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JANUARY, 1897.)
FOLKLORE IN SOUTHERN INDIA; No. 43.
19
He had taken into his service four artisans - a carpenter, a cobbler, an oil-vendor, and a turban-tier. He paid each of these a quarter of a fanzin every night for their services, which were as follows: - the carpenter would bring a small cot, for Kēšava Bhat to sit apon, the oilman would light two torches and supply them with oil sufficient to burn till the tenth ghatika of the night. Kosava Bhat would take his seat on the cot between tho second and the third ghatikds of the night with torches burning on either side of him. The cobbler would then approach and cover his feet with a pair of newly-made costly Brahmani shoes. The turban-tier would bring a costly turban, and tie it on the Bhat's head. Besides these four, Keśava Bhat had engaged four peons, on the promise of the high salary of 10 ponså each per month, to attend upon him every night between the second and tenth ghafileás. Now the Bhat called himself the Subhadir of the Cot, and instructed his servants to say so to any person who might question them as to who the person holding the council was.
He held his council with his eight servants - four peons and four artizans till the tenth yhatili of the night. Soon as the tás (gong) announced the tenth ghalika, the turban-tier would take away the turban from the head of the Bhat, the cobbler would take back the shoes from off the Subhâdêr's feet, the oilmonger would put out the lights, and the carpenter would carry away the cot. Kosava would then stand up in the clothes in which he approached the mansion at the second ghatiká of the night, would dismiss his other servants - the four • peons, ordering them to wait again in readiness at the proper time next night, and would roturn home.
Neither the millionaire nor any one of his servants noticed what was going on, and no one was able to detect the poor priest Kéśava Bhat in his transformed state of the Subhadar of the Cotwith a costly turban on his head, newly-made Brâhmani shoes on his feet, sitting in council in the palatial quarters of a millionaire. So our hero secured the title of the Subhâdâr of the Cot, and the townsmen began to recognise him as such only during the night, and thus passed away one month,
Poor Kerava paid every night for his temporary seat, turban, shoes, and light, but his difficulty was to find forty pons at the end of the month to pay his most obedient, willing and faithful peons ; for, in fact, they had behaved as such, and had the greatest regard for their kind and liberal master. The undaunted Keśava Bhat, however, told them on the last night of the first month that they would get their pay the next night. But as lo was himself living from hand to inouth, and had wasted the one fanam that lie coald have saved every day on his Subhadari, he knew of no way to get out of his mess. He returned home, and instead of disappointing his trustworthy peons he resolved to commit suicide and thus end his miseries.
With his mind thus made up, and without telling his wife what he intended to do, he went all alone to the garden of his house in the dead of night and tying a strong rope to the loftiest brauch of a tree was on the point of attaching the other end of it to his neck to suspend himself, when a voice was heard checking him from his rash act.
Desist from your mad resolution. Dig at the root of this tree. You will find seven pots of gold, each containing a lakh of pons."
“Who can have uttered these consoling words. It must be the great Paramośvara, I shall dig, and if I do not find the pots, there is time enough to execute my resolution."
Thus argued the Subhadar of the Cot and came down from the tree, and he dug as le had been told, and to his great astonishment he found the pots very near the surface. He took thom ini, and secured them at once, without informning oven his wife of the vast amount of treasure he had obtained.
:
: Pon is a small gold coin.
