vikram and the vampire ninth story - mocomi

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By

Sir Richard F. Burton

Volume - 10

THE VAMPIRE'S NINTH STORY

Vikram and the Vampire

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Far and wide through the lovely landoverrun by the Arya from the WesternHighlands spread the fame of Unmadini,the beautiful daughter of Haridas theBrahman. In the numberless odes, son-nets, and acrostics addressed to her bya hundred Pandits and poets her charmswere sung with prodigious triteness.

Her presence was compared to light

shining in a dark house; her face to thefull moon; her complexion to the yellowchampaka flower; her curls to femalesnakes; her eyes to those of the deer;her eyebrows to bent bows; her teeth tostrings of little opals; her feet to rubiesand red gems, and her gait to that of the

wild goose. And none forgot to say thather voice affected the author like thesong of the kokila bird, sounding fromthe shadowy brake, when the breezeblows coolly, or that the fairy beings ofIndra's heaven would have shrunk awayabashed at her loveliness.

But, Raja Vikram! all the poets failed towin the fair Unmadini's love. To praisethe beauty of a beauty is not to praise

her. Extol her wit and talents, which hasthe zest of novelty, then you may suc-ceed. For the same reason, read in-versely, the plainer and cleverer is thebosom you would fire, the more per-sonal you must be upon the subject ofits grace and loveliness.

Flattery you know, is ever the matchwhich kindles the Flame of love. True itis that some by roughness of demean-our and bluntness in speech, contrastingwith those whom they call the "herd,"have the art to succeed in the service of

the bodyless god. But even they must—

The young prince Dharma Dhwaj couldnot help laughing at the thought of howthis must sound in his father's ear. Andthe Raja hearing the ill-timed merri-ment, sternly ordered the Baital to

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SHOWING THAT A MAN'S WIFE BELONGSNOT TO HIS BODY BUT TO HIS HEAD





cease his immoralities and to continuehis story.

Thus the lovely Unmadini, conceiving anextreme contempt for poets and literati,one day told her father who greatlyloved her, that her husband must be afine young man who never wrote verses.Withal she insisted strongly on mentalqualities and science, being a person of

moderate mind and an adorer oftalent— when not perverted to poetry.As you may imagine, Raja Vikram, allthe beauty's bosom friends, seeing herrefuse so many good offers, confidentlypredicted that she would pass throughthe jungle and content herself with a

bad stick, or that she would lead ring-tailed apes in Patala.

At length when some time had elapsed,four suitors appeared from four differentcountries, all of them claiming equal ex-cellence in youth and beauty, strength

and understanding. And after payingtheir respects to Haridas, and telling himtheir wishes, they were directed to comeearly on the next morning and to enterupon the first ordeal—an intellectualconversation. This they did.

"Foolish the man," quoth the young Ma-hasani, "that seeks permanence in thisworld—frail as the stem of the plantain-

tree, transient as the ocean foam.

"All that is high shall presently fall; allthat is low must finally perish.

"Unwillingly do the manes of the deadtaste the tears shed by their kinsmen:

then wail not, but perform the funeralobsequies with diligence."

"What ill-omened fellow is this?" quoththe fair Unmadini, who was sittingbehind her curtain;" besides, he hasdared to quote poetry! "There was little

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chance of success for that suitor.

"She is called a good woman, and awoman of pure descent," quoth thesecond suitor, "who serves him to whomher father and mother have given her;and it is written in the scriptures that awoman who in the lifetime of her hus-band, becoming a devotee, engages infasting, and in austere devotion, short-

ens his days, and hereafter falls into thefire. For it is said—

"A woman's bliss is found not in the sm-ileOf father, mother, friend, nor inherself;Her husband is her only portionhere,Her heaven hereafter."

The word "serve," which might mean"obey," was peculiarly disagreeable tothe fair one's ears, and she did notadmire the check so soon placed uponher devotion, or the decided languageand manner of the youth. She therefore

mentally resolved never again to seethat person, whom she determined tobe stupid as an elephant.

