The Man who wished to be Perfect

Once on a time a religious mendicant came to a king who had no issue, and said to him, "As you are anxious to have a son, I can give to the queen a drug, by swallowing which she will give birth to twin sons; but I will give the medicine on this condition, that of those twins you will give one to me, and keep the other yourself." The king thought the condition somewhat hard, but as he was anxious to have a son to bear his name, and inherit his wealth and kingdom, he at last agreed to the terms. Accordingly the queen swallowed the drug, and in due time gave birth to two sons. The twin brothers became one year old, two years old, three years old, four years old, five years old, and still the mendicant did not appear to claim his share; the king and queen therefore thought that the mendicant, who was old, was dead, and dismissed all fears from their minds. But the mendicant was not dead, but living; he was counting the years carefully. The young princes were put under tutors, and made rapid progress in learning, as well as in the arts of riding and shooting with the bow; and as they were uncommonly handsome, they were admired by all the people. When the princes were sixteen years old the mendicant made his appearance at the palace gate, and demanded the fulfilment of the king's promise. The hearts of the king and of the queen were dried up within them. They had thought that the mendicant was no more in the land of the living; but what was their surprise when they saw him standing at the gate in flesh and blood, and demanding one of the young princes for himself? The king and queen were plunged into a sea of grief. There was nothing for it, however, but to part with one of the princes; for the mendicant might by his curse turn into ashes not only both the princes, but also the king, queen, palace, and the whole of the kingdom to boot. But which one was to be given away? The one was as dear as the other. A fearful struggle arose in the hearts of the king and queen. As for the young princes, each of them said, "I'll go," "I'll go." The younger one said to the elder, "You are older, if only by a few minutes; you are the pride of my father; you remain at home, I'll go with the mendicant." The elder said to the younger, "You are younger than I am; you are the joy of my mother; you remain at home, I'll go with the mendicant." After a great deal of yea and nay, after a great deal of mourning and lamentation, after the queen had wetted her clothes with her tears, the elder prince was let go with the mendicant. But before the prince left his father's roof he planted with his own hands a tree in the courtyard of the palace, and said to his parents and brother, "This tree is my life. When you see the tree green and fresh, then know that it is well with me; when you see the tree fade in some parts, then know that I am in an ill case; and when you see the whole tree fade, then know that I am dead and gone." Then kissing and embracing the king and queen and his brother, he followed the mendicant.

むかしむかし、一人の行者が、子のない王のもとへ来て言った。「あなたは息子を欲しがっておられるので、妃に薬を差し上げましょう。それを呑めば双子の息子を産むでしょう。けれども薬を差し上げるのはこの条件つきです。その双子の一人をわたしに与え、もう一人をご自分でお持ちになること。」王はこの条件をいささか辛いと思ったが、自分の名を継ぎ、富と王国を受け継ぐ息子がほしくてたまらなかったので、とうとうこの取り決めに承知した。そこで妃は薬を呑み、しかるべきときに二人の息子を産んだ。双子の兄弟は一つになり、二つになり、三つになり、四つになり、五つになったが、行者は自分の取り分を求めに現れなかった。王と妃は、年老いていたあの行者は死んだのだろうと考え、心から恐れを追い払った。けれども行者は死んではおらず、生きていて、年を注意深く数えていたのである。若い王子たちは師につけられ、学問でも、馬術や弓術でもめざましく上達した。そして並はずれて美しかったので、人々みなに慕われた。王子たちが十六の年になったとき、行者が宮殿の門に現れて、王の約束を果たせと求めた。王と妃の心はそのうちで干上がった。二人は行者がもうこの世の者ではないと思っていたのである。それなのに、その者が血肉を備えて門に立ち、若い王子の一人を自分によこせと求めているのを見たときの驚きは、どれほどであったろう。王と妃は悲しみの海に沈んだ。けれども王子の一人と別れるよりほかはなかった。行者はその呪いによって、二人の王子ばかりか、王も妃も宮殿も、そのうえ王国のすべてをも灰に変えかねなかったからである。だがどちらを与えるのか。一人は一人と同じくいとしかった。王と妃の心には恐ろしい葛藤が起こった。若い王子たちはといえば、それぞれが「わたしが行きます」「わたしが行きます」と言った。弟は兄に言った。「兄上はほんの数分でも年上です。父上の誇りです。兄上が家に残ってください。わたしが行者と行きます。」兄は弟に言った。「おまえはわたしより年下だ。母上の喜びだ。おまえが家に残れ。わたしが行者と行こう。」さんざん言い合い、さんざん嘆き悲しみ、妃が涙で衣を濡らしたのち、兄の王子が行者とともに行くことになった。けれども王子は父の屋根の下を去る前に、自らの手で宮殿の中庭に一本の木を植え、両親と弟にこう言った。「この木はわたしの命です。この木が緑で瑞々しいのを見たら、わたしは息災だと思ってください。木の一部が枯れるのを見たら、わたしが難儀していると思ってください。そして木全体が枯れるのを見たら、わたしは死んだのだと思ってください。」それから王と妃と弟に口づけして抱き合い、行者に従っていった。

