Nagendra Sharma
A certain princess was reputed to be Abolaa. She had decided to get married to the person who could, by any means whatsoever, loosen her tongue and break her silence.
Many a suitor turned up to try his luck but none was successful. Then came the turn of a prince Devabhuja, who was adept in fabricating stories, to tell the following tale:
“Once upon a time, a certain king decided to test the love his queen bore for him. He went a hunting, got a replica of his head modeled, had it soaked in the blood of a deer he had killed and had it sent to his queen along with his royal robes.
“His bodyguard, who carried the model-head and the robes to the palace, had been instructed to tell the queen that the king had been devoured by a tiger.
“As the soldiers reached the palace and related the fatal story the queen was beside herself with grief over the death of her husband, and fell down dead on the spot.
“Scarcely did the king know that this gimmick would thus ruin his own happily married life. And in sheer repentance over his folly, he resolved to commit Sati in reverse.
“As the king was making preparations to jump onto his wife’s funeral pyre, Lord Shiva and his consort, Parvati happened to pass by the place, and moved by the tragedy that had befallen the king, the kind-hearted Parvati made fervent pleas to her husband to save the lives of the two lovers. Lord Shiva, moved by the tragic story as also his wife’s pleadings, decided to restore the queen to life on condition that the king agreed to give half of his own life span to the dead queen. ‘But mind you,’ Lord Shiva added, ‘This will mean that you will suddenly grow old, while your wife will regain her charming youthfulness.’
The king readily agreed to the proposal ‘So be it’, said Lord Shiva and left the place.
The royal couple, beside themselves with joy at this unexpected turn of events, set out on their journey back home. But as the queen who was now a sprightly young maiden of sixteen, went ahead in full zest, the king, suddenly turned seventy, could hardly follow her in her stride and was soon tired. He rested beneath a tree and soon fell asleep while his wife kept fanning him and their faithful dog, who had followed them throughout, kept vigil nearby.
“A young merchant, while passing on an errand arrived there and was immediately enamored with the beautiful young queen. The queen was also enticed by his young and handsome looks. It was love at first sight for both and soon the queen got up to walk off with the merchant. As the two youthful lovers proceeded towards the merchant’s house nearby, the king’s faithful dog trailed behind them unseen, saw where they went and returned to where his master had been sleeping.
Soon the king woke up-but only to find himself alone in the wilderness. As he was wailing and ranting over the loss of his beloved wife for the second time, the dog, in his turn, was making desperate attempts to draw his attention and to lead him to the merchant’s house. Slowly it dawned on the king that the dog knew what had transpired, followed the direction taken by it and saw where his faithless wife was living with the merchant. Deciding that he would somehow wreak vengeance on the adulterer, the king also started living nearby, disguised as a merchant.
But the queen had also got scent of the king’s whereabouts, and thinking that he would ruin her new-found happiness if not checked in time, egged on the merchant to do away with him as soon as possible. Now the king was also looking for an opportunity to strive an acquaintance with him and soon a sort of intimacy grew between the two.
One day, as the merchant and the king were out on a nocturnal promenade, the former cunningly managed to lead the king to the brink of a pit he had prepared earlier, pushed him down into it and filled it up with earth.
But the faithful dog came to the king’s rescue this time as well. As the merchant, delighted at his success, returned home to tell the tale to his ladylove, the dog kept on scraping the earth with his paws for a long while and somehow enabled the king to escape what would otherwise have been sure death.
Now the king lost no time in rushing to the merchant’s house, challenged him to a fight and cut him up in two before the very eyes of his ladylove.
But the adulteress queen was quick to foresee what lot would now befall her and ran towards the king with folded hands imploring his mercy. ‘Please spare me, my Lord,’ she said, tears welling up in her eyes, ‘It’s not my fault. That scoundrel abducted me forcibly while you were asleep. And now you have rightly punished him for his mischief by dispatching him to death’.
The simpleton of a king, swayed away by his deep love for his wife as also her wailings and honey-tongued behavior, and not only magnanimously forgave her but also took her away with him and set out on his journey back home.
But meanwhile the queen had sworn vengeance on the king’s faithful dog, but for whom, she thought, her life of bliss with her lover would not have been so short-lived. ‘I will have him cut into pieces, ‘ she resolved, and, as the king returned home one evening, feigned that she was in the throes of death. ‘I have a heart-attack, oh my beloved’, moaned the scheming queen as she turned and tossed on the bed, ‘if you do not do something forthwith, I am going to die this very moment.’
‘Tell me what I should do’, replied the infatuated king, alarmed, ‘and I shall leave no stone unturned to save your life.’ At this, the queen, always good at concocting stories, narrated how she has survived a similar attack earlier by having the heart of a white dog rubbed against her breast.
As the king was about to dispatch courtiers to search for such a dog, the queen warned that she had only a few brief moments to live and it might be too late. ‘Why go far, oh my Lord, when we have a dog-and a white one at that-right here’, she cried, fully aware that the guiltless king had been taken in by her astute play-acting, ‘or is it that the life of your dog is dearer to you than mine own?’
The love-lorn king, blinded to reason and forgetting how often his dog had come to his own rescue, drew his sword forthwith, killed the faithful pet dog and rubbed his heart against his wife’s breast.
At this stage, princess Abolaa shouted out, “No, no, it can’t be! The king could not have killed his dog so very mercilessly just to please a faithless woman!”
But whether or not the story was true, king Devabhja’s purpose had been solved. He soon received princess Abolaa’s hand in marriage amidst great celebrations and set off on a triumphant journey back home.
One day, when the subject of their marriage came up for discussion, king Devabhuja recalled the story of the dog and said, “Womenfolk have always been wicked in their ways. And they will stop at nothing to achieve their desired goals.”
“On the other hand,” replied the princess Abolaa, “look at the ways of the menfolk. Blinded by infatuation, they can descend to any depth-and think of nothing to kill their most beloved and faithful pets. What cruelty, and ingratitude!”
Despite such occasional differences of opinion, the couple lived happily ever after.