The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story

There lives in this very city a Bráhman named Agniśarman, the son of Somaśarman; whom his parents loved as their life, but who was a fool and ignorant of every branch of knowledge. He married the daughter of a Bráhman in the city of Vardhamána; but her father, who was rich, would not let her leave his house, on the ground that she was a mere child.

And when she grew up, Agniśarman’s parents said to him, “Son, why do you not now go and fetch your wife?” When Agniśarman heard that, the stupid fellow went off alone to fetch her, without taking leave of his parents. When he left his house a partridge appeared on his right hand, and a jackal howled on his left hand, a sure prophet of evil.8 And the fool welcomed the omen saying, “Hail! Hail!” and when the deity presiding over the omen heard it, she laughed at him unseen. And when he reached his father-in-law’s place, and was about to enter it, a partridge appeared on his right, and a jackal on his left, boding evil. And again he welcomed the omen, exclaiming “Hail! Hail!” and again the goddess of the omen, hearing it, laughed at him unseen. And that goddess presiding over the omen said to herself, “Why, this fool welcomes bad luck as if it were good! So I must give him the luck which he welcomes, I must contrive to save his life.” While the goddess was going through these reflections, Agniśarman entered his father-in-law’s house, and was joyfully welcomed. And his father-in-law and his family asked him, why he had come alone, and he answered them, “I came without telling any one at home.”

Then he bathed and dined in the appropriate manner, and when night came on, his wife came to his sleeping apartment adorned. But he fell asleep fatigued with the journey; and then she went out to visit a paramour of hers, a thief, who had been impaled. But, while she was embracing his body, the demon that had entered it, bit off her nose; and she fled thence in fear. And she went and placed an unsheathed9 dagger at her sleeping husband’s side; and cried out loud enough for all her relations to hear, “Alas! Alas! I am murdered; this wicked husband of mine has got up and without any cause actually cut off my nose.” When her relations heard that, they came, and seeing that her nose was cut off, they beat Agniśarman with sticks and other weapons. And the next day they reported the matter to the king, and by his orders they made him over to the executioners, to be put to death, as having injured his innocent wife.

But when he was being taken to the place of execution, the goddess presiding over that omen, who had seen the proceedings of his wife during the night, said to herself, “This man has reaped the fruit of the evil omens, but as he said, ‘Hail! Hail!’ I must save him from execution.” Having thus reflected, the goddess exclaimed unseen from the air, “Executioners, this young Bráhman is innocent; you must not put him to death: go and see the nose between the teeth of the impaled thief.” When she had said this, she related the proceedings of his wife during the night. Then the executioners, believing the story, represented it to the king by the mouth of the warder, and the king, seeing the nose between the teeth of the thief, remitted the capital sentence passed on Agniśarman, and sent him home; and punished that wicked wife, and imposed a penalty on her relations10 also.

“Such, king, is the character of women.” When that minister had said this, King Vikramáditya approved his saying, exclaiming, “So it is.” Then the cunning Múladeva, who was near the king, said, “King, are there no good women, though some are bad? Are there no mango-creepers, as well as poisonous creepers? In proof that there are good women, hear what happened to me.”