Indian Antiquary Vol 04

Author(s): Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 69

THE AUTHOR OF THE PAIALACHHÍ.
FEBRUARY, 1875.]
the well, so he took them with him. Chandra and the minister then took the three women and went to their own country, and Chandra tried to misuse them on the way, but they spoke as Siva Dâs had told them, and he de
sisted.
The king was very glad to hear that the son of Surâni had returned with the dream, and ordered dancing and singing; he then invited a great many other kings to witness the disclosure of the dream. Now before Chandra had reached home, Śiva Dâs had come out of the well and gone to his own house, where he remained in secret. In the meantime Surânî thinking that Chandra had married the three wives greeted them like a mother, and sent a servant to call Durânî. When the servant told Durânî, she said, "I am only a poor woman, why should I go?" Siva Dâs said, "Mother, it is better that you should go; no man has ever seen ornaments like those I have brought from the land of the Rakshasas, and no man can make them." So he made her wear them, and sent her to the king's palace. She found the bridegroom and the three brides there, but when the latter saw her wearing their own clothes and ornaments they made signs to each other that she was their mother-in-law, and had worn the ornaments as a proof of it, so they kept quite close to her and followed her wherever she went. Surâni wished happiness to the bridegroom and brides, but when she found they would not enter the house she began to abuse Durânî, calling her witch, meddler, burnt forehead, and saying, "You have come into my house and bewitched the three wives; you cannot bear to see the prosperity of others: die, unlucky wretch! This is the reason, too, the king has become blind." Duránî said to the three wives, "I am only a poor old woman, do not come with me, I have nothing to do with you." They replied, "You are our mother-in-law." Durâni said, "No, you must go now into the house of this other mother-in-law; see how she continues to abuse me !" So the girls
In my first notice of the Deśikosha entitled Paialachhi (Ind. Ant. vol. II. p. 305) I had to leave it doubtful who its author was. I pointed out that according to Dharmasâgara's and other
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left her and went into the house of Surânî. In the meantime the son of Surânî was about to show the dream to the king, and a great many other kings had assembled to witness it. The king said, " Chandra, our court is now crowded, show us the dream." So Chandra went into the house to the three wives and said, "Which of you knows about the dream? show it to me."
The girls said, "What is that? we know nothing of any dream." So Chandra fled away by the back door. The king, seeing he delayed to return, sent to look for him and found he had run away, and after hearing the whole story from the three wives he banished Suráni and her son from the palace, and summoned Śiva Dâs and said to him, "What do you know about the dream ?" So Siva Dâs related all his adventures from the beginning, and how he had found the dream. Then the king took him to his heart and was excessively pleased with him, and changed the name of Durânî to Surâni, and took her to live in his palace. Siva Dâs asked his father to build him a two-storied house surrounded by beautiful flowers and adorned on the walls inside with carved work. So the king ordered the house to be begun at once and completed within a week, and then he said, "The house is ready, now show me the dream." But Śiva Dâs said, "Ask all the other kings as before." When they were all assembled, he chose
THE AUTHOR OF THE PÁIALACHHI. BY J. G. BÜHLER, PH. D.
lucky moment and went into the house, and sat on a magnificent bed and began to play his flute; Tilottama instantly appeared, and they were both delighted to see each other again: her beauty lighted up the whole place, and after a little time the flower was seen coming out and entering her nose as before. Siva Dâs called all the kings who were assembled to witness it, and when they saw it they all exclaimed, "What a wonderful sight we have seen!" and praised Siva Dâs. When the king saw it, he gave up his kingdom to Siva Dâs, who henceforward lived with his four wives in the greatest happiness.
Jaina writers' Gurvâvalis Dhana påla, a protégé of king Munja and King Bhaja, wrote a Desinúmamálá in the year Vikrama 1029 at Ujjain, and that the Paialaehhi had been