Foreword：
A long time ago, King Heymanga and Queen Anna Ji of southern India had two sons and lived very harmoniously. Not long after, Queen Anna Ji died of a serious illness. The king remarried and gave birth to a son. The queen was afraid that the two sons of the former queen would take away the inheritance of her own son, so she pretended to be seriously ill, and asked the king to wash her whole body with the blood of the two princes Tuli and Basanta. But the servants took pity on the two princes and let them go, killing a dog and taking blood for the queen to wash her body. Later, Tuli accidentally became the king, while Basanta became a wanderer and went to many places. Later, he married the princess of the neighboring country and became the prince consort of the neighboring country.
A long time ago, there was a wealthy country in southern India, where King Heymanga lived with his queen, Annaji, and two princes, Tuli and Basanta. Not long after, Queen Anna Ji became seriously ill and died. According to ancient customs, the queen’s body was wrapped in a white silk burial, burned on the funeral bonfire, and her ashes were sprinkled in the waters of the holy river Ganges.
The wandering prince’s father, King Hymanga, marries a new queen
The king misses his beloved wife, but according to the old rules of the country, the king cannot be single without a wife. Therefore, King Hymanga married a new queen, and at first King Hymanga and the new queen lived very harmoniously. Later, when the new queen had her own son, she no longer liked the two sons of the king’s ex-wife.
Wandering prince’s stepmother worries about her own son’s inheritance
“As long as they’re both alive.” she thought to herself. “There is no way my son will inherit the throne. Both of them must be removed!”
The new queen decides to pretend to be sick to kill the two sons of the former queen (later the wandering prince)
On this day, she called the imperial doctor into the palace and said to him, “I am going to pretend to be seriously ill. The king called you to ask about my condition, and you said to him, I am going to die, and there is only one way to save my life. That is to bathe me with the blood of Tuli and Basanta. Remember, I will reward you heavily for doing this.”
Immediately afterwards, the queen stopped eating. She was in bed all day and night, moaning loudly. The terrified King Hymanga ordered the call of the imperial physician. The doctor came and sat for a while beside the couch of the queen who was pretending to be sick, and then said to the king, “Your Majesty, the queen is very ill and will soon die.”
“How can I save her?” asked the king. “I swear I will do anything to save her!”
“There is only one way to save the queen’s life: wash her body with the blood of your two princes, Tuli and Basanta.”
The new queen’s plan was successful, and the king ordered to kill Tuli and Basanta (later the wandering prince) to save the new queen who pretended to be sick
“How can you come up with such an unworkable solution!” King Hymanga exclaimed. “You must find another way to cure the queen!”
But the imperial doctor repeated: “There is no other way, and in two days, the queen will die of illness. Please give your majesty an order quickly! Didn’t your majesty swear to do anything to save the queen?!”
So, the terrified king gave the order: kill Tuli and Basanta, and wash the queen’s body with their blood.
The guards let the two princes (later the wandering princes) and replaced them with the blood of the great dog
The squires came to the old nanny’s house, where Tuli and Basanta were both. The servants said that the king had ordered them to be killed. Tuli burst into tears, but little basanta didn’t understand anything and continued to play. Tuli said, “Have pity on us! Let us run for our lives! You see, Basanta doesn’t even understand that he’s going to be killed. Or, kill me alone!”
The attendants took pity on the two children and took them to the depths of the forest to release them. They told the two boys to flee to another country as soon as possible.
So Tuli and Basanta fled in panic. The attendants killed a large dog, packed its blood in a tall bucket, and carried it into the palace.
The new queen thought the two princes (later the wandering princes) were dead and the plan worked
The vicious queen took a bath in dog blood, and immediately cheered. Her conspiracy succeeded, and she felt very satisfied.
Two princes (later the wandering princes) begin their life on the run
Tuli and Basanta have left their father’s territory far away. The two children had been walking around in the forest for many days, tired and hungry; they could not lift their legs. When they were running in the forest, they ate wild fruits to satisfy their hunger and drank springs to quench their thirst. However, after leaving the forest, they came to the desert area. The sun was blazing, and I was thirsty, but there was no water, and nothing to eat. Little Basanta was exhausted and could no longer walk.
The wandering prince of Tuli tries to find food and water, accidentally inherits the king, but Basanta became a wanderer
At this time, Tuli said, “You wait for me here, and I will find some water and food by myself.”
