The Forest of Thieves and the Magic Garden: An Anthology of Medieval Jain Stories (Penguin Classics)

by Phyllis Granoff

  Then one day his wife did see that dream that the Goddess had foretold. When she woke up she said to her husband, ‘Lord, I saw that dream, but it was a little different. When I had taken all the things for my worship and was entering the Jain temple I did see it falling, and as I feared that it would fall right on top of me I kept my eyes fixed upward as I worshipped the Jina. But then once I got outside the temple I could see that it was exactly as it had always been, only where there had been but one flag there were now five splendid flags. And I was filled with joy as I woke up. Tell me, what do you think?’ He said, ‘Beloved! This dream indicates that at first there will be some difficulty, but that in the end everything will turn out just fine. And so I think that you will have a son. For a time he will suffer misfortune, but afterwards he will acquire great wealth.’ And she too agreed that such was to be the case and she wore the necessary amulets. All her desires fulfilled, when her time came she gave birth to a son who was handsome, his every limb just perfect. The merchant was given this great news by her maidservant named Suhankarā, “The Bringer of Joy”. He gave the maidservant a handsome gift and made a great party in honour of his son’s birth. And there:

  The drums beat with a great thundering sound. Courtesans danced, wealth was distributed to all, with no one left out, and the leading citizens came to offer their congratulations.

  All manner of rites and rituals were carried out to perfection and the relatives were all feted and honored. Prisoners were freed from their chains and the most excellent Jain monks were offered the proper alms.

  The Jain images were worshipped, all the relatives were respectfully treated. In truth, how can I describe this party? Why, even the king and his harem showed up!

  And so the party was held. When the baby was twelve days old they named him Devadiṇṇa, “Gift of the Gods.” He grew up, and when he turned eight they handed him over to a teacher to learn the many arts. And he did grasp all of the arts.

  Now one day when he did not have any lessons, he sat down where someone was discoursing on religion. At that very moment the subject of the discourse was the duty of giving. Here is what was said.

  ‘By a gift you can bring people under your control. With a gift even hostility can be brought to nought. Even an enemy becomes a friend with a gift. A gift destroys all of a person’s troubles.

  ‘By giving a man becomes an emperor. By giving a man becomes king of the gods. By giving a man attains great glory. In time giving leads a person to great peace.’

  And when he heard these words he thought, ‘This person says that the act of giving alone is capable of warding off all harm in this world and granting peace and happiness. I should put all my efforts there.’ And so he gave food and other necessities to the hungry. And as he got older he began to take things from the storehouse and give them to beggars and supplicants. He worshipped the Jina images, and with great faith in his heart he give food, clothing and begging bowls to the Jain monks and nuns. He did honour to his fellow Jains. Now one day the keeper of the storehouse, Tanhābhibhūya, “Overcome by Greed”, seeing that so much wealth was disappearing from the stores, told the merchant, ‘Master! Devadiṇṇa is overcome by the vice of excessive giving and is destroying a vast amount of wealth.’ The merchant said, ‘Do not stop him. Let him give what he wants. Just be sure to replace what he takes out.’ The other one replied, ‘How shall I know how much he takes?’ The merchant said, ‘First do your measuring, then get ready what he needs and Jet him give it.’ And he did just this. As for Devadiṇṇa, he gave away everything and anything that came into his mind. And so time passed.

  Now it happened that Tanhabhibhūya had an exceptionally pretty daughter named Bālā “Child,” from his wife Muddhā, “Charming”. Because she was so clever people called her Bālapaṇḍiyā, “Child-genius”. One day while she was roaming about, Devadiṇṇa happened to see her. And as soon as he saw her he thought:

  ‘Surely this maiden was made by God with a beauty that is not to be touched. For I have never known such loveliness in any woman that I have embraced.

  ‘I think that the creator must have taken all the loveliness from every woman to make her body. In no other way is her beauty to be explained!

  ‘Wherever this young maiden goes, herself unmoved, the young men are all astir with passion.

  ‘What else can I say? Maybe she, radiant with a fiery beauty, was even made by the God of Love himself out of his own power, like a magic herb to conquer all men.

  ‘He alone is fortunate, he alone is happy, he alone fulfils his life who kisses her beautiful face, as a bee drinks the nectar of a lotus.

  ‘What good is the life of a man who does not toss to and fro amongst her broad breasts, like a snake struck by a stick, wriggling and writhing all the while.

  ‘What else can I say? Lucky is the man who like a swan nestles in her, for she is like a divine river whose waters are the honeyed pleasure of love.’

  And being thus struck with desire for her he thought, ‘How can I get her to be mine? I know. I shall win her father over with gifts and things. For it is said:

  Whomever you wish to seize, seize first with a lure. And then greedy for more, he will do whatever you wish, good deed or bad.

  If I do not get her then I will leave this place. I must be clever and somehow make this known to her and to her father.’

