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22
Appointment with Kalidasa
The Pandya king presented Raghu the tribute of pearls gathered in the sea near the mouth of the river Tāmraparņi and accepted his suzere inty. Raghu crossed the sandal wrapped Malaya and Dardura mountains, went beyond Sahya range, defeated the kings of Kerala and Aparānta; and then moved up by the ground route in order to meet the Parasikas. He covered the earth with the severed heads of the long-bearded foes. On the long beach of Sindhu, as Raghu's horses, their manes entwined with saffron shoots, rolled in the sands they were refreshed; it was easy for Raghu to crush the Huns, Kāmbojas etc. with his cavalry fresh and vigorous after the rest. Raghu then conquered the clans like Utsava, Samketa in the Himalayan region and came to Kāmarūpa - Assam. The king of Kāmarüpa offered flowers of jewels at Raghu's feet. With the conquest of four quarters Raghu returned to his kingdom. He performed the Visvajit sacrifice and distributed all the wealth, his own as well as the acquired, with the generosity of showering clouds.
But as the sacrifice was over, Kautsa, a pupil of Varatantu, came to Raghu to beg for 14 million gold pieces which he wanted to present to his teacher as preceptor's fee. Raghu's treasury was empty. It was also his sacred vow never to send away a needy person without granting his wish. Kautsa was about to turn away; Raghu requested him to stay in the palace for a couple of days; he had decided to attack Kubera to get the necessary wealth. Kubera knew it, and he filled Raghu's treasury with showers of gold during the night. Raghu offered the entire wealth to Kautsa; but he collected only the exact amount, thanked the king and went away, giving him the blessing that he would have a virtuous son worthy of himself.
As the son was born to Raghu with the blessing of a Brahmin, he named him Aja (the unborn). Like a lamp lit from another lamp, Aja inherited his father's vigour, strength and nobility. When Aja came into youth, king Bhoja of Krathakaiśika sent his messenger to Raghu for the svayamvara of his sister. Raghu thought well of this possible relation with the Vidarbha kingdom; Aja was of a marriageable age: he sent Aja therefore with a suitable army. On his way Aja stopped for a while on the bank of Narmadā. There was a curious elephant in the river; its strong scent, bitter like that of the Saptacchada tree, repelled the elephants in Aja's army; they started running helter-skelter and the army camp was in uproar. Aja saw this confusion, selected a particular arrow and discharged it at the head of the rogue elephant. It was really the son of a Gandharva, Priyamyada, who had offended the sage Matanga and was transformed into an elephant by the curse of the sage. In gratitude Priyamvada gave Raghu a gandharva missile, sammohana, and both went their ways. Aja encamped near the capital of Bhoja who welcomed him personally. The svayamvara was next morning; but Aja could not sleep thinking of it and of Indumatı. Sleep came to him only in early hours of the morning, when he was awakened by the songs of his bards, Dawn was breaking, dew-drops had collected in the folds of reddish leaves; lotuses were opening; the parrot in the cage was repeating the songs sung by the bards. Aja got up and started his preparations to go to the marriage-hall.
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