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MAY, 1897.] FOLKLORE IN THE CENTRAL PROVINCES OF INDIA; No. 8. 185
"Ah! don't you know? Are you new to the country ?" said they. "Our old Raja's son, Jambhu Raja, is suffering from a malady. We are carrying water to pour over him in order to cool his body."
"Just so, sister; I am new to the country, having only just entered your Raja's capital. Look at my haggard appearance and the dust on my feet. In the course of the day, after I have found a lodging and taken my meals and a little rest, I shall also follow you, carrying a pot of water, if you see no objection."
Thus saying, Jambhu Raja's wife dropped her ring, into one of the water-pots without their knowledge. It fell over the Raja when the contents of the garhá were emptied over him, and prepared him for his wife's arrival.
A few hours after, the Rini, disguised as a panniárá (water-carrier), came in the company of the water-carriers. She formally poured the contents of her pot over her husband, so as not to arouse suspicion. Making herself known, she applied the dung of the chakwa chakwi birds to his entire body, and the burning pain left him entirely. The Raja, sending for his mother, told her of his recovery, and desired that the water-carrier, who was the cause of this, should remain with him.
Now, the Raja's mother was a bad woman, and she knew who the water-carrier was. Once she had asked her to plaster with cow-dung their dwelling-place which, by the force of her magic, she had made to bristle with sharp needles at every conceivable point. The Raja divining this, wished for their disappearance, and no harm had befallen his wife.
Again the bad woman had wished for scorpions and centipedés in the house, and it was so; but Jambhu Raja made them disappear before his wife plastered it. Thus his wife was saved from harm for the second time.
Still the woman was bent upon treating her daughter-in-law cruelly or doing away with her. She gave her a dirty sári, well steeped in oil, and told her to wash it quite clean, or she would punish her very severely. Coming to know of this the Rajâ asked the cranes (baglás) to clean the cloth, and thus averted the punishment, which would otherwise have been inevitably inflicted on the ill-used young woman.
Chagrined at being thus frustrated in her attempts, the cruel persecutor gave to her panniárá daughter-in-law three khandis of grain to winnow. Again the Rajâ came to the rescue and asked all the ants to clean them without losing one ear. They did so accordingly, but the Raja's mother found one corn missing. Thereupon he said: "Come all ye ants and tell me who stole the corn," and a small timid ant threw out of her tiny mouth the missing thing. Then the woman inferred that her son had all along been protecting his wife from harm and persecution, and now took the extreme step of sending the Râni to his betrothed wife's home with the following letter to the girl's mother: -
"Your daughter's enemy (because of the would-be position of co-wife) is coming; poison or kill her at once."
She came back, however, none the worse, but safe and sound, to the great vexation and astonishment of the mother-in-law. How could she come otherwise, for the words of the note the Raja substituted were as follows: :
"My adopted daughter is coming, treat her very kindly."
Now Jambhu Raja's mother wanted to celebrate his marriage with the betrothed of her selection, though she knew full well that he had married the disguised panniárá and loved her extremely. Indeed, the ceremonies began, and the marriage procession (barát) started. In the procession the wife was converted into a torch-bearer and a torch was put into her hand. All of a sudden she caught fire, at which she cried out: "Husband, husband, my cloth is on fire."
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