They cared the same for grass or pearls or jewels and their eyes and thoughts were concentrated only on the small space of ground before them.
And that young girl, her body rippling with joy at being given the chance to fulfill her deepest desire, her steps made unsure by her eagerness and haste, served those nuns with a gift of pure food in which the mind of the giver, the thing given, and the recipients were all pure and good. And as she did so, tears of joy flowed from her lotus-like eyes.
And by that gift in which the recipients were so pure and the mind of the giver so pure, she earned merit which ensured that she would have many enjoyments right in this very life. And that good deed was even further increased by the delight that she took in it, as she said to herself again and again, ‘Lucky am I! Lucky am I, for I have done such a righteous act.’ And her aunt too praised her, saying, ‘Lucky indeed is she, for though but a child she has done such a righteous act.’
Now time passed and Lacchī found that she could no longer support the girl and so she gave her to the Jain nun Suwayā, with these words, ‘Blessed One! I can no longer support this child. If it pleases you, then accept her for the faith.’ The nun agreed. And so Lacchī left the child behind and went back home. When it came time to eat the nun said to the girl, ‘Daughter! Eat.’ She answered, ‘Blessed One! How can I, still a householder, eat this food that the nuns have brought with so much pain? For it is winter and they must be bitterly stung by the harsh cold winds as they go on their begging rounds.’ The nun said, ‘Daughter! When the right time comes I shall ordain you as a nun. Now you must eat. And so Rāyasirī ate. And when the nun saw how devoted Rāyasirī was to serving them, she asked the demi-goddess Kannapisāiyā, whom she commanded by means of a magic spell, ‘Is this girl worthy to be a nun or not?’ The demi-goddess said, ‘Do not ordain her yet.’
The nun, thinking that she would ask the demi-goddess again some time later, remained silent until the hot season had come upon them. Then one day Rāyasirī saw the nuns coming back from their begging rounds. They were roasted by the fierce rays of the sun; sweat was dripping from all over their bodies; they were suffering from hunger and thirst and they were burdened with their bowls of food and drink. And when she saw them Rāyasirī began to say, ‘Blessed One! I fear that I do our faith great dishonor if I, still a householder, were to partake of the food and drink that these noble nuns have brought with such great pain. Please ordain me at once.’ The nun then said, ‘Be patient. For your propitious moment will come as soon as the rainy season starts, on the eleventh day of the bright fortnight of the month Phālguna.’ And only after she promised this did she then ask the demi-goddess. The demi-goddess told her, ‘She still has many fruits of her deeds to enjoy, which all entail that she should experience great pleasures.’
The nun, thinking, ‘She will show great devotion to the images of the Jinas and the Jain monks and nuns,’ remained silent until the rainy season was upon them. The rains began to fall. Knowing that Rāyasirī had not had any change of heart, she then asked the demi-goddess once more, ‘What is the extent of her good deeds in the past that now entail that she must enjoy sensual pleasures?’ The demi-goddess said, ‘She will be the chief queen of five hundred and five queens. And she will enjoy great sensual pleasures for five hundred years.’ Thinking, ‘One day the demi-goddess will give me permission to ordain her,’ the nun then did nothing.
Now one day Rāyasirī was seen by Devadhara who had come to the nunnery to pay his respects to the nuns. And he asked the nun, ‘Why have you not yet ordained this girl?’ The nun answered, ‘She is not fit to be ordained.’ ‘In that case, then why do you feed and support someone who is a lay person?’ She replied, ‘Because she will bring great honour to our faith and do much to further its cause.’ He asked, In what way?’ She said, ‘I cannot tell you any more.’ And so Devadhara made the vow to give up eating and die by starvation if the nun would not tell him all that she knew. And so the nun did tell him. And Devadhara thought to himself, ‘Oh! What wondrous things can happen from a person’s own actions! This girl, born in a family of merchants, is to become such a magnificent, rich queen and have such royal splendour! Having enjoyed that royal splendour, I have no doubt that she will then suffer some terrible rebirth. I shall marry her so that she will neither obtain royal splendour nor be forced to suffer a bad rebirth.’ And with this in mind he said to the nun, ‘Blessed One! Why don’t I marry her?’ And she put her hands over both her ears, ‘Devotee! Why do you ask such a thing, as if you knew no better? We must not even speak of such things.’ Devadhara said, ‘Forgive me, I forgot myself. I meant no harm.’
