Vikram Vethal, 1. Madhumalathi

Madhumalathi<

Once a Brahmin called Keshav lived in a town on the banks of Yamuna river.He was a scholar.He had an extremly beautiful daughter.Her name was Madhumalithi.

When Madumalthi attained the age of marrage, Keshav wanted an ideal husband for his daughter.So he started searching for a handsome , intelligent and well-mannerd boy beffitting his daughter’s immense beauty.

A few weeks later ,three boys hailing from aplace called Kanya kubj visites the Brahmin;s house.All of them were handsome and intelligent. Moreover they were friends,Each one of them had seen the girl at a fair and were enchanted with her beauty. And each one of these boys felt that they would sive up their lives for the sake of Madhumalathi. They approched Keshav, the father and requested for the hand of Madhumalathi in marriage.Keshav was in dilemma. Neither he nor his wife could decide upon any of these three young men. They therefore left this decision to rheir daughter.

On an auspicious day, Keshav invited the three suitors to his house to his house so that husband .But since all the three youngmen equall y good-looking and intelligent, the girl also found it difficult to decide whom to wed.

When Madhumalthi was sitting in her room thinking about her decision, a snake suddenly entered the room and bit her.Unfortunately, she died.Her youmg suitors were xtermely grived.

These three youngmen had loved Madhumalathi very deeply and so, they decided to spend their lives in her memory.

Fter Madhumalthi’s cremation was over, one of the youngmen coollected her ashes, immeresed them in the river Ganges and started living close by.

The second one built a hut at the place where the cremation took place, and spread the ashes ,and lied there.

The third one roamed from one holy place to another, all the time remembering Madhumalthi’s beauty and grace.During such travel, he happened to stay overnight with a Tantrik. The Tantrik’s wife eas very short tempered.That night, while she was serving food to the guest, her baby started crying.In a fit of rage she threw the baby intothe fire.The babys body turned into ashes.

Disguested with what he saw , the youngman did not want to stay in the house even a moment longer. But the Tantrik, the father of the child pacified his guest and taking a pinch of mud, uttered aprayer and sprinkled it on the ashes.His son come alive.The Tantrik left the Tantrik prayer book on the table and aske his wife to feed the guest and went to sleep.

The young man who was watching thhis with astonishment wanted to bring back Madhumalathi to life.So when the Tantrik and his family were asleep, he stole the Magical spell Book and hurried back to his beloved resting place.

By that time the young man who had been living on the banks of Ganga river, also returned to the spot.Three youngmen thus met eachother and were very happy at the thought of seeing Madhumalathi alive again.

The youngman who had the Magical spell bookin his possesssion, recieted the Magical prayer.The young man who had been living been living on the banks of the Ganga sprinkled some Holy water Of the Ganga on the ashes.which was securely stored by the third young man who was living in burial ground.

The Magic worked and Mdhumalathi stood up from the ashes, more beautiful than ever.
The three suitors were very thrilled.But then, they started fighting with each other,claiming her as his own.One suitor claimed ,”ichanted the magical spell, hat’s why she got back her life”.Another one said”i sprinkled the holy water on her and gave her a new life,she belongs to me”.The third one declared “after all ,I preserved her ashes all these years, otherwise how could she be made alive? Madhumalthi woul become my wife”

Betal ended his story here and asked Vikram “O! Meritorious King you have heared the story.Now tell me how you would resolve this problem.Who is the right suitor for the girl ? If you know the answer and still do not reply to me your head will burst into pieces”

Vikram very calmly answered, “ The Young man who gave her life by reciting the Magical Prayer will like a father to her. And yje suitor who immeresed her ashes in the river behaved like ason towards a mother.That’s a very sacred relationship. The youngman who led the life an ascetic, renouncing everything and sleeping on the bed of ashes is the right suitor for her”

“ You are absoluetly correct” praise Betal.” But you have broken the rule not to utter a word, Iam going back”. Saying this the Vampire Betal sprang out of Vikram’s grasp and returned to the tamirand tree.