As the mendicant and the prince were wending their way towards the forest they saw some dog's whelps on the roadside. One of the whelps said to its dam, "Mother, I wish to go with that handsome young man, who must be a prince." The dam said, "Go"; and the prince gladly took the puppy as his companion. They had not gone far when upon a tree on the roadside they saw a hawk and its young ones. One of the young ones said to its dam, "Mother, I wish to go with that handsome young man, who must be the son of a king." The hawk said, "Go"; and the prince gladly took the young hawk as his companion. So the mendicant, the prince, with the puppy and the young hawk, went on their journey. At last they went into the depth of the forest far away from the houses of men, where they stopped before a hut thatched with leaves. That was the mendicant's cell. The mendicant said to the prince, "You are to live in this hut with me. Your chief work will be to cull flowers from the forest for my devotions. You can go on every side except the north. If you go towards the north evil will betide you. You can eat whatever fruit or root you like; and for your drink, you will get it from the brook." The prince disliked neither the place nor his work. At dawn he used to cull flowers in the forest and give them to the mendicant; after which the mendicant went away somewhere the whole day and did not return till sundown; so the prince had the whole day to himself. He used to walk about in the forest with his two companions--the puppy and the young hawk. He used to shoot arrows at the deer, of which there was a great number; and thus made the best of his time. One day as he pierced a stag with an arrow, the wounded stag ran towards the north, and the prince, not thinking of the mendicant's behest, followed the stag, which entered into a fine-looking house that stood close by. The prince entered, but instead of finding the deer he saw a young woman of matchless beauty sitting near the door with a dice-table set before her. The prince was rooted to the spot while he admired the heaven-born beauty of the lady. "Come in, stranger," said the lady; "chance has brought you here, but don't go away without having with me a game of dice." The prince gladly agreed to the proposal. As it was a game of risk they agreed that if the prince lost the game he should give his young hawk to the lady; and that if the lady lost it, she should give to the prince a young hawk just like that of the prince. The lady won the game; she therefore took the prince's young hawk and kept it in a hole covered with a plank. The prince offered to play a second time, and the lady agreeing to it, they fell to it again, on the condition that if the lady won the game she should take the prince's puppy, and if she lost it she should give to the prince a puppy just like that of the prince. The lady won again, and stowed away the puppy in another hole with a plank upon it. The prince offered to play a third time, and the wager was that, if the prince lost the game, he should give himself up to the lady to be done to by her anything she pleased; and that if he won, the lady should give him a young man exactly like himself. The lady won the game a third time; she therefore caught hold of the prince and put him in a hole covered over with a plank. Now, the beautiful lady was not a woman at all; she was a Rakshasi who lived upon human flesh, and her mouth watered at the sight of the tender body of the young prince. But as she had had her food that day she reserved the prince for the meal of the following day.

行者と王子が森へ向かって道を進んでいると、道ばたに犬の仔が何匹かいるのが見えた。仔犬の一匹が母に言った。「母さん、あの立派な若い人と一緒に行きたい。きっと王子さまだよ。」母は「お行き」と言った。そして王子は喜んでその仔犬を連れとした。いくらも行かぬうちに、道ばたの木の上に鷹とその雛がいるのが見えた。雛の一羽が母に言った。「母さん、あの立派な若い人と一緒に行きたい。きっと王の子だよ。」鷹は「お行き」と言った。そして王子は喜んでその雛鷹を連れとした。こうして行者と王子は、仔犬と雛鷹を連れて旅を続けた。とうとう一行は人家から遠く離れた森の奥へ入り、葉で葺いた小屋の前で足を止めた。それが行者の庵であった。行者は王子に言った。「おまえはこの小屋でわたしと暮らすのだ。おまえのおもな務めは、わたしの勤行のために森から花を摘んでくることだ。北のほかはどちらへ行ってもよい。北へ行けば災いが降りかかる。好きな木の実でも根でも食べてよい。飲み水は小川から得るがよい。」王子はこの場所も務めも嫌ではなかった。夜明けに森で花を摘み、行者に渡す。そのあと行者は一日じゅうどこかへ行ってしまい、日暮れまで戻らなかった。だから王子には一日じゅう自分の時があった。彼は二匹の連れ——仔犬と雛鷹——と森を歩き回るのが常だった。たくさんいる鹿に矢を射て、こうして時を存分に使った。ある日、牡鹿を矢で射ると、傷ついた鹿は北へ走った。王子は行者の言いつけを思わずに鹿を追い、鹿はすぐ近くに立つ立派な家に入っていった。王子も入ったが、鹿の代わりに、扉の近くに賽の卓を前にして座る、並ぶもののない美しさの若い女を見た。王子はこの天女のような美しさに見とれて、その場に釘づけになった。「お入りなさい、旅の方」と女は言った。「偶然があなたをここへ導いたのですから、わたしと賽の勝負をせずに行ってはなりません。」王子は喜んでこの申し出に承知した。運を賭ける遊びなので、二人は、もし王子が負けたら雛鷹を女に与え、女が負けたら王子のものとそっくり同じ雛鷹を王子に与えると取り決めた。女が勝ったので、王子の雛鷹を取って、板で覆った穴に入れた。王子は二度目の勝負を申し出て、女も承知し、二人はまた始めた。こんどは、女が勝てば王子の仔犬を取り、負ければ王子のものとそっくり同じ仔犬を与えるという条件だった。女がまた勝ち、仔犬を別の穴に入れて板をかぶせた。王子は三度目の勝負を申し出た。賭けは、もし王子が負けたら自分自身を女に差し出して好きなようにされ、勝ったら女が王子とそっくり同じ若者を与えるというものだった。女は三度目も勝った。そこで王子を捕らえ、板で覆った穴に入れた。さてこの美しい女は、実は女ではなかった。人の肉を食らうラークシャシーで、この若い王子の柔らかな体を見てよだれを垂らしていたのである。けれどもその日はすでに食事を済ませていたので、王子は翌日の食事に取っておいた。

Meantime there was great weeping in the house of the prince's father. His brother used every day to look at the tree planted in the courtyard by his own hand. Hitherto he had found the leaves of a living green colour; but suddenly he found some leaves fading. He gave the alarm to the king and queen, and told them how the leaves were fading. They concluded that the life of the elder prince must be in great danger. The younger prince therefore resolved to go to the help of his brother, but before going he planted a tree in the courtyard of the palace, similar to the one his brother had planted, and which was to be the index of the manner of his life. He chose the swiftest steed in the king's stables, and galloped towards the forest. In the way he saw a dog with a puppy, and the puppy thinking that the rider was the same that had taken away his fellow-cub--for the two princes were exactly like each other--said, "As you have taken away my brother, take me also with you." The younger prince understanding that his brother had taken away a puppy, he took up that cub as a companion. Further on, a young hawk, which was perched on a tree on the roadside, said to the prince, "You have taken away my brother; take me also, I beseech you"; on which the younger prince readily took it up. With these companions he went into the heart of the forest, where he saw a hut which he supposed to be the mendicant's. But neither the mendicant nor his brother was there. Not knowing what to do or where to go, he dismounted from his horse, allowed it to graze, while he himself sat inside the house. At sunset the mendicant returned to his hut, and seeing the younger prince, said, "I am glad to see you. I told your brother never to go towards the north, for evil in that case would betide him; but it seems that, disobeying my orders, he has gone to the north and has fallen into the toils of a Rakshasi who lives there. There is no hope of rescuing him; perhaps he has already been devoured." The younger prince forthwith went towards the north, where he saw a stag which he pierced with an arrow. The stag ran into a house which stood by, and the younger prince followed it. He was not a little astonished when, instead of seeing a stag, he saw a woman of exquisite beauty. He immediately concluded, from what he had heard from the mendicant, that the pretended woman was none other than the Rakshasi in whose power his brother was. The lady asked him to play a game of dice with her. He complied with the request, and on the same conditions on which the elder prince had played. The younger prince won; on which the lady produced the young hawk from the hole and gave it to the prince. The joy of the two hawks on meeting each other was great. The lady and the prince played a second time, and the prince won again. The lady therefore brought to the prince the young puppy lying in the hole. They played a third time, and the prince won a third time. The lady demurred to producing a young man exactly like the prince, pretending that it was impossible to get one; but on the prince insisting upon the fulfilment of the condition, his brother was produced. The joy of the two brothers on meeting each other was great. The Rakshasi said to the princes, "Don't kill me, and I will tell you a secret which will save the life of the elder prince." She then told them that the mendicant was a worshipper of the goddess Kali, who had a temple not far off; that he belonged to that sect of Hindus who seek perfection from intercourse with the spirits of departed men; that he had already sacrificed at the altar of Kali six human victims whose skulls could be seen in niches inside her temple; that he would become perfect when the seventh victim was sacrificed; and that the elder prince was intended for the seventh victim. The Rakshasi then told the prince to go immediately to the temple to find out the truth of what she had said. To the temple they accordingly went. When the elder prince went inside the temple, the skulls in the niches laughed a ghastly laugh. Horror-struck at the sight and sound, he inquired the cause of the laughter; and the skulls told him that they were glad because they were about to get another added to their number. One of the skulls, as spokesman of the rest, said, "Young prince, in a few days the mendicant's devotions will be completed, and you will be brought into this temple and your head will be cut off, and you will keep company with us. But there is one way by which you can escape that fate and do us good." "Oh, do tell me," said the prince, "what that way is, and I promise to do you all the good I can." The skull replied, "When the mendicant brings you into this temple to offer you up as a sacrifice, before cutting off your head he will tell you to prostrate yourself before Mother Kali, and while you prostrate yourself he will cut off your head. But take our advice, when he tells you to bow down before Kali, you tell him that as a prince you never bowed down to any one, that you never knew what bowing down was, and that the mendicant should show it to you by himself doing it in your presence. And when he bows down to show you how it is done, you take up your sword and separate his head from his body. And when you do that we shall all be restored to life, as the mendicant's vows will be unfulfilled." The elder prince thanked the skulls for their advice, and went into the hut of the mendicant along with his younger brother.

