कथासरित्सागरः — अष्टादशस्तरङ्गः

अष्टादशस्तरङ्गः ।

ततो गत्वा पुनः प्राप्य शिंशपातो ऽग्रहीन्नृपः ।
स त्रिविक्रमसेनो ऽंसे वेतालं तं चचाल च ॥

Summary AI King Trivikramasena returned to the śiṃśapā tree, retrieved the vetāla, placed him on his shoulder, and set out once more.

१२.१८.२

आयान्तं च तमंसस्थो वेतालः सो ऽब्रवीन्नृपम् ।
राजन्विचित्रामेकां ते वर्णयामि कथां शृणु ॥

Summary AI As they went, the vetāla perched on the king’s shoulder said, "O King, I shall narrate a marvelous story to you; listen."

१२.१८.३

उज्जयिन्यामभूत्पूर्वं नाम्ना धर्मध्वजो नृपः ।
तिस्रस्तस्याभवन्भार्या राजपुत्र्यो ऽतिवल्लभाः ॥

Summary AI Long ago, in Ujjayinī, there lived a king named Dharmadhvaja who had three very dear princess-consorts.

१२.१८.४

एका तास्विन्दुलेखेति तारावल्यपरा तथा ।
नाम्ना मृगाङ्कवत्यन्या निःसामान्यवपुर्गुणाः ॥

Summary AI Among them, one was named Indulekhā, another Tārāvalī, and the third Mṛgāṅkavatī; all three possessed extraordinary beauty and virtues.

१२.१८.५

ताभिः स विहरन्राजा राज्ञीभिस्तिसृभिः सह ।
आसांचक्रे कृती तत्र जिताशेषरिपुः सुखम् ॥

Summary AI The successful king, having defeated all his enemies, lived there happily, sporting with his three queens.

१२.१८.६

एकदा तत्र संप्राप्ते वसन्तसमयोत्सवे ।
प्रियाभिः सहितस्ताभिरुद्यानं क्रीडितुं ययौ ॥

Summary AI Once, when the spring festival arrived, the king went to the royal garden to amuse himself with his beloved wives.

१२.१८.७

तत्रालिमालामौर्वीकाः पश्यन्पुष्पानता लताः ।
चापयष्टीरनङ्गस्य मधुना सज्जिता इव ॥

Summary AI There, he observed flowering creepers bowed with blossoms, appearing like the bows of Anaṅga, strung with bees and prepared by spring.

१२.१८.८

शृण्वंश्च तद्द्रुमाग्रस्थकोकिलोदीरितां गिरम् ।
सम्भोगैकरसस्याज्ञामिव मानसजन्मनः ॥

Summary AI He heard the songs of cuckoos in the trees, which seemed like the commands of Kāmadeva, the god of love.

१२.१८.९

सिषेवे ऽन्तःपुरैः साकं स राजा वासवोपमः ।
पानं मदस्य कंदर्पजीवितस्यापि जीवितम् ॥

Summary AI The king, like Indra, enjoyed drinking wine with his queens—wine being the very life of intoxication and love.

१२.१८.१०

तन्निःश्वाससुगन्धीनि तद्बिम्बौष्ठरुचीनि च ।
प्रियापीतावशेषाणि पिबन्रेमे मधूनि सः ॥

Summary AI He delighted in drinking the remains of the wine sipped by his beloveds, fragrant with their breath and reflecting the brilliance of their lips.

१२.१८.११

तत्र तस्येन्दुलेखाया राज्ञः केलिकचग्रहात् ।
तस्याः पपात कर्णाग्रादुत्सङ्गे त्वङ्गदुत्पलम् ॥

Summary AI While the king was playfully pulling her hair, a trembling lotus fell from Indulekhā’s ear onto her lap.

१२.१८.१२

तेनोरुपृष्ठे सहसा क्षते जाते ऽभिघातजे ।
अभिजाता महादेवी हा हेत्युक्त्वा मुमूर्च्छ सा ॥

Summary AI A wound appeared on her thigh from the impact, and the delicate queen cried out and fainted.

१२.१८.१३

तद्दृष्ट्वा विह्वलेनार्त्या राज्ञा परिजनेन च ।
समाश्वास्यत राज्ञी सा शनैः शीताम्बुमारुतैः ॥

Summary AI Seeing her condition, the distressed king and his attendants revived her slowly with cool water and fanning.

