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83 pages

English

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The identity of the original author of this ancient Sanskrit story cycle has been lost to history, but the spooky ambiance of these tales has been rendered exquisitely in this expert translation by respected scholar of Sanskrit Arthur W. Ryder. Twenty-Two Goblins is sure to send a chill down the spine of even the most stalwart reader, and those with an interest in ancient folklore will be particularly pleased.

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Publié par	The Floating Press
Date de parution	01 mai 2014
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781776535156
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0134€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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TWENTY-TWO GOBLINS
A TRANSLATION OF VETALA PANCHAVIMSHATI
* * *
Translated by
ARTHUR W. RYDER

*
Twenty-Two Goblins A Translation of Vetala Panchavimshati From a 1917 edition Epub ISBN 978-1-77653-515-6 Also available: PDF ISBN 978-1-77653-516-3 © 2013 The Floating Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike. Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
*
Introduction First Goblin - The Prince's Elopement. Whose Fault was the Resulting Death of HisParents-in-Law? Second Goblin - The Three Lovers Who Brought the Dead Girl to Life. Whose Wife ShouldShe Be? Third Goblin - The Parrot and the Thrush. Which Are Worse, Men or Women? Fourth Goblin - King Shudraka and Hero's Family. Which of the Five Deserves the MostHonour? Fifth Goblin - The Brave Man, the Wise Man, and the Clever Man. To Which Should theGirl Be Given? Sixth Goblin - The Girl Who Transposed the Heads of Her Husband and Brother. WhichCombination of Head and Body is Her Husband? Seventh Goblin - The Mutual Services of King Fierce-Lion and Prince Good. Which is theMore Deserving? Eighth Goblin - The Specialist in Food, the Specialist in Women, and the Specialist inCotton. Which is the Cleverest? Ninth Goblin - The Four Scientific Suitors. To Which Should the Girl Be Given? Tenth Goblin - The Three Delicate Wives of King Virtue-Banner. Which is the MostDelicate? Eleventh Goblin - The King Who Won a Fairy as His Wife. Why Did His Counsellor's HeartBreak? Twelfth Goblin - The Brahman Who Died Because Poison from a Snake in the Claws of a HawkFell into a Dish of Food Given Him by a Charitable Woman. Who is toBlame for His Death? Thirteenth Goblin - The Girl Who Showed Great Devotion to the Thief. Did He Weep or Laugh? Fourteenth Goblin - The Man Who Changed into a Woman at Will. Was His Wife His or the OtherMan's? Fifteenth Goblin - The Fairy Prince Cloud-Chariot and the Serpent Shell-Crest. Which isthe More Self-Sacrificing? Sixteenth Goblin - The King Who Died for Love of His General's Wife; the General FollowsHim in Death. Which is the More Worthy? Seventeenth Goblin - The Youth Who Went through the Proper Ceremonies. Why Did He Fail toWin the Magic Spell? Eighteenth Goblin - The Boy Whom His Parents, the King, and the Giant Conspired to Kill.Why Did He Laugh at the Moment of Death? Nineteenth Goblin - The Man, His Wife, and Her Lover, Who All Died for Love. Which was theMost Foolish? Twentieth Goblin - The Four Brothers Who Brought a Dead Lion to Life. Which is to BlameWhen He Kills Them All? Twenty-First Goblin - The Old Hermit Who Exchanged His Body for that of the Dead Boy. Why DidHe Weep and Dance? Twenty-Second Goblin - The Father and Son Who Married Daughter and Mother. What Relation WereTheir Children? Conclusion
Introduction
*
On the bank of the Godavari River is a kingdom called the AbidingKingdom. There lived the son of King Victory, the famous KingTriple-victory, mighty as the king of the gods. As this king sat injudgment, a monk called Patience brought him every day one piece offruit as an expression of homage. And the king took it and gave it eachday to the treasurer who stood near. Thus twelve years passed.
Now one day the monk came to court, gave the king a piece of fruit asusual, and went away. But on this day the king gave the fruit to a petbaby monkey that had escaped from his keepers, and happened to wanderin. And as the monkey ate the fruit, he split it open, and a priceless,magnificent gem came out.
When the king saw this, he took it and asked the treasurer: "Where haveyou been keeping the fruits which the monk brought? I gave them toyou." When the treasurer heard this, he was frightened and said: "YourMajesty, I have thrown them all through the window. If your Majestydesires, I will look for them now." And when the king had dismissedhim, he went, but returned in a moment, and said again: "Your Majesty,they were all smashed in the treasury, and in them I see heaps ofdazzling gems."
When he heard this, the king was delighted, and gave the jewels to thetreasurer. And when the monk came the next day, he asked him: "Monk,why do you keep honouring me in such an expensive way? Unless I knowthe reason, I will not take your fruit."
Then the monk took the king aside and said: "O hero, there is abusiness in which I need help. So I ask for your help in it, becauseyou are a brave man." And the king promised his assistance.
Then the monk was pleased, and said again: "O King, on the last nightof the waning moon, you must go to the great cemetery at nightfall, andcome to me under the fig-tree." Then the king said "Certainly," andPatience, the monk, went home well pleased.
So when the night came, the mighty king remembered his promise to themonk, and at dusk he wrapped his head in a black veil, took his swordin his hand, and went to the great cemetery without being seen. When hegot there, he looked about, and saw the monk standing under thefig-tree and making a magic circle. So he went up and said: "Monk, hereI am. Tell me what I am to do for you."
And when the monk saw the king, he was delighted and said: "O King, ifyou wish to do me a favour, go south from here some distance all alone,and you will see a sissoo tree and a dead body hanging from it. Be sokind as to bring that here."
When the brave king heard this, he agreed, and, true to his promise,turned south and started. And as he walked with difficulty along thecemetery road, he came upon the sissoo tree at some distance, and saw abody hanging on it. So he climbed the tree, cut the rope, and let itfall to the ground. And as it fell, it unexpectedly cried aloud, as ifalive. Then the king climbed down, and thinking it was alive, hemercifully rubbed its limbs. Then the body gave a loud laugh.
So the king knew that a goblin lived in it, and said without fear:"What are you laughing about? Come, let us be off." But then he did notsee the goblin on the ground any longer. And when he looked up, therehe was, hanging in the tree as before. So the king climbed the treeagain, and carefully carried the body down. A brave man's heart isharder than a diamond, and nothing makes it tremble.
Then he put the body with the goblin in it on his shoulder, and startedoff in silence. And as he walked along, the goblin in the body said: "OKing, to amuse the journey, I will tell you a story. Listen."
First Goblin - The Prince's Elopement. Whose Fault was the Resulting Death of HisParents-in-Law?
*
There is a city called Benares where Shiva lives. It is loved by piouspeople like the soil of Mount Kailasa. The river of heaven shines therelike a pearl necklace. And in the city lived a king called Valour whoburned up all his enemies by his valour, as a fire burns a forest. Hehad a son named Thunderbolt who broke the pride of the love-god by hisbeauty, and the pride of men by his bravery. This prince had a cleverfriend, the son of a counsellor.
One day the prince was enjoying himself with his friend hunting, andwent a long distance. And so he came to a great forest. There he saw abeautiful lake, and being tired, he drank from it with his friend thecounsellor's son, washed his hands and feet, and sat down under a treeon the bank.
And then he saw a beautiful maiden who had come there with her servantsto bathe. She seemed to fill the lake with the stream of her beauty,and seemed to make lilies grow there with her eyes, and seemed to shamethe lotuses with a face more lovely than the moon. She captured theprince's heart the moment that he saw her. And the prince took her eyescaptive.
The girl had a strange feeling when she saw him, but was too modest tosay a word. So she gave a hint of the feeling in her heart. She put alotus on her ear, laid a lily on her head after she had made the edgelook like a row of teeth, and placed her hand on her heart. But theprince did not understand her signs, only the clever counsellor's sonunderstood them all.
A moment later the girl went away, led by her servants. She went homeand sat on the sofa and stayed there. But her thoughts were with theprince.
The prince went slowly back to his city, and was terribly lonelywithout her, and grew thinner every day. Then his friend the son of thecounsellor took him aside and told him that she was not hard to find.But he had lost all courage and said: "My friend, I don't know hername, nor her home, nor her family. How can I find her? Why do youvainly try to comfort me?"
Then the counsellor's son said: "Did you not see all that she hintedwith her signs? When she put the lotus on her ear, she meant that shelived in the kingdom of a king named Ear-lotus. And when she made therow of teeth, she meant that she was the daughter of a man named Bitethere. And when she laid the lily on her head, she meant that her namewas Lily. And when she placed her hand on her heart, she meant that sheloved you. And there is a king named Ear-lotus in the Kalinga country.There is a very rich man there whom the king likes. His real name isBattler, but they call him Bite. He has a pearl of a girl whom he lovesmore than his life, and her name is Lily. This is true, because peopletold me. So I understood her signs about her country and the otherthings." When the counsellor's son had said this, the prince wasdelighted to find him so clever, and pleased because he knew what to do.
Then he formed a plan with the counsellor's son, and started for thelake again, pretending that he was going to hunt, but really to findthe girl that he loved. On the way he rode like the wind