The Girl Who Brought the King Back from the Dead
The Story of a Zombie is a fascinating tale said to have been written by Nagarjuna. In the previous issue of Palyul Times was the prologue where a young beggar was given the name Decho Sangpo and was prince by a spiritual master, who saw in him certain good qualities. The master instructed him in the processes of retrieving a zombie named Siddhi Sagar, who would be key to acquiring a gold mine at Mount Parvata that could benefit many beings. The main instruction was not to utter a single word to the zombie no matter how much it tried to speak to him. If a single word slipped from Decho Sangpo then the zombie would instantly return to its place and the boy would have to start the retrieval process again.
Here’s the second part of story where Dechö Sangpo tries to retrieve the zombie but the zombie lulls him by narrating another story of the girl who brought the king back from the dead.
The prince turned around, looked back at the burial ground and saw the zombie at the top of the tree. He again proclaimed thus:
“My teacher is Nagarjuna,
I am Decho Sangpo.
I have a sharp sword that can chop stones
And an iron net of nine holes.
My stick is the red acacia
And my rope is the magical hook.
I have eaten abundant flour with ghee;
Will you come down or shall I cut down the tree?”
Hearing this, the zombie descended from the tree. The prince beat it with the stick, put it into the net, fastened it with the rope and carried it on his back.
Again as before the zombie exclaimed, “O prince! O prince! Since the journey is so long, either you should tell me a story or I shall tell you a short story.”
The prince remained silent, thinking that he knew his nasty plan well. Then the zombie said to the prince, “You, prince with exhausted karma, seem to have nothing to say, so I am going to tell you a story. Listen to me.
“Once, there was a king, under whose rule was a clever girl whose father had passed away a long time ago. The king and the girl stayed together most of the time. One day the king went to the girl and told her, ‘I might have to marry a girl soon. But it’s prophesized that if I get married I will die shortly after.’
“ ‘Indeed, you should marry now. If you marry early then you will be able to give birth to a son before you get old. So, it is really good to get married,’ the girl responded.
“ ‘I would get married but soon after the marriage I would die,’ said the king.
“ ‘Your father is already dead. He is no more. It’s good if you listen to your mother,’ suggested the girl.
“Taking this suggestion, he requested his mother and the ministers to rule the kingdom, and he married a girl the same age as himself. A month after his marriage, the king fell ill and passed away. Although the king was dead, his spirit came to the door of the girl. He seemed to have been in confusion for a long time. His head was dangling and his body’s complexion had faded.
“The girl saw him and thought, ‘He would have married but he is now caught by a severe illness,’ and then said to the king, ‘You had warned me earlier that you would die shortly after the marriage; it seems to me that now you have really lost your allure.’
“ ‘I told you right from the beginning that I would die if I got married. What have you achieved by allowing me to get into such a low condition?’ said the king with much regret.
“Then the girl said, trying to console the king, ‘There is a remedy if you are sick. You should remember that you are married and take care.’
“ ‘Don’t worry about me, I am alright. However, tonight there is a long-life empowerment up there at the palace. Since you are healthy and fit, it would be better if you too attend this,’ said the king.
“The girl thought, ‘He used to visit me with majestic character and neatly adorned garments but today he is poorly dressed,’ and doubted the king.
“As the sun rose in the sky, she went with the king as his attendant. By evening, they reached the palace. From a short distance away, she heard the sound of a drum and said, “O king! That is the sound of the long-life empowerment.”
“The king sadly looked at her and said, ‘Sorry, my dear! It’s not the sound of the long-life empowerment. They are performing the “ritual for the dead” for me. Since we were together many times, now my spirit is still wandering near you. It has been seven days since I passed away.’
“The girl was utterly shocked when she heard what the king had said. She remained silent as countless tears rolled along her soft cheeks. After an hour, she said, ‘I never thought that your certain death would come before my knowledge of it like this. However, what can your old mother and I do for Your Majesty?’
“The king didn’t answer to her question, but instead told her to spend a night in the elephant shed. While they were sleeping there, the girl heard the queen and the king’s mother quarrelling.