  And so the next day he gave Tanhābhibhūya a fine necklace. He said, ‘Master! What is the meaning of giving me this necklace?’ The young man answered with a riddle that involved a play on the word for necklace. In one sense he merely said, ‘I am giving it to you; you are my servant and must accept it. Now take it and do with it what you wish.’ But Devadiṇṇa really had another meaning in mind; for as he gave it to Tanhābhibhūya he announced his intention to give himself up to the girl as a thief might do to a guard and he proclaimed that his fate was in her hands. But Tanhābhibhūya did not understand that meaning. Still he did as he was told and took the necklace. He gave it to Bālapaṇḍiyā. She asked, ‘Father, where did you get this necklace? He said, ‘Devadiṇṇa gave it to me.’ Now she too had been in the throes of great passion ever since she had seen the young man. She had also noticed his intentions, and so to find out exactly what lay behind all of this she asked, ‘Father! And did he say anything at all to you?’ He repeated exactly what Devadiṇṇa had said. At once she understood its true meaning and so she recited this verse, playing upon a like set of double meanings:

  The thief is not sent away from the palace for his act of thievery, and the necklace does not go far from the treasury, occasioning a loss of wealth. Indeed I bear this necklace on my breasts and so shall he rest there too, ever so contentedly.

  The word “treasury” here can also mean “the surrounding walls of the castle”. The word “necklace” means the “young man”. “Not taken far” means “not cast aside, not sent away in exile”, because he has stolen the wealth. Rather she will bear the “necklace,” or the “young man”, in her heart, and he can live there happily. This was what she really meant to imply as an answer to his words.

  The father, who did not understand any of this, said nothing. She thought, ‘My goal can be accomplished if I am clever enough.’ and so one day she said to her mother, ‘Mother! Give me to Devadiṇṇa.’ Her mother said, ‘My child, you are always so smart. Why do you say something so foolish, as if you did not know a thing? Your father is his servant. How can you marry him? Choose someone of your own station.’ She said ‘Mother! At least try. Otherwise I swear that I shall take to my bed.’ And she did just so. Now Muddhā saw how deeply in love she was and so she told Candapahā what had happened. And she in turn told her husband. He said, ‘It is true that her father is our common servant. But I too have heard from our son’s friends that he is also deeply in love with her. Let me see what our son feels and then I shall do what is right.’ And so the merchant just happened to recite this verse within earshot of his son, ‘A person should never abandon his father and f
riends. He should never trust his wife nor take her money, and he should never lust after one of his own servant girls.’

  Immediately realizing his father’s intentions, the young man spoke up, ‘Father! If a weak wall is about to fall, is it better if it falls inward or towards the outside?’ The merchant said, ‘If it falls towards the inside then none of the bricks will be destroyed. And so I suppose that is to be preferred.’ The young man said, ‘If that is the case, then why did you say what you did?’ The merchant, having understood his son’s feelings, made him a wedding with all due pomp and splendour. And while the happy couple were shamelessly enjoying the delights of sex and falling deeper and deeper in love with each other, one day it so happened that Bālapaṇḍiyā went out for something. A woman, seeing her, remarked to her own companion:

  ‘My friend! Surely this woman is the foremost of lucky women who have accumulated merit through many past lives, for she has been taken as a bride into a house that is so rich and wealthy.’

  The other one said,

  ‘Oh, my friend! Don’t speak so fast. To me that woman is blessed who, marrying a man whose wealth is gone, brings him great wealth and fortune.’

  Now when she heard these words Bālapaṇḍiyā thought, Truly she has spoken words which require some thought. And when you think about them they do indeed seem to be true. I must send my own husband somewhere to earn money, while I remain at home devoted to pious acts, so that he many increase his great wealth.’ And with this thought she went home. There she saw her husband, sunk as it were, in an ocean of worry.

  When she saw him like that she asked, ‘My Lord! Why do you seem to be so distressed?’ He said, ‘Beloved! I have good reason to be distressed. Today, dressed up in all my finery, surrounded by all my friends, I was seen by two men. One of them said:

  ‘“Here is one who always seems to enjoy great wealth. And he is forever giving away things, as an elephant drips juice from its temples when in rut’”

  ‘“At that the second one said,”

  ‘“Sir! Why do you praise him? All he does is enjoy what his father acquired, like a son enjoying his own mother!”

  ‘“He who can do all that this one does with wealth that he has acquired through the strength of his own arms is the one I would consider to be valiant. Anyone else is a coward.”

  ‘And so, beloved, as long as I do not go abroad and acquire wealth with the strength of my own two arms, I shall find no peace of mind.’

  At the she was filled with joy and she said, ‘My Lord! What a fine idea! For:

  He alone is fortunate, he alone is wise, he alone is learned, who wins fame through the wealth that he has acquired by the strength of his own two arms.