But then he went to see Lacchī. Very politely, he said, ‘Mother, give Rāyasiri to me’ She said, ‘Son! I have already given her to the nuns.’ He told her, ‘But they will not ordain her as a nun.’ She asked, ‘And how do you know that?’ He said, ‘They told me themselves.’ Laachī said, Tn that case, then, I shall ask them myself.’ He said, ‘Go ahead, but you must not then give her to anyone else.’ And so Lacchī asked the nun, ‘It it true that you are not going to ordain Rāyasiri?’ The nun said, ‘It is true’ And then Lacchī thought, ‘Although he comes from a poor family Devadhara is a good young man. He is a believer in the Jain faith and the son of a pious man. No wealthy man is going to take this girl from me, a simple servant who earns her keep by working in the homes of other people. And he does seem to want her very much.’ And with this in mind she gave Rāyasirī to Devadhara. And the deeds that they had done in the past determined that the day for their wedding was fixed as the eleventh day of the bright half of the month of Phālguna. But as the wedding preparations began, Rāyasirī had her own thoughts.
‘If I had not done some bad deed in the past which now obstructed my way, if I were not so without merit, then, today my relatives and other devoted Jains would be getting ready all my clothes so that, with resolve firm, I might begin to undertake a life of difficult restraints.’ So she thought and was anxious and impatient as they began to ready her wardrobe.
And on the very day of the wedding, as they bathed her and anointed her body with fragrant substances, she thought, Today they would be celebrating in honour of my going forth from the life of a householder to become a nun.
‘Surrounded by all of my relatives, adorned with beautiful ornaments, I could be standing now in the temple of the Jinas, as drums resound, marking the auspicious occasion.’
And sitting in the temple devoted to the goddess, she thought, ‘Having circumambulated the images of the Jinas, I would then bow down to the Jinas with my teacher.
‘And in the presence of all the Jain community, my teachers would give my robes to me, and my dust-brush, and all the other things that a nun must carry.’
And as they painted her hands with auspicious designs, she thought, ‘Ah, my soul! This is the moment when you, following the words of their teachers, should be taking your holy vows.’
As she walked around the wedding pavilion she reflected, ‘And this would be the moment when I would circle round the entire gathering in reverence, while the community of the faithful sprinkled powder on me.
‘And then, having been honoured by all present, I would listen in respect, deeply moved, to the religious instructions delivered by my teachers.
‘Alas, my soul, unfortunate soul! Why is that strong desire of yours to grasp firmly the treasure of restraining the senses thwarted by some obstructing past deed, now showing its might, as if by some terrible invisible goblin?’
And as she thought these things she was joined to Devadhara in marriage with all the proper ceremony. Devadhara then told the merchant, ‘Father! Please give us some place to live.’ And so the merchant gave him a small grass hut within the boundaries of his compound. Devadhara then took Rāyasirī there. She was totally devoted to her husband and deeply in love with him.
Now while Devadhara was enjoying the pleasures of love there with her, the merchant thought to himself, ‘This Devadhara is like a son to me; he
is a noble man; a faithful Jain; he is courageous and high-minded and has so many fine qualities. I should allow him to carry out some trade. I shall see how clever he is. If he proves himself worthy, well then, I shall do what I see fit.’ And with this in mind he said to Devadhara, ‘Son! Take some goods from me and carry on some trade with vegetables and plants.’ Devadhara did exactly as he was told. He earned his keep, at least, until the rainy season came upon them.
And then he said to his wife, ‘Get me some bricks from somewhere so I can cover this veranda which is about to collapse. I don’t want the roof to fall down on anyone Sleeping here.’ She did exactly as she was told. As he was fixing the roof and removing some of the old crumbling bricks, he discovered five hundred gold coins. Without showing them to his wife he hid them in a pot. And when he was done with his task he went alone to the market, and with one of the coins he bought her some clothes and jewellery. She said, ‘My beloved! How could you have afforded this?’ He said, ‘I borrowed one hundred coins from some good man.’ She said, Tn that case, then, I don’t need any presents.’ He said, ‘Do not be afraid. My friend is a wealthy man and very kind. It was a trifling sum for him.’ And so she accepted the gifts. And he continued to carry on his business and in no time at all became lord of a thousand gold pieces.
