Part 4 (1/2)
Now, therefore, let a silken veil be drawn, And underneath a bowl of oil be placed, And the reflection of thy face therein Let Bukka see and Timmaraj be saved.”
To this the queen consent unwilling gave, And Bukka to the palace gladly came, Resolved to freedom give to Timmaraj, If Chandra were like other maidens fair, But sure possess her, if she shone among The daughters of the earth surpa.s.sing fair, And like the moon among the stars of heav'n.
The veil was drawn, the bowl of oil was placed, And lo! was seen therein a face, whose like The royal Bukka ne'er had seen before In all his life; like lightning it appeared, Bright'ning the surface for an instant, and Like lightning vanished, planting in his breast Impa.s.sioned love for Chandra, and a love Too deeply rooted to be rooted out.
Then Chandra through the screen impatient said: ”Now that this deed is done, delay no more My long lost husband to restore to me.”
And Bukka made reply--”O maiden fair, O Chandra! I am smitten by thy charms, Thy wondrous face is ever in my mind, And nought can now induce me to restore Thy Timmaraj to thee, to gaze upon Thy wondrous beauty and enjoy those charms.
My kingdom broad is at thy feet, and there Enthroned as queen my riches and my all Shall be at thy command, and therefore hear,-- If, by to-morrow eve, thou dost not reach My tent pitched yonder, Timmaraj shall die, And to the pyre, if thou dost follow him, Sure I will myself die with thee, and thus A double sin will rest upon thy head.”
As the fond mother of an only child, When sick, clings closely to it, and for days And nights incessant watches it with care, When he, well versed in all the healing lore, Gives but to please her hopes of cure complete, But suddenly the dang'rous malady New shape a.s.sumes, the symptoms serious grow, The healer himself breaks at last the news Unto the anxious mother, who stands mute, And knows not what to do in blank despair-- So felt the hapless Chandra when these words The treach'rous Bukka spake and left the scene.
Now 'twas her holy Brahmin priest appeared, And counsel gave again in words like these: ”Grieve not, but well rejoice that Bukka builds His future hope on base dishonesty.
His fall is near, and Timma's safe return Henceforth is sure, for he that hopes to win By treach'ry and deceit, fails sorely in This world of G.o.d, and therefore fear him not; It is the foe magnan'mous thou shouldst fear.
Our holy ancient writings say it is No sin deceit to conquer by deceit; And hence fail not to send immediate word That Bukka should to-morrow eve expect Thee as befits a woman of thy rank, And with a hundred maidens in his tent.
Take twenty litters, and let one appear More gorgeous than the rest, for thee to sit, Take but a hundred of thy faithful men, All armed to fight for their dear king and queen.
Thou art a kshatriya girl, thou knowest well To fight, and therefore take thy fav'rite bow And arrows and conceal thy person with A maiden's veil, armed fully as thou art, And likewise let thy men be covered too, To look like thine own maids of honour, let Each litter, with a man inside, be borne By four, go forth equipped likewise, surprise The foe, bring him a prisoner, or upon The field of battle die a n.o.ble death.
And death need have no horrors unto thee, But unto those to whom this world is bright, Its prospects hopeful and its pleasures keen, And to the healthy and the young death's pangs Are most severe when life is plucked, and from Sere age, when all is ready for the end, Life unperceived goes as from one that sleeps.
The gentlest wind brings down the serest leaf.
To sever from the parent stem by force The freshest must be plucked, and so with man.
And by the righteous and the just, when sore Oppressed with grief, dear death is welcomed most.
When the eruptions on the skin pain most, By cutting them relief at once is sought; E'en so, if n.o.ble Timmaraj is killed, Court instant death, thy dagger hurl, and bare Thy breast and lifeless by thy husband fall, Like that same bird that, full up to the throat, Swallows the little pebbles of the sand, And, soaring high aloft upon her wings, Suddenly closes them and drops down dead Near her dead lover, where the body bursts.
But this, if you find hard, run with thy life To this our safe abode, where willingly The fun'ral pyre we, with our hands, will raise And feed the flames thy body to consume.
Hence soon depart and Krishna will help thee.”
