‘… from a Shudra, had no meaning for us, because we are Brahmins. After having travelled a long way, at a pace faster than was good for us, suddenly, near an opening in the woods, we came upon a tiger, crouching on its haunches. I remained standing still, but my friend was so frightened that he turned to flee as fast as he could. At the same time, the tiger leapt on him, brought him down and, tearing into him, ate him up. Sire, be merciful to Lambama that he will not be reborn as a yellow-haired Shudra-dog.’
‘You tell me which incarnation he deserves, that Shiva can approve of, Balabha.’
The priest looked at Ashoka, shocked and bewildered, and bowed once again in the dust.
‘Sire, he deserved what you decreed him, but punish with a rebirth as a Vaishya, so that he can learn diligence, modesty, simplicity and benevolence!’
‘Good, Balabha, your wish will be fulfilled!’ Ashoka gave orders to resume the march. For a long time, the Brahmin remained in his devout position.
‘My beloved Raja, how did you know they were called Lambama and Balabha?’
‘I know the priests of the Brahmin-court by name,’ laughed Ashoka.
‘And will the other be reborn as Vaishya?’
‘I know that even less than Balabha, my beautiful wife. Let the fool believe it. It harms neither him nor me. It gives him joy, and me, harmless amusement.’
Devi held her delicate hand out to him. He held on to it and so they rode on silently for some time.
‘Can you have anyone you want, killed, my great King?’
‘Until now, I have had to do it myself, and my chakra never errs. My spell on the wretch was mockery, his death pure coincidence. Only, your father had told me the number of tigers in Malwa had increased alarmingly.’
‘Buddha does not want one to kill living beings.’
‘I am not a follower of Buddha, my beloved Devi. I understand now that I would betray India and the Mauryas if I converted to the teachings of Buddha. Only I have the power to save both. The Buddha came for those who wanted to liberate themselves from the suffering of the endless cycle of births and not for those who wanted to liberate all, by putting an end to sufferings. It is not of importance to me whether I will be liberated or attain Nirvana but whether I can free the people of Aryavarta from their mental slavery and pathetic fear of phantoms under which they groan like the desert under Surya’s rays during Jyeshtha, like the plains of the Ganga under the floods that the Maruts hurl upon her, like the jungle under the suffocating smoke of a forest fire. Why is a Shudra, a Chandala, the whole of mankind west of the Sarasvati, accursed from their birth? I shall attempt to remove this curse, if need be with my chakra, my sword, battle carts, and warriors. I do not know from where I came, I do not know where I will go, my Devi. But I do know for what purpose I was born. Sumana, the Brahmin-court, the peoples, will bow to my will. I know from experience what I may expect of them. No yoga, no truth of suffering, no eight-fold path, no Buddha, will be of help with that.’
‘But all that is fighting with maya, delusions, my great Raja!’
‘… Maya which suffocates the truth, that tramples justice, that humiliates people, and reduces them to creatures less than a bird, which can at least spread its wings and fly to freedom.’
‘But my beloved, Brahmanism wants to stand alone. The only thing that binds it is the hate for all that is not Aryan. Buddhism, however, is the collective obedience to the Buddha, united by compassion in an atmosphere of love, in which the Shudra is as welcome as the Brahmin, and fits in as well. Why do Sayana and Vasudeva find fault about the number of sects in which Buddhism has splintered, when you can look up to the great man, Buddha, who renounced a life of wealth, pleasures and carefree existence, to choose the most wretched way of life: begging for alms with a bowl, in order to show people the way to his noble goal. Sects mean: intolerance and unkindness of people. That is precisely what the Buddha wanted to eradicate, also against that half of humankind: the women. Each cursed his birth, his life. The Buddha has shown that each incarnation can be a step forward towards Nirvana, thus happiness. For every one. The Buddha praised life as a great joy, a privilege. Let us acknowledge that the Buddha has proved too weak for the entrenched habit: to conform oneself to the sacrificial priests of the Brahmins.’
‘Say that again, my dear Devi! You, a woman, just opened up a new vista in the wildly overgrown jungle. Is that true? Has the Buddha proved too weak: Powerlessness against the almighty sacrificial priests?’
