A statuette restrained the king with appropriate words when he was once again inclined to ascend the throne. ‘King Bhoja,’ she said, ‘listen to the tale I will tell you today, and then decide, after understanding it, what is proper for you to do here.’
‘When Vikramaditya was king, once an astrologer who had knowledge of the four hundred thousand celestial bodies came to the royal assembly. Presented by the chamberlain, he pronounced a blessing for the king and took a suitable seat.’
“‘What are all the arts you know?” asked the king. “Your Majesty,” the astrologer replied, “I know the shape of the past, the future and the present. I do so through the movements of the sun and the moon, the planets and the starry constellations; through their rising and setting, eclipses and accelerations, situations and aspects, friendly and adverse natures, strengths and weaknesses; and also through the eight types of omens, like celestial and aerial portents, and terrestrial features, sounds, signs and prodigies.”
‘The king wished to know about the future, and on his enquiry the astrologer said: ‘Your Majesty, there will be a famine here which will last twelve years.” “Sir!” cried the king on hearing this, “there is no transgression of proper governance in my kingdom. Nor is there any propagation of wrong policies. The people are not oppressed. There is no animosity towards religion or interference in pious works; no altercation with the helpless or persecution of the defenceless; no slandering of others or teaching of falsehood. None are inclined to wickedness. No tax is levied on those who should not be taxed. Neither is there any destruction of sacred images, or affliction of sages, or departure from the rules of caste. How then can a famine be possible here?”
“O King,” the soothsayer replied, “if Saturn pierces the cart shaped constellation of Rohiṇī, and moves into the house of Mars or Venus, then there is a famine for twelve years. As Varāhamihira1 has said:
The clouds for certain will not rain
for twelve years if Saturn, Mars and Venus
penetrate and pass through the cart of Rohiṇī.”
‘After hearing this, the king initiated religious works like charities, holy practices, fire sacrifices and other propitiatory and auspicious rites for the sake of the populace. But it did not rain.
‘The king was deeply distressed at the sufferings of his people. “If the head of a family sees his family suffering,” he said to himself, “and does not care for it as much as he can, it is sinful of him. If the head of a village does not care for the suffering villagers, it is sinful too. And if the lord of a country levies taxes on it, but does not protect it when it suffers, it is indeed a sin for him.”
‘At a loss for what to do, the king was sick at heart. “I have prayed to the goddess who fulfills wishes,” he thought. “I have sacrificed in different fires, and propitiated the planets with the best ceremonies. But for some reason the heaven still does not rain upon the earth.” As the king worried thus, a disembodied voice was heard: “Stop worrying, O King. You are the first among noble-minded men. As you alone have satisfied the wish-fulfilling goddess, she is pleased to give you a divine chariot filled with celestial weapons, which can go everywhere. Mount it swiftly, O hero, and go for the cart of Rohiṇī, your bow drawn and the divine missiles blazing irresistibly. Then halt the crooked course of Saturn!”
‘Urged by the voice, the king interrupted the course of Saturn with the power of divine weapons, like Daśaratha2 in days gone by. Extremely pleased with Vikramaditya’s heroism, Saturn gave him the boon that there would be no drought in his land. After receiving this gift, the king descended and returned to the city. Thus it is that even today there is generally no famine in the Mālava country.
‘Adorn this fair throne if you are capable of acting similarly,’ said the statuette. The king’s desire was thwarted by these words from the figurine, and he went back to the inner apartment, his face averted.