So the two brothers separated. Basanta stayed in place and waited, trying to find water and food. Tuli came across an elephant with a very ornate syandana. He turned away from it and walked away, but the elephant followed him, then overtook him, and knelt down on one leg before him, as if to invite him to climb on his back. Tuli climbed onto the elephant’s back and sat on the silver elephant saddle. Afterwards, the elephant stood up and walked quickly to the east.
Tuli became king
A great city soon appeared. The elephant’s footsteps were faster. Before Tuli could figure out what was going on, the elephant kept carrying him to the palace.
There are many people in front of the palace. As soon as the elephant approached, a group of Brahmin priests and court counselors came out of the palace. They bowed to Tuli and declared him their new king.
Only later did Tuli know that the old king of this country had passed away, and the custom here is that the person who is carried by the king’s elephant can inherit the throne.
In this way, Tuli unexpectedly became king. He immediately sent people everywhere to look for his brothers. These people searched for Basanta for a long time, but they couldn’t find them anywhere.
Basanta became a wanderer
Little basanta waited for his brother for a long time, and became afraid in his heart, so he went to find his brother. However, instead of going to the east where the country of Tuli is, he went west. He wandered for a long time before he met a camel team, following behind the camel driver. Basanta became a lonely, homeless wanderer.
After several years, Basanta grew into a young man. He has been to many countries, but he has not tasted the happiness of life. He was a beggar, a helpless vagabond looking for work everywhere.
On this day, Basanta came to the gate of a big city. The city was under the jurisdiction of King Tuli, but Basanta didn’t know that the king was his brother. Basanta was scrawny, ragged and dirty, and he stopped at the gate of the city. The gate guard stopped him and began to question who he was and where he was going. Basanta told about his situation. But people didn’t believe him and put him in jail.
At this time, a wealthy local businessman was preparing to ship goods to other countries. But his big ship was so heavy that it ran aground on the shoal of the river bank, and it was impossible to push the cargo ship into the water.
At night, in a dream, the merchant had a dream of a wise man who said to him, “You need to use human beings as sacrifices. If you wet the boat with human blood, it will start.”
In the morning, the merchants came to the palace to ask Tori, who told all this, and then asked the king to give him a prisoner or criminal as a sacrifice. Coincidentally, at this time, the chief of the palace guards came to report that a vagabond had been caught and was being held in prison. Not knowing that it was his brother, Tuli ordered the tramp to be handed over to the merchant.
The wandering prince Basanta was chosen as the princess’ consort
However, when people brought Basanta to the shore to kill him, he grabbed the big boat with both hands and struggled so hard that the boat was pushed from the beach into the water by him. The businessman and his fellows are happy because now there is no need to kill. Basanta was taken to the cargo ship as a servant by them.
The king of this neighboring country was planning to recruit a consort
So the merchant ship sailed to the capital of a neighboring country, and the king of this neighboring country was planning to recruit a consort. This country has a rule that the princess can choose her own husband; the men who wish to marry the princess will arrive at the appointed day to come to the palace. The princess who chose her husband, holding a wreath of flowers in her hand, walked up to the suitors, chose the one she liked best, and put the wreath around his neck.
The businessman who owned a big ship also decided to try his luck. He put on luxurious clothes and decorated his tangled head with gold ornaments and precious stones to make it more beautiful, and he also came to the palace, accompanied by the merchant, the servant Basanta. The princess came out to choose her husband. There were many beautifully dressed and handsome men for her to choose from, but no one called her heart. Suddenly, she noticed that, beside a rich, fat businessman, stood a beautiful young man, dressed in plain and neat clothes. She walked over to him, glanced at him, and immediately concluded that there was no better husband for her in the world. And raised the wreath and put it around his neck.
She did this against the wishes of the king and his guests, because Basanta was only a poor servant, and no one knew him. However, since the princess herself had chosen him according to old customs and habits, she had no choice but to marry her to this poor young man.
The merchant is jealous of the wandering prince Basanta and decides to kill him to get his wife
Basanta took his young wife to the boat, and the boat sailed away again. The merchant was jealous and resentful of Basanta, and decided to kill him and take the princess as his wife.
At night, when Basanta was fast asleep, the merchant pushed him into the water. In the morning he said to Basanta’s wife: “Your husband drowned. You marry me. I am rich and famous, but he is a begging tramp.”
The princess replied, “Don’t you know that according to our laws, a woman who has lost her husband has no right to remarry. Basanta is my husband, and I will be faithful to him all my life.”
