Story 126 - The Story Of The Seven Wicked Women

^[1]

IN a certain country, when seven elder sisters and younger sisters, fastening on bangles (at-wael) are going along, a woman having been near the well asked,

“Where are they^[2] going ?”

Then the seven elder sisters and younger sisters said,

“We are going to seek for ourselves seven elder brothers and younger brothers.”

Then this woman said,

“There are seven elder brothers and younger brothers of mine.”

Having said,

“Let us go, if so, to our house,”

and having gone calling the seven persons and sent them to seven houses (rooms), she lowered [from the corn store] seven [mat] boxes of paddy, and gave them.

The seven persons having boiled the paddy, and said,

“Sister-in-law, look after this”^[3]

and spread it out to dry, the seven went for firewood.

Having gone there they spoke,

“ Let us find a means^[4] of killing sister-in-law.”

There was a Brown Monkey (rilawa); catching the monkey they brought it home.

This younger sister having gone to sleep and a great rain having rained, all the paddy was washed away.^[5] When those seven persons having come looked, all the paddy had been washed away.

After that, the seven persons again having lowered paddy [from the corn-store], when they were pounding the paddy raw (lit., hard) that younger sister awoke. Having awoke thus, she asked at the hand of those seven,

“Sister-in-law, is there cooked rice ?”

Then the women said,

“Is there cooked rice in our hand ? It is in the cooking pot, isn’t it ?”

The women having previously (lit., betimes) broken up bits of potsherds, and put them in the drinking kettle, and put it away, are pounding paddy.

Afterwards that sister-in-law having gone and eaten the cooked rice, and said,

“Sister-in-law, give me water,”

these women said,

“Is it in our hand ? It is in the house, in the drinking kettle; take it and drink.”

Afterwards the sister-in-law having taken the drinking kettle, when she was drinking the water the pieces of potsherds stuck in her throat.

These seven persons spoke,

“Should that one’s elder brothers come, indeed, we shall be unable to kill her. Before they come let us kill her.”

Having spoken thus, and having put the sister-in-law and that monkey into a bag and tied it, they hung it at the ridge pole. Having hung it, after the seven persons were pounding paddy the seven strike seven blows with the rice pestles at the bag. At the number they are striking, that monkey, jumping and jumping, scratches that woman who is in the bag. He having scratched her, afterwards blood descends from the bag.

Then the seven persons having said,

“Now then, it is bad [for her] to be [thus]; having released her let us put her down,”

having unfastened the bag, put down the sister-in-law at the veranda.

Then the sister-in-law’s elder brothers came home. Having come there the eldest brother asked,

“Where is our younger sister ?”

Then these seven women said,

“We don’t know. Having gone behind Rodiyas, and her caste having [thus] fallen, there! she is weeping and weeping in the direction of the veranda.”

Afterwards the eldest elder brother having gone,

“What, younger sister, happened to you?”

he asked at the hand of the younger sister.

The younger sister cannot speak, because a sharp piece of potsherd has stuck in her throat. The whole seven elder brothers having gone, spoke [to her].

Because she did not speak, the eldest elder brother said,

“Who can cut [and kill] this younger sister ?”

The whole five other elder brothers said they could not; the young elder brother said,

“I indeed can.”

Having said it, causing them to cook a bundle of rice, calling the younger sister also, and taking the sword, and taking the bundle of cooked rice, he went [with her] to a forest jungle (himalekata).

Having gone there he said to the younger sister,

“Younger sister, [for me] to look for lice on your head lie down.”

Afterwards the younger sister lay down; well then, the elder brother began to smash the lice. Then sleep went to the younger sister.

Afterwards the elder brother having placed the younger sister’s head very softly on the ground, and having cut a Rat-snake on the path he was coming on, [after] smearing the blood on the sword he showed the sword to the people who were at home.

Afterwards that younger sister having awoke, when she looked her elder brother was not [there], in the midst of the forest. Well then, weeping and weeping, taking also the bundle of cooked rice, having bounded to a path she began to go.

Having gone thus,—-there is a city called “The City the Rakshasa eats”; there is an alms-hall at that city,—-having gone, she arrived there. There, having eaten that bundle of cooked rice, and having joined herself to the people who are giving alms, she began to give alms.

The eyes of the whole of these seven elder brothers and seven women became blind. After that, news reached those persons that there is an alms-hall of the city the Rakshasa eats. After that, they very fourteen persons went near the alms-hall.

That sister-in-law also having gone in a diga [marriage], has borne a child also. She having given food to this party, when that sister-in-law and the sister-in-law’s child were preparing (lit., making) to sleep, the child said to the sister-in-law,

“Mother, for me to hear it tell me a story.”

Then the sister-in-law [said],

“Son, what do I know ? I will tell you the things indeed that happened to me.”

So the son said,

“It is good, tell them.”

Afterwards she told him all the matters that occurred to this sister-in-law.

Those seven elder brothers having heard the things she says, and having said,

“Ane ! Our younger sister to-day is relating our grandeur !”

as soon as they gave the salutation “Sadhu !” the eyes of the whole seven elder brothers became clear.

The eyes of the seven women did not become clear. The seven elder brothers also stayed at the very city at which is the younger sister. The seven women having been in much hunger they went and died.

Finished.

North-western Province.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The text is given at the end of vol. iii, as an illustration of the usual conversational style in the villages.

[2]:

Third person for second, in an honorific sense; she was speaking to the women.

[3]:

Lit., “these.” the word for paddy being plural, like that for rice.

[4]:

Upaharana in the text, apparently intended for upakarana.

[5]:

Agare giya ; agaraya is a drainage area. The meaning is that the flow of the flood water over the ground carried away the paddy, which would be spread on mats laid on the ground.