The story of Chamapakavalli as told by fourth doll Mangala Kalyana Valli.

The story of Chamapakavalli as told by fourth doll Mangala Kalyana Valli.

Retold by
P.R.Ramachander
On the fourth day Bhoja raja after his morning duties again started climbing on to the throne of Vikramadhithya. He was stopped on the fourth step by mangalakalyanavalli doll. It told him that he does not have great qualities of the king Vikramadhithya and is not fit to occupy the throne. Then king Bhoja asked that doll, “Doll please tell me about the greatness of Vikramadhithya. The doll started telling the following story.
Once after the six months rule, Vikrama and Bhatti started for their six month stay in forest rode on the back of their Vetala. On the way saw a luxury inn and a clear pond. Both of them got down, relaxed, took bath in the tank and got refreshed. Then they started getting the very sweet scent of Champaka flowers.Vikramadhithya send his minister to find out the reason. He went outside and enquired but could not know the reason. They then started wandering in the forest and met four way farers. When the asked the reason for the scent of Champaka flowers, those way farers took them to a great distance and then told, “ In that inn , the smell of a man should never fall and that is why we took you to this long distance. Nearby there is a kingdom of Vijayanagar. Vijayayaranga is the present king. He had a daughter called Champakavalli who was born with the scent of Champaka flowers. She is now 22. From the age of 12 she has taken the penance of not having the smell of a man near her. Every Friday she comes with one thousand servants, comes to this pond, plays in water, relaxes in the inn and goes back. One day before the king announces that no man should be anywhere on her way or in the pond or in the inn. Apart from that, the king has built a fort with several series of walls, where she lives with her girl friends. If some man happens to enter the fort he would be beheaded. So please go away from here.”
Then Bhatti expressed the desire to see Champakavalli and of marrying her to his brother and minister Bhatti. Bhatti replied, “King, to do that first we have to find out why she is observing this strange penance. I will dress myself as a girl and mix with her servants and go with her and try to find out the reason. “
He did according to that. After playing and relaxing Champakavalli returned along with her servants to the fort. At every gate large number of servants stayed back. Afraid that he would be found out Bhatti stayed back in one of the gate and returned back very disappointed. When he returned back, on the way, he slept below a banyan tree. At that time a sage came there and saw Bhatti who was very handsome. Afraid that his wife would fall in love with him, he took out a root from his bundle and put it near Bhatti. Bhatti suddenly became a very pretty girl. After some time the wife of the sage came there and saw a very pretty girl. She was afraid that her husband would be tempted by this pretty girl. She took out another root from her bundle and put it on Bhatti. Bhatti conserved both roots and came back to Vikramadhithya.
Then Bhatti got dressed like a king and converted Vikramadhithya in to a girl using the root. Then both of them went to Vijayaranga’s palace. Bhatti introduced himself as Salya king and his wife as Vikrama girl, the sister of Vikramadhithya. He said to the Vijayaranga king, “Sir, though I am the brother in law of Vikramadhithya, he is demanding one thousand gold coins as tribute every year. Since there is famine in my country, I was not able to pay the tribute. But since Vikrama is very strict, I have a request to you. I will keep my wife as mortgage to you. Please give me one thousand gold coins. I will leave my wife with you and go out and soon earn sufficient money to repay your debt and release from mortgage my wife, and then I will come back and redeem her.”
Vijayaranga said that to Bhatti that there was no need to mortgage his wife and he would give him sufficient money. Thankfully this offer was rejected by Bhatti. The king send Vikrama girl to the fort where his daughter lives and Bhatti returned back with the wealth. He son buried the wealth in the nearby forest. By the help of Vetala he would become in to a bee and hide himself in the fort of Champakavalli daily.
Champakavalli became great friends with the Vikrama girl. After some time when they have become sufficiently intimate, Vikrama girl feigned great sorrow. Seeing that she is sad, Champakavalli enquired for the reason. In spite of her asking repeatedly the reason for her sorrow, Champakavalli told Vikrama girl the following story to emphasize the greatness of friendship:-
There was a town called Chathuragiri ruled by a king named Sainthava. He had a son called Chithrasena. When Chithrasena was studying in the forest with a Guru, he struck friendship with a hunter lad called Viliya Singa. They became very close friends. On the day of parting Chithrasena told Villya Singha, that any time he has any problem he can approach him, in spite of his being the king. But things did not work out that way. Villya Singa went several times to the palace but he was not even allowed inside. Days together he waited near the palace gate, Though Chithrasena came out several times he did not bother to talk to Villya Singha. Due to his getting fed up, Villya Singha decided to pursue hunting which was the work being done by his ancestors.
Villya Singha was an expert hunter and one day he lost his way and happened to reach a cave deep inside the forest. There was a cave. He went inside and saw a very uncouth sage sleeping with his head kept on the lap of a very pretty maiden. That maiden warned Villya Singha to go away as she felt that if the sage wakes up he will kill both of them.
After day break Villya singha returned to Chathuragiri. Some how he got audience to meet the king Chithrasena, then the hunter boy told the king about the pretty maiden. Chithrasena wanted to see the pretty princess. Villya Singha took him to the cave. Chithrasena told Villya Singha, to slowly remove the head of the sage and keep in on his lap. Villya singha did accordingly. Chithrasena and the princess ran away to get married. After some time, the sage woke up. When he was about to curse him Villya Singha told the entire story. Then the sage told that people should not have friends like Chithra sena. He then told a story about two very close friends:-