१२.१८.१४

ततो नीत्वा स राजा तां राजधानीं भिषक्कृतैः ।
प्रियामुपाचरद्दिव्यैरामुक्तव्रणपट्टिकाम् ॥

Summary AI The king brought his beloved back to the palace and treated her with divine medicines and bandages applied by doctors.

१२.१८.१५

रात्रौ च सुस्थितां दृष्ट्वा तां स राजा द्वितीयया ।
तारावल्या सहारोहच्चन्द्रप्रासादमीश्वरः ॥

Summary AI That night, seeing her recovered, the king went to the moon-terrace with his second wife, Tārāvalī.

१२.१८.१६

तत्र तस्याङ्कसुप्ताया राज्ञस्तस्या हिमत्विषः ।
करा जालपथैः पेतुरङ्गे चलितवाससि ॥

Summary AI While she slept in his lap, the moonbeams entered through the lattice windows and fell upon her limbs where her garment had slipped.

१२.१८.१७

ततः क्षणात्प्रबुद्धा सा हा दग्धास्मीति वादिनी ।
शयनात्सहसोत्तस्थौ तदङ्गपरिमर्शिनी ॥

Summary AI She suddenly woke up crying "I am burnt!" and jumped from the bed, rubbing her body in pain.

१२.१८.१८

किमेतदिति संभ्रान्तः प्रबुद्धो ऽथ ददर्श सः ।
उत्थाय राजा विस्फोटानङ्गे तस्या विनिर्गतान् ॥

Summary AI The startled king woke up and saw that blisters had appeared all over her limbs.

१२.१८.१९

पृच्छन्तं सा च तं प्राह राज्ञी तारावली तदा ।
नग्नाङ्गे पतितैरिन्दोः करैरेतत्कृतं मम ॥

Summary AI When questioned, Queen Tārāvalī said that the moonbeams falling on her bare skin had caused those burns.

१२.१८.२०

इत्युक्तवत्याः क्रन्दन्त्याः सार्तिराह्वयति स्म सः ।
तस्याः परिजनं राजा विह्वलाकुलधावितम् ॥

Summary AI As she wept in pain, the distressed king anxiously called her attendants, who came running in a state of confusion.

१२.१८.२१

तेनास्याः कारयामास सजलैर्नलिनीदलैः ।
शय्यामदापयच्चाङ्गे श्रीखण्डार्द्रविलेपनम् ॥

Summary AI He ordered a bed of water-soaked lotus leaves to be prepared for her and had cool, moist sandalwood paste (śrīkhaṇḍa) applied to her body to soothe her.

१२.१८.२२

तावद्बुद्ध्वा तृतीयास्य सा मृगाङ्कवती प्रिया ।
तत्पार्श्वमागन्तुमना निर्ययौ निजमन्दिरात् ॥

Summary AI Meanwhile, his third beloved, Mṛgāṅkavatī, woke up and, intending to go to his side, left her own palace.

१२.१८.२३

निर्गता साशृणोत्क्वापि गृहे धान्यावघातजम् ।
निःशब्दायां निशि व्यक्तं विदूरे मुसलध्वनिम् ॥

Summary AI As she went out into the silent night, she clearly heard the sound of a pestle (musala) used for husking grain in a distant house.

१२.१८.२४

श्रुत्वैव हा मृतास्मीति ब्रुवाणा धुन्वती करौ ।
उपाविशद्व्यथाक्रान्ता मार्गे सा मृगलोचना ॥

Summary AI Upon hearing the sound, the deer-eyed queen cried out in pain, "Alas, I am dead!", and sat down on the path, shaking her hands in agony.

१२.१८.२५

ततः प्रतिनिवृत्यैव नीत्वा परिजनेन सा ।
स्वमेवान्तःपुरं बाला रुदती शयने ऽपतत् ॥

Summary AI The young queen was then brought back by her attendants to her own inner apartment, where she fell onto her bed weeping.

१२.१८.२६

ददर्श तत्र तस्याश्च चिन्वन्साश्रुः परिच्छदः ।
आलीनभ्रमरौ पद्माविव हस्तौ किणाङ्कितौ ॥

Summary AI There, her tearful attendants saw that her hands were marked with calluses (kiṇa), resembling lotuses on which bees have settled.

