thought it a great boon to be out of the king’s sight. As for him, passion for Bahula still smouldered in his heart, and he did not takeanother wife. Night and day he thought of her as he administered his realm, observing the laws and protecting the people as a father does his own children.
One day a troubled brahman came to the monarch. ‘Great king,’ he said, ‘no one except their ruler can relieve the people’s suffering. I am in great distress. Last night I slept without bolting the door of our house, and someone abducted my wife. You must retrieve her.’
‘Brahman,’ the king responded, ‘you do not know by whom she was taken and where to. Whom shall I punish and from where will I bring her back?’
‘Sir, it is for you to find this out. The king takes a sixth part of our produce as remuneration and protects the law so that people may sleep peacefully at night.’
‘Well, I have not seen your wife. Tell me, how does she look? What is her age? Of what kind is her character?’
‘She has hard eyes and is not too tall. Herarms are short and her face emaciated. She is pot-bellied and her breasts and buttocks are shrivelled. She is ugly, O lord of the land. I am not belittling her, but that is what she is. Her character is not amiable and her speech very harsh. In brief, she looks dreadful and is also past her youth. That is my wife, I tell you truly.’
‘Enough of her, brahman. I will get you another wife. Not a source of suffering, but someone who will add to your happiness. The best in disposition and the least in ugliness is what you need. One without looks and character is best given up.’
‘O king,’ the brahman responded, ‘the highest scriptures say that the wife must be protected. When she is, so too is the progeny. Indeed one’s own self grows from her and is also protected with the progeny. And when she is not, it leads to the commingling of castes which drags one’s forbears from heaven into hell. My wife may be harsh, but how can I leave her for another? We were joined in marriage according to sacred rites,and without her my fund of merit depletes daily, detracting from the performance of prescribed duties and leading even to my own downfall. For she is the mother of my children, the giver of your one-sixth share, in effect the instrument and the sustainer of our rites. It is for this that you must bring back my abducted wife, master, for you are by right our protector.’
The king was not too pleased, but thought about what the brahman had said and mounted a fully equipped chariot for the search. Wandering here and there through the land, he came to a fine hermitage in a great forest. Entering it, he saw there a holy sage who got up quickly to welcome him and asked a student to bring the ritual offering even as the latter whispered in his ear.
‘I know you are King Uttama,’ said the sage. ‘Why have you come here, sir? What is it you wish?’
‘Some unknown person abducted the wife of a brahman from his house, O sage,’ the kingtold him. ‘I have come looking for her. Be kind enough to respond to my queries.’
‘Ask me freely whatever you wish, O king, and if I can answer you, I will do so fully.’
‘To begin with, sir, when you saw me arrive you seemed about to make the ritual offering to me. When will that happen?’
‘I was indeed eager to do so when I saw you. But my student alerted me and I did not make it. You deserve it by virtue of your descent, but not as a person.’
‘What have I done, consciously or otherwise, that you think me undeserving, even though I have come here after long?’
‘Have you forgotten you had your wife abandoned in a forest? With her, O king, you abandoned all righteousness. A fortnight’s neglect of daily duties makes a man unfit to be touched; yours has been for a whole year. Just as a wife must be agreeable to the husband even though he is ill-disposed, so must such a wife, however unpleasant, be supported by herhusband. That
One day a troubled brahman came to the monarch. ‘Great king,’ he said, ‘no one except their ruler can relieve the people’s suffering. I am in great distress. Last night I slept without bolting the door of our house, and someone abducted my wife. You must retrieve her.’
‘Brahman,’ the king responded, ‘you do not know by whom she was taken and where to. Whom shall I punish and from where will I bring her back?’
‘Sir, it is for you to find this out. The king takes a sixth part of our produce as remuneration and protects the law so that people may sleep peacefully at night.’
‘Well, I have not seen your wife. Tell me, how does she look? What is her age? Of what kind is her character?’
‘She has hard eyes and is not too tall. Herarms are short and her face emaciated. She is pot-bellied and her breasts and buttocks are shrivelled. She is ugly, O lord of the land. I am not belittling her, but that is what she is. Her character is not amiable and her speech very harsh. In brief, she looks dreadful and is also past her youth. That is my wife, I tell you truly.’
‘Enough of her, brahman. I will get you another wife. Not a source of suffering, but someone who will add to your happiness. The best in disposition and the least in ugliness is what you need. One without looks and character is best given up.’
‘O king,’ the brahman responded, ‘the highest scriptures say that the wife must be protected. When she is, so too is the progeny. Indeed one’s own self grows from her and is also protected with the progeny. And when she is not, it leads to the commingling of castes which drags one’s forbears from heaven into hell. My wife may be harsh, but how can I leave her for another? We were joined in marriage according to sacred rites,and without her my fund of merit depletes daily, detracting from the performance of prescribed duties and leading even to my own downfall. For she is the mother of my children, the giver of your one-sixth share, in effect the instrument and the sustainer of our rites. It is for this that you must bring back my abducted wife, master, for you are by right our protector.’
The king was not too pleased, but thought about what the brahman had said and mounted a fully equipped chariot for the search. Wandering here and there through the land, he came to a fine hermitage in a great forest. Entering it, he saw there a holy sage who got up quickly to welcome him and asked a student to bring the ritual offering even as the latter whispered in his ear.
‘I know you are King Uttama,’ said the sage. ‘Why have you come here, sir? What is it you wish?’
‘Some unknown person abducted the wife of a brahman from his house, O sage,’ the kingtold him. ‘I have come looking for her. Be kind enough to respond to my queries.’
‘Ask me freely whatever you wish, O king, and if I can answer you, I will do so fully.’
‘To begin with, sir, when you saw me arrive you seemed about to make the ritual offering to me. When will that happen?’
‘I was indeed eager to do so when I saw you. But my student alerted me and I did not make it. You deserve it by virtue of your descent, but not as a person.’
‘What have I done, consciously or otherwise, that you think me undeserving, even though I have come here after long?’
‘Have you forgotten you had your wife abandoned in a forest? With her, O king, you abandoned all righteousness. A fortnight’s neglect of daily duties makes a man unfit to be touched; yours has been for a whole year. Just as a wife must be agreeable to the husband even though he is ill-disposed, so must such a wife, however unpleasant, be supported by herhusband. That
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