In the city of Brahmapuri there was prince called Sanmarga and his friend Gunabhadra who was the minister’s son. Both were extremely close friends. After they grew up Sanmarga married Suradhavalli the princess of a southern country and Gunabhadra married the princess of Kalinga country. Even after marriage their wives continued living in the homes of their fathers. At a certain time Sanmarga and Gunabhadra both started towards their wives’ homes with an intention of bringing both of them to their own country.
Sanmarga was walking in front and Gunabhadra behind him. Then a bird told another bird that the death was waiting to the one who is going in front. Gunabhadra, who knew the language of the birds, started walking in front requesting his friend to walk behind. Then the same birds told, he who walks behind would die soon. Troubled by this Gunabhadra started along with Sanmarga.
Gunabhadra thought that death was waiting Sanmarga in the country of his wife. They soon reached that place. As soon as they reached the boundary of the southern country , they send word to Sanmarga’s father in law about their arrival. He received them both and arranged for an ivory palanquin for Sanmarga and a green palanquin for Gunabhadra. Thinking that death was waiting in the Palanquin Gunabhadra travelled in the ivory palanquin and requested his friend to travel in the green palanquin.
When it was night the wife of Sanmarga came along with several sweets, milk and Thamboola to the room of her husband. Gunabhadra was hiding nearby , afraid that his friend may die. But by that time due to tiresomeness of the journey Sanmarga has slept. The princess became overjoyed and along with the sweets and milk left the palace . She went outside to meet her secret lover , who was a horrible looking lame man. That man chided her for coming late. Then she told him that her husband has come to take her away to his home. Then that lime man gave his sword to the princess and asked her to cut off the head of Sanmarga and bring it so that he would believe that she loves only him. The princess went inside and cut off the head of Sanmarga, Gunabhadra jumped and held her hand . But the princess shouted that Gunabhadra had killed her husband and was trying to rape her. The father of the princess who was the king entrusted his servants to hand Gunabhadra in the four directions of the town. They took him to the ministers in all four directions but left him free . They killed an animal and showed the blood stains to the king. The four ministers believed Gunabhadra and together preserved the body of the prince as per his desire. That night they followed the princess and caught her red handed along with her lame lover and took them to the king. The king got very upset , cut both his daughter and her lover in to two pieces and left for a pilgrimage to Kasi.
Gunabhadra continued with the preserved body of his friend and reached the place of his wife in Kalinga.
That night Gunabhadra’s wife also went out of the palace. Gunabhadra followed her. She went to the local temple and as per vow wanted to cut her head off before the Goddess as soon as her husband comes. The goddess prevented her from doing it. She gave her some sacred ash and a lime and told her, “Your husband had brought the dead body of his friend. If he does not come back alive, your husband would commit suicide. So go home . Sprinkle this ash and apply the juice of this fruit on the body of the friend of your husband. He would wake up alive.”
The princess went to back to be with her husband. Next day Gunabadhra told all the previous night incidents , as if he has seen them in a dream. His wife told that it was not a dream and really happened. Both of them went together and helped the prince to live again.
The saint told “This is the way , friends should be and not like your useless friend and went away to do penance.
Champakavalli told this to Vikrama girl and requested her to open up her mind. Vikrama girl replied, “Friend, all over the world, women enjoy married life and never hate men. I am not able to understand why you hate men and waste your life like this. I am sad because of that. Then Champakavalli told,
“Friend that is a big story. It is the story of my previous life. It is as follows:-
There was a forest called Pretty forest. There was a temple for the Goddess there. In the bamboo bushes there lived two pigeons called Salyavan and Sallