King Vikramaditya reached the peepal tree and found the corpse hanging in its place. Vikramaditya was feeling tired and frustrated, but what could he do? He was bound to his promise. He placed the corpse on his shoulder and began walking towards his destination.
“Vikram, are you tired of my escapes?” asked the ghost. “But this is the way I am, and you have to pass through all these if you want to fulfill your promise. Listen to my next story carefully and answer my query at the end.”
Betal started telling his story:
In the village of Hampi, there lived a Brahmin named Ravi Shastri. Although he was a Brahmin, he lacked all the qualities suited to the community he belonged to. He had an ugly face and an even uglier mind and ways. He was evil and wicked in his thoughts. Due to his unattractive appearance and evil conduct, no one wanted to give their daughter to him. Thus, the Brahmin remained unmarried. His lonely life frustrated him even further.
One day, it so happened that he received an invitation to perform marriage rituals from one of his clients. When he arrived and saw the beautiful bride, a wicked urge came to his mind. He wished to enjoy the girl’s company for at least a night. So, his sinful mind quickly devised a nasty plan to trick the girl’s family members and acquire her.
Just after the marriage was solemnized, he took the girl’s father aside and said, “Your daughter is currently under the shadow of a bad planetary position in her horoscope. If she goes to her husband’s place and lives with him now, it will be ominous. To avoid such disaster, I prescribe some rituals for you.”
“What are those?” asked the worried father.
“To remove the effect of the planetary shadow, I will have to treat her with my divine mantra and some rituals. But the condition is that she must stay alone with me tonight so that I can free her from the possible bad luck,” said the cunning man.
Hearing such an explanation, the girl’s father agreed. He said, “Do as you wish, but save my daughter from her bad luck.”
That night, the bride was left with the sly Brahmin in a room, and everyone else left the place. The Brahmin’s plan succeeded. In the name of performing rituals, he abused her physically. The innocent girl, considering it all as part of the rituals, remained quiet. That night, the wicked Brahmin’s nasty desire was fulfilled. No one in the girl’s house knew about it.
The next day, the girl left for her husband’s place. However, the effect of the Brahmin’s sordid and wicked deed left a long-lasting impact. The girl, who was happily living at her husband’s place, gave birth to a child after a few months. In contrast to his good-looking parents, the infant was dark-complexioned and unattractive. Seeing the child, the husband was quite puzzled. He inquired of his wife, “The child doesn’t resemble either you or me or any of our other family members. It doesn’t appear to be my child.”
Hearing her husband’s doubts, the girl broke down and told him everything that happened to her on the marriage night. The husband was furious and felt cheated. In his rage, he drove his wife out with the child. Having been thrown out of the house, the girl had no place to go, so she approached the King Ashoka for justice.
The King Ashoka of Magadha heard her sad tale and then gave the verdict.
Here Betal ended his tale and asked, “Vikram, the king was a justice-loving person and was capable of rendering it well. Tell me, what was his judgment and whom did he hold responsible for her misfortune? You must answer my question, or you’ll lose your head.”
Dear Readers, whom do you hold responsible for the girl’s plight? Make your guess before reading King Vikramaditya’s response to Betal’s question.
Vikramaditya replied, “According to me, no one other than the girl’s parents were responsible for her plight. The girl was innocent, so she accepted whatever happened to her on the marriage night as part of the rituals, and thus cannot be considered responsible for the misfortune. The parents were mature and had seen their lives and the world; they should have been careful about such demands coming from a priest and understood the cruel intentions of the priest. Had they been prudent, no such calamity would have befallen their daughter. Therefore, the girl’s parents should be held responsible for their daughter’s misfortune and be punished along with that wicked priest.”
“Vikram, your judgment is great. But I’ll have to leave because you spoke,” saying so, Betal flew into the sky while the king ran after him to catch him again.
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