The Painter of Cats - Part Four

 

Kihachi was very tired and he went to sleep immediately in the small cramped place.

However, in the middle of the night, there was a terrifying sound in the middle of the night. To the young Kihachi it seemed like there were ogres fighting in the main temple. Kihachi was terrified to look through the peephole and see what was happening and he lay there just waiting for all the sound to pass.

There were some terrible screams and then suddenly everything went quiet.

In the morning, Kihachi decided to ring the bells of the temple to let the priests know that he was here and had cleaned the place.

The bells sounded loud and rang throughout and Kihachi saw people gather below and come towards the temple.

After that Kihachi decided to see what happened to the cats that he had drawn and Kihachi was in for the biggest shock of his life.

There was a pool of blood and there was the huge rat lying dead and the rat was big as a cow.

Kihachi wondered what had happened here and what he had heard last night.

Kihachi was even more shocked because all the cats that he had drawn were covered in blood now.

A second later, Kihachi realized the truth. 

The rat was a goblin and somehow the cats that Kihachi had drawn had come alive at night and killed the rat goblin.

Adapted from Japanese Folktales

The Painter of Cats - Part Three

Kihachi kept walking until his legs were sore. It was dark when he came upon a deserted temple.

Kihachi saw dust and cobwebs everywhere and wondered why no one had cleaned it.

A second later Kihachi decided that he would clean the temple. He guessed that the temple disciples had gone out and they would be very happy with him if he kept the place clean when they got back.

Soon the temple was clean and gleaming.

Kihachi rested after his work was done and there he saw a large screen inside the place. Naturally Kihachi picked out his drawing kit and started drawing cats on the screen.

Kihachi was lost in his paintings and did not know that it was dark outside.

However, when Kihachi sat back, he was shocked to find that he was the only one in the huge temple. He was scared because his footsteps and breath were the only thing that could be heard anywhere. 

In his anxiety, Kihachi remembered the parting words of the priest - ‘Not to take shelter in a huge place’.

Kihachi realized that the temple was a huge place and he looked around for a smaller place to rest for the night. 

In the walls of the temple, he found a small recess and slipped into it.

There was just enough space inside it for Kihachi to sleep.

Kihachi was grateful for it and went to sleep there.

Adapted from Japanese Folktales

The Painter of Cats - Part Two

Kihachi’s parents spoke with the priest in the temple and asked him to teach Kihachi.

The priest made Kihachi sit and asked him many questions. Kihachi gave very clever answers and the priest was thrilled. “This boy is meant to be great.” The priest told Kihachi’s parents. “Let him be here and I will teach him all that he needs to know about being a priest.”

Kihachi stayed in the temple and studied what the priests studied. He woke up very early and watched the fog break over Mountain Fuji and then in the evening, he collected flowers. He learnt many books and studied hard.

But Kihachi still drew cats. He drew them on the books, the scrolls of the temples and everywhere else too.

Soon the priest was very unhappy when he saw it.

Not being able to take it anymore, the priest called Kihachi. “I am sorry Kihachi, but you will never be a good priest. You will be a good artist but not a priest. Here is a bag of rice. Take it and leave the place.” The priest nodded at Kihachi. “May good fortune go with you.” The priest took a deep breath. “The only advice I can give you is that when it becomes dark, do not stay at big places, but get shelter in small places.”

Kihachi was shocked when he heard this. He did not know what to do now. He was afraid to tell all this to his parents and decided to walk away from the temple to some place where artists would be appreciated. 

He took the bag of rice and kept walking away from the temple.

Adapted from the Japanese Folktales

The Painter of Cats - Part One

In a little village there was a little boy called Kihachi. The boy was very clever, polite and kind too. But there was one strange thing about the boy. The boy would draw life-like cats all the time. Worse, he did nothing other than draw cats.

Instead of studying at school, Kihachi would draw cats. Even when the other children were playing, Kihachi would spend his time drawing cats. At home, when Kihachi’s brothers and sisters slept, Kihachi would draw cats on the paper partition in the room.

