Bīrūnī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad, Alberuni's India (v. 1)

(London :  Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.,  1910.)

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  Page 190  



I90                        ALBERUNPS INDIA.

after having so long been in the hope of obtaining hap¬
piness." The harlot spoke: " Do not give up a pursuit
in which you have spent your life ; do not despair of the
possibility of a thing which all sages before you have
shown to be true. Perhaps the obstacle which prevents
you from realising your plans is only of an accidental
nature, which may perhaps be removed by an accident.
I have much solid cash. It is all yours that you may
spend it on the realisation of your plans." Thereupon
Vyadi resumed his work.

However, books of this kind are written in an
enigmatic style. So he happened to misunderstand a
word in the prescription of a medicine, which meant
oil and human blood, both being required for it. It
was written raktdmala, and he thought it meant red
myrohalanon. When he used the medicine it had
no effect whatsoever. Now he began to concoct the
various drugs, but the flame touched his head and
dried up his brain. Therefore he oiled himself with
oil, pouring it in great quantity over his skull. One
day he rose to step away from the fireplace for some
business or other, but as there happened to be a peg
projecting from the roof right above his head, he
knocked his head against it, and the blood began to
flow. On account of the pain which he felt, he looked
downward, and in consequence some drops of blood
mixed with oil dropped from the upper part of his skull
into the caldron without his noticing it. When, then,
the concocting process was finished and he and his wife
besmeared themselves with the concoction in order to
try it, they both flew up into the air. Vikramaditya on
hearing of this affair left his castle, and proceeded to
the market-place in order to see them with his own
eyes. Then the man shouted to him, " Open thy mouth
for my saliva." The king, however, being disgusted, did
not do it, and so the saliva fell down near the door,
and immediately the threshold was filled with gold.
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