Story of Ghaṭa

A notorious thief. He had a friend called Karpara. They were jointly known as Ghāṭakarparas. Once both the friends went to commit theft. Leaving Ghaṭa at the door-steps Karpara entered the chamber of the princess who after enjoying sexual pleasures with him gave him some money asking him to repeat such visits in future. Karpara told Ghaṭa all that had happened and handed over to him the money which the princess had given him. Karpara went again to the princess. But, owing to the weariness caused by the night’s enjoyment both the princess and he slept till late in the morning. Meantime the palace guards found out the secret and took the lovers into custody. Karpara was sentenced to death and led out to be hanged. Ghaṭa was present on the spot and Karpara asked him secretly to save the princess. Accordingly Ghaṭa, without anybody knowing about it, took the princess over to his house.

The King ordered enquiries about the absence of the princess. Under the natural presumption that some relation or other of Karpara alone might have carried away his daughter the King ordered the guards of Karpara’s corpse to arrest anybody who approached the corpse and expressed grief. Ghaṭa came to know of this secret order of the King. Next day evening Ghaṭa posing himself as a drunkard and with a servant disguised as* a woman walking in front and with another servant carrying rice mixed with dhatūrā (a poisonous fruit) following him came to the guards keeping watch over Karpara’s body. Ghaṭa gave the poisoned rice to the guards who after eating it swooned under the effect. Ghaṭa used the opportunity to burn the corpse of Karpara there itself. After that Ghaṭa disappeared.

The King then deputed new guards to watch over the funeral pyre of Karpara as he anticipated some one to come to pick his charred bones from the pyre. But, Ghaṭa put the guards into a swoon by a mantra he had learned from a sannyāsin and went away with the bones of his friend.

Realising now that further stay there was not safe Ghaṭa left the place with the princess and the sannyāsin. But, the princess, who had already fallen in love with the sannyāsin poisoned Ghaṭa to death.

*) According to certain Purānas Ghaṇṭākarṇas are two individuals, Ghaṇṭa and Karṇa. The term Ghaṇṭākarṇa—singular number-is used because the brothers were inseparable from each other.