The Story of the Mongoose, Rat, Owl, and Cat[1]
There was a large banyan tree just outside the town of Vidiśā. Taking shelter in the tree were four creatures: a mongoose, a rat, an owl, and a cat. In two burrows at its base lived the mongoose and the rat; the cat resided in the burrow which was in the middle of the tree; the owl resided in a hole which was towards the end of a branch; all the other three animals were predators of the rat; the...
7. Next day when Vatsarāja went to Vāsavadattā, he observed that she did not treat him any differently. He asked her cautiously, “Devi! Did you know that a princess called Kaliṅgasenā has come to marry me?” Without revealing her heartache, Vāsavadattā replied lovingly, “Yes my king. I have known. Indeed, it is as if Lakshmi herself has come! Through her, even her father, king Kaliṅgadatta, will be on your side. Although she is yearned for by...
At his residence, Yaugandharāyaṇa invited a brahma-rākṣasa by name Yogeśvara. He instructed him, ‘Keep an eye on the activities of Kaliṅgasenā. Vidyādharas also usually have an eye on her. If you see her in the company of a siddha or a vidyādhara, it is good for us!’ The brahma-rākṣasa asked, ‘Why shouldn’t I abuse her or kill her?’ The minister replied, ‘That is great adharma; if we work such that dharma is not violated, that will in itself...
5. The next day when Somaprabhā came back Kaliṅgasenā during her interaction with her said, ‘It is certain that my wedding with Prasenajit would happen; my mother has told me; you say that he is an old man; My heart is now partial to Vatsarāja since I’ve heard that he is young and handsome; so you take me with you to first show me Prasenajit and then to Vatsarāja; let us ignore my parents’ words!’ Somaprabhā replied, ‘Let us go by the vimāna-...
4. As Kaliṅgasenā stood on her balcony watching Somaprabhā fly away, a vidyādhara called Madanavega saw her and was awestruck by her beauty. But he thought it was not appropriate for him to be smitten by a mortal woman. He remembered Prajnapti, the goddess of intellect who appeared before him and told him that she was an apsaras born on the earth due to a curse. While this made him happy, no matter how much he wanted, he couldn’t just carry her...
Kaliṅgasenā who was pleased looking at the dolls forgot her hunger. She refused to eat anything that was offered to her. Her worried mother thought that she must have developed some kind of disease in her body and took her to the doctor. Upon looking at her, he said – ‘She has become like this because of extreme joy. Look at her eyes! They have blossomed so well! Look at her face! She seems to be laughing!’ When the mother asked her the reason...
Kaliṅgasenā grew up. Once while she was playing on the terrace, Somaprabhā, the daughter of Mayāsura saw her and thought, ‘Who is this girl who is radiant like the Moon? I think we were friends in our past lives; or else why would I feel so much affection towards her!’ She came down and became friends with her. Then she said, “Living with princes is an ordeal; they are quickly angered from even trivial mistakes; I’ll narrate you the story of the...
The story of Vikramasimha and two brāhmaṇas
There lived a king by the name Vikramasimha in Ujjayinī. He had no equal on the battlefield and he was aching for showing his prowess. His minister Amaragupta who discovered this longing, casually mentioned, ‘O king! This is the curse of being an invincible warrior. Even Bāṇa, who possessed thousand arms, had to please Śiva to find himself a worthy enemy. He ended up battling the all-powerful Viṣṇu who...
तर्जयन्निव विघ्नौघान्नमितोन्नमितेन यः |
मुहुर्विभाति शिरसा स पायाद्वो गजाननः ||
[May that elephant-faced deity, who by repeatedly raising and bowing his head, appears to continually threaten the multitude of obstacles, protect you all]
नमःकामाय यद्बाणपातैरिव निरन्तरम्|
भाति कण्टकितं शम्भोरप्युमालिङ्गितं वपुः||
[We salute Kāma, the deity of love, whose shower of arrows cause even the body of Śiva to appear horripilated while being embraced...
The next morning Satyavrata saw him and said, “Sir! I have thought of a plan for you to accomplish your desired objective. It is as follows: There is an island called Ratnakūṭa in the middle of that ocean. The ocean-king has performed a pratiṣṭāpana of Viṣṇu there. On the day of Āṣāḍha-śuddha-dvādaśī, they celebrate a grand festival of the local deity and several tourists from various islands gather there. From one of them you should be able to...