१२.१८.२७

गत्वा च सो ऽब्रवीद्राज्ञे राजाप्यागत्य विह्वलः ।
किमेतदिति पप्रच्छ सो ऽथ धर्मध्वजः प्रियाम् ॥

Summary AI The attendant informed the king, and the agitated King Dharmadhvaja hurried to his beloved, asking her what had happened.

१२.१८.२८

सापि प्रदर्श्य हस्तौ तमित्युवाच रुजान्विता ।
श्रुते मुसलशब्दे मे जतावेतौ किणाङ्कितौ ॥

Summary AI Showing her hands, she painfully told him that those calluses (kiṇa) appeared on her hands just by hearing the sound of the pestle (musala).

१२.१८.२९

ततः स दाहशमनं दापयामास हस्तयोः ।
तस्याश्चन्दनलेपादि राजाद्भुतविषादवान् ॥

Summary AI Filled with wonder and grief, the king ordered cooling treatments like sandalwood paste to be applied to her hands to soothe the burning sensation.

१२.१८.३०

एकस्या उत्पलेनापि पतता क्षतमाहितम् ।
द्वितीयस्याः पुनर्दग्धमङ्गं शशिकरैरपि ॥

Summary AI One queen was wounded by a falling blue lotus, while the second suffered burns on her body from the mere rays of the moon.

१२.१८.३१

एकस्यास्तु तृतीयस्याः श्रुतेनापि विनिर्गताः ।
कष्टं मुसलशब्देन हस्तयोरीदृशाः किणाः ॥

Summary AI Alas! For the third queen, even the mere sound of a pestle (musala) caused such severe calluses (kiṇa) to appear on her hands.

१२.१८.३२

अहो युगपदेतासां प्रेयसीनां ममाधुना ।
गुणो ऽप्यत्यभिजातत्वं जातो दोषाय दैवतः ॥

Summary AI The king lamented that the extreme refinement of his beloveds, though a virtue, had simultaneously turned into a misfortune by fate.

१२.१८.३३

इति चिन्तयतस्तस्य भ्रमतो ऽन्तःपुरेषु च ।
त्रियामा शतयामेव कृच्छ्रात्सा नृपतेर्ययौ ॥

Summary AI While the king wandered through the inner apartments in deep thought, that three-watch night passed with such difficulty it felt like it lasted a hundred watches.

१२.१८.३४

प्रातश्च स भिषक्शल्यहर्तृभिः सह संव्यधात् ।
तथा यथाभूदचिरात्स्वस्थान्तःपुरनिर्वृतः ॥

Summary AI In the morning, the king consulted with physicians and surgeons, who eventually restored comfort and peace to his queens.

१२.१८.३५

एवमेतां कथामुक्त्वा वेतालो ऽत्यद्भुतां तदा ।
स त्रिविक्रमसेनं तं पप्रच्छांसस्थितो नृपम् ॥

Summary AI After telling this extraordinary tale, the Vetāla, still perched on the shoulder of King Trivikramasena, questioned the monarch.

१२.१८.३६

अभिजाततरैतासु राजन्राज्ञीषु का वद ।
पूर्वोक्तः सो ऽस्तु शापस्ते जानन्यदि न जल्पसि ॥

Summary AI "O King! Among these queens, who is the most refined? Tell me; if you know the answer but remain silent, the curse I mentioned previously will befall you."

१२.१८.३७

तच्छ्रुत्वा सो ऽब्रवीद्राजा सुकुमारतरात्र सा ।
अस्पृष्टे मुसले यस्याः शब्देनैवोद्गताः किणाः ॥

Summary AI King Trivikramasena replied that the third queen was the most delicate (sukumāra-tarā) because her hands developed calluses merely from the sound of the pestle, without any physical contact.

१२.१८.३८

उत्पलेन्दुकरैः स्पर्शे वृत्ते त्वितरयोर्द्वयोः ।
संजाता व्रणविस्फोटास्तेन तस्या न ते समे ॥

Summary AI The other two queens suffered wounds and burns through physical contact with the lotus and moonbeams; thus, they are not equal to the third queen in refinement.

१२.१८.३९

इति तस्योक्तवतो ऽंसाद्राज्ञो भूयो जगाम स स्वपदम् ।
वेतालः स च राजा तथैव तं सुदृढनिश्चयो ऽनुययौ ॥

Summary AI When the king spoke thus, the Vetāla flew back from the king's shoulder to his own place; however, the determined king followed him once again.

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