally, I couldn’t take the torment of love any more, so I said to myself, “Whatever will be will be. I’ll face Indra’s anger.” I took my heart in my hands and came to this forest. But once I got here I kept on thinking of Indra, so I hesitated to come too close. I hid nearby, waiting for you, expecting you at any minute, once your task was accomplished. I couldn’t wait to embrace you. The heart-wrenching call of the cuckoo was almost too much for me. Meanwhile, this man, whoever he is, was having fun with you under false pretenses. I was stuck with the futile obsessions of the lonely sentry.
“‘I’d still be there if Narada hadn’t come by and said. “You fool, what are you doing here? Some stranger has assumed your shape and is making love to Rambha in quite inventive ways.”
“‘Then I rushed here. Tell me how this man got hold of you. When did it happen?’
“‘What can I say?’ thought Rambha, looking at her lover. He—Nalakubara One—said to her, ‘Why are you looking at me? I’m going through the same things you did. I have to, if you remember what Narada said that day: “‘You might meet a woman just like yourself, and he could encounter a man like him. It could be very disturbing. I wouldn’t bet too heavily on what you have.’ “ Don’t you remember? Can his words fail to come true? But don’t worry. I’ll cut his head off in a minute. I just have to go get my sword, which I’ve left under our tree. I’ll be back in a minute.’
“Nalakubara Two said, ‘If you’re such a hero, why run away from a fight? You’re unarmed, so I’ll put down my sword.’ He placed the sword on the ground and stood across from him. A truly ferocious wrestling match began.
“First, they slapped themselves on the shoulders, and the noise echoed through the hollow caves on the nearby mountains, doubling in intensity like thunder from the clouds that gather when the world comes to an end. Their shouts and yells cracked open the corners of space. They threw hard punches at one another, maneuvering and paring and jabbing and pummeling with fists and elbows. As they fought, they grew angrier and tougher with one another. One of them, finding an opening, balanced his wrist on his opponent’s chin and, twisting his arm behind his back, pushed him to the ground and dragged him some distance before pinning him down. The other wriggled free of this grip and pounded his enemy with his elbows, until his arms were trapped and held in the enemy’s thighs; but he extricated himself by reaching for the other’s loincloth, pulling him upward and, in the space that opened up, pushing hard against his chest with his knees until he flipped and fell on his back. But not for long: in a split second the fallen wrestler was up again and reaching for his opponent’s neck, strangling the life out of him so that his eyes were popping out. But then the other one, gasping, gripped the back of the other’s loincloth and, grabbing his thigh, flipped him over. ‘Get up, come back to fight,’ he roared, and the other did. So it went on as they collided with one another, pulled apart, came back together, fought again.
“Rambha, watching, could only tell them apart by the color of their loinc
loths—one, her lover’s, was of green silk, and the other man’s was a bright, deep orange. They were perfectly matched; neither had even the slightest edge. After a while they became tired and stood apart. When she observed that they were equal in everything—in form, in strength—a certain doubt began to emerge in her mind. She couldn’t resolve it in favor of one or the other, so she said to them, ‘Wait a minute. Stop fighting. I’m going to ask you about something that happened in the past, an intimate moment. Each of you must answer. I’ll decide who is true and who is false. That will be final. You’ll have to accept it. The real Nalakubara will stay and the imposter will have to go.’
“They agreed. She spoke to them separately, each out of earshot of the other. ‘When did the topic of someone called Kalapurna come up?’ she asked. ‘What did you hear about him?’ Nalakubara Two answered correctly. Nalakubara One turned pale and remained silent. So she knew. ‘How awful,’ she said. ‘Up to this minute I thought you were the real Nalakubara. But you’re an imposter.’ You could see on her face how amazed, disgusted, and scared she was. She left him and went to embrace the other.
“Nalakubara Two looked straight at the Trickster and cursed him to die soon. Rambha also looked at him and asked, ‘Who are you anyway? How did you manage to assume this shape and deceive me?’
“The real Nalakubara cut her short. ‘Isn’t it bad enough that he prevented me from coming to you and gave me all this trouble? You still want to spend more time talking with him? Who cares who he is? It’s like trying to find out if the crow has teeth. You might pay some attention to my need for you for a change. Enough is enough.’ He pulled her away—up into the sky. He was smiling.
“The other one stayed there for a little while, depressed, mulling it over. Finally, with a long face, he dragged himself in the direction of Manikandhara’s hut.
“As for me,” said Manistambha, “I immediately grabbed my sword, which he had left behind in the clearing where they made love, and came here, very happy. My guru had told me when he gave it to me that it would eventually kill whatever person it was aimed at. I tried to use it against Kalabhashini, and even though I missed once, sooner or later it will succeed.”
The Sound of the Kiss Page 9