そのころ王子の父の家では大きな嘆きが起きていた。弟は毎日、兄が自らの手で中庭に植えた木を見ていた。これまでは葉が生き生きとした緑色であったのに、突然、いくらかの葉が枯れているのを見つけた。弟は王と妃に急を告げ、葉が枯れていることを話した。三人は、兄の王子の命が大きな危難にあるにちがいないと結論した。そこで弟の王子は兄を助けに行こうと心を決めたが、行く前に、兄が植えたのと同じような木を宮殿の中庭に植えた。それが自分の暮らしぶりを示す目じるしになるのである。彼は王の厩でいちばん足の速い馬を選び、森へ向かって駆けた。その道すがら、母犬と仔犬を見た。仔犬は、乗り手が自分の兄弟の仔犬を連れていったのと同じ人だと思って——二人の王子はそっくり同じだったからである——こう言った。「あなたはわたしの兄を連れていったのですから、わたしも連れていってください。」弟の王子は、兄が仔犬を連れていったのだと悟って、その仔犬を連れとした。さらに行くと、道ばたの木にとまっていた雛鷹が王子に言った。「あなたはわたしの兄を連れていかれました。どうかわたしも連れていってください。」それで弟の王子は快くそれも連れていった。この連れとともに森の奥へ入っていくと、行者のものらしい小屋が見えた。けれども行者も兄もそこにはいなかった。どうすればよいか、どこへ行けばよいか分からず、馬から降りて草を食ませ、自分は家のなかに座っていた。日暮れに行者が庵に戻り、弟の王子を見て言った。「会えてうれしい。おまえの兄には決して北へ行くなと言っておいた。行けば災いが降りかかるからだ。だがどうやら、わたしの言いつけに背いて北へ行き、そこに住むラークシャシーの罠にかかったらしい。救い出す望みはない。おそらくもう食われてしまったろう。」弟の王子はただちに北へ向かい、そこで牡鹿を見て矢で射た。鹿はそばに立つ家に駆け込み、弟の王子はあとを追った。そして鹿の代わりに、このうえなく美しい女を見て少なからず驚いた。行者から聞いたことから、彼はすぐさま、この女を装う者こそ兄を捕らえているラークシャシーにほかならぬと結論した。女は賽の勝負をしようと言った。彼はその求めに応じ、兄の王子が賭けたのと同じ条件で応じた。弟の王子が勝った。すると女は穴から雛鷹を出して王子に渡した。二羽の鷹が再会した喜びは大きかった。女と王子は二度目の勝負をして、王子がまた勝った。そこで女は穴に入れてあった仔犬を王子のもとへ持ってきた。二人は三度目の勝負をして、王子が三度目も勝った。女は王子とそっくり同じ若者を出すのを渋り、そんな者を手に入れるのは無理だと言い張ったが、王子が条件を果たせと迫ると、兄が出された。二人の兄弟が再会した喜びは大きかった。ラークシャシーは王子たちに言った。「わたしを殺さないでください。そうすれば、兄君の命を救う秘密をお教えします。」そして二人に告げた。あの行者は女神カーリーを拝む者で、その神殿は遠からぬところにある。彼は、死んだ者の霊と交わることで完全に達しようとするヒンドゥーの一派に属している。すでにカーリーの祭壇に六人の人の生贄を捧げていて、その頭蓋骨は神殿のなかの壁龕に見ることができる。七人目の生贄が捧げられれば完全になるのであり、兄の王子こそその七人目に当てられているのだ、と。それからラークシャシーは王子に、すぐに神殿へ行って自分の言ったことの真偽を確かめるようにと言った。そこで二人は神殿へ行った。兄の王子が神殿のなかへ入ると、壁龕の頭蓋骨たちがぞっとするような笑い声を立てた。その光景と音に慄然として、彼は笑いのわけを尋ねた。すると頭蓋骨たちは、自分たちの数にもう一つ加わろうとしているのがうれしいのだと告げた。頭蓋骨の一つが一同を代表して言った。「若い王子よ、あと数日で行者の勤行は成る。そしておまえはこの神殿へ連れてこられて首を切られ、われらの仲間になるのだ。だがひとつだけ、その定めを逃れ、しかもわれらを救う道がある。」「ああ、どうか教えてくれ」と王子は言った。「その道はどんなものか。できるかぎりのことをすると約束しよう。」頭蓋骨は答えた。「行者がおまえを生贄に捧げようとこの神殿へ連れてきたら、首を切る前に、母なるカーリーの前にひれ伏せと言うだろう。そしておまえがひれ伏しているあいだに首を切るのだ。だがわれらの忠告を聞け。カーリーの前に頭を下げよと言われたら、自分は王子だから誰にも頭を下げたことがない、ひれ伏すとはどういうものか知らない、だから行者が自ら目の前でやって見せてくれと言うのだ。そして行者がやり方を見せようと頭を下げたら、おまえは剣を取ってその首を胴から離せ。おまえがそうすれば、行者の誓いは果たされずに終わるので、われらはみな生き返るのだ。」兄の王子は頭蓋骨たちの忠告に礼を述べ、弟とともに行者の小屋へ入っていった。