There seemed to be no end to this, as Kihachi draw cats on his clothes too.

This annoyed Kihachi’s mother. She took the boy to Kihachi’s father. “Our other children have all learnt something useful. Our other sons help you on the farm and our daughter helps me at home. This boy does nothing and his school teacher also says that he does not learn much at school. We have to do something about him.”

Kihachi’s father was perplexed. Kihachi was very polite, but if he did not learn anything useful, Kihachi’s father did not know what to do.

Finally, both the parents decided that Kihachi would make a good priest.

Kihachi’s parents decided to take Kihachi to a temple so that he would forget his cats there.

Adapted from Japanese Folktales

Indivarsena and Anicchasena - Part Eight

King Parityaganesa and Queen Adhikasangama were thrilled to know that their sons were alive and well.

After spending a few days at Sailapura, Anicchasena then decided to go back to his brother’s kingdom.

When Anicchasena came back he was shocked to see that his brother was lying senseless and Khadgadamstra was crying beside Indivarsena’s unconscious body.

“What happened?”

“After you left, I saw your brother with another woman. I was so envious that I threw Indivarsena’s sword into the fire, when he was asleep.” Khadgadamastra looked shocked. “Once I did that, I think the sword lost its power and your brother has been lying senseless since then. You came just as I had been wondering what to do.”

The stunned Anicchasena wondered what to do when he heard the voice of the Goddess around him. “Indivarsena is not dead. If you bring the sword’s power back then your brother will come back to his senses.”

Anicchasena was sure he knew what to do and he took the sword, his brother and put it all in the vimana - the flying chariot.

Anicchasena then flew to the temple of Goddess Vindhyavasini where his brother had obtained the sword.

As soon as they all reached the temple, Anicchasena saw that there was no change in his brother at all.

Disappointed, Anicchasena decided that he would sacrifice himself to the Goddess so that the Goddess would give life to his brother.

Just as Anicchasena was about to kill himself, Goddess Vindhyavasini appeared before him. “I was angry with your brother because he had been careless with the sword. But looking at the devotion that you have towards your brother, I am willing to forget all that. I will power back to the sword and that will bring your brother back to life.”

Indivarsena then came back to life with his sword in his hands.

The two princes then went back to spreading the borders of their father’s kingdom and brought home countless treasures and remained undefeated throughout their lives.

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara

Indivarsena and Anicchasena - Part Seven

The beautiful young girl near the Rakshasa wanted Indivarsena to cut the Rakshasa’s head in two halves so that it could not grow again.

Indivarsena looked for some opening and attacked the Rakshasa.

This time, he was successful and did exactly what the young girl wanted him to do.

After that, the Rakshasa’s head did not regrow and he fell dead.

That was when the two princes learnt the story of the two women.

The older woman was Madanadamstra and she was the wife of King Virabhuja, who had been the previous ruler of Sailapura. The Rakshasa had killed the previous king and kept his wife and his own.

The younger woman was Khadgamastra. She was the younger sister of the Rakshasa, but she was human and she was madly in love with the prince after a single glance at him.

Khadgamastra wanted Indivarsena to marry her.

Indivarsena agreed to this.

The two of them married and the two princes ruled the kingdom of Sailapura helped both by the power of the magic sword and the fact that Khadgamastra could do magic as she had Rakshasa blood in her.

After ruling the new kingdom for some days, the two princes thought of their parents back in their own kingdom.

Using the power of magic, a flying chariot had been created and Indivarsena sent his younger brother Anicchasena to his parents to tell them that all was well with them.

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara

Indivarsena and Anicchasena - Part Six

The two princes performed meditation towards Goddess Ambika because of the Goddess, neither felt hunger and thirst.

Indivarsena had a dream after meditation. Goddess Vindyavasini gave him a sword. “Use this sword and you will be able to defeat any of your enemies and fulfill all your wishes.”

Indivarsena woke up and found a powerful sword near the idol of the Goddess.

The two princes were overjoyed as Indivarsena told Anicchasena about his dream.

