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Vikram and Vaitaal Stories-2 - Story 10 (Keral Version)
"Captain Sir Richard R Burton's Vikram and the Vampire: classic Hindu tales of adventure, magic and romance" / edited by his wife Isabel Burton. [etext Conversion Project, Nalanda Digital Library, NIT Calicut, Kerala State, India]

10-Three Delicate Queens

Vaitaal started his new story - (Notes 168) "There is a Vardhmaan named city in Gaur (Bangaal) country. Its king's name was Gunashekhar, and his minister's name was Abhaya Chand Jain by whose teachings the King also adopted Jain faith. The worship of Shiv, Vishnu, gifts of rice balls, cows, gaming, spirit drinking all was prohibited in his kingdom. Nobody could throw bones in Gangaa. The King punished and banished such people on committing such crimes.

One day the minister said to the King about the religion - "Whosoever kills another, he is also killed in his next life. This very sin causes one to be born again and again on Earth. By love, by wrath, by pain, by desire Brahmaa, Vishnu, Mahaadev always incarnate on this Earth. Far better then them is cow who is free from passion, enmity, anger, affection etc, and whose progeny eases the people in many ways. These Devtaa and Muni also believe in cow. For such reason believing in Devtaa is not good, a cow can also be believed in. It is our duty to protect all living beings." Saying such things the minister converted the King to Jain faith. The King did the same what the minister had said to him. So Braahman, Jogee, Janganee, Sanyaasee (Notes 172) - nobody believed in anything else and the rule carried on.

After some time Gunashekhar died and his son Dharmdhwaj sat on his throne. He seized his minister Abhaya Chand, had his head shaved leaving seven locks of hair, ordered to blacken his face, taken around the city mounting on an ass and banished him from his kingdom. Since then he ruled without any anxiety.

One day Dharmdhwaj went to his garden with his queens to take a stroll. Many beautiful lotus flowers were blooming in a large pond there, so he entered the pond to take bath in it. He plucked a flower from the pond and gave it to his queen, but by mistake it slipped off from his hand and fell on her foot. It broke her foot. So immediately he came out of the pond and tried to apply some remedies on it.

Then the night fell and the Moon started shining upon the sky. Its rays fell on his second queen's body, they formed blisters on her body. Suddenly a very light sound of wooden pestle came from a far place, and his third queen fainted with a severe pain in her head." After talking this much Vaitaal asked Vikram - "Among the three, who was the most delicate queen of the King Dharmdhwaj?

Vikram said - "Certainly the third queen who fainted hearing pestle's sound, was the most delicate queen of the King."

Hearing this Vaitaal again ran away and hung from the same tree. Vikram again followed him, tied him in a bundle, put him on his shoulder and carried him away to his destination.