It was a dark night and was raining from time to time.Gusts of wind shook the
trees. There were strange noises and in between the thunderclaps the moaning
of jackals could be heard.Flashes of lightning revealed fearsome faces and
there were strange and mysterious laughter of the spirits.
But inspite of such a weird atmosphere king Vikramaditya did not swerve a
bit. He climbed the ancient tree to bring the corpse down and soon he began
crossing the desolate cremation ground, with the corpse lying on his shoulder.
The Betaal that possessed the corpse spoke: "O King , I pity you as you are
making untiring efforts without relaxing as if you wish to achieve
something.Instead of enjoying a comfortable sleep on a cozy bed, you're still
coming after me. You seem to be quite adamant. Such arrogance may not help
you keep your promise if you had given one to anybody. You'll realize the
futility of the whole thing if only you listen to my story." And the vampire
began his narration.
Long long ago, Kanchannagar was being ruled by
King Chandradeep . His daughter was Indumati .
Being an only child, the princess was brought up
like a boy, and given training in the use of arms an
warfare. It was certain that whoever wed her would
also become the ruler of Kanchannagar. The princes
of many of the neighbouring kingdoms cherished a
desire to marry Indumati, who was, besides
everything else, extremely beautiful.
Whenever the king broached the subject of
marriage, Princess Indumati, would hesitate to
give him a definite answer, but one day Indumati said yes to his father, "Yes,
father, but...". The king stared at her , waiting for her to complete the
sentence.
" Whoever marries me must be strong and brave. And he must succeed in the
tests that I give." Indumati, then spelt out what kind of tests she was
contemplating for her suitors. The king was horrified. "Don't insist on any such test," he advised the
princess. " They're all hazardous. No one will come forward to undergo the
tests for fear their life. Just forget about them."
"Don't worry, father," Indumati, assured Chandradeep . " All those who
profess that they love me than their life will certainly take these tests. You just
watch!"
The king consulted his ministers.They came out with a suggestion. "If the
princess is determined to impose the tests, let her wish be carried out," said
the prime Minister. "But when we make the announcement, let us not spell out
the details. They will be let known only at time of the test."
Chandradeep agreed to the suggestion. The royal
announcement about the princess wedding merely stated
that the suitors would have to take certain tests.. The
announcement was made in all the neighbouring
kingdoms, including Jayanagar, where a young man
named Kurupshana heard it.
He had been born with both hands stunted. His mother
died soon after he was born, and his father took a
second wife. The boy was named Kurupshana, the ugly
looking.
His stepmother was not at all kind- hearted, and she ill- treated him much. It
was seldom that he even got a full meal. She knew that the boy, with his
handicap, would not be much use to her.
Kurupshana did not utter a word in protest or by way of complaint. But he
lamented within himself. 'Mother is always scolding & harassing me under
one pretext or other. Won't there be an end to all this? They feel that I'm no
good and I had better die! I must take this as a challenge and show them that I
too, can face life.'
He decided to go to Kanchannagar. Quite a few princes had by then assembled
at Kanchannagar. There were some young men, too, wishing to try their luck,
if the princes were to fail. They all spent their time guessing what kind of tests
the princess would put them through. Some of them thought it could bewrestling. Some others thought it could be their performance with the bow
and arrow.
The time came to announce the details of the tests. The King & Princess
Indumati came to the stage and sat next to the king, and on the other side of
the king sat the Prime Minister. He got up from his seat and faced the princely
suitors. " The contest is about to start! Several suitors are present here to win
the hand of princess Indumati. It is her wish that they are put to certain tests.
Whoever succeed in the test will qualify to wed her. You all can see the wall
in front of you. You have to climb the wall and jump down into the three-
tiered cage of sharp knives. The test is, while doing so, you must be careful
not to injure yourself. There should not be a single scratch on your body from
the blades of the knives. Whoever is willing to participate in the test may step
forward!"
Many princes rose from their seats, and went and took a good look at the high
wall as well as the cage of knives. One by they went back to their seats. The
wall looked too high for them; the cage was placed deep down below; and the
space between the knives was very small. They would not be able to jump
down without injuring themselves. None dared even to make an attempt.
As they went back to their seats, some of them protested. "What kind of test is
this? It could have been a sword- fight or wrestling or
archery, or any other of that kind. But not this! It is
almost trap from where one can't escape with one's
life. Why should any one sacrifice his life for the
hand of a mad princess in the world!"
It looked as though no suitor was willing to take the
test. The king was in a dilemma. He regretted that his
daughter did not accept his advice and desite from
insisting ontests.
Kurupshana was watching all this from his seat. suddenly a thought struck
him. After all, people back home, like his stepmother, were only wishing for
his death. If he were to succeed in the test by the grace of god, he stood to win
the hand of none else than a princess! So, why should he not try his luck? And if he were to die, nobody would
grieve over his fate. He left his seat and walked up to King Chandradeep .
"Your Majesty, can I have your permission to take the test?"
The king was shocked. Who was this ugly- looking handicapped youth?
Suppose he were to succeed in the test? His daughter would have to marry
him- according to the rules of the game. And if that happened, she would have
to spend the rest of her life in the company of a handicapped husband!
Princess Indumati, too, was in a similar dilemma. She was expecting to be
married off to a prince, brave, daring and handsome. But look at this ugly
youth! Would it be her fate to become his wife? She regretted she ever
thought of tests for her suitors.
Suddenly a doubt arose in her mind: would this young man be able to climb
that high wall? How would he avoid a scratch while jumping into the cage
when he had no hands to guide him through the sharp knives? She almost
concluded that he would only meet with his end
if he were to be foolish enough to attempt
jumping down from the wall. King Chandradeep
waited for a moment to know his daughter's
reaction, and then gave the permission to
Kurupshana.
Kurupshana went up the wall and asked the soldiers to take him to the top of
the wall.
He then took a good look at the cage and jumped down. He landed between
the knives arrayed all around on all the three tiers. He was unscrathed! A loud
cheer arose from the audience.
The cage was slowly raised, to allow the young man to come out. He then
walked towards the king and the princess. Their face had gone a milky white.
Kurupshana realised their predicament. "O King! Please don't worry. I didn't
wish to marry the princess. I had only wanted to take a challenge and I know
I've succeeded.
That itself is a big reward of my life and I can now face life." He bowed low
before the king and retreated.The vampire ended his narration there and turned to
King Vikramaditya. " O King! Didn't Kurupshana
behave like a foolish? If he had no intention of
marrying the princess, why did he at all decide to
undergo the test?
And after having succeeded in the test and qualified to
wed the princess, why did not want to marry her? What was the reward he was
referring to when he said he didn't want to aspire for anything
more? If you know the answer and still decide not to satisfy me,
beware, your head will be blown to pieces!
""True, Kurupshana was a handicapped young man," said the
king. " He was fully aware of his handicap that bothered his
stepmother. He really wished that she changed her opinion
about him. She should not any longer feel that he was no good.
Instead she should know that where people with no handicap had failed, he
could, despite his handicap, come out a victor.
That, for him, was the biggest reward he could aspire for. He decided to
undergo the hazardous test not with the hope of marrying a princess. If he
married her, he would one day be called upon to rule the kingdom. But as a
ruler, he wouldn't be able even to hold sword.
If that was the case, it wouldn't be proper for him to marry her. That was why
he gave up his claim to her hand. It was not any act of a foolish person. On the
contrary, it was the decision of an intelligent, wise person."
Betaal knew that king will definitely speak out the answer
so he flew back to the ancient tree carrying the corpse along
with him.
Vikramaditya drew his sword and went after the Betaal.