In the course of a few days the mendicant's devotions were completed. On the following day he told the prince to go along with him to the temple of Kali, for what reason he did not mention; but the prince knew it was to offer him up as a victim to the goddess. The younger prince also went with them, but he was not allowed to go inside the temple. The mendicant then stood in the presence of Kali and said to the prince, "Bow down to the goddess." The prince replied, "I have not, as a prince, bowed to any one; I do not know how to perform the act of prostration. Please show me the way first, and I'll gladly do it." The mendicant then prostrated himself before the goddess; and while he was doing so the prince at one stroke of his sword separated his head from his body. Immediately the skulls in the niches of the temple laughed aloud, and the goddess herself became propitious to the prince and gave him that virtue of perfection which the mendicant had sought to obtain. The skulls were again united to their respective bodies and became living men, and the two princes returned to their country.

数日のうちに行者の勤行は成った。翌日、行者は王子に、一緒にカーリーの神殿へ来いと言った。そのわけは口にしなかったが、王子は、自分を女神への生贄に捧げるためだと知っていた。弟の王子も一緒に行ったが、神殿のなかへ入ることは許されなかった。行者はカーリーの前に立ち、王子に言った。「女神に頭を下げよ。」王子は答えた。「わたしは王子として、誰にも頭を下げたことがありません。ひれ伏すというやり方を知らないのです。どうかまずやり方を見せてください。喜んでそういたします。」そこで行者は女神の前にひれ伏した。そしてそうしているあいだに、王子は剣のひと振りでその首を胴から離した。たちまち神殿の壁龕の頭蓋骨たちが高らかに笑い、女神自らも王子に恵みを垂れて、行者が得ようとしていたあの完全の徳を王子に授けた。頭蓋骨たちはそれぞれの体とふたたび合わさって生きた人となり、二人の王子は自分たちの国へ帰った。

Here 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。