1. The main plot of the Tilakamanjari

276 CHAPTER EIGHT A THE PLOT AND THE MOTIFS—The plot of the Tilakamanjari of Dhanapala comprises two chief narratives :(i) the love-story of Harivahana and Tilakamanjari ; and (ii) that of Samaraketu and Malayasundari. The story deals with two births of both these pairs of the heroes and the heroines ; but the incidents covered in the Tilakamanjari of Dhanapala mostly refer to the human birth of both these pairs. Of the two heroes, Harivahana is a human prince by birth but later on wins Vidyadharahood, while Samarakety is a human being throughout. Of the heroines, Tilakamanjari is purely a divine -Vidyadhara damsel, while Malayasundari is semi-divine being a child of a Vidyadhara mother and a human father. Thus the equation covering the two births of both the pairs of the heroes and the heroines will be : Vaimanika god Jvalanaprabha Vaimanika god Sumali Priyangusundari Priyamvada ---- Prince Harivahana; Prince Samaraketu; Tilakamanjari . Malayasundari. Let us now separate the two narratives and see how they are blended and at what points.

277 I : THE MAIN PLOT :The main plot consisting of the love-affair of Harivahana and Tilakamanjari treads along the following course King Meghavahana of Ayodhya meets the Vidyadhara Muni who confers on him the Aparajita Vidya and advises him to worship the goddess Sri in order to obtain a male child to inherit his throne. During the course of his worship the king visits the holy Sakravatara temple of Lord Rsabha where he meets the Vaimanika god Jvalanaprabha who presents to him the Candratapa necklace. When the king offers the necklace at the feet of the image of the goddess sri, there appears a Vetala who puts the king to a severe test of making him offer his head in his propitiation. But the king passes the test successfully and the goddess presents to the king a ring named Balaruna and confers on him a boon as a result of which queen Madiravati gives birth to Prince Harivahana. This part of the story serves as the background of the main-plot concerning Harivahana. Even then the characters like the Vidyadhara Muni, god Jualanaprabha, the incidents of the Aparajita Vidya, the Bandratapa necklace, the Vetala who is really the Yaksa attendant of the goddess 1 Sri, the Balaruna ring presented by her to King Meghavahana

- 278 all these characters or motifs are so skillfully introduced that one does not easily realize their significance till the story progresses to a considerable length. The Balaruna ring is sent by Meghavahana to Vajrayudha his Commander-in-chief who has started on a campaign against King Kusumasekhara of Kanci. Meghavahana's army is attacked during the night by Samaraketu (the son of King Candraketu of the Sinhala country) who has come to Kanci to assist him against Vajrayudha. Samaraketu's forces are routed due to the magic power of the Balaruna ring and Samaraketu is captured alive. The mystic power of the ring inspires him to pay a visit to King Meghavahana, who appoints him as the principal friend of Prince Harivahana. * Prince Harivahana falls in love with Tilakamanjari at the sight of her portrait which is presented to him by Gandharvaka who leaves him with a promise to return after delivering a message to the Vidyadhara King VicitravIrya and to Gandharvadatta. But Gandharvaka does not return and Harivahana feels restless and love-lorn. At last he sets out on a sight-seeing tour of his father's domain during which on the strength of his musical talent he tries to tame a mad elephant which flies and kidnaps him to Vidyadhara region of Mount Ekasriga. Suspecting some some superhuman agency under the guise of the flying

- 279 elephant he takes out his dagger at the sight of which the beast suddenly dives, along with Harivahana, into the waters of the Adrstapara lake and disappeared. Harivahana swims to the shore and reflects on this strange experience. As he sets out to search in some direction for a village or a town, he notices a row of footsteps from amongst which a particular delicate pair attracts his attention. As he follows it up, he reaches near a Cardamom bower in which he sees a dazzling girl. She, however, does not speak even a single word with him inspite of his assurance of due courtesy, and goes away. The prince then remembers her to be the one whose portrait was presented to him by Gandharvaka. Having roamed in the forest in search of the girl he returnsk to the bower where he passes the night. Next morning he follows the row of the foot-steps again and reaches a monastery where he meets an ascetic girl Malayasundari who takes him to her residence and on his enquiry relates her account og love with Samaraketu and her vicissitudes. Harivahana consoles her with the assrance that Samaraketu was living. As he expresses a wish to send a message, a parrot comes down from a nearby tree and accepts in human tongue to undertake the task. Next

280 morning when he is sitting in the hermitage with Malayasundari, there comes a message from love-sick Tilakamanjari calling the former to her. Malayasundari, however, excuses herself from seeing her on the ground that she has got to attend a distinguished guest like Harivahana. This brings Tilakamanjari to the monastery, where she offers a Tambula to the prince, and invites him to her Tambula palace. All of them go there in procession and stay there for some time. Tilakamanjari gives a divine cloak to Harivahana to enable him to see the city unnoticed by anybody. On touching the magic cloak the parrot in his lap is transformed into a man who turns out to be Gandharvaka who brings the news about Samaraketu and a message from him for Malayasundari.Harivahana sets out with Citramaya in search of Samaraketu and comes to Ayodhya in an aeroplane provided by Tilakamanjari. On reaching Ayodhya he comes to know that Samaraketu has left in his search after the incident of the strange mad elephant. Harivahana also arrives at the place from where the elephant kidnapped him, and continues the search of Samaraketu. Meanwhile Citramaya returns to Tilakamanjari, whom he informs about what has happened. Tilakamanjari deputes Gandharvaka with Citramaya and a troop of thousand Vidyadhana

281 soldiers to help Harivahana and bring him back to the divine hermitage where she awaits the prince's arrival. Harivahana prefers to camp at the Lahitya mountain and carries on the search operation therefrom with the help of the Vidyadhara soldiers. One day, the traesurer brings to him the Candratapa necklace and the Balaruna ring from Meghavahana. Harivahana sends both these things to Tilakamanjari and Malayasundari, as presents. Next morning arrives Caturika with a letter from dying disillusioned Tilakamanjari, who is reminded of her past birth and hence conveys her inability to proceed further in love with Harivahana. The prince is now desperate and out to end his life from over a precipice, when he happens to see the competition of a Vidyadhara couple to die first. Harivahana takes mercy on them and promises to attain divine powers on their behalf and undertakes the mystic penance lasting for six months, at the end of which he attains Vidyadharahood and is coronated as the emperor of the Vidyadharas northern Vaitadhnan range. of the Tilakamanjari, on the other hand, loses all hopes of meeting Harivahana again as she remembers, at the sight of the necklace, Jvalanaprabha as ther lover in the former birth and starts on a pilgrimage during which she meets

282 the Maharsi who reveals to her the identity of Harivahana with Jvalanaprabha and of herself with Priyangusundari in the previous birth. Harivahana enquires about Tilakamanjari just before his coronation and immediately proceeds to meet her. Both are then happily married together in due course. Meghavahana passes on to him the kingdom of Ayodhya and all live together happily.