Now one day Rāyasirī said to him, ‘Jains are not allowed to dig dirt in the rainy season. Bring me some kind of a shovel so that I can gather some earth.’ But he brought a heavy spade from the merchant’s house. She said, ‘I can’t dig with this.’ He told her, ‘When no one is around, just at dawn, I shall do the digging myself. You bring a sack and a basket so that I can fill the sack with earth. I too am embarrassed to be seen carrying dirt.’ And she did exactly as she was told. As soon as he struck the earth with the spade and broke ground he beheld a treasure of jewels worth hundreds of thousands of rupees. He said, ‘Beloved! Quick! Let’s get away from this place’ And when she asked, ‘But why?’ he said, ‘My love, this will be the end of us!’ She said, ‘This is not the end for us. This is not the God of Death. It is the Goddess of Fortune herself, come to us on account of the many wonderful great deeds that you have done in the past.’ He said, ‘But should the king come to know of it we will get into serious trouble, for all buried treasure belongs to the king.’ Now Rāyasirī though, ‘Clearly he does not trust me’ and so she said, ‘No one will hear of if from me. Go now, take what your own good fortune has brought you. Hurry, before someone comes.’ And so, breaking open with the spade the seal of the casket in which the jewels lay, he quickly stuffed the jewels and riches into his sack. He put the sack inside the basket and then carefully placed dirt on top of it. The two of them then went back home. They hid the treasure in a corner of their hut. But one day Rāyasirī told her husband, ‘These jewels are no better than stones.
‘Oh my best beloved! Wealth that is not used for making images of the Jinas, for making temples, for worshipping the images, bathing them and carrying out festivals, is no better than worthless stones.
‘Wealth that is not given to Jain monks and nuns for food, begging bowls, robes, beds, seats, housing, medicines and other basic needs, is no better than worthless stones.
‘Beloved! Wealth that is not used to give food, betel, seats and clothes to our fellow Jains, to me, is no better than clumps of earth.
‘My Lord! Wealth that is not used for its owner’s personal delight, nor to help his friends, nor to aid those who are poor and in need, why that is no better then dust.
‘And so I ask you, why do we wrongly hang on to this wealth?’ He said, ‘What else can we do under the circumstances?’ She said, ‘Marry the merchant’s daughter, Kamalasirī. And then everything will be as we wish. He hastily interjected, ‘But I don’t need anyone but you.’ She said, ‘My Lord! You must consider what will lead to a good end.’ He said, ‘Well, in that case, if you insist, then tell me, how shall I win her over?’ Rāyasiriī said, ‘You already know her. Now you must win her over with gifts of fruits and such. I shall do the same by giving her jewellery. For it is said:
One should win the heart of a child with food and drink, of a young maiden with jewelry, of a whore with constant attendance, and of an old lady with abject servitude.
‘Now she is both somewhat of a child and somewhat of a young maiden. And so she can be won over in this way’ Devadhara then gave his consent. ‘You are surely right’ he said, and from that day on he began to give Kamalasin fruits and things every day. And she began to follow Devadhara around and followed him right back into his home. Rāyasiri then gave her some jewellery to wear every day. Now when she got back to her own home her mother asked her, ‘Who gave you these fruits? Who gave you this jewellery to wear?’ She said, ‘Devadhara gave me the fruits and Rāyasiriī put the jewellery on me.’ At this her mother asked her once more, ‘Who is Devadhara? Who is that woman?’ She said, ‘Devadhara is the man who comes to our house everyday and the woman is his wife.’
