~ 7 ~
I
N THE RAVINE
D
EEPLY MOVED BY THESE vivid memories, the
young seeker became silent for a short time.
hen he sighed, drew his hand over his forehead and
.
le
le
fac‐
ded
s!”
ed
at
.
o
only
T
went on with his narrative
*
*
*
In short, O brother, I went about during this who
time as if intoxicated with bliss and my feet scarcely
seemed to touch the earth. On one occasion I felt obliged
to laugh aloud because I had heard that there were peop
who called this world a vale of tears, a place of dissatis
tion, and who directed their thoughts and aspirations to
not being born again in the human realm. “What misgui
fools, Somadatta,” I cried, “as if there could be a more
perfect abode of bliss than the Terrace of the Sorrowles
But beneath the Terrace was the Abyss.
Down into this we had just scrambled, as I had call
out those foolish words and, as if I were to be shown th
even the greatest of earthly pleasures has its bitterness, we
were at that very instant attacked by several armed men
How many there were of them it was not possible for us t
distinguish in the darkness. Fortunately, we were able to
cover our backs by placing them against the wall of rock;
and, with the calming awareness that we were now
threatened from the front, we began to fight for life and
49
love. We bit our teeth together and were silent as the night
er
n
er them
nd so be delivered up to the tender mercies of our
th
the then withdrew a few
teps for we no longer felt their hot breath in our faces.
r
lind
saw
e
ly
refully opened holder, beside which a
arty
een.
rty
as
d
lly
n.
as we parried and thrust as coolly as possible; but our
opponents howled like devils in order to urge one anoth
on and we believed we could distinguish eight or ten of
them. Even if they now found a couple of better swords‐
men before them than they had expected, our situatio
was still grave. Two of them, however, soon measured
their length on the ground and their bodies hindered the
fighting of the others, who feared to stumble ov
a
sword‐points. We guessed
at
y
s
I whispered a few words to Somadatta and we
moved a couple of paces sideways, in the hope that our
assailants, imagining us in the old spot, would make a
sudden leap forward and, in so doing, would run against
the wall of rock and break the points of their swords,
while ours would find a firm lodging‐place between thei
ribs. Although we were as cautious as could be some faint
sound must have awakened their suspicion, for the b
attack we had hoped for did not come. But presently I
a narrow streak of light strike the wall, and also becam
aware that this ray was emitted from a lamp‐wick, evident
fixed in a ca
w
nose and a cunning half‐closed eye were to be s
As the bamboo pole by the help of which we had scaled
the terrace‐front was still in my left hand, I made a hea
thrust with it. There was a loud shriek — and the disap‐
pearance of the ray, no less than the crash of the small
lamp as it fell to the earth, bore witness to the efficacy of
my strike. This brief respite we made use of to get away
rapidly as possible in the direction from which we ha
come. We knew that here the gorge became gradually
narrower and the ascent somewhat steep, and that fina
one could scramble up to the top without any great exertio
50
It was nevertheless a piece of great good fortune that
our would‐be murderers very soon gave up the pursuit in
‐
d
er,
loving exchanges.
lowers passed to and fro between us and, as we had
both been initiated into the mystery of their secret lan‐
guage, we conveyed many things
one another by the
help of these sweet messengers. Later, as our strength
came back, many a dainty verse found its way from hand
to hand. Our condition would oon have become really
quite endurable (our recovery ccurred at the same pace
for both of us, just as if we were too truly united to allow
any precedence whatsoever between us) if the future had
not approached and filled us with grave concern.
I should say here that the nature of the enigmatic
the darkness — at the final ascent, my strength threatened
to give way and I felt that I was bleeding copiously from
several wounds. My friend was also wounded, though less
severely.
On the level once more, we cut up my shirt and
temporarily bound up our wounds, and then, leaning on
Somadatta’s arm, I fortunately succeeded in reaching
home, where I was obliged to pass several weeks on a
bed of pain.
*
*
*
There I now lay, tortured by threefold troubles: my
wounds and a fever together consumed my body; a burn
ing longing for my belovèd devoured my heart; but to
these two was soon added apprehension for her precious
life. For the delicate, flower‐like being had not been able
to endure the news of the mortal danger in which I ha
been, and perhaps still was, and had fallen victim to a
severe illness. Her faithful foster‐sister Medinī, howev
went daily from one sick‐bed to another and so we still
enjoyed constant communication and
F
to
s
o
51
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