The Seduction of Shiva: Tales of Life and Love by Haskar, A.N.D. Read Free Book Online Page A

they have the same father they dispute with each other over his realm. You are the sons of King Bhangasvana, the others of some forest hermit. Yet they are enjoying a kingdom which is your patrimony.” Thus he divided them, and they fought and killed each other.
    ‘The hermit woman, their mother, was deeply distressed. She was weeping when Indra came to her, once again in the guise of a brahman. “Fair one,” he asked her, “what sorrow makes you weep thus?”
    ‘Tearfully did she reply, “O priest, I had two hundred sons whom fate has taken away. First I was a king, O best of brahmans, and I had a hundred sons who all looked liked me. I went hunting once, and got lost in a dense forestwhere I turned into a woman while bathing in a lake. Thence I returned to the city, established my sons in the kingdom, and went back to the forest where I bore a hundred sons to a great-souled hermit. I took these boys to my former capital, but destiny has led the two groups to destroy each other. That is why I weep.”
    ‘Indra gloated over the situation, and spoke harshly to the woman. “Good lady,” he said, “in the past you also gave me pain hard to bear. You held a sacrifice hated by Indra and concluded it without invoking him. I am Indra, you fool, and it is my anger which has brought you down.”
    ‘Thereupon the woman who had been a royal sage bowed down at Indra’s feet. “Best of gods,” she cried, “be gracious. I held that sacrifice only to get a son. Forgive me!”
    ‘Indra was satisfied,’ Bhishma said, ‘and he decided to make amends. “Tell me, O king,” he asked, “which of your sons should I restore to life? Those born when you were a man or those when you had become a woman?”
    ‘The hermit woman clasped her hands in entreaty as she replied. “O Indra,” she said, “may the sons born to me as a woman live again!”
    ‘Indra was amazed. “Why are you hostile to the sons born to you when you were a man?” he asked. “Do you love more those you bore as a woman? I would like to know the reasons.”
    ‘“Indra,” she said, “the love that a woman has for her children is something a man cannot have. That is why I asked for the sons born to me as a woman.”
    ‘Indra was very pleased with her answer, “You are indeed a speaker of the truth,” he said. “All your sons will live again. Now ask me for yet another boon. Would you wish to be a man again, or stay a woman?”’
    ‘“I prefer the feminine gender,” was the reply, Bhishma said, “I do not wish for manhood.”
    ‘“My lord,” Indra asked again, “how is it that you discard manhood and choose the feminine gender?”
    ‘To this the great king, now turned woman,said, “Indra, in the intercourse between man and woman, it is always the woman who obtains the greater pleasure. That is the reason why I choose womanhood. I tell you truly, best of gods, I have enjoyed love more as a woman, and that is why I am pleased with femininity. Now you may go!”
    ‘“So be it,” said Indra, and he returned to heaven,’ Bhishma concluded, ‘and thus it is that women are said to have a greater capacity for pleasure than men.’
    From Mahābhārata, Anushasana Parva, Danadharma, 12.11–53

The History of a Marriage
    There lived in Ujjayini 1 a merchant called Sagaradatta, who was both wealthy and wise. Once, when he was sailing leisurely on the sea, he saw another boat signalling to his, its flag aflutter. He instructed his vessel to be taken close to it, and when the two were alongside, spoke to its master. ‘Tell us who you are,’ he asked, ‘and from where?’
    ‘I am Buddhavarma, a merchant from Rajagriha,’ 2 the other responded. ‘Who are you, sir, and from where?’ Sagaradatta introduced himself and they then sailed together, amusing each other with stories and poems, music and songs, drinking and dice games.
    They went to the Golden Island and thereacquired large quantities of gold before returning to the seaside town from