Indivarsena took the sword and the two brothers left the temple and walked towards the edge of the forest.

There they saw a huge kingdom with golden palaces.

The front gate of the kingdom was guarded by a huge monstrous rakshasa.

“Who are you?” The Rakshasa bellowed angrily at the two princes.

“We are princes and we wish to enter…”

“The kingdom of Sailapura belongs to Yamadamstra, who is also a Rakshasa, like me!” The monster yelled again. “I will not let anyone enter the kingdom.”

Indivarsena had a massive fight with the Rakshasa, but Indivarsena won the fight because of the sword in his hand. 

After that, the two brothers entered the kingdom. 

There in the main palace, they found another Rakshasa sitting beside two women - an old elegant looking woman and a younger beautiful woman. The two women looked human and were not Rakshasis.

Looking at the sword in Indivarsena, the Rakshasa in the middle was furious and he attacked the princes.

A furious fight followed. But no matter how many times Indivarsena beheaded the Rakshasa, the Rakshasa’s head grew back.

Indivarsena wondered what to do when the younger beautiful lady signaled Indivarsena.

Indivarsena realized what it meant and attacked the Rakshasa again with renewed will.

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagar

Indivarsena and Anicchasena - Part Five

 

The vassal king searched the camp and found that the princes and minister were missing. 

The kings realized that the king would be furious with them for not being able to follow the directions in the letter. 

Deciding to talk to King Parityaganesa about it, the vassal king took the letter and handed it to the king and how they had not been able to follow it because Parathamasangama had helped the princes escape.

The king was shocked to see the letter. “How can you assume that I sent such a letter? I had both my sons after a penance to Goddess Chandika. There is no way I would want to hurt them.”

One thing led to another and King Parityaganesa came to know all about the scribe and Queen Kavyalankara’s doing. 

The scribe realized that his fraud had been found out and tried to escape. But he was caught and punished.

Queen Kavyalankara was put in a dark cell for her deeds.

Turning to practical matters, the king changed the vassal kings who had believed in these foolish things and then sent his spies to every single place to know what he could about his sons and his minister.

Meanwhile a lot had happened to the two princes in the temple of Goddess Chandika.

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara

Indivarsena and Anicchasena - Part Four

Prathamasangama told the two princes what the king’s vassal was about to do based on the letter of the king.

The two princes were shocked and could not believe that their own father would want them dead especially after they were so successful.

Their grandfather looked grave. “I think there is some misunderstanding. But we do not have time to discuss this. I have procured some good horses for the three of us. We shall leave this place and get into the Vindhya forests far away from here.”

The two princes realized the wisdom in the old man’s words and took the horses.

The three of them drove the horses non-stop through the night and by afternoon of the next day, the three of them had reached the thick Vindhya forests.

But this took a dangerous turn.

The horses could not survive the continuous run and fell dead. Worse, the old Prathamasangama could not survive this too. He too ended up dead.

The two princes were heartbroken.

But then realized that they had to go on. They were thirsty, hungry and weak and were in the dense forests of Vindhya.

That was when the two princess remembered the words of their father - that they were born because of the blessings of Goddess Chandika.

Initially, the princes did not want to believe the words of their father, who had wanted them dead. But the two princes prayed to the Goddess anyway.

The Goddess heard their prayer and immediately made the two princes free of hunger and thirst.

The two princes were delighted by this and walked to the temple of Goddess Vindhyavasini and thanked the Goddess there.

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara

Indivarsena and Anicchasena - Part Three

Now that the two princes had been successful in their battles and had expanded their kingdom, many vassals of the king Parityaganesa accompanied the two princes in their future battles.

The King through his messenger had been about to send a congratulatory message to his princes and that was when Queen Kavyalankara showed what she was capable of.

She bribed the ministerial scribe and asked him to write a letter pretending to be from the king. The letter was addressed to a vassal of King Parityaganesa to the effect that the two sons were becoming exceedingly proud of themselves and had to be stopped at all counts. The forged letter read that King Parityaganesa wanted the vassal to kill the two princes.

