Indian Antiquary Vol 09

SR No.: 032501
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications
Publication Year: 1984
Total Pages: 398
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 17 MB

Page 13

JANUARY, 1880.]
BENGALI FOLKLORE LEGENDS.
king thonght, “How can I bring the madman inside the palace, and yet I must, for the child is crying for him." So he ordered a servant to promise the madman some good things to eat, and to bring him inside. The servant went to the madman and said, "Come in with me and I will give you good things to eat," and enticed him in several ways, so that at last he came; and when he saw the princess he did more mad things, so that she could not stop laughing. Then the princess called the madman into her own part of the house, and told him to stop there and she would give him some sweetmeats; but he said, “What are sweetmeats, how shall I eat them ?" and did more mad things. At night he lay down at the door of the princess' room, and slept there till the next morning. When the princess had bathed, she took husked rice, plantains, sugar, and flowers in her hand, and was going to worship Siva, but the madman was lying at the door, so she could not pass out. She told him to go away from the door, but he told her to step over his body; the princess tried to persuade him to go away from the door, but he only did mad things, and in the meanwhile the time for worshipping Siva was passing by. The princess began to consider what she should do, when the madman said, "If you will promise to give me whatever I ask, I will go away from the door." The princess with ont thinking promised three times to give him whatever he asked, so he went away. Then the princess went into the temple to worship Siva, and when she had finished, she came back and called for the madman and said to him, "Now, tell me what you want." He replied, “Will you really give me what I ask?” and she promised to do so. Then he did more mad things, and laughing, said, “Princess, you must marry me." When she heard that she beat her forehead with her hand and began to cry, and crying a great deal she said, “God has written a mad husband on my forehead, and although I have worshipped Siva constantly till now, yet he has given me a mad husband," so saying, she fell on the bed insensi. ble and went to sleep. Then the image of Śiva appeared to her in a dream and said, "Princess, I have given you the best of husbands, he is no madman, but has put on a madman's dress to prove you, he is a king's
son, you must not dislike him, and you will presently know his real condition." When the princess had heard this, she woke up and told the madman that she would take him for her husband. As soon as the king and queen knew it, they were very much troubled, and the queen, weeping and beating her head with her hands, said, "It was always my greatest wish that our daughter should marry a king's son, and have a prince for a son, and be the mother of a king, but God has made my hope of no avail." Then the princess came and said, "I have obtained what was written in my fate, now bid me farewell for I must go with the madman." She salated her father and mother, tied up her ornaments in a bundle, and pat them under her arm, and started with the mad. man. He put the dried jackal's skin on his shoulder, and went in front, and the princess followed behind. After they had gone some distance, the madman asked her what was in the bundle under her arm, and she said it was her jewellery, so the madman said, "If you wish to go with me, you must throw away all your clothes and ornaments and come naked, otherwise go back to your father." The princess would not take off her clothes and ornaments, but continued to follow the madman; presently he turned round, and saw that she had not thrown away her dress and ornaments, so he began to beat her with the jackal's skin, A labourer saw him and went and told the king, so the king ordered a messenger to take some soldiers, and drive the madman away and bring his daughter home. The soldiers went as quick as they could, but the madman saw them from afar, and called out, "Where are my soldiers and elephants and horses ? Come forward." When they heard this, all his army and elephants and horses came, and beat the king's soldiers, and drove them away; then the madman tore open the jackal's skin, and made the princess wear his ornaments and dress. He also took off the madman's dress, and put on a king's robe, and went with his army to his own kingdom, where he lived with the princess.
One day the king laughed, and said to the princess, "I have another wife, who is the daughter of a certain king, and still lives in her father's house." Then the princess said to her husband, "I am alone in the house and have no one to talk and walk with, send off a palki