  ‘My Lord! May your every wish be fulfilled. Do as you desire.’ And he thought, ‘No wife would ever say such a thing when her husband expressed a desire to go abroad. For:

  All the joys of life are gone for a woman when her husband is abroad; women enjoy the pleasures of life when their beloveds are at their beck and call.

  ‘But she says all of this with a straight face. For sure she must have a lover. What do I care, for at least she has not tried to stop me.’ Determined to go, he went to his father and informed him:

  ‘Father! Grant me leave to go. I wish to journey abroad in order to acquire wealth. I shall do many brave and valiant deeds.’

  His father said:

  ‘My child! We already have so much wealth in our family that is at your disposal for whatever you wish, for giving away, for enjoying and even for frittering away if that is what you choose.

  ‘Use that wealth and stay here, free from care, for I could not bear to endure being separated from you.’

  Devadiṇṇa said:

  ‘What decent man would not shudder at the thought of living off the money that his ancestors had earned?

  ‘And so I beg of you, out of your love for me, to grant me leave so that I may justly earn my fame with the wealth that I have acquired through the strength of my own two arms.’

  When they realized that his decision to go was so firm, his mother and father both gave him their blessings and dismissed him from their presence. When all the preparations were finally under way for his departure, his parents feared that their daughter-in-law might prevent her husband from going, and so they said to her, ‘Your husband seems eager to make a journey abroad.’ She said. ‘Father! And what can be unusual in my noble husband’s resolve? For he has been born to parents like you two and is merely following in the footsteps of his honored ancestors who have gone before him. For it is said:

  These creatures leave their place of birth: lions, noble men, and elephants. And these creatures die where they were born: crows, cowardly men and deer.’

  When they heard these words they had the same reaction as had their son, and so they remained silent. Now when the young man was ready, the merchant assigned eighty-four traders to accompany him, giving them each goods for trade. On an auspicious day, then, the young man appeared, mounted on an elephant. He distributed great wealth to those assembled and stood ready in a special pavilion erected to bless his departure. And Bālapaṇḍiyā too, was mounted on a magnificent elephant. She was dressed in her most splendid finery and her lotus-like face was aglow with happiness. She went forward to bow down to her husband. An instant later she announced, ‘My Lord! Command me as you wish!.’ And the young man, in keeping with established custom, offered her a flavoured betel leaf with some flowers. As she put the betel into her mouth she proclaimed, ‘My master! May I enjoy many a betel leaf that you yourself place between my lips!.’ With these words she bound her hair into a tight braid, and her heart overflowing with joy, she returned to her own rooms. As they observed her behaviour, all the townspeople were struck with doubt as they returned to the city.

  The young man, too, had his thoughts. ‘Strange indeed are the ways of women! No one can ever know what they are really thinking.’ Turning this over in his mind, he proceeded on his journey. In time he reached the harbour named Gambhīraya, “Deep”, as is its description here with its many embedded and hidden meanings, puns and word plays. For there he saw the ocean, and the ocean was like a magnificent elephant, like a grand palace, like a great jewel, like an excellent ascetic and like a lord of men. And what was their similarity? It was that they could all be described by just one adjective, if you are careful enough to turn the adjective this way and that. And when you do you see that the adjective means many things: the ocean was teeming with large sea creatures, while the elephant drips with ichor when in rut, the palace is abustle with pleasures, the jewel is ever desired, the ascetic is without passion and the king is forever proud. Again, it was like a cremation ground and like the Samkhyā school of philosophy, for they each can be described by the same adjective, read anew each time. The sea was filled with many types of shells; the cremation ground holds great terrors; and the Samkhyā school is made up of many great men who adhere to its tenets. In the same way it was like an excellent chariot, the sea having birds with the word “wheel” in their name, and the chariot having real wheels. It was like a temple which has a platform on which the image stands, in having a firm floor which is called by the same name. It was like an army marked by forbearance, in having many fish named by the same word that can indeed mean “forbearance.” It seemed to rise up to greet him with its great waves that reached upward; it seemed to want to embrace him with its arms made up of garlands of waves. The ocean seemed to call out to him with the thunderous roar that the creatures in its depths made as they were churned hither and thither. And it seemed to smile and laugh with the white froth of its waves, which were like the dazzling teeth in a person’s mouth when he smiles and laughs. It even seemed to chatter away at him with the clatter made by the birds there. He prayed to the ocean and then began to examine the boats that were there. And from them he chose to rent one particular boat that was like the teachings of the Jinas. It was unblemished and possessed of all the best qualities. It was covered wit
h fine cloths that could be called by the same term used to designate the robes of the Jain monks. It had an excellent sail of white cloth, while the Jain doctrine has excellent monks who wear white garments. It was to be the cause of great success for him, as the Jain doctrine leads to the highest goal for men. Like the Jain doctrine, too, it rewarded those who trusted in it, and was capable of saving and bringing to shore those who were drowning, and it was protected by Gods of great strength. He loaded all of his goods onto this boat.