The Evil Eye of Sani

Once upon a time Sani, or Saturn, the god of bad luck, and Lakshmi, the goddess of good luck, fell out with each other in heaven. Sani said he was higher in rank than Lakshmi, and Lakshmi said she was higher in rank than Sani. As all the gods and goddesses of heaven were equally ranged on either side, the contending deities agreed to refer the matter to some human being who had a name for wisdom and justice. Now, there lived at that time upon earth a man of the name of Sribatsa, [18] who was as wise and just as he was rich. Him, therefore, both the god and the goddess chose as the settler of their dispute. One day, accordingly, Sribatsa was told that Sani and Lakshmi were wishing to pay him a visit to get their dispute settled. Sribatsa was in a fix. If he said Sani was higher in rank than Lakshmi, she would be angry with him and forsake him. If he said Lakshmi was higher in rank than Sani, Sani would cast his evil eye upon him. Hence he made up his mind not to say anything directly, but to leave the god and the goddess to gather his opinion from his action. He got two stools made, the one of gold and the other of silver, and placed them beside him. When Sani and Lakshmi came to Sribatsa, he told Sani to sit upon the silver stool, and Lakshmi upon the gold stool. Sani became mad with rage, and said in an angry tone to Sribatsa, "Well, as you consider me lower in rank than Lakshmi, I will cast my eye on you for three years; and I should like to see how you fare at the end of that period." The god then went away in high dudgeon. Lakshmi, before going away, said to Sribatsa, "My child, do not fear. I'll befriend you." The god and the goddess then went away.

むかしむかし、不運の神シャニ、すなわち土星と、幸運の女神ラクシュミーが、天で仲たがいをした。シャニは自分のほうがラクシュミーより位が高いと言い、ラクシュミーは自分のほうがシャニより位が高いと言った。天の神々も女神たちもみな、どちらの側にも同じだけついたので、争う二柱の神は、知恵と正しさで名の通った人間にこの件を委ねることにした。さてそのころ地上に、シュリーバトサ[18] という名の男が住んでいた。富んでいるのに劣らず賢く、正しい人であった。そこで神も女神も、この男を争いの裁き手に選んだ。そこである日、シャニとラクシュミーが争いを裁いてもらいに訪ねてくると、シュリーバトサに告げられた。シュリーバトサは困り果てた。もしシャニのほうがラクシュミーより位が高いと言えば、ラクシュミーが腹を立てて自分を見捨てるだろう。もしラクシュミーのほうがシャニより位が高いと言えば、シャニが邪視を向けるだろう。そこで彼は、直に何も言わず、神と女神に自分の行いから意見を汲み取らせようと心を決めた。彼は腰掛けを二つ作らせた。ひとつは黄金、もうひとつは銀で、それを自分のかたわらに置いた。シャニとラクシュミーがシュリーバトサのもとへ来ると、彼はシャニに銀の腰掛けに、ラクシュミーに黄金の腰掛けに座るようにと言った。シャニは怒りに狂い、腹立たしげな調子でシュリーバトサに言った。「よかろう、お前がわたしをラクシュミーより位が低いと見なすからには、三年のあいだお前に邪視を向けてやろう。その期間の終わりにお前がどうなっているか、見ものだ。」神はそう言ってたいそう不機嫌に去っていった。ラクシュミーは去る前にシュリーバトサに言った。「わが子よ、恐れることはない。わたしがお前の味方になろう。」そして神と女神は去っていった。

Sribatsa said to his wife, whose name was Chintamani, "Dearest, as the evil eye of Sani will be upon me at once, I had better go away from the house; for if I remain in the house with you, evil will befall you and me; but if I go away, it will overtake me only." Chintamani said, "That cannot be; wherever you go, I will go, your lot shall be my lot." The husband tried hard to persuade his wife to remain at home; but it was of no use. She would go with her husband. Sribatsa accordingly told his wife to make an opening in their mattress, and to stow away in it all the money and jewels they had. On the eve of leaving their house, Sribatsa invoked Lakshmi, who forthwith appeared. He then said to her, "Mother Lakshmi! as the evil eye of Sani is upon us, we are going away into exile; but do thou befriend us, and take care of our house and property." The goddess of good luck answered, "Do not fear; I'll befriend you; all will be right at last." They then set out on their journey. Sribatsa rolled up the mattress and put it on his head. They had not gone many miles when they saw a river before them. It was not fordable; but there was a canoe there with a man sitting in it. The travellers requested the ferryman to take them across. The ferryman said, "I can take only one at a time; but you are three--yourself, your wife, and the mattress." Sribatsa proposed that first his wife and the mattress should be taken across, and then he; but the ferryman would not hear of it. "Only one at a time," repeated he; "first let me take across the mattress." When the canoe with the mattress was in the middle of the stream, a fierce gale arose, and carried away the mattress, the canoe, and the ferryman, no one knows whither. And it was strange the stream also disappeared, for the place, where they saw a few minutes since the rush of waters, had now become firm ground. Sribatsa then knew that this was nothing but the evil eye of Sani.

