<p>In ancient times, King Dawood was the true guardian of the well-being of the world. Learned in law, his actions were always righteous. A sage had cursed him, however, that evil would overtake his mind. At the cusp of Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga, two demon warlords who equalled Ravana in valour and magic skills attacked Dawood’s kingdom. Uncertain about the curse’s effect, he sent his army under a commander instead and stayed back in his palace. The battle raged on.</p>.<p>Dawood went to the palace roof at dusk once and saw a young woman through a crack in a broken wall. She was lost in thought about her husband who was far away. He was besotted by the beautiful woman but felt that it was wrong to want a woman who was likely to be someone’s wife. He couldn’t take her out of his mind though. The fever of Kama was fully upon him. Brahma, Shiva and other gods and several sages had fallen for women. And the ruler of heaven had fallen for the wife of a sage. Could humans then be very different? The following day, Dawood went to the palace rooftop again and stood waiting near the broken wall. The beautiful woman emerged from her house like a flash of lightning from a cloud. After making her way gracefully to the lake nearby, she went in for a swim, deep into the water. The desire for her possessed Dawood completely. His second wife, Sukhada, offered to help him satiate his desire. She visited the young woman, Saptasuta, at her house and tried to tempt her into giving into Dawood’s desires. Since her husband was away at war, she reasoned, did she not have bodily desires to fulfil? But the latter declined: “The happiness of the body lies in praying and being devoted to Hari and Shambhu.”</p>.<p>Dawood asked Sukhada to make another effort. Since neither she nor the other wife of Dawood had borne him any children, she feared that the son of his concubine would grow powerful. She wanted to further endear herself to her husband too. So, although Dawood’s desire was improper, she went along. Sukhada approached Saptasuta’s mother this time. Fearing that the king might harm her daughter if spurned, the mother agreed to help. Offering to braid her hair, she rubbed a delusion-inducing leaf juice on Saptasuta’s scalp. She then asked her to get dressed for visiting the palace. At the palace, Sukhada brought the two visitors to the inner chambers. Dawood appeared there in no time. Taken in by Saptasuta’s sight again, he held her forcefully and kissed her. A frightened Saptasuta rushed outside. She was relieved that Sukhada had followed her. The leaf juice took effect. The following night, Saptasuta returned to the palace longing to be with Dawood.</p>.<p>Saptasuta conceived. Learning of it, Dawood recalled her husband, Urjaswala, from the battle: “He has been away in battle for four months and it has been three months since she conceived. I’ll ask him to stay here till the child is born.” Urjaswala returned from the battle but didn’t enter his house or see his wife since the soldiers on the battlefield were bereft of those comforts. On seeing this, Dawood asked him to go back to the battle and return only after the enemy was defeated. He then asked the army commander to deploy Urjaswala and his men at the toughest battle spot and ensure that he got killed. The sage who had cursed Dawood asked him to sacrifice his newborn son to expiate his sin. He did as he was told. When Saptasuta conceived again, Dawood married her. The son born to them became famous the world over as Suleiman.</p>.<p>I have abridged above a story that forms the bulk of Suleiman Charitra, a Sanskrit verse work composed by Kalyana Malla over 500 years ago. In his delightful and elaborate recreation of the story of David and Bathsheba from the Old Testament, a Hebrew text that he has accessed through Persian sources, Kalyana Malla adds new characters, new situations and new erotic images from Sanskrit literary traditions, and expands the local moral imagination through new ethical dilemmas. I encountered Suleiman Charitra in former diplomat A N D Haksar’s gripping English prose translation (Penguin Books, 2015).</p>.<p>Among numerous instances of local grafting of stories and ideas from Persian and Arabic sources, this text exemplifies a beautiful and daring cultural openness, confidence and creativity. A Kshatriya poet in the court of King Ahmad, the Lodhi ruler of Ayodhya, Kalyana Malla notes that he wrote Suleiman Charitra at the request of Prince Lad Khan, who in intellect surpassed Brihaspati, in generosity Karna and in appearance Manmatha. In this work, he includes a few tales from the Arabian Nights, perhaps the only such instance found in Sanskrit.</p>