“His mother said, ‘It won’t be good for you if you hide that precious turquoise right after my son’s demise. Even if you take other turquoises, spare me this turquoise.’
“The queen replied, ‘More than ten golden turquoises were taken by the king himself before his demise,’ defending herself. They were in a serious argument.
“Then the king said to the girl, ‘When I knew that I was dying. I took the turquoises from my wife and buried them in the middle of your maize field, under the big white stone, since we had been together for a long time. Tomorrow, go see my mother and tell her the whole story that I have just told you. Please don’t let them fight because of me.’
“Just after the king had finished talking, they heard a sound. The king hastily stood up and said, ‘Somebody is offering me a meal. I must go now,’ and he left.
“During the time when the king was alive, the girl became pregnant, so, after the king left, she gave birth to a boy. The king came back with a bag of poorly cooked food and gave it to her. He too ate. Again, when he heard the sound of a drum, the king said, ‘I am being shown the path. I have to go now.’ He stood up to leave but the girl caught him by his bag.
“The king soothed her by saying, ‘There is no greater sorrow than seeing you tightly holding on to me, however I would ask you to convey my message that I have told you earlier to my mother and then live peacefully with my mother.’
“The girl stopped holding the bag and requested him, ‘Please wait here just till you meet your mother.’
“ ‘Today, there is no chance to meet her,’ answered the king. ‘I will come during an auspicious day. If there is the will, every task is easy to perform.’ Saying these words, the king left. But the girl, having gone through labour and delivery, and because of being worried about the king, lay sleepless till the sun shone brightly the next day.
“When the herdsmen came to let the elephants out, they saw the girl lying there. They quickly ran up to the queen mother and informed her about what they saw in the shed.
“They reported, ‘Yesterday evening when we went in the shed there was nobody but today the girl who was in love with the prince has given birth to a boy in an elephant manger and she herself is immobilised due to excessive loss of blood.’
“The queen mother quickly ran to the shed and saw the girl lying there. She examined the baby and confirmed it to be a boy. Then she ordered the gathering of ministers, ‘Quickly bring me the sweet liquor extracted from grain, incense of sandal, and grains for performing a smoke offering.”
“But the ministers didn’t heed her call.
“Then the queen mother commanded, ‘This type of humiliation I suppose existed from last year. I feel this has resulted in the death of our king, but here is the child who is the successor of my beloved son. So, go and get the things needed to perform a smoke offering for the dead quickly!’
“The ministers couldn’t defy her order anymore. They went and brought back the all the necessities. Then the queen mother made smoke from the ingredients and let the girl inhale it, and spoon fed her the sweet liquor. Immediately, the girl gained consciousness. She woke up to see the queen mother. She held her hand and cried.
“The queen mother said, ‘You don’t have to cry. I suppose you have something to say. Tell it to me.’
“The girl narrated the story of the king, and how he told her about the fact that he would die shortly after his marriage. Then she told her about the golden turquoises concealed by him in the centre of the maize field under a big white stone. She said, ‘If what he said to me is true, he has promised to visit during the auspicious days.’
“The queen mother ushered her to the palace. She covered her son with a white lynx-skin on the outside and on the inside wrapped him with a soft Chinese shawl. The ministers and the people were happy to receive the baby, thinking that the lineage of the king wouldn’t be broken.
“On the morning of the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, there was a sound like the clanging of cymbals. The girl thought, ‘Usually such a sound doesn’t appear. Is it the king who has come? Did he stick to his promise? Or else is it a bogeyman who has come to take the baby?’ Thinking thus, she looked around and saw the king coming, wearing the ornaments that he had secretly hidden.
“The king stayed near her and fell asleep. She gently untied the king’s belt and kept it hidden under the pillow of the baby boy.
“When the sky started to become dark, the king said, ‘Now it’s time for me to go, or else I will be scolded.’ He woke up and prepared to leave. Just then the girl told the king that his belt had fallen under the baby. The king thought that the baby might get disturbed and start to cry, so he left without taking his belt.
