India Folk Tales
Harisarman
HERE
was a certain Brahman in a certain village, named Harisarman. He was
poor and foolish and in evil case for want of employment, and he had
very many children, that he might reap the fruit of his misdeeds in a
former life.
He wandered about begging with his family, and at
last he reached a certain city, and entered the service of a rich
householder called Sthuladatta. His sons became keepers of
Sthuladatta's cows and other property, and his wife a servant to him,
and he himself lived near his house, performing the duty of an
attendant. One day there was a feast on account of the marriage of the
daughter of Sthuladatta, largely attended by many friends of the
bridegroom, and merry-makers. Harisarman hoped that he would be able to
fill himself up to the throat with ghee and flesh and other dainties,
and get the same for his family, in the house of his patron. While he
was anxiously expecting to be fed, no one thought of him.
Then
he was distressed at getting nothing to eat, and he said to his wife at
night, "It is owing to my poverty and stupidity that I am treated with
such disrespect here; so I will pretend by means of an artifice to
possess a knowledge of magic, so that I may become an object of respect
to this Sthuladatta; so, when you get an opportunity, tell him that I
possess magical knowledge." He said this to her, and after turning the
matter over in his mind, while people were asleep he took away from the
house of Sthuladatta a horse on which his master's son-in-law rode. He
placed it in concealment at some distance, and in the morning the
friends of the bridegroom could not find the horse, though they
searched in every direction. Then, while Sthuladatta was distressed at
the evil omen, and searching, for the thieves who had carried off the
horse, the wife of Harisarman came and said to him, "My husband is a
wise man, skilled in astrology and magical sciences; he can get the
horse back for you; why do you not ask him?" When Sthuladatta heard
that, he called Harisarman, who said, "Yesterday I was forgotten, but
to-day, now the horse is stolen, I am called to mind," and Sthuladatta
then propitiated the Brahman with these words--" I forgot you, forgive
me "--and asked him to tell him who had taken away their horse. Then
Harisarman drew all kinds of pretended diagrams, and said: "The horse
has been placed by thieves on the boundary line south from this place.
It is concealed there, and before it is carried off to a distance, as
it will be at close of day, go quickly and bring it." When they heard
that, many men ran and brought the horse quickly, praising the
discernment of Harisarman. Then Harisarman was honoured by all men as a
sage, and dwelt there in happiness, honoured by Sthuladatta.
Now,
as days went on, much treasure, both of gold and jewels, had been
stolen by a thief from the palace of the king. As the thief was not
known, the king quickly summoned Harisarman on account of his
reputation for knowledge of magic. And he, when summoned, tried to gain
time, and said, "I will tell you to-morrow," and then he was placed in
a chamber by the king, and carefully guarded. And he was sad because he
had pretended to have knowledge. Now in that palace there was a maid
named Jihva (which means Tongue), who, with the assistance of her
brother, had stolen that treasure from the interior of the palace. She,
being alarmed at Harisarman's knowledge, went at night and applied her
ear to the door of that chamber in order to find out what he was about.
And Harisarman, who was alone inside, was at that very moment blaming
his own tongue, that had made a vain assumption of knowledge. He said:
"O Tongue, what is this that you have done through your greediness?
Wicked one, you will soon receive punishment in full." When Jihva heard
this, she thought, in her terror, that she had been discovered by this
wise man, and she managed to get in where he was, and falling at his
feet, she said to the supposed wizard:
"Brahman, here I am, that
Jihva whom you have discovered to be the thief of the treasure, and
after I took it I buried it in the earth in a garden behind the palace,
under a pomegranate tree. So spare me, and receive the small quantity
of gold which is in my possession."
When Harisarman heard that, he said to her proudly:
"Depart,
I know all this; I know the past, present and future; but I will not
denounce you, being a miserable creature that has implored my
protection. But whatever gold is in your possession you must give back
to me." When he said this to the maid, she consented, and departed
quickly. But Harisarman reflected in his astonishment: "Fate brings
about, as if in sport, things impossible, for when calamity was so
near, who would have thought chance would have brought us success?
While I was blaming my jihva, the thief Jihva suddenly flung herself at
my feet. Secret crimes manifest themselves by means of fear." Thus
thinking, he passed the night happily in the chamber. And in the
morning he brought the king, by some skilful parade of pretended
knowledge into the garden, and led him up to the treasure, which was
buried under the pomegranate free, and said that the thief had escaped
with a part of it. Then the king was pleased, and gave him the revenue
of many villages.
But the minister, named Devajnanin, whispered
in the king's ear: "How can a man possess such knowledge unattainable
by men, without having studied the books of magic; you may be certain
that this is a specimen of the way he makes a dishonest livelihood, by
having a secret intelligence with thieves. It will be much better to
test him by some new artifice." Then the king of his own accord brought
a covered pitcher into which he had thrown a frog, and said to
Harisarman, "Brahman, if you can guess what there is in this pitcher, I
will do you great honour to-day." When the Brahman Harisarman heard
that, he thought that his last hour had come, and he called to mind the
pet name of "Froggie" which his father had given him in his childhood
in sport, and, impelled by luck, he called to himself by his pet name,
lamenting his hard fate, and suddenly called out: "This is a fine
pitcher for you, Froggie; it will soon become the swift destroyer of
your helpless self." The people there, when they heard him say that,
raised a shout of applause, because his speech chimed in so well with
the object presented to him, and murmured, "Ah! a great sage, be knows
even about the frog!" Then the king, thinking that this was all due to
knowledge of divination, was highly delighted, and gave Harisarman the
revenue of more villages, with gold, an umbrella, and state carriages
of all kinds. So Harisarman prospered in the world.
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