シュリーバトサは妻に言った。妻の名はチンタマニといった。「いとしい人よ、シャニの邪視がすぐにもわたしに向けられるのだから、この家を出るほうがよい。おまえとこの家にとどまれば災いはおまえとわたしに降りかかるが、わたしが出ていけば、災いはわたしだけに降りかかるのだから。」チンタマニは言った。「そうはまいりません。あなたの行かれるところへ、わたしも行きます。あなたの定めはわたしの定めです。」夫は妻に家に残るよう懸命に説き伏せようとしたが、むだであった。妻は夫とともに行くと言い張った。そこでシュリーバトサは妻に、敷布団に口を開けて、持っている金と宝石をみなそのなかに詰め込むようにと言った。家を出る前の晩、シュリーバトサはラクシュミーに呼ばわり、女神はただちに現れた。彼はこう言った。「母なるラクシュミーよ! シャニの邪視がわれらに向けられていますので、われらは追われて旅に出ます。けれどもどうかわれらの味方となって、わが家と財産をお守りください。」幸運の女神は答えた。「恐れることはない。わたしが味方になろう。終わりにはすべてうまくいく。」そうして二人は旅に出た。シュリーバトサは敷布団を丸めて頭に載せた。幾マイルも行かぬうちに、目の前に川が見えた。歩いて渡れる川ではなかったが、そこに小舟が一艘あり、男が一人乗っていた。旅の二人は渡してくれと船頭に頼んだ。船頭は言った。「一度に一人ずつしか運べぬ。だがおまえたちは三つある——おまえと、おまえの妻と、敷布団だ。」シュリーバトサは、まず妻と敷布団を渡し、それから自分をと申し出たが、船頭は聞き入れなかった。「一度に一つだけだ」と繰り返した。「まず敷布団を渡させてもらおう。」敷布団を載せた小舟が流れのまんなかまで来たとき、激しい突風が起こって、敷布団も小舟も船頭も、どこへともなく運び去ってしまった。そして不思議なことに、川までもが消え失せた。ほんの数分前に水の流れを見た場所が、いまや固い地面になっていたのである。シュリーバトサはこのとき、これこそシャニの邪視にほかならぬと悟った。

Sribatsa and his wife, without a pice in their pocket, went to a village which was hard by. It was dwelt in for the most part by wood-cutters, who used to go at sunrise to the forest to cut wood, which they sold in a town not far from the village. Sribatsa proposed to the wood-cutters that he should go along with them to cut wood. They agreed. So he began to fell trees as well as the best of them; but there was this difference between Sribatsa and the other wood-cutters, that whereas the latter cut any and every sort of wood, the former cut only precious wood like sandal-wood. The wood-cutters used to bring to market large loads of common wood, and Sribatsa only a few pieces of sandal-wood, for which he got a great deal more money than the others. As this was going on day after day, the wood-cutters through envy plotted together, and drove away from the village Sribatsa and his wife.

シュリーバトサと妻は、懐に小銭一枚なく、すぐ近くの村へ行った。そこはおもに木こりの住む村で、彼らは日の出とともに森へ薪を切りに行き、村からさほど遠くない町でそれを売っていた。シュリーバトサは木こりたちに、自分も一緒に薪を切りに行きたいと申し出た。彼らは承知した。そこで彼も、腕のよい者に劣らず木を切り倒しはじめた。けれどもシュリーバトサとほかの木こりたちのあいだにはひとつ違いがあった。ほかの者はどんな木でも切るのに対し、彼は白檀のような貴い木しか切らなかったのである。木こりたちはありふれた薪を大きな荷にして市へ運んだが、シュリーバトサは白檀を数本運ぶだけで、ほかの者よりはるかに多くの金を得た。これが日ごとに続いたので、木こりたちは妬みから示し合わせて、シュリーバトサと妻を村から追い出した。

