How Raja Rasâlu Was Born

Once there lived a great Raja, whose name was Sâlbâhan, and he had two

Queens. Now the elder, by name Queen Achhrâ, had a fair young son

called Prince Pûran; but the younger, by name Lonâ, though she wept

and prayed at many a shrine, had never a child to gladden her eyes.

So, being a bad, deceitful woman, envy and rage took possession of her

heart, and she so poisoned Raja Sâlbâhan's mind against his son, young

Pûran, that just as the Prince was growing to manhood, his father

became madly jealous of him, and in a fit of anger ordered his hands

and feet to be cut off. Not content even with this cruelty, Raja

Sâlbâhan had the poor young man thrown into a deep well.

Nevertheless, Pûran did not die, as no doubt the enraged father hoped

and expected; for God preserved the innocent Prince, so that he lived

on, miraculously, at the bottom of the well, until, years after, the

great and holy Guru Goraknâth came to the place, and finding Prince

Pûran still alive, not only released him from his dreadful prison,

but, by the power of magic, restored his hands and feet. Then Pûran,

in gratitude for this great boon, became a _faqîr_, and placing

the sacred earrings in his ears, followed Goraknâth as a disciple, and

was called Pûran Bhagat.

But as time went by, his heart yearned to see his mother's face, so

Guru Goraknâth gave him leave to visit his native town, and Pûran

Bhagat journeyed thither and took up his abode in a large walled

garden, where he had often played as a child. And, lo! he found it

neglected and barren, so that his heart became sad when he saw the

broken watercourses and the withered trees. Then he sprinkled the dry

ground with water from his drinking vessel, and prayed that all might

become green again. And, lo! even as he prayed, the trees shot forth

leaves, the grass grew, the flowers bloomed, and all was as it had

once been.

The news of this marvellous thing spread fast through the city, and

all the world went out to see the holy man who had performed the

wonder. Even the Raja Sâlbâhan and his two Queens heard of it in the

palace, and they too went to the garden to see it with their own

eyes. But Pûran Bhagat's mother, Queen Achhrâ, had wept so long for

her darling, that the tears had blinded her eyes, and so she went, not

to see, but to ask the wonder-working _faqîr_ to restore her

sight. Therefore, little knowing from whom she asked the boon, she

fell on the ground before Pûran Bhagat, begging him to cure her; and,

lo! almost before she asked, it was done, and she saw plainly.

Then deceitful Queen Lonâ, who all these years had been longing vainly

for a son, when she saw what mighty power the unknown _faqîr_

possessed, fell on the ground also, and begged for an heir to gladden

the heart of Raja Sâlbâhan.

Then Pûran Bhagat spoke, and his voice was stern,--'Raja Sâlbâhan

already has a son. Where is he? What have you done with him? Speak

truth, Queen Lonâ, if you would find favour with God!'

Then the woman's great longing for a son conquered her pride, and

though her husband stood by, she humbled herself before the

_faqîr_ and told the truth,--how she had deceived the father and

destroyed the son.

Then Pûran Bhagat rose to his feet, stretched out his hands towards

her, and a smile was on his face, as he said softly, 'Even so, Queen

Lonâ! even so! And behold! _I_ am Prince Pûran, whom you

destroyed and God delivered! I have a message for you. Your fault is

forgiven, but not forgotten; you shall indeed bear a son, who shall be

brave and good, yet will he cause you to weep tears as bitter as those

my mother wept for me. So! take this grain of rice; eat it, and you

shall bear a son that will be no son to you, for even as I was reft

from my mother's eyes, so will he be reft from yours. Go in peace;

your fault is forgiven, but not forgotten!'

Queen Lonâ returned to the palace, and when the time for the birth of

the promised son drew nigh, she inquired of three Jôgis who came

begging to her gate, what the child's fate would be, and the youngest

of them answered and said, 'O Queen, the child will be a boy, and he

will live to be a great man. But for twelve years you must not look

upon his face, for if either you or his father see it before the

twelve years are past, you will surely die! This is what you must

do,--as soon as the child is born you must send him away to a cellar

underneath the ground, and never let him see the light of day for

twelve years. After they are over, he may come forth, bathe in the

river, put on new clothes, and visit you. His name shall be Raja

Rasâlu, and he shall be known far and wide.'

So, when a fair young Prince was in due time born into the world, his

parents hid him away in an underground palace, with nurses, and

servants, and everything else a King's son might desire. And with him

they sent a young colt, born the same day, and a sword, a spear, and a

shield, against the day when Raja Rasâlu should go forth into the

world.

So there the child lived, playing with his colt, and talking to his

parrot, while the nurses taught him all things needful for a King's

son to know.