"A mother," said Gunakar, the third can-didate, "protects her son in babyhood,and a father when his offspring is grow-ing up. But the man of warrior descentdefends his brethren at all times. Such isthe custom of the world, and such is my

state. I dwell on the heads of thestrong!"

Therefore those assembled togetherlooked with great respect upon the manof valour.

Devasharma, the fourth suitor, con-tented himself with listening to theothers, who fancied that he was over-awed by their cleverness. And when itcame to his turn he simply remarked,"Silence is better than speech." Beingfurther pressed, he said, "A wise man

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will not proclaim his age, nor a decep-tion practiced upon himself, nor hisriches, nor the loss of riches, nor familyfaults, nor incantations, nor conjugallove, nor medicinal prescriptions, nor re-ligious duties, nor gifts, nor reproach,nor the infidelity of his wife."

Thus ended the first trial. The master ofthe house dismissed the two former

speakers, with many polite expressionsand some trifling presents. Then havinggiven betel to them, scented their gar-ments with attar, and sprinkled rose-water over their heads, he accompaniedthem to the door, showing much regret.

The two latter speakers he begged to

come on the next day.

Gunakar and Devasharma did not fail.When they entered the assembly-roomand took the seats pointed out to them,the father said, "Be ye pleased to ex-plain and make manifest the effects of

your mental qualities. So shall I judge ofthem."

"I have made," said Gunakar, "a four-wheeled carriage, in which the power re-sides to carry you in a moment wher-ever you may purpose to go."

"I have such power over the angel ofdeath," said Devasharma, "that I can at

all times raise a corpse, and enable myfriends to do the same."

Now tell me by thy brains, O warrior KingVikram, which of these two youths wasthe fitter husband for the maid?

Either the Raja could not answer thequestion, or perhaps he would not,being determined to break the spellwhich had already kept him walking toand fro for so many hours. Then theBaital, who had paused to let his royalcarrier commit himself, seeing that the

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attempt had failed, proceeded withoutmaking any further comment.

The beautiful Unmadini was broughtout, but she hung down her head andmade no reply. Yet she took care tomove both her eyes in the direction ofDevasharma. Whereupon Haridas, quot-ing the proverb that "pearls string withpearls," formally betrothed to him his

daughter. The soldier suitor twisted theends of his mustachios into his eyes,which were red with wrath, and fumbledwith his fingers about the hilt of hissword. But he was a man of noble birth,and presently his anger passed away.

Mahasani the poet, however, being ashameless person—and when can we besafe from such?—forced himself into theassembly and began to rage and tostorm, and to quote proverbs in a loudtone of voice. He remarked that in thisworld women are a mine of grief, a poi-

sonous root, the abode of solicitude, thedestroyers of resolution, the occasion-ers of fascination, and the plunderers ofall virtuous qualities.

From the daughter he passed to thefather, and after saying hard things ofhim as a "Maha-Brahman," who tookcows and gold and worshipped amonkey, he fell with a sweeping censure

upon all priests and sons of priests,more especially Devasharma. As the by-standers remonstrated with him, hebecame more violent, and when Hari-das, who was a weak man, appearedterrified by his voice, look, and gesture,he swore a solemn oath that despite all

the betrothals in the world, unless Un-madini became his wife he wouldcommit suicide, and as a demon hauntthe house and injure the inmates.

Gunakar the soldier exhorted thisshameless poet to slay himself at once,

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and to go where he pleased. But as Hari-das reproved the warrior for inhumanity,Mahasani nerved by spite, love, rage,and perversity to an heroic death, drewa noose from his bosom, rushed out ofthe house, and suspended himself to thenearest tree.

And, true enough, as the midnight gongstruck, he appeared in the form of a gi-

gantic and malignant Rakshasa (fiend),dreadfully frightened the household ofHaridas, and carried off the lovely Un-madini, leaving word that she was to hefound on the topmost peak of Himalaya.