Now one day the mother saw her daughter following Devadhara all around and laughed at her. ‘My child! See how you stick to him, like glue! What, are you going to get yourself hitched to him for life?’ Kamalasiriī said, ‘But did you doubt that? If you give me to anyone else then I will kill myself.’ The mother quickly retorted, ‘Foolish girl! He already has a wife.’ Kamalasiri said, ‘She is like my elder sister. I don’t want any other husband, not even the richest man in the world.’ Seeing that her daughter was madly in love with Devadhara, Sampayā told the merchant exactly what had happened. He said, ‘My beloved! If our child is so insistent, then let her marry him. For Devadhara is both handsome and virtuous. And I can help him to get rid of his poverty. But first I must win over his wife.’ And for her part Sampayā simply agreed with what her husband had said. And so the merchant instructed Devadhara, ‘My son! Let me see your wife.’ Devadhara, humbly assenting, summoned Rāyasiriī. She came out and fell at the feet of the merchant. The merchant took her on his lap, blessing her with the words, ‘May you never be a widow.’ And when he saw her beauty and her loveliness, which far surpassed the beauty and the loveliness of any other woman, the merchant Dhana thought: ‘Why would this man who shares the embrace of a woman of such beauty, a woman who is so devoted to him and so in love with him, want my daughter?
‘How could this Devadhara, who can always make love to this woman, who is like a flowing river of the divine nectar of womanly beauty, take pleasure in my daughter, pretty though she is?
‘And if this woman should turn against her, how could my daughter ever be happy? Ah, my daughter is foolish to desire this man for her husband.
‘But what can I do? I must first try to see what they really feel. Then I will do what I think is necessary.’ And with this in mind he said to Rāyasiriī, ‘My child! My daughter Kamalasiri is deeply in love with your husband. If you have no objection, then I shall give her to him.’ Rāyasiriī said, ‘Father! I am delighted. Dear father, fulfil my little sister’s wishes.’ The merchant said, ‘My daughter! In that case then I give Kamalasiri into your care. From now on you must look after her.’ Rāyasiriī quickly said, ‘Father! I am honored.’ And then he turned to Devadhara. “My son! Take in marriage Kamalasiriī, who loves you very deeply.” Devadhara humbly assented, ‘Father! As you command me, so shall I do.’ And so the merchant made a wedding with all due pomp and splendour. He gave to Rāyasiriī and Kamalasiriī exactly the same jewellery. He set his son-in-law up in business and Devadhara earned much money. He used the wealth he had found earlier to build Jain temples and to perform other pious acts.
Now Kamalasiriī had a friend named Paumasiriī, who was the daughter of the king’s minister Maisāgara. She had come to the wedding and when she saw Devadhara she immediately vowed before all her own girl friends:
‘If that Devadhara by some act of fate can be brought to marry me, then and then alone will I enjoy worldly pleasures. Otherwise I renounce the world right here and now, in this very birth.’
And when her friends heard tha
t vow of hers they told her mother Piyangasundariī at once. And she told the minister Maisāgara. He in turn summoned the merchant and respectfully gave Paumasiriī to Devadhara. Devadhara married her with great ceremony. And the minister gave to all three women exactly the same jewellry.
From then on the minister often brought Devadhara to the king to pay his respects. The king showed him great honour and offered him the finest seats to sit upon. And one day, while the king was himself being charmed by Devadhara’s good looks and his many virtues, the queen Kittimaå, realizing that Devadhara was a good match for their own daughter Devasirī, dressed Devasirī up in all her finery and her jewels and sent her to bow down to the feet of her father. The king lifted her onto his lap. And as he looked her over it suddenly came to him that she had reached the age for marriage. And no sooner had he turned his thoughts to finding a suitable husband for her, than he noticed how Devasirī was looking again and again at Devadhara out of the corner of her eyes, with a glance that revealed that she had fallen in love with him, her bright pupils darting back and forth. At this the king thought, ‘Oh! She seems indeed to be smitten with this fellow. And he is both handsome and virtuous. Let her enjoy the pleasures of wedded bliss with him.’ He then said to Maisāgara, ‘I give our very own Devasirī to your son-in-law. As the ocean is filled with jewels, so is she filled with virtues.’ The minister replied, ‘I am honored.’ And so the king made a splendid wedding, sparing no expense. He gave to all four women exactly the same jewellery. And he gave to Devadhara the large territory that bordered the domains of his vassal Narakesari, and which was the most important of all the territories. And Devadhara lived indeed like a god, enjoying the pleasures of love with Rāyasirī and his other four wives, ensconced in a seven-storied palace that was filled with all sorts of costly things that the king had given him.
The Forest of Thieves and the Magic Garden: An Anthology of Medieval Jain Stories (Penguin Classics) Page 30