‘We, the inhabitants of our sacred India, suffocate under the pressure of a dissolution, in which an unscrupulous, selfish priesthood has seized power and we yearn for the freedom of the eternal alignment to the godliness and humaneness of the Buddha: that is Brahman … that is Atman.’
Ashoka looked at her with astonished eyes.
‘Devi, my darling, from where did this thought come to you! Freedom … the alignment with humanity … Revelations breathed out through the Atman … Tat Tvam Asi … Kullika!’ A darker flush coloured his young face, his eyes glittered. Devi looked with admiration at her god.
‘You will go with me to Pataliputra, if the gods call me. You will be the guiding light, the first queen in the anthapura, and my counsel!’
‘I do not know, my King, if I am capable of that. I am not suited for fighting against harshness, intrigues, deceit … They strike down at me. Brothers’ strife and hatred do not awaken my resistance, but rather destroy my resilience.’
‘But I stand at your side, my Devi!’
25
SADAVAHA’S SOUL ON MOUNT KAILASHA
he entourage neared Vidisha. Word of Ashoka’s marriage reached all the houses, like a bird’s first call in the morning through the jungle. The residents approached them, arms and baskets filled with flowers, and as cheers of ‘Hail Ashoka, Hail Devi!’ echoed, the people joyfully threw flowers before the legs of the elephant that carried the young couple to Subhadra’s palace. After all, with this marriage, the young Viceroy of Ujjain became more closely bound to their city. The swelling mass of people, all dressed in festive white, which contrasted with the flaming red of their shawls and stoles, moved through the streets towards the palace of their Lord who belonged to the respected Setti Varna. Everyone brought gifts for Ashoka and Devi: ivory carvers brought boxes of the most flawless ivory, upon which hands had artistically carved figures from old legends. Furniture-makers brought chests made of teak of finest grains, which lavishly depicted, on all sides, scenes from the Mahabharata. Goldsmiths gifted the couple with bowls of deep gold on which their gods were depicted next to the people from India. Ashoka, who had seen a lot of western art in Taxila, was surprised at the work of these people; he was, at the same time, overjoyed. This was no alien art but rather, skill and taste, flourishing in its own land.
‘That is beautiful, Samgata,’ said Ashoka to the leader of the ivory carvers. ‘But one can see in Vidisha so many works of art from Egypt, Syria, Macedonia, and Iran.’
‘Their gods, O, Raja, are far removed from their people, in beauty and standing. Ours are our fathers, our family, our elephants, our deer, our chiefs and kings.’
‘Are they better, Samgata?’
‘They are closer to us, Lord.’
‘When you come to Ujjain, I will gift you works of art and beauty from other distant lands.’
‘Your most beautiful gift will be your leadership, Mighty King.’
‘That, you will have to see yet, Samgata.’
‘Many caravans from Taxila journey through Vidisha, Sire.’
‘What is it they expect from me, my beautiful Devi?’
‘You, yourself, and that makes them happy!’
At that moment, messengers approached the Viceroy, including one from Pataliputra.
‘Sire, the Viceroy of Taxila has left for the West with a large army. Sela reports that the right warriors have been taken along. With those left behind, Sela has established two temples: one for Indra and one for Shiva.’
‘Is it disappointin
g news that makes my Raja so serious?’
‘On the contrary, it is what I expected and what I wished for, my Devi.’ Even amidst the excitement of the festivities he did not forget for a moment his purpose, sensed the mood of the people and felt they were not unkindly disposed.
Barely had the company returned to Subhadra’s palace—where Ila and a number of Brahmins, merchants, and some of the Maharajah’s high court officers waited to welcome and congratulate the young couple—when a Vanaprasthi from a neighbouring hermitage, who was renowned through all of India for his fortune telling, entered the gallery with the confidence of a man of the highest varna. Everyone made room for the venerable and feared old man, Sadvaha, who, without responding to the accolades of the others, walked straight up to the young newlyweds.
‘Mighty King, Viceroy of Ujjain, and his betrothed Devi, daughter of the chief of the government in Vidisha and descendent of the revered Setti varna … I, as Brahmin, to whom the highest wisdom of the four Vedas and Brahmanas has been revealed, will give you counsel at the solemn moment, when you will make decisions about the marriage ceremony.’ The younger ones of the celebrants felt embarrassed and disquieted; the older ones kept fixed, frozen faces.