<p>In ancient times, King Dawood was the true guardian of the well-being of the world. Learned in law, his actions were always righteous. A sage had cursed him, however, that evil would overtake his mind. At the cusp of Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga, two demon warlords who equalled Ravana in valour and magic skills attacked Dawood’s kingdom. Uncertain about the curse’s effect, he sent his army under a commander instead and stayed back in his palace. The battle raged on.</p>.<p>Dawood went to the palace roof at dusk once and saw a young woman through a crack in a broken wall. She was lost in thought about her husband who was far away. He was besotted by the beautiful woman but felt that it was wrong to want a woman who was likely to be someone’s wife. He couldn’t take her out of his mind though. The fever of Kama was fully upon him. Brahma, Shiva and other gods and several sages had fallen for women. And the ruler of heaven had fallen for the wife of a sage. Could humans then be very different? The following day, Dawood went to the palace rooftop again and stood waiting near the broken wall. The beautiful woman emerged from her house like a flash of lightning from a cloud. After making her way gracefully to the lake nearby, she went in for a swim, deep into the water. The desire for her possessed Dawood completely. His second wife, Sukhada, offered to help him satiate his desire. She visited the young woman, Saptasuta, at her house and tried to tempt her into giving into Dawood’s desires. Since her husband was away at war, she reasoned, did she not have bodily desires to fulfil? But the latter declined: “The happiness of the body lies in praying and being devoted to Hari and Shambhu.”</p>.<p>Dawood asked Sukhada to make another effort. Since neither she nor the other wife of Dawood had borne him any children, she feared that the son of his concubine would grow powerful. She wanted to further endear herself to her husband too. So, although Dawood’s desire was improper, she went along. Sukhada approached Saptasuta’s mother this time. Fearing that the king might harm her daughter if spurned, the mother agreed to help. Offering to braid her hair, she rubbed a delusion-inducing leaf juice on Saptasuta’s scalp. She then asked her to get dressed for visiting the palace. At the palace, Sukhada brought the two visitors to the inner chambers. Dawood appeared there in no time. Taken in by Saptasuta’s sight again, he held her forcefully and kissed her. A frightened Saptasuta rushed outside. She was relieved that Sukhada had followed her. The leaf juice took effect. The following night, Saptasuta returned to the palace longing to be with Dawood.</p>.<p>Saptasuta conceived. Learning of it, Dawood recalled her husband, Urjaswala, from the battle: “He has been away in battle for four months and it has been three months since she conceived. I’ll ask him to stay here till the child is born.” Urjaswala returned from the battle but didn’t enter his house or see his wife since the soldiers on the battlefield were bereft of those comforts. On seeing this, Dawood asked him to go back to the battle and return only after the enemy was defeated. He then asked the army commander to deploy Urjaswala and his men at the toughest battle spot and ensure that he got killed. The sage who had cursed Dawood asked him to sacrifice his newborn son to expiate his sin. He did as he was told. When Saptasuta conceived again, Dawood married her. The son born to them became famous the world over as Suleiman.</p>.<p>I have abridged above a story that forms the bulk of Suleiman Charitra, a Sanskrit verse work composed by Kalyana Malla over 500 years ago. In his delightful and elaborate recreation of the story of David and Bathsheba from the Old Testament, a Hebrew text that he has accessed through Persian sources, Kalyana Malla adds new characters, new situations and new erotic images from Sanskrit literary traditions, and expands the local moral imagination through new ethical dilemmas. I encountered Suleiman Charitra in former diplomat A N D Haksar’s gripping English prose translation (Penguin Books, 2015).</p>.<p>Among numerous instances of local grafting of stories and ideas from Persian and Arabic sources, this text exemplifies a beautiful and daring cultural openness, confidence and creativity. A Kshatriya poet in the court of King Ahmad, the Lodhi ruler of Ayodhya, Kalyana Malla notes that he wrote Suleiman Charitra at the request of Prince Lad Khan, who in intellect surpassed Brihaspati, in generosity Karna and in appearance Manmatha. In this work, he includes a few tales from the Arabian Nights, perhaps the only such instance found in Sanskrit.</p>