The next place they went to was a village of weavers, or rather cotton-spinners. Here Chintamani, the wife of Sribatsa, made herself useful by spinning cotton. And as she was an intelligent and skilful woman, she spun finer thread than the other women; and she got more money. This roused the envy of the native women of the village. But this was not all. Sribatsa, in order to gain the good grace of the weavers, asked them to a feast, the dishes of which were all cooked by his wife. As Chintamani excelled in cooking, the barbarous weavers of the village were quite charmed by the delicacies set before them. When the men went to their homes, they reproached their wives for not being able to cook so well as the wife of Sribatsa, and called them good-for-nothing women. This thing made the women of the village hate Chintamani the more. One day Chintamani went to the river-side to bathe along with the other women of the village. A boat had been lying on the bank stranded on the sand for many days; they had tried to move it, but in vain. It so happened that as Chintamani by accident touched the boat, it moved off to the river. The boatmen, astonished at the event, thought that the woman had uncommon power, and might be useful on similar occasions in future. They therefore caught hold of her, put her in the boat, and rowed off. The women of the village, who were present, did not offer any resistance as they hated Chintamani. When Sribatsa heard how his wife had been carried away by boatmen, he became mad with grief. He left the village, went to the river-side, and resolved to follow the course of the stream till he should meet the boat where his wife was a prisoner. He travelled on and on, along the side of the river, till it became dark. As there were no huts to be seen, he climbed into a tree for the night. Next morning as he got down from the tree he saw at the foot of it a cow called a Kapila-cow, which never calves, but which gives milk at all hours of the day whenever it is milked. Sribatsa milked the cow, and drank its milk to his heart's content. He was astonished to find that the cow-dung which lay on the ground was of a bright yellow colour; indeed, he found it was pure gold. While it was in a soft state he wrote his own name upon it, and when in the course of the day it became hardened, it looked like a brick of gold--and so it was. As the tree grew on the river-side, and as the Kapila-cow came morning and evening to supply him with milk, Sribatsa resolved to stay there till he should meet the boat. In the meantime the gold-bricks were increasing in number every day, for the cow both morning and evening deposited there the precious article. He put the gold-bricks, upon all of which his name was engraved, one upon another in rows, so that from a distance they looked like a hillock of gold.

二人が次に行ったのは、機織り、というより綿を紡ぐ者たちの村であった。ここではシュリーバトサの妻チンタマニが綿を紡いで役に立った。賢く腕のよい女であったので、ほかの女たちより細い糸を紡ぎ、多くの金を得た。これが村の女たちの妬みをかき立てた。けれどもそれだけではなかった。シュリーバトサは機織りたちの好意を得ようと、彼らを宴に招き、その料理はみな妻がこしらえた。チンタマニは料理に秀でていたので、この村の無骨な機織りたちは、前に並べられたごちそうにすっかり心を奪われた。男たちは家に帰ると、シュリーバトサの妻ほどうまく料理ができないと妻たちを責め、役立たずの女どもと呼んだ。このことで村の女たちはいっそうチンタマニを憎んだ。ある日、チンタマニは村のほかの女たちとともに川辺へ水浴びに行った。岸には幾日も砂に乗り上げたままの舟があった。人々は動かそうとしたがむだだった。たまたまチンタマニが偶然その舟に触れると、舟は川へ滑り出した。船頭たちはこの出来事に驚き、この女は並はずれた力を持っていて、この先も同じような折に役立つかもしれないと考えた。そこで彼女を捕らえて舟に乗せ、漕ぎ去った。その場にいた村の女たちは、チンタマニを憎んでいたので何の抵抗もしなかった。シュリーバトサは、妻が船頭たちに連れ去られたと聞いて、悲しみに狂った。彼は村を出て川辺へ行き、妻が囚われている舟に出会うまで流れに沿って下ろうと心を決めた。川べりをどこまでも歩きつづけ、やがて暗くなった。小屋ひとつ見えなかったので、その夜は木に登って過ごした。翌朝、木から降りると、その根方にカピラ牛と呼ばれる牛がいるのを見た。この牛は仔を産まないが、昼のどんな時刻でも乳を搾れば乳を出す。シュリーバトサは牛の乳を搾り、心ゆくまで飲んだ。そして地面に落ちた牛の糞が鮮やかな黄色であるのに驚いた。まことにそれは純金だったのである。まだ柔らかいうちに彼は自分の名をその上に書きつけ、その日のうちに固まると、それは金の煉瓦のように見えた——そしてまさにそのとおりであった。その木は川辺に生えていて、カピラ牛は朝晩やって来て乳をくれたので、シュリーバトサはあの舟に出会うまでここにとどまろうと決めた。そのあいだにも金の煉瓦は日ごとに数を増していった。牛が朝も晩もその貴い品をそこに置いていったからである。彼はどれにも自分の名の刻まれた金の煉瓦を、次々と列に積み上げていったので、遠くから見るとそれは金の小山のように見えた。