After getting the letter written, Kavyalankara bribed the messenger to carry this letter along with the congratulatory message to deliver the same to one of the vassals accompanying the princes.

All went according to plan and the vassal received the ‘letter’ from Parityaganesa asking him to kill the two princes.

The vassal was shocked when he read this, but he could not find any proof of any deceit in the letter.

Finally having no choice, the vassal decided to do as the king had ordered him to do.

However, Prathamasangama, the king’s minister and the grandfather of the two princes, came to know what the vassal had been about to do.

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara

The Two Kinds of Fortune - Part Two

 

Yasovarman first went to the house of Arthavarman. Arthavarman had acquired a lot of wealth in the form of gold, jewels and many other precious things, and all these adorned his beautiful huge house. Arthavarman had earned all this money by his business transactions.

Yasovarman approached this man with great politeness. Arthavarman was pleased with him and welcomed him to his house and invited him to dinner.

As he sat by the side of Arthavarman , the food was served to both of them. Rich food came to Yasovarman’s plate but Arthavarman's plate had dry quantities of food. 

Yasovarman looked at the merchant curiously. “Why do you eat so little? And why is your food not rich?”

The merchant sighed. “What I have had today is out of regard for you because even this is too much for me.  I cannot even eat this much because I have a very weak digestive system. I cannot digest more than this.”

Yasovarman thought about this and went to sleep in the rich man's house. 

That was when he found out that at night Arthavarman had severe colic pain because of what he had eaten and he was even more sick by the morning.  

Yasovarman woke up the next day and he thanked the other man for his hospitality and then went to the house of Bhogavarman.

Yasovarman was very polite and found himself invited to Bhogavarman’s house for dinner. 

Bogavarman’s house was not as big as Arthavarman's house.  He did not have as many rich or expensive dresses and ornaments as Arthavarman, but whatever he had, it was good and he seemed to enjoy wearing it. 

After Bhogavarman called Vasovarman, one of Bhogavarman’s friends Icchabarana also came there and he also joined them for dinner. 

All of them had a very rich and enjoyable dinner and slept very peacefully. 

At night Yashovarman understood the question of Goddess Durga and realized what he wanted in his life.

He went back to the Goddess and asked for the good fortune of enjoyment. 

The Goddess was very pleased and since that day Yasovarman always had enough for his needs and he enjoyed whatever he had in his life.

Audio Story in Youtube

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara

The Two Kinds of Fortune - Part One

In a city named Kautukapura, there ruled a king called Bahusuvarnaka. Bahusuvarnaka meant possessor of gold and that was the reason the king was so named. He had plenty of gold with him and he was generous.

However, the king had a particular servant named Yasovarman. Though the king paid all his other servants, he never gave anything to this particular man. 

Once Yasovarman asked the king why the king would not pay him.

The king pointed at the sun. “I will give you plenty of riches, but Surya Deva who is the Sun God will not permit me to give it to you.”

Yasovarman wondered how he could solve this problem and finally hit upon a solution.

During the eclipse of the sun, Yasovarman went to the king's chambers and asked for wealth. 

The king was very happy with Yasovarman’s smartness and gave him plenty of gold and garments.

Yasovarman lived a happy life with his wealth.

Soon his wealth was all used up and he did not see any eclipse of the sun anytime soon. 

He finally decided to perform severe penance towards Goddess Durga for wealth. 

So he sat down in front of the idol of the Goddess and performed severe penance. 

The goddess appeared in his dream. “I am very pleased with your penance. And I will give you what you want. But before that, you have to tell me whether you want the good fortune of wealth or the good fortune of enjoyment.”

Yasovarman was confused when he heard this. “I do not know the difference between these two fortunes.” 

The goddess smiled at him. “Return to your country and visit the houses of two merchants, Arthavarman and Bhogavarman. There you will find the difference between these fortunes. Then come to me. And I shall grant you the boon that you seek.”

Audio Story in Youtube

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara