Chapter 170 - Māṇḍavya Impaled

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:

1-5. On seeing her being carried away by him, all those friends of Kāmapramodinī came out from the water and lamented loudly.

All of them went into the palace and spoke in great sorrow: “O king! Kāmapramodinī has been carried away by a huge bird—a hawk, even as she was sporting about in the lake in the vicinity of the Lord. A search for her should be carried out by you by tracing the path of that bird.”

On hearing the words of those girls, Devapanna was extremely distressed. “Alas! Alas!” He cried aloud getting up from his excellent royal seat.

Along with the ministers he went to the lake. Not Finding out any clue as to the path taken by the bird he swooned due to great sorrow.

6-15. All the citizens too became miserable due to the king’s sorrow. Presently the king was consoled by the ministers and the priests.

“What shall we do? What should be done at this juncture?” He said and had causultations with all of them.

Then he said: “I shall send to all directions the four divisions of the army with the full complement of elephants, horses and chariots.”

Drums and other instruments were played and everything was in a chaotic condition.

The king equipped himself and the armies with arrows, iron rods, shafts, swords, axes etc. He was as if swallowing the skies.

Neither Devas nor Gandharvas, neither Daityas nor Rākṣasas could guess what the king would do to vent his anger.

On seeing it the citizens too became dismayed in the mind. There were fourteen thousand elephants with their drivers equipped with goads and hooks. There were eighty thousand cavalry men with weapons in their hands. O leading scion of the family of Bharata, there were sixty thousand chariots. The dust particles kicked up by the hoofs rose up high into the sky along with the sounds of war drums.

O dear one, in the meantime the guard of the city met the king with her ornaments in his hand. All the ornaments of the various limbs were there such as earrings, armlets, bracelets, necklaces, anklets, etc.

He reported to the king: “On searching these were seen by me in the hermitage of the sages where Māṇḍavya surrounded by other sages is present.”

16-26. On hearing this report of the chief police officer and seeing the ornaments of the body of the princess clearly produced, the king became angry with reddened eyes. Looking at the ministers and the elite public he said: “Such a Brahmaṇa is living in my city, who indulges in the activity of a thief! Under the garb of a man of holy vows, he is stealing other people’s wealth. He must be a sinner in the guise of a sage by whom my daughter has been abducted.

“Assuming the form of a bird even as he was in the water, he went up into the sky. No sin is incurred if one kills heretics, a perpetrator of prejudicial (prohibited) activities, those who observe Biḍālavratas (hypocrites), rogues, flatterers, thieves and men of evil conduct. This sinner, thief and abductor of a virgin need not be seen (examined) by me in person. Let him be impaled on the stake immediately. There need not be any formal trial in his case. That wicked one is to be killed by me. He is a demon in the guise of an ascetic.”

Saying thus in anger he commanded the police officer and went away. Without taking into consideration what should be done and what should not be done, he got the Brāhmaṇa impaled on the stake.

All the citizens and the rural folk were filled with tears in their eyes. “Alas! Alas!” They said and cried. They told one another thus:

“A despicable act has been committed by the king acting like a Cāṇḍāla. A Brāhmaṇa should not be killed, especially when he is an ascetic. If any of his activities deserved anger he should be banished out of the city. Never should a Brāhmaṇa be killed even if he has indulged in all types of sins. He should be banished from the kingdom along with his entire property intact.” O king (Yudhiṣṭhira), none of the citizens took his food at home; there was no fire even in their houses. All of them were gloomy in mind and unmindful of their domestic duties.