The morrow came, and Chandra sallied forth And, as directed by her Brahmin sage, Went with a hundred of her armed men, All veiled, surprised the foe, who, flushed with hope, Unguarded waited but to welcome her: Then safely rescued her lost Timmaraj; The fatal jav'lin wrung from Bukka's hands, And himself too a prisoner brought in chains.
Then in the s.p.a.cious palace hall, amidst Her faithful men, the n.o.ble queen sat veiled With Timmaraj, long absent from the throne, And spake to Bukka, standing in the front With folded hands, in angry words like these: ”By treach'ry thrice thou triedst to win, and thrice Hast failed, and, when my n.o.ble Timmaraj Went singly forth to bring the maddened beast, Concealed thou didst aim at his life and failed.
The hand of G.o.d had otherwise decreed.
And when upon the bridal seat we sat, And all were merry in my father's home, Thou camest with a story, false and base, And for our lives we had to flee, and now Are strangers here, and when upon thy steed Unjustly thou pursuedst us both, it was My hand that stayed my husband killing thee, Else long ago the worms had eaten thee; Thy bones the jackals of the earth had tak'n; And nothing left of thee but thine own sins.
It was thy charger innocent that paid For them the penalty instead. Once more You came, and, like a lawless thief concealed, Carried my lord, when helpless and alone, And for his freedom vile proposals made, And for so many days these troubles wrought On me and these my faithful loyal men.
Know well, 'tis virtue that is sure to win, And truth and justice will prevail at last.
This very jav'lin will put thine eyes out; But pity for thy present state prompts me To let thee now alone--go safely home, And henceforth never even sin in thought.”
And like a criminal who, by pity freed, At once goes forth worse sins to perpetrate, So Bukka, vowing vengeance, left the hall, And henceforth love and hate alternate played In his dark breast--hate for this grave insult, And by a woman offered, and love too, A b.e.s.t.i.a.l pa.s.sion for her wondrous charms; And from that selfsame moment various plans His head devised her pride to humble and Her purity to sully, when alas!
The Moslems' greed of power gave him sure hopes At last her Timma's ruin to complete.
Unto the aged king of Vijiapore His only warrior's and his only child's Escape brought many toils and endless woe.
That Bukka, with a perjured tale, came on The day of marriage was made known to all, Soon after they had left their native home.
The aged monarch knew not where they lived, But sent his faithful servants far and wide To bring them home; the cruel Moslems, too, Aware that Timma's absence weakened him, Combined a sudden rush to make upon The royal city, kill her ruler, and Divide the spoils and take his vast domains.
And now the wily Bukka with those foes Of foreign faith conspired; what though he fought As usual in the ranks of Vijiapore, Under the banner of her Hindu king!
To them he would run in the thickest of The fight and sudden turn the tide of war, And, from the conquered spoils, for his own share, He wanted neither lands nor riches, but Demanded Chandra and her lord alive.
And news of instant war had travelled far And wide, the princes and the chieftains poured Their loyal forces, ready to avenge Their Moslem foes, who, for no cause, thus dared Their city to invade so suddenly.
And Timma hastened with his wife at last, And was with joy received by all, who lost All hopes of ever seeing them alive.
And soon a council in the royal hall Was held, to name a leader and decide How best to strike at once th' advancing foes.
Many felt proud by Timma to be led To victory in the field or glorious death, And many too in that a.s.sembly said That Bukka should not join their Hindu ranks, For he would, in the midst of battle, join The Moslem ranks and surely bring defeat And ruin too upon their aged king, The n.o.ble Ramaraj of Vijiapore, And cause their ancient kingdom's overthrow.
But said one counted high for wisdom there: ”_Do good, and so chide him that evil does_, Is the oft-quoted saying of our true And ancient faith, and this is but the war For mastery 'tween different creeds and faiths, And hence let Bukka forthwith come to fight Against the common foes, who thus combined To mar our ancient faith and change our lives, And let our Ramaraj himself go forth And lead, and everlasting glory win, And in defence of our old Hindu faith, Or, if he falls, let him to _Swarga_ go To join th' immortals there; and one word more To thee, O Timma,--bury all the past, And Bukka for his sins forgive, and both Go hand in hand to fight the Moslem foes.
To pardon is the spirit of our faith.”
To this consent was gladly giv'n by all, And the propitious day and hour to march Was soon named by the holy Brahmin priest, So deeply versed in all the starry lore.