‘For the day of the wedding, I have, by much observation of the stars and the position of the moon and the planets, determined the best day to be the third day of the second coming full moon. Try to find priests as quickly as possible for your sacrifices, so that the preparations can take place without offending even one of the gods. I shall be pleased to help you.’
Devi looked around in fear, then up to her beloved, who had remained unaffected. A deathly silence fell upon the gallery. No one dared to interrupt Sadvaha, because each feared an outburst of rage or of curses, which they did not wish for the Subhadras. After all, they were highly esteemed and loved far and wide. It was Prince Ashoka who was the only one listening dispassionately to the words of the astrologer. He then spoke:
‘We thank you, pious Sadvaha, for your interest in our fate. But Devi and I have been united this day, in what is acknowledged by Manu’s law, a Gandharva marriage.’
A look of indignation was thrown upon the calm Viceroy.
Those present were aghast but Ashoka understood that the priest was merely trying to regain his composure.
‘You know this form of marriage is the least approved by the Brahmins.’
‘I know and I understand it, too, honourable Sadvaha. But on the way to Sanchi, the Brahmin Balabha from Pataliputra meant to strike me down with the curse that Devi would never become my wife. My fiancée was so shaken and dismayed by this premature pronouncement of the enraged priest that I immediately arranged our marriage to restore her joy and trust, which Balabha had destroyed with his foul mouth.’
‘And do you not fear the wrath of Balabha, the priest, Viceroy of Ujjain?’ asked Sadvaha, who had grown even more disconcerted and insolent.
‘Of course not, pious Sadvaha,’ replied Ashoka clearly and steadily. ‘I told Balabha that I did not believe in the power of his curse and that Shiva would send a tiger onto his path that would pounce upon him and eat him up for his mortal sin: cursing in rage.’
‘Your curse lacks divine sanction, Sire, because you are not a priest. Why did you not try to assuage the effects of the Brahmin’s curse by bringing great sacrifices?’
‘Unnecessary! Balabha’s friend, Lambama, just told me that the tiger did, as bidden, his duty obediently. Balabha is dead, eaten.’
A great outcry arose in the gallery, until Sadvaha began again, though his demeanour had lost all self-assuredness.
‘Do you wish to take heed of my prediction, king and queen of Ujjain?’
‘Is your intention to proclaim your own knowledge or that which the Brahmin, Shakuni, has charged you with a week ago? There is no need of the latter, because I am already familiar with it.’
Sadvaha stood stunned, his face turning ashen. Pearls of sweat dripped down his face. Murmuring whispers swept through the rows of visitors. The priest could hardly get the words out of his mouth: ‘Sire … how do you know all these things?’
‘Pray to Shiva, the god of the immaculate mountain, and Parvati, born of the mountain, who reside on the white Mount Kailasha, the gods of salutary and happiness-bringing truth. Perhaps then you, too, will know, Brahmin priest!’
Sadvaha fell to his knees, raised high his hands, brought them together and bowed down in an arch. And as though everyone had been waiting for it, they followed Sadvaha in his tribute to the new Raja, who possessed human gifts of such greatness that they had to be acknowledged as divine.
The rumours about Ashoka’s marriage in Vidisha quickly grew into a legend: In the forest of Sanchi, the gods themselves had united Devi and Ashoka in marriage, but before that, Agni had taken on the form of a tiger and had waited to kill Balabha and then took his soul to a settlement of Shudras. There, he was born again as a yellow-haired Shudra -dog. His curse had power no more and the marriage was consecrated in divine splendour. Balabha, now a Shudra -dog, had however hunted down Sadvaha, and ordered him to forecast lies so disagreeable as to make the young couple unhappy. But King Ashoka, incarnation of Shiva, and thus all-knowing, had taken the soul out of Sadvaha and sent it to Mount Kailasha, where it lies—stretched out naked—in the cold icy fields, to freeze the lies out of him and then burn into him the truth. Only then will Sadvaha be allowed to foretell the future once again. Stretched out on the ground of his hermitage, mute, his body now awaits the return of his soul.
