The Upside-Down King Read online

  Vishvamitra pounced on the king’s words and said, ‘In that case, give your kingdom to me. Bring me water and let’s perform the ceremony of the abdication of your throne.’

  Without a moment’s hesitation, Harishchandra gave away his kingdom to the sage.

  After the abdication, Vishvamitra said, ‘Charity is incomplete without dakshina.’

  ‘Tell me, dear sage, what would you like as dakshina?’ Harishchandra asked.

  ‘I want a really tall person to stand on an elephant and throw a coin to the ground. Then I want a heap of gold as tall as the point from where the person was standing on the elephant.’

  ‘Sure. I will give this to you as soon as I reach the palace,’ said Harishchandra.

  ‘But your kingdom is already mine. So your treasury is no longer yours. You cannot take anything from it,’ the sage remarked.

  ‘I will take it from my personal share of wealth to give to you,’ said Harishchandra.

  ‘When a kingdom is given away, your personal wealth is included in it,’ the sage rebutted.

  ‘Let me think about this, Sage. I will give the money to you. But please allow me to now go back to the kingdom and inform my family.’

  ‘I will come with you, Harishchandra, so you can formally hand over the kingdom to me.’

  Harishchandra nodded.

  When Harishchandra reached Ayodhya, he called his wife and his son and apprised them of the latest developments. They were no longer queen and prince, and could no longer live in the palace.

  Vishvamitra was expecting Taramati to be livid about her husband’s actions and try to persuade the king to regain his kingdom somehow. However, nothing of the sort happened.

  Taramati did not question her husband. Instead, she removed her as well as her son’s royal jewellery and stood up. ‘I agree with you, dear husband. A word of honour must be kept, come what may.’

  Harishchandra turned to Vishvamitra and said, ‘O Sage, I have heard that Kashi is a prosperous and rich city. So I will go there with my family and come back with your money once I have it.’

  ‘Kashi is quite far, Harishchandra, and you might take years to return. Or you might not come back at all! But the gold has been promised. So I will send my disciple Nakshatraka with you. Give the money to him by the end of the month. For now, I will begin my rule here.’

  So Harishchandra, Taramati and Rohitashva, along with Nakshatraka, began their journey to Kashi. The king’s subjects lined up along the road and sobbed at the state of their king. They were furious at Vishvamitra, but the sage didn’t heed them. Nakshatraka was as cunning as his teacher was and troubled the family frequently, demanding food, water and frequent rest stops. Taramati had never travelled such a long distance by foot and soon felt weary and tired. Young Rohitashva was also finding it hard to continue the journey without enough food and water. But neither mother nor son complained. Harishchandra was distressed at the hardship that had befallen his family, but he was determined to keep his word to Vishvamitra.

  Vishvamitra created illusionary thieves, beasts, hurricanes, tornadoes and flash floods in an effort to propel Taramati to plead with her husband and stop him from proceeding with his plan. But Taramati remained stoic through the journey and chanted Kashi Vishwanath’s name (another name for Lord Shiva) until the illusions reached their logical end.

  After a long and tumultuous journey, the four finally reached Kashi.

  It was the last day of the month. Nakshatraka began asking for the money. ‘Give it quickly or accept defeat,’ he pestered Harishchandra.

  With no respite in sight and no end to the pressure, the only way Harishchandra could think of to repay his debt was to sell himself and his family. It was the hardest decision he had made, and he spent a long time deliberating over it. Finally, he made a public announcement. ‘My wife, my child and I are up for sale. Whoever buys us must give us the gold that we want. I want a tall person to stand on an elephant and throw a coin to the ground. Then I want a heap of gold as tall as the tallest point from where the person was standing on the elephant.’

  An old man approached them. ‘My wife is ill and I need a lady servant to cook and clean the house. For your wife, I will pay part of the money that you need.’

  Taramati began sobbing.

  ‘I really don’t want a crying servant. I need someone who will work sincerely,’ said the old man, seeming doubtful at Taramati’s tears.

  ‘No, no,’ said Taramati and wiped her tears away. ‘I will gladly come to work for you, but please allow me to bring my son too.’

  ‘That is going to be a problem. Then I will have to spend to feed your child too,’ replied the old man.

  ‘Sir, it is difficult for me to part with my child,’ begged Taramati. ‘I assure you that he will help with the domestic chores around the house and will earn his meals.’

  Harishchandra became overwhelmed at this exchange, as the old man nodded and bought both his wife and his son. Nakshatraka, who was standing a short distance away, said to the old man, ‘Keep the gold with you. My teacher Vishvamitra will come and collect it one day.’

  Taramati cast one last affectionate look at her husband and, without saying a word, turned around, laid an arm around her son and followed the old man to his home.

  Left alone, Harishchandra announced again, ‘I am ready to be a lifelong slave to anyone who agrees to give me the remainder of the money that I need.’

  A stout and hefty man stepped out of the crowd and stood in front of him. ‘I am Veerababu, and I am the owner and caretaker of Manikarnika Ghat, the burning ground of the holy city. I need a servant to help me with my duties on the ground. I will buy your lifelong services.’

  Veerababu pulled out the money and bought Harishchandra. Nakshatraka felt a twinge of sadness to see a good king becoming a slave to the owner of a burning ground. But he had to fulfil his duty to Vishvamitra. Nakshatraka said to Veerababu, ‘Keep the gold with you. My teacher, Sage Vishvamitra, will come and collect it one day.’

  Saying thus, Nakshatraka departed.

  Veerababu turned to Harishchandra. ‘As I said, I own Manikarnika Ghat. Legend has it that when Sati, the first wife of Lord Shiva, died in her father’s yagna, and Shiva picked up her body and danced the Tandava Nritya in grief and anger, her earrings fell and landed in this area, and so it was named Manikarnika. People prefer to breathe their last at Kashi because of the belief that if their ashes are immersed in the river Ganga, they will go to heaven. Come now, your duties are mainly at the ground. I charge a fixed fee for the cremation rites—a few gold coins for me, and one gold coin and a loincloth for you. Never perform cremation rites free of charge. You must be available day and night, as death has no time and a dead body can arrive at any time. You must also ensure that no animal enters the ground or desecrates it. These are standing instructions.’

  Harishchandra nodded and understood that he would have to stay at Manikarnika Ghat itself.

  Soon, Veerababu also departed and Harishchandra was left alone.

  As Harishchandra stared at the river Ganga flowing below the ghat, he thought of his kingdom on the banks of the river Sarayu and his capital city of Ayodhya. How fortunes had changed and had turned him from a loved king to a pauper! He felt disheartened thinking of his wife and son and wondered what they were doing at that moment. He felt responsible for their hardship—they were suffering for the sole reason that they were his family. Yet, even though his heart was heavy, his conscience was clear because he had kept his promise. Thus, Harishchandra began his new life.

  Meanwhile, Taramati had already begun working in the old man’s house. She toiled from morning to evening. Despite her efforts, the old couple always found fault with her work. Rohitashva also worked very hard to complete his chores, which lasted all day. He had been a prince, whose sole focus had been studying and learning the art of warfare, while he was waited on hand and foot, but now he was a woodcutter and a cleaner. He wasn’t given enough food, and Taramati was worried t