The unhappy father hastened to thehouse where Devasharma lived. There,

weeping bitterly and wringing his handsin despair, he told the terrible tale, andbesought his intended son-in-law to beup and doing.

The young Brahman at once sought hislate rival, and asked his aid. This the sol-

dier granted at once, although he hadbeen nettled at being conquered in loveby a priestling.

The carriage was at once made ready,and the suitors set out, bidding thefather be of good cheer, and that beforesunset he should embrace his daughter.

They then entered the vehicle; Gunakarwith cabalistic words caused it to rise

high in the air, and Devasharma put toflight the demon by reciting the sacredverse, "Let us meditate on the supremesplendour (or adorable light) of thatDivine Ruler (the sun) who may illumi-nate our understandings. Venerablemen, guided by the intelligence, salute

the divine sun (Sarvitri) with oblationsand praise. Om!"

Then they returned with the girl to thehouse, and Haridas blessed them, prais-ing the sun aloud in the joy of his heart.Lest other accidents might happen, he

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chose an auspicious planetary conjunc-tion, and at a fortunate moment rubbedturmeric upon his daughter's hands.

The wedding was splendid, and brokethe hearts of twenty-four rivals. In duetime Devasharma asked leave from hisfather-in-law to revisit his home, and tocarry with him his bride. This requestbeing granted, he set out accompanied

by Gunakar the soldier, who swore notto leave the couple before seeing themsafe under their own roof-tree.

It so happened that their road lay overthe summits of the wild Vindhya hills,where dangers of all kinds are as thick

as shells upon the shore of the deep.Here were rocks and jagged precipicesmaking the traveller's brain whirl whenhe looked into them. There impetuoustorrents roared and flashed down theirbeds of black stone, threatening de-struction to those who would cross

them. Now the path was lost in thematted thorny underwood and thepitchy shades of the jungle, deep anddark as the valley of death. Then thethunder-cloud licked the earth with itsfiery tongue, and its voice shook thecrags and filled their hollow caves. Attimes, the sun was so hot, that wild birdsfell dead from the air. And at everymoment the wayfarers heard the trum-

peting of giant elephants, the fiercehowling of the tiger, the grisly laugh ofthe foul hyaena, and the whimpering ofthe wild dogs as they coursed by on thetracks of their prey.

Yet, sustained by the five-armed god the

little party passed safely through allthese dangers. They had almostemerged from the damp glooms of theforest into the open plains which skirtthe southern base of the hills, when onenight the fair Unmadini saw a terriblevision.

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She beheld herself wading through asluggish pool of muddy water, whichrippled, curdling as she stepped into it,and which, as she advanced, darkenedwith the slime raised by her feet. Shewas bearing in her arms the semblanceof a sick child, which struggled convul-sively and filled the air with dismal wails.

These cries seemed to be answered by amultitude of other children, some

bloated like toads, others mere skel-etons lying upon the bank, or floatingupon the thick brown waters of thepond.

And all seemed to address their cries toher, as if she were the cause of their

weeping; nor could all her efforts quietor console them for a moment.

When the bride awoke, she related allthe particulars of her ill-omened visionto her husband; and the latter, after ashort pause, informed her and his friend

that a terrible calamity was about tobefall them. He then drew from his trav-elling wallet a skein of thread. This he di-vided into three parts, one for each, andtold his companions that in case ofgrievous bodily injury, the bit of threadwound round the wounded part wouldinstantly make it whole. After which hetaught them the Mantra, or mysticalword by which the lives of men are re-

stored to their bodies, even when theyhave taken their allotted placesamongst the stars, and which for evi-dent reasons I do not want to repeat. Itconcluded, however, with the threeVyahritis, or sacred syllables— Bhuh,Bhuvah, Svar!

Raja Vikram was perhaps a little disap-pointed by this declaration.He made noremark, however, and the Baital thuspursued:

As Devasharma foretold, an accident of

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a terrible nature did occur. On the eve-ning of that day, as they emerged uponthe plain, they were attacked by the Ki-ratas, or savage tribes of the mountain.