Leaving Sribatsa to arrange his gold-bricks under the tree on the river-side we must follow the fortunes of his wife. Chintamani was a woman of great beauty; and thinking that her beauty might be her ruin, she, when seized by the boatmen, offered to Lakshmi the following prayer----"O Mother Lakshmi! have pity upon me. Thou hast made me beautiful, but now my beauty will undoubtedly prove my ruin by the loss of honour and chastity. I therefore beseech thee, gracious Mother, to make me ugly, and to cover my body with some loathsome disease, that the boatmen may not touch me." Lakshmi heard Chintamani's prayer; and in the twinkling of an eye, while she was in the arms of the boatmen, her naturally beautiful form was turned into a vile carcase. The boatmen, on putting her down in the boat, found her body covered with loathsome sores which were giving out a disgusting stench. They therefore threw her into the hold of the boat amongst the cargo, where they used morning and evening to send her a little boiled rice and some water. In that hold Chintamani had a miserable life of it; but she greatly preferred that misery to the loss of chastity. The boatmen went to some port, sold the cargo, and were returning to their country when the sight of what seemed a hillock of gold, not far from the river-side, attracted their attention. Sribatsa, whose eyes were ever directed towards the river, was delighted when he saw a boat turn towards the bank, as he fondly imagined his wife might be in it. The boatmen went to the hillock of gold, when Sribatsa said that the gold was his. They put all the gold-bricks on board their vessel, took Sribatsa prisoner, and put him into the hold not far from the woman covered with sores. They of course immediately recognised each other, in spite of the change Chintamani had undergone, but thought it prudent not to speak to each other. They communicated their ideas, therefore, by signs and gestures. Now, the boatmen were fond of playing at dice, and as Sribatsa appeared to them from his looks to be a respectable man, they always asked him to join in the game. As he was an expert player, he almost always won the game, on which the boatmen, envying his superior skill, threw him overboard. Chintamani had the presence of mind, at that moment, to throw into the water a pillow which she had for resting her head upon. Sribatsa took hold of the pillow, by means of which he floated down the stream till he was carried at nightfall to what seemed a garden on the water's edge. There he stuck among the trees, where he remained the whole night, wet and shivering. Now, the garden belonged to an old widow who was in former years the chief flower-supplier to the king of that country. Through some cause or other a blight seemed to have come over her garden, as almost all the trees and plants ceased flowering; she had therefore given up her place as the flower-supplier of the royal household. On the morning following the night on which Sribatsa had stuck among the trees, however, the old woman on getting up from her bed could scarcely believe her eyes when she saw the whole garden ablaze with flowers. There was not a single tree or plant which was not begemmed with flowers. Not understanding the cause of such a miraculous sight, she took a walk through the garden, and found on the river's brink, stuck among the trees, a man shivering and almost dying with cold. She brought him to her cottage, lighted a fire to give him warmth, and showed him every attention, as she ascribed the wonderful flowering of her trees to his presence. After making him as comfortable as she could, she ran to the king's palace, and told his chief servants that she was again in a position to supply the palace with flowers; so she was restored to her former office as the flower-woman of the royal household. Sribatsa, who stopped a few days with the woman, requested her to recommend him to one of the king's ministers for a berth. He was accordingly sent for to the palace, and as he was at once found to be a man of intelligence, the king's minister asked him what post he would like to have. Agreeably to his wish he was appointed collector of tolls on the river. While discharging his duties as river toll-gatherer, in the course of a few days he saw the very boat in which his wife was a prisoner. He detained the boat, and charged the boatmen with the theft of gold-bricks which he claimed as his own. At the mention of gold-bricks the king himself came to the river-side, and was astonished beyond measure to see bricks made of gold, every one of which had the inscription--Sribatsa. At the same time Sribatsa rescued from the boatmen his wife, who, the moment she came out of the vessel, became as lovely as before. The king heard the story of Sribatsa's misfortunes from his lips, entertained him in a princely style for many days, and at last sent him and his wife to their own country with presents of horses and elephants. The evil eye of Sani was now turned away from Sribatsa, and he again became what he formerly was, the Child of Fortune.