“Before the sun rose in the sky, the girl took the belt and went to the queen mother. She informed her about the arrival of the king last evening.
“ ‘If he visited you then why didn’t you inform me about it? You might be lying. How can someone visit after they are already dead?’
“Then the girl replied in justification, ‘It’s true. Here is his belt.’
“After seeing the belt, the queen mother fell unconscious. Afterward, she began to trust the girl and she said, ‘If he visits again, make sure you have us meet.’
“Again, after one month, at dawn on the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, again there was a sound like the clanging of cymbals. The girl knew it would be the king. The king saw her standing up hastily, so he asked her, ‘Where are you going?’
“ ‘I am going to your mother in order to inform her about your arrival,’ she replied.
“The king scolded the girl, ‘Are you trying obstruct my rare encounter with my son? However, there is indeed a method to meet but none of you would be able to perform this.’
“ ‘If there is any possibility then I can do it even at the cost my life,’ the girl replied.
“ ‘No you can’t. Just leave it as it is,’ said the king.
“But the girl insisted. ‘O great king! You have only one mother and you are the only child, so, should there be a way to make the two meet, there would be no regret even if a person like me dies as its cost; you have a son who can uphold the lineage of the king, so I will do whatever you ask me to.’
“ ‘Since you are a girl, you lack passion for performing the task. Moreover, because you are now a mother of a child you won’t be able to do this; you might not able to cope, but just in case if you can, then listen carefully and keep these words in your mind,’ said the king, and then he continued, ‘If you travel far from here, there is a dark land of cannibals. When you reach there, there is a sweet distinctive fountain. To this, say, “In the world there is no more disgusting fountain than this.” Then turn away your eyes from it and leave. After that you will come across a fountain of oozing pus and blood. To this, say, “In the world there is no fountain as pure and sweet as this.” Saying this, drink a gulp of it, take a bath and leave.
“ ‘Next, you will see a pleasant, distinctive stupa. To this, say, “I’ve never seen such a disgusting thing as this; it won’t have any blessing.” Saying thus, do an anti-clockwise circumambulation and leave. Then, you will see a dark stupa covered with dog feces. To this, say, “I’ve never seen a stupa as clean and blessed as this.” From this, you have to receive its blessing, do a circumambulation and leave.
“ ‘When you climb higher, you will encounter an old man sewing bare-handed without an awl. Give an awl to this man. Later, you will come across an old woman roasting barley without tongs. Give tongs to her. After you go away from this old woman, you will encounter three children arguing over a cloth. Give them each a cloth. Then you will see two lambs fighting over a bunch of grass. Give them each a bunch of grass. When you climb higher, you will come across two old dogs fighting over a bone. Give them each a bone.
“ ‘Finally, there will be a castle with four doors. Inside the castle, there will be demons and demonesses disguised as yogis and yoginis. In front of them will be a large mandala. At the periphery of the mandala, there will be some big black-coloured hearts crying out, “Take me! Take me!” In the middle of the mandala, there will be a smaller, reddish heart crying out, “Don’t take me! Don’t take me!” That is the one you are due for.
“ ‘It is very difficult to go there and since the yogis and yoginis are very powerful and frightening, it would be impossible for you to fetch that heart.’
“The girl replied, ‘If there is an opportunity to live with you, I will even go through the greatest difficulties.’
“ ‘If you happen to get this heart, then don’t cover it and don’t look back till you take the heart up to the palace—can you do this?’ inquired the king.
“ ‘I will bring it even at the cost of my life,” she replied with determination. Before leaving, she prayed for the reunion of the king and his mother, and promised to complete the task.
“ ‘You should remember not to turn back until you reach the palace,’ said the king with much stress in his tone.
“ The girl went to the queen mother and told her what the king had said earlier. The queen mother became proud of the girl and asked her when she would be leaving. The girl told her that she was heading out on the evening of the twenty-ninth day.
“When the time came, she left with all the necessary items that the king had asked her to carry during the journey. When she reached the first valley she came across the distinctive, clean and sweet fountain. To this she said, “I have never seen such a dirty and disgusting fountain before; I will never see one like this in the future, either,” and hurled a handful of dust upon it; she turned her eyes away from it and left.
