Jaratkaru Cries Out to the World for a Wife

Time passed, and Jaratkaru’s sorrow deepened. He was not successful in keeping his promise to his ancestors. The vision of them hanging from that fraying blade of grass haunted him. He had given his word, but his impossible conditions had left him a lonely, aging man with the debt unpaid. Driven by this grief, he went to the forest. There, he cried out aloud, addressing not any person, but all of creation. "Whatever creatures there are, mobile or immobile, visible or invisible, hear my words!" His voice carried through the trees. "I am a man engaged in severe austerities. But my grief-stricken ancestors told me to have a wife. Instructed by my ancestors and wishing to marry and do what they want, I am now roaming the world, poor and miserable, looking for a maiden as alms." He laid out the terms, repeating the vow he had made in the cave. "If any of the beings I have addressed has a daughter, please bestow that daughter on me, since I am wandering in all directions. The maiden has to have the same name as mine. She has to be given to me as alms and I should not need to maintain her. I ask for such a maiden." It was a plea cast into the void, a ritual declaration meant for unseen listeners. He did not know that there were listeners appointed specifically for him. The king of the snakes, Vasuki, had foreseen that a sage named Jaratkaru would be the father of a son who would save the serpent race from a great massacre. To ensure this meeting, Vasuki had long ago stationed snake-spies to watch over the sage’s movements and report on his intentions. These snakes, hidden in the forest, heard Jaratkaru’s desperate cry and his precise marital conditions. They did not approach him. They took the news, every word of it, directly to their king.