シュリーバトサが川辺の木の下で金の煉瓦を並べるのはそのままに、こんどはその妻の身の上を追わねばならない。チンタマニはたいそう美しい女であった。そしてその美しさが身の破滅になるかもしれぬと思って、船頭たちに捕らえられたとき、ラクシュミーに次のような祈りを捧げた。「おお母なるラクシュミーよ! どうかわたしを憐れんでください。あなたはわたしを美しくしてくださいましたが、いまその美しさは、誉れと貞節を失わせて、必ずやわが身の破滅となりましょう。ですから、慈悲深い母よ、どうかわたしを醜くし、この体を何か忌まわしい病で覆ってくださいませ。船頭たちがわたしに触れられないように。」ラクシュミーはチンタマニの祈りを聞き届けた。そしてまたたく間に、船頭たちの腕のなかにいるあいだに、その生まれながらの美しい姿は醜い骸のように変わった。船頭たちは舟に下ろしてみて、その体が忌まわしい膿の吹き出物に覆われ、ひどい悪臭を放っているのを知った。そこで彼女を積荷のあいだの船倉に投げ込み、朝晩少しの炊いた米と水を送るだけにした。その船倉でチンタマニはみじめな日々を送ったが、貞節を失うくらいならと、そのみじめさをはるかによしとした。船頭たちはある港へ行って積荷を売り、自分たちの国へ帰る途中、川辺からさほど遠くない場所に金の小山らしきものが見えて目を引かれた。つねに目を川のほうへ向けていたシュリーバトサは、一艘の舟が岸へ向きを変えるのを見て喜んだ。妻がその舟にいるかもしれないと、ひそかに思ったからである。船頭たちは金の小山のところへ行った。するとシュリーバトサが、その金は自分のものだと言った。彼らは金の煉瓦をみな船に積み込み、シュリーバトサを捕虜にして、膿に覆われたあの女からさほど離れていない船倉に押し込んだ。二人はもちろんたちまち互いにそれと気づいた。チンタマニの姿がすっかり変わっていたにもかかわらずである。けれども口をきかぬほうが賢いと考えた。そこで身ぶりと合図で思いを伝え合った。さて、船頭たちは賽の遊びを好んでいて、シュリーバトサは見たところ立派な人物に思われたので、いつも遊びに加わるよう誘った。彼は腕のよい打ち手だったので、ほとんどいつも勝った。すると船頭たちはその優れた腕を妬んで、彼を船の外へ投げ捨てた。チンタマニはその瞬間、機転を利かせて、自分が頭を休めるのに使っていた枕を水に投げた。シュリーバトサはその枕につかまり、それによって流れを下り、日暮れどきに、水際の庭らしきところへ運ばれた。そこで木々のあいだに引っかかり、濡れて震えながら、ひと晩じゅうそこにとどまった。さて、この庭は、かつてこの国の王への花の主たる納め手であった年老いた寡婦のものであった。何かのわけで庭に枯れ病が来たらしく、木も草もほとんどすべて花をつけなくなっていた。そのため彼女は王家への花の納め手の役をやめていた。ところがシュリーバトサが木々のあいだに引っかかったその夜の翌朝、老女は寝床から起きて、庭じゅうが花で燃え立っているのを見て、わが目を疑った。花で飾られていない木も草も一本もなかった。この奇跡のような眺めのわけが分からず、老女は庭を歩いてみた。すると川の縁で、木々のあいだに引っかかって、寒さに震え、いまにも死にそうな男を見つけた。老女は男を自分の小屋へ運び、暖を取らせるために火を焚き、心を尽くして世話をした。庭の木々がこれほど見事に花をつけたのは、この男がいるからだと考えたからである。できるかぎり心地よくしてやってから、老女は王の宮殿へ走り、その主だった家来たちに、ふたたび宮殿に花を納められるようになったと告げた。こうして彼女は、王家の花売り女という以前の役に戻された。何日か老女のもとにとどまったシュリーバトサは、王の大臣の一人に自分を職に推挙してくれと頼んだ。そこで彼は宮殿へ召され、たちまち知恵ある人物と認められたので、王の大臣はどんな役職を望むかと尋ねた。その望みどおり、彼は川の通行税の徴収役に任じられた。川の税を集める務めを果たすうちに、数日のうちに、妻が囚われているまさにあの舟を見つけた。彼はその舟を留め、船頭たちを、自分のものだと言い立てる金の煉瓦を盗んだかどで訴えた。金の煉瓦と聞いて王自らが川辺へ来た。そして金でできた煉瓦の、そのひとつひとつにシュリーバトサという名が刻まれているのを見て、この上なく驚いた。同時にシュリーバトサは船頭たちから妻を救い出した。妻は船を出た瞬間、もとどおりの美しさを取り戻した。王はシュリーバトサの口から、その不運の物語を聞き、幾日も王者のようにもてなしてから、とうとう馬と象の贈り物とともに二人を故郷へ送り返した。シャニの邪視は今やシュリーバトサから逸れ、彼はふたたびかつての姿、幸運の子に戻ったのである。

Thus my story endeth, The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.

ここでわたしの話はおしまい。ナティヤの棘は枯れゆく、云々。