A small, black, wiry figure, armed with abow and little cane arrows, stood in theirway, signifying by gestures that theymust halt and lay down their arms. Asthey continued to advance, he began to

speak with a shrill chattering, like thenote of an affrighted bird, his restlessred eyes glared with rage, and he wavedhis weapon furiously round his head.

Then from the rocks and thickets onboth sides of the path poured a showerof shafts upon the three strangers.

The unequal combat did not last long.Gunakar, the soldier, wielded his strongright arm with fatal effect and struckdown some threescore of the foes. Butnew swarms came on like angry hornetsbuzzing round the destroyer of their

nests. And when he fell, Devasharma,who had left him for a moment to hidehis beautiful wife in the hollow of a tree,returned, and stood fighting over thebody of his friend till he also, overpow-ered by numbers, was thrown to theground. Then the wild men, drawingtheir knives, cut off the heads of theirhelpless enemies, stripped their bodiesof all their ornaments, and departed,

leaving the woman unharmed for goodluck.

When Unmadini, who had been moredead than alive during the affray, foundsilence succeed to the horrid din ofshrieks and shouts, she ventured to

creep out of her refuge in the hollowtree. And what does she behold? herhusband and his friend are lying uponthe ground, with their heads at a shortdistance from their bodies. She sat downand wept bitterly.

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Presently, remembering the lessonwhich she had learned that very morn-ing, she drew forth from her bosom thebit of thread and proceeded to use it.She approached the heads to thebodies, and tied some of the magicstring round each neck. But the shadesof evening were fast deepening, and inher agitation, confusion and terror, shemade a curious mistake by applying the

heads to the wrong trunks. After which,she again sat down, and having recitedher prayers, she pronounced, as herhusband had taught her, the life-givingincantation.

In a moment the dead men were made

alive. They opened their eyes, shookthemselves, sat up and handled theirlimbs as if to feel that all was right. Butsomething or other appeared to them allwrong. They placed their palms upontheir foreheads, and looked downwards,and started to their feet and began to

stare at their hands and legs. Uponwhich they scrutinized the very scantyarticles of dress which the wild men hadleft upon them, and lastly one began toeye the other with curious puzzledlooks.

The wife, attributing their gestures tothe confusion which one might expect tofind in the brains of men who have just

undergone so great a trial as amputa-tion of the head must be, stood beforethem for a moment or two. She thenwith a cry of gladness flew to the bosomof the individual who was, as she sup-posed, her husband. He repulsed her,telling her that she was mistaken. Then,

blushing deeply in spite of her otheremotions, she threw both her beautifularms round the neck of the person whomust be, she naturally concluded, theright man. To her utter confusion, healso shrank back from her embrace.

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Then a horrid thought flashed across hermind: she perceived her fatal mistake,and her heart almost ceased to beat."This is thy wife!" cried the Brahman'shead that had been fastened to the sol-dier's body.

"No; she is thy wife!" replied the sol-dier's head which had been placed uponthe Brahman's body.

"Then she is my wife!" rejoined the firstcompound creature.

"By no means! she is my wife," cried thesecond.

"What then am I?" asked Devasharma-Gunakar.

"What do you think I am?" answered Gu-nakarDevasharma, with another ques-tion.

"Unmadini shall be mine," quoth thehead.

"You lie, she shall be mine," shouted thebody.

"Holy Yama, hear the villain," exclaimedboth of them at the same moment.

In short, having thus begun, they contin-ued to quarrel violently, each one de-claring that the beautiful Unmadini be-

longed to him, and to him only. How tosettle their dispute Brahma the Lord ofcreatures only knows. I do not, exceptby cutting off their heads once more,and by putting them in their properplaces. And I am quite sure, O RajaVikram! that thy wits are quite unfit to

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S O G S O GS




answer the question, To which of thesetwo is the beautiful Unmadini wife? It iseven said—amongst us Baitals —thatwhen this pair of half-husbands ap-peared in the presence of the Just King,a terrible confusion arose, each headdeclaiming all the sins and peccadilloeswhich its body had committed, and that

Yama the holy ruler himself hit his fore-finger with vexation.

Here the young prince Dharma Dhwajburst out laughing at the ridiculous ideaof the wrong heads. And the warriorking, who, like single-minded fathers ingeneral, was ever in the idea that hisson had a velleity for deriding and other-

wise vexing him, began a severe courseof reproof. He reminded the prince ofthe common saying that merrimentwithout cause degrades a man in theopinion of his fellows, and indulged himwith a quotation extensively used bygrave fathers, namely, that the loud

laugh bespeaks a vacant mind. Afterwhich he proceeded with much pomp-ousness to pronounce the followingopinion:

"It is said in the Shastras——"

"Your majesty need hardly display somuch erudition! Doubtless it comesfrom the lips of Jayudeva or some other

one of your Nine Gems of Science, whoknow much more about their songs andtheir stanzas than they do about theirscriptures," insolently interrupted theBaital, who never lost an opportunity ofcarping at those reverend men.

"It is said in the Shastras," continuedRaja Vikram sternly, after hesitatingwhether he should or should not admin-ister a corporeal correction to the Vam-pire, "that Mother Ganga is the queenamongst rivers, and the mountainSumeru is the monarch among moun-

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SHOWING THAT A MAN'S WIFE BELONGS




tains, and the tree Kalpavriksha is theking of all trees, and the head of man isthe best and most excellent of limbs.And thus, according to this reason, thewife belonged to him whose noblest po-sition claimed her."

"The next thing your majesty will do, Isuppose," continued the Baital, with asneer, "is to support the opinions of the

Digambara, who maintains that the soulis exceedingly rarefied, confined to oneplace, and of equal dimensions with thebody, or the fancies of that worthy phi-losopher Jaimani, who, conceiving souland mind and matter to be things purelysynonymous, asserts outwardly and

writes in his books that the brain is theorgan of the mind which is acted uponby the immortal soul, but who inwardlyand verily believes that the brain is themind, and consequently that the brain isthe soul or spirit or whatever you pleaseto call it; in fact, that soul is a natural

faculty of the body. A pretty doctrine,indeed, for a Brahman to hold. Youmight as well agree with me at once thatthe soul of man resides, when at home,either in a vein in the breast, or in the pitof his stomach, or that half of it is in aman's brain and the other or reasoninghalf is in his heart, an organ of his body.""What has all this string of words to dowith the matter, Vampire?" asked Raja

Vikram angrily.

"Only," said the demon laughing, "thatin my opinion, as opposed to the Shas-tras and to Raja Vikram, that the beauti-ful Unmadini belonged, not to the headpart but to the body part. Because the

latter has an immortal soul in the pit ofits stomach, whereas the former is a boxof bone, more or less thick, and containsbrains which are of much the same con-sistence as those of a calf."

"Villain!" exclaimed the Raja, "does not

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SHOWING THAT A MAN'S WIFE BELONGS




the soul or conscious life enter the bodythrough the sagittal suture and lodge inthe brain, thence to contemplate,through the same opening, the divineperfections?"

"I must, however, bid you farewell forthe moment, O warrior king, Sakadhipa-ti-Vikramadityal ! I feel a sudden andardent desire to change this cramped

position for one more natural to me."

The warrior monarch had so far commit-ted himself that he could not preventthe Vampire from flitting. But he lost nomore time in following him than a grainof mustard, in its fall, stays on a cow's

horn. And when he had thrown him overhis shoulder, the king desired him of hisown accord to begin a new tale.

"O my left eyelid flutters," exclaimed theBaital in despair, "my heart throbs, mysight is dim: surely now beginneth theend. It is as Vidhata hath written on myforehead—how can it be otherwise? Stilllisten, O mighty Raja, whilst I recount toyou a true story, and Saraswati sit on mytongue."

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