“Then she came across the fountain of oozing pus and blood. To this she said, “I have never before come across such a clear and sweet fountain as this.” Uttering this, she drank a gulp of it, took a bath and left.
“Then she reached the beautiful stupa. To this she said, “Among all the stupas that I have seen before, there is none as disgusting as you are.” Saying this, she did a reverse circumambulation and left. Then she encountered the black stupa. To this she said, “Among all the stupas that I have seen before, there is none as beautiful as you are.” Saying this, she received its blessing, made circumambulations around the stupa and left.
“As she travelled farther, she gave an awl to an old man without an awl, a tong to an old lady without a tong, cloths to the boys without cloth, a bunch of grass each to the lambs, and bones to each of the two fighting dogs.
“Then she advanced farther and reached the eastern door of the castle. When she entered inside, she saw some beings disguised as sages who had fallen when beating drums; some had fallen asleep while reciting the mantra, ‘Hung! Hung! Phat! Phat!’ She then slowly creeped inside which made her knees a little shaky. She fetched the heart which uttered, ‘Don’t take me! Don’t take me!’ She put this inside her pocket and ran away. When she reached near the two dogs, the ones disguised as sages discovered what was going on. They hastily stood up, matted hair dangling, with long fangs. All the male demons moved right and the female demons moved left and commanded the dogs to catch the girl. The dogs said, ‘We used to fight over a bone every time, but she gave us each a bone; she has been very kind to us. Lady! You may run as far as you can. We will stop them as much as we can.’
“After running some distance, she reached near the lambs. The demons shouted to the lambs to catch her. Instead of catching her, the lambs said that since she gave them a bunch of grass each, there was no one kinder to them than the girl. The lambs then told her to run as far as she could.
“Again, when she came across the three boys, the demons asked them to catch the girl but the boys told the demons that there was no one kinder to them than that girl. So they also told the girl to run as far as she could.
“When she reached near the old lady, the demons ordered her to catch the girl, but she answered that there was no one kinder to her than the girl. She urged the girl to run as far as she could while she distracted the demons as much as possible.
“Again when the girl reached near the old man, the demons told the man to stop her but instead the man replied that there was no one kinder than her to him.
“When the girl reached near the black stupa, the demons summoned the stupa to catch her. However, it told the girl, ‘There is no one other than you who has prostrated to me and asked for my blessing. So, you may run as far as you can.’
“Again, when she was passed by the beautiful stupa, the demons shouted at it to catch her. But it answered, ‘I won’t pay attention to such a person because without committing anything wrong, she walked near me and did reverse circumambulation. If I catch such a loser, I don’t know what others would say,’ and let her pass.
“When she descended from there, she reached near the fountain of pus and blood. There the demons shouted to the fountain to catch her, but instead of catching her, it told the girl, ‘There is no other fountain more disgusting than me in this valley. Nevertheless, you are the only one who praised me. Therefore, you may run as far as you can; I will stop them as long as possible,’ and let her run past.
“When the girl reached the clear and beautiful fountain, the demons called out loud and told it to catch the girl. But it replied, ‘There is no way that I will pay any attention to such a girl. She has despised me, although I haven’t done anything to her; so there is a danger that I might accidentally kill her if I catch her.’ Saying this it didn’t stop her.
“Finally, she rushed to the palace, entered inside it and turned back. The prince was already inside the palace and he asked her to come up. When the king had returned, the queen mother caught hold of the king and provided a scarf. She said with relief, ‘Finally the dead and the living have met.’
“Everyone, including the king, was really happy. It was clear at the end that the girl had good fortune; the nation became more prosperous than before,” said the zombie, and ended the story.
“The girl really had great worldly fortune, didn’t she?” replied the prince without thinking.
Immediately the zombie said, “Talk to the zombie and swish goes the hawk (referring to himself),” and he slapped the prince three times and escaped.
To be continued
By Rigzod Editors
NREC, 2018
