Vikram and the Vampire

‘Vikrama’ means ‘valour’ or ‘prowess.’

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Mr. Ward of Serampore is unable to quote the names of more than nine out of the eighteen, namely: Sanskrit, Prakrit, Naga, Paisacha, Gandharba, Rakshasa, Ardhamágadi, Apa, and Guhyaka – most of them being the languages of different orders of fabulous beings. He tells us, however, that an account of these dialects may be found in the work called Pingala.

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Translated by Sir Wm. Jones, 1789; and by Professor Williams, 1856.

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Translated by Professor H. H. Wilson.

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The time was propitious to savans. Whilst Vikramaditya lived, Mágha, another king, caused to be written a poem called after his name. For each verse he is said to have paid to learned men a gold piece, which amounted to a total of 5,280l.– a large sum in those days, which preceded those of Paradise Lost. About the same period, Karnáta, a third king, was famed for patronising the learned men who rose to honour at Vikram’s court. Dhavaka, a poet of nearly the same period, received from King Shriharsha the magnificent present of 10,000l. for a poem called the Ratna-Malá.

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Lieut. Wilford supports the theory that there were eight Vikramadityas, the last of whom established the era. For further particulars, the curious reader will consult Lassen’s Anthologia, and Professor H. H. Wilson’s Essay on Vikram, (New) As. Res. ix. 117.

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History tells us another tale. The god Indra and the King of Dhara gave the kingdom to Bhartari-hari, another son of Gandharba-Sena, by a handmaiden. For some time, the brothers lived together; but presently they quarrelled. Vikram being dismissed from court, wandered from place to place in abject poverty, and at one time hired himself as a servant to a merchant living in Guzerat. At length, Bhartari-hari, disgusted with the world on account of the infidelity of his wife, to whom he was ardently attached, became a religious devotee, and left the kingdom to its fate. In the course of his travels, Vikram came to Ujjayani, and finding it without a head, assumed the sovereignty. He reigned with great splendour, conquering by his arms Utkala, Vanga, Kuch-behar, Guzerat, Somnat, Delhi, and other places; until, in his turn, he was conquered and slain by Shalivaban.

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The words are found, says Mr. Ward, in the Hindu History compiled by Mrityungaya.

17

These duties of kings are thus laid down in the Rajtarangini. It is evident, as Professor H. H. Wilson says, that the royal status was by no means a sinecure. But the rules are evidently the closet work of some pedantic, dogmatic Brahman, teaching kingcraft to kings. He directs his instructions, not to subordinate judges, but to the Raja as the chief magistrate, and through him to all appointed for the administration of his justice.

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Lunus, not Luna.

19

That is to say, ‘upon an empty stomach.’

20

There are three sandhyas amongst the Hindus – morning, midday, and sunset; and all three are times for prayer.

21

The Hindu Cupid.

22

Patala, the regions beneath the earth.

23

The Hindu Triad.

24

Or Avanti, also called Padmavati. It is the first meridian of the Hindus, who found their longitude by observation of lunar eclipses, calculated for it and Lanka, or Ceylon. The clepsydra was used for taking time.

25

In the original only the husband ‘practised austere devotion.’ For the benefit of those amongst whom the ‘pious wife’ is an institution, I have extended the privilege.

26

A Moslem would say, ‘This is our fate.’ A Hindu refers at once to metempsychosis, as naturally as a modern Swedenborgian to spiritism.

27

In Europe, money buys this world, and delivers you from the pains of purgatory; amongst the Hindus, it furthermore opens the gate of heaven.

28

This part of the introduction will remind the reader of the two royal brothers and their false wives in the introduction to the Arabian Nights. The fate of Bhartari Raja, however, is historical.

29

In the original, ‘Div’ – a supernatural being, god, or demon. This part of the plot is variously told. According to some, Raja Vikram was surprised, when entering the city, to see a grand procession at the house of a potter, and a boy being carried off on an elephant, to the violent grief of his parents. The king inquired the reason of their sorrow, and was told that the wicked Div that guarded the city was in the habit of eating a citizen per diem. Whereupon the valorous Raja caused the boy to dismount; took his place; entered the palace; and, when presented as food for the demon, displayed his pugilistic powers in a way to excite the monster’s admiration.

30

In India, there is still a monastic order the pleasant duty of whose members is to enjoy themselves as much as possible. It has been much the same in Europe. ‘Représentez-vous le couvent de l’Escurial ou du Mont Cassin, où les cénobites ont toutes sortes de commodités, nécessaires, utiles, délectables, superflues, surabondantes, puisqu’ils ont les cent cinquante mille, les quatre cent mille, les cinq cent mille écus de rente; et jugez si monsieur l’abbé a de quoi laisser dormir la méridienne à ceux qui voudront.’ —Saint Augustin, de l’Ouvrage des Moines, by Le Camus, Bishop of Belley, quoted by Voltaire, Dict. phil., sub v. ‘Apocalypse.’

31

This form of matrimony was recognised by the ancient Hindus, and is frequent in books. It is a kind of Scotch wedding – ultra-Caledonian – taking place by mutual consent, without any form or ceremony. The Gandharbas are heavenly minstrels of Indra’s court, who are supposed to be witnesses.

32

The Hindu Saturnalia.

33

The powders are of wheaten flour, mixed with wild-ginger root, sappan-wood, and other ingredients. Sometimes the stuff is thrown in syringes.

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