Indian Antiquary Vol 42

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 74

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
(MARCH, 1913,
The old lady preferred her request to her divine son-in-law through her daughter that she might be enabled to take the bath as advised. The god-king suggested that there was no need for her to travel out of Madurâ to have her wish. If she had no objection, he would procure for her the waters of all the seven oceans at Madura itself. So there was a tank or pond contrired, the water for which, in obedience to the god's commandment, came bubbling up from the deep-sea fountains of the seven oceans.
When the lady went out for her bath in the tank, an unexpected difficulty was interposed by the Brahmaņ priests. They ruled tbat, according to the law of the Sdstras, the ocean bath had to be gone through by a woman in this wise. She should make the plange holding her husband by the band, or in default of the bosband (that is in the case of a widow), her son, and in default of both, holding on to the tail of a cow. Unfortunately, the lady bad neither a husband nor a son, So to satisfy the canon, she would have to adopt the third course. She felt it a great bumiliation to be driven to do that. Was it for her, the living bead of this ancient house to submit to this indignity ? Was there no help against the rigour of the law ?
The divine son-in-law, however, came to the rescue. He willed that the departed partner of the royal relict should come down from his place in Heaven. Forth with, Malayadhvaja came dowa from Svarga. The spouses bathed in the tank with all due ceremonial observance. As soon as the bath was over and the parties put on dry clothes, a litter came down from the heavens, and Malayadhvaja with his queen flew up in it to Sivaloka, within sight of the wondering populace.
[This tank, I believe, is the temple tank, in the waters of which experts in bacteriology will find enough to engage their attention and to test their learning. The tale was invented for the sanctification of the tank, where pilgrims bathe as a religious observance, to the present advantage of the priests, who receive a fee at each bath.
The attention of the reader is drawn to the incident, as narrated here, that brought the river Vaigai into existence. It is a second version of the subject, and quite contradictory of the one that has preceded it in the second tale, where, the god, acting as the health-officer of the newlyfounded capital, calls the river into existence for the due water supply of the new settlers.]
IV. The goddess-queen yearned for issue; the god-king, understood this and willed that the Dieur Fils, Kumara, should be born in flesh and blood as their son. The queen soon found herself enciente and in due course gave birth to a son, on a very auspicious day, a Monday in conjanction with the star Ardra. All the goddesses assisted at the accouchement and the gods at the naming. The infant was named Ugra-Pâə lya. Brihaspati taught him the Vedas and the divine father himself initiated him into the secrets of the Pasupataiástra. The boy attained the age of sixteen and his marriage was contemplated. It was arranged that he should marry the daughter of the king of north Mañalur, of the Chola dynasty and of the solar race. The Pagdyas were of the lunar race.
The father bestowed on his son three potent arms: vél, valai and sendu, divine weapons of ofence which no one less a personage than the son god could wield. The prince was crowned king as soon as he attained majority, by his parents, who entered the temple, and, becoming unified with the god and the goddess thereon, disappeared from mortal vision.
Ugra-Pandya performed many asvamedha-ydgas. Indra feared for his safety. He set up Varuna, or Poseidon, to invade the kingdom of the Pandyan and submerge the same with his waters. The briny deep at once fretted and foamed, swelled and surged. The flood rose so high and coursed so far in land that the waves dashed against the walls of Madura. The young king was told in a dream by his father, the god, to use the và he had given him against the attacks. of Poseidon. It was a sort of javelin. The king followed the direction given, with the result that the Ocean god receded, shrank back to his original dimensions and lay prostrate at the feet of the youthful sovereign.