They returned to the country of King Tuli. The merchant took Basanta’s wife into his home and built a house for her alone, and she lived in it alone. The businessman still hoped that she would change her mind, forget her deceased husband, and marry him again.
But Basanta never drowned. He finally swam to an unfamiliar place and landed. After resting for a while, I went to find something to eat and a place to live. He found a shack made of branches, and beside it sat an old man. Basanta begged the old man to give him something to eat.
The old man gave him some gruel and some wild fruits, and then asked, “Son, who are you? What misfortune has thrown you into this deserted place?”
The wandering prince accidentally meets his biological father, King Hymanga
“I am the son of the famous King Hymangar, and my name is Basanta.” “This is not true!” cried the white-haired old man. “I am the unfortunate King Hymangar. My two sons, Tu Li and Basanta have long since been killed according to my order.”
Immediately afterwards, Basanta told his father the whole story. The old man cried with joy and fondled his little son affectionately. He told Basanta that Joy and Tranquility had permanently rejected him since he ordered the killing of his two sons.
Soon after, his third son also died, followed by the wicked queen. Only the king was left alone. Sorrow grieves his heart, and conscience torments him. Everything in the palace made him feel sad and miss his two sons who were killed. So he left the palace and went out to wander, wandering to this place far away from cities and villages.
Basanta began living in a shack with his father. When the rainy season comes, it is wet and cold, and the old man falls ill and dies.
After the death of the father of the wandering prince Basanta, Hymanga, he embarked on the road to find his wife
Basanta is a lonely person again. He went to find his wife again: he had wandered for a long time in strange places. Finally, he saw a huge and rich city. At this point, he was exhausted and starving. With the last of his strength, Basanta walked to a thatched house, collapsed at the door, and passed out.
In this thatched house lived an old couple. They had no children, so they happily took in Basanta. The old man worked as a water carrier in this big city. The king who rules the country is Tuli. The merchant who stole Basanta’s wife also lived in the city. The princess lives in a separate house under strict confinement.
One day, the old man who was carrying the water fell ill, and Basanta went to the city to carry water instead of him. He transported the water to the door of a luxurious mansion. Suddenly he saw his wife in the garden. Basanta was elated and began to think about how to make her know that she was here. It is impossible to enter this house, because the gatekeeper will not let you in.
The princess, the wife of the wandering prince, overheard the wandering prince Basanta tell the crowd about her life experiences and plans to meet him
So, Basanta told his story aloud to the gatekeeper, how he worked for the merchant, how he became the concubine, how the merchant murdered him, and how he escaped. His wife was sitting in the garden and heard everything. She concluded that her basanta was still alive, and rejoiced in her heart; she also began to consider how she could meet her husband again. She said to the merchant: “Today there is a new water carrier, who told the servant about his life experiences. It is a very amazing miracle! Tomorrow is a festival, and you suggest to the king that this water carrier be called to the palace, he tells the story, it will make the king happy. Maybe the king will reward you for it. At that time, I will decide whether to marry you or not.”
The merchant did not doubt at all, and did as the princess said.
The next day, someone called Basanta a festival. Many residents gathered in front of the palace. Basanta’s wife also came. His former owner, the merchant, also came. Singers, dancers, magicians and storytellers entertained the people. Finally it was Basanta’s turn to tell about his adventure.
The wandering prince Basanta reunites with his wife, the vicious businessman is arrested and reunites with his brother Tuli
He began to talk about how he got on the merchant’s ship and how he became a concubine. He had just talked about Shangri pushing him off the boat at night, when his wife rushed towards Basanta. She cried and laughed because of her joy, and said, “That businessman, he’s here! He wants to hurt you and force me to marry him. But I haven’t forgotten you, and I haven’t lost myself in this villain!”
Those who heard these things were amazed. The king Tuli immediately ordered: expel the villainous merchants out of the country.
Afterwards, the king called the Basanta couple to his side and asked them, “Now tell us, how did you not drown, how did you come to our country fortunately, and how did you find your wife?”
So Basanta began to recount how he swam to the shore and wandered in the forest. How did he happen to meet his old father, the former famous King Hymanga…
“You are Basanta??” King Tuli exclaimed in surprise, “You are my brother! Come and see, I am Tuli!”
The two brothers reunited, and from then on, they never parted ways again. They lived happily to the end of their lives.
