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| Sunday, 5 December 2004 |
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Junior Observer |  |
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Vijaya meets Kuveni Mutta continued the story of the last days of Buddha, and how the Buddha wanted Sakra, the god of gods, to protect Lakdiva, or the island where we live today. "The Buddha told Sakra: 'My order will be established in this country. So protect it well.' And what did God Sakra do? He entrusted the duty to the god named Upulvan. "God Upulvan disguised himself as an ascetic (one who lives a simple life) and seated himself at the foot of a Naga tree. Then, from the seaside arrived Prince Vijaya with his retinue. Vijaya came to the foot of the tree where the ascetic was seated and asked: 'What sort of island is this?' 'This is Lakdiva,' the ascetic replied. 'Who occupies this land?' asked Vijaya. 'There are no humans in this land. So you need not be afraid', the ascetic said and poured holy pirit water onto the hands of Vijaya and his followers and tied pirit thread on their wrists. Thus, through the blessings invoked, they were given protection. The ascetic then took his own form and disappeared." "What happened then?" asked a little boy. Mutta went on: "Then to their surprise, they saw a dog passing by. 'That's a dog,' one person said. 'Dogs live with humans. So there should be humans living somewhere'. Saying that, one of them followed the dog. What did they see? A woman seated at a cotton loom; she was weaving clothes with cotton thread.Although she looked like a human being, it is said that she was not so in reality. She was a Yakinni or a devil woman named Kuveni". "We have heard that name," said one little girl. "Yes you may have, as she is the first female character that appears in the chronicle Mahavansa. There are quite a number of stories, poems and legends woven around her.""So what happened to the man who saw Kuveni?" another child asked. "Due to the pirit thread, the woman failed to do any harm to the man, but she kept him imprisoned in a tunnel. At the same time, Vijaya realised that one of his men was missing from the group. What did he do? He sent one person after another to find what has gone wrong. "All those who met Kuveni were imprisoned. Only Vijaya was left behind. All seven hundred members of Vijaya's group were taken into custody. So, Vijaya, knowing that something is wrong somewhere, wanted to know what had happened to his friends. "He walked forward slowly with his five weapons, the Panchayuda.He saw Kuveni for the first time. He came closer to her and asked: 'Did you see my friends?' Kuveni looked up and said: 'Why are you worried about your friends? You can drink some water from that lotus pond.' The lotus pond was said to have magical powers. Vijaya, through some instinct, felt that he is going to be trapped.So he said: 'If you don't release my men, I am going to kill you!' Kuveni got frightened and told him: 'Please don't kill me'. 'Give me my men,' Vijaya insisted. 'I will give you this land as well,' Kuveni said. 'But I want my men first,' Vijaya said. Then she released the men she had kept in her custody. 'They are hungry,' said Vijaya. As soon as he uttered this, she produced rice and other provisions. They cooked a meal, ate and relaxed.Then comes the most interesting episode, for Kuveni appeared before Vijaya in the guise of a sixteen-year-old girl. She wanted to entice him". "Was she successful?" asked a boy. "I will tell you all about it," Mutta said and got up from his seat. |
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