26
SILENCE, SANHITA!
asumitra, have you forsaken our house? Or, are there more beautiful hetaere1 in Ujjain?’
‘Neither, beautiful Virasena. My honoured father has urgent affairs and drives my brother and me as though we were despicable slaves. He says that work is the most desirable offering to the gods.’
‘That is an auspicious sign for the mercantile houses of our beautiful Ujjain. However, it is my yearning that the sarthavahas2 are in less of a hurry than the merchants so that drudgers like Vasumitra can come and rest at my house once in a while.’
‘How are Kokali and Nandabala and Kesina and Sanhita? Offer me some refreshment as only Virasena can mix.’
Vasumitra was welcomed with great joy. Everyone did their best to praise the rich merchant’s son for coming, and bemoan the fact that he was so busy. An easy chair of ebony, covered with a beautiful tiger skin, was placed before him.
‘If you spoil me like this, I will not be able to leave, Kokali. And my father does not jest when it comes to work.’
‘Work, work. Why must a man with your wealth still have to work? Leave that to the priests,’ said Sanhita. Everyone laughed, except Virasena. She pointed stealthily at a traveller who sat some distance away from them.
‘Who is that stranger who is being caressed and petted by Nandabala?’ asked Vasumitra.
‘Oh, that is a handsome young Brahmin from Pataliputra, Shakuni, a traveller or pilgrim, who is here for his pleasure or business, or for a journey beside the holy Narmada, I don’t know why he has come. He seems to be rich, is not miserly and seeks the company of Brahmins and the merchants. Garga is visiting Sinka, and now Nandabala is amusing the stranger for the time being.’
‘Send them to us, Kokali. The more the pilgrims, the more joy it brings to the gods.’
The company around Vasumitra grew, for the rich merchants of Ujjain tasted the pleasures of Virasena’s house daily, where the most beautiful hetaere, the rarest drinks, the choicest food and the most exquisite care, was offered to the guests, all keenly watched and supervised by Virasena.
‘Well, Puru. You look like a tiger that has choked on a deer. What unpleasant news do you have for us?’ mocked Vasumitra at a merchant who had just come.
‘The new King …’ He began before being interrupted.
‘Enough about the new King. No one talks of anything else but the terror of Pataliputra. Sanhita, tell me something more cheerful.’
‘
Yes, Lord, but the new King comes …’
‘We know that he is coming, and he is such a great warrior that he can swallow Sanhita in one bite. That is, if I do not first lock him up in our treasury where the walls are five arms thick,’ mused Garga aloud.
‘Garga does not seem too fond of the new King. I am. I like people who are never scared and thus do not play dirty tricks behind the backs of others,’ declared Sanhita.
‘Every merchant knows why he is coming to Ujjain. Till now our trade was free from being taxed, if we were on friendly terms with the mahamatra of the taxes. With the coming of Raja Ashoka, our golden period will come to an end,’ complained Garga.
‘I do not approve of palace officers who act on their own. The Emperor must be seen to reign, if trade is to bloom,’ said Vasumitra.
‘Prince Ashoka thinks only of his own interests and the merchants of Ujjain will have to open wide their treasure trove for the greedy Prince,’ said Shakuni.
‘Do you know the viceroy, Shakuni?’ asked Vasumitra.
‘Better than his own father knows him.’
‘The caravan leaders of Taxila praise him highly!’
‘Of course. He conspired with the rebellious Taxilans, because the Emperor did not dare to send a large army with him. He had no choice but presenting himself as a friendly, respectable commander of the imperial army. Emperor Bindusara had him recalled because he was being praised too much and instead, sent the Crown Prince with a large army.’
‘Strange, that the Emperor risked sending a large army along with the Crown Prince.’
‘Naturally, Garga, Prince Sumana after all is the Yuvaraja, and a faithful follower of the Brahmins.’
‘They say that besides the Brahmins, Prince Sumana loves beautiful women, gambling, and other pleasures.’
‘Why did the Maharajah then not send him here!’ cried Virasena.
Everyone laughed.
‘First, you would have to endure the commander who will, with a heavy hand, force all of you to pay high taxes. If he becomes too dangerous, then Prince Sumana will come in his stead as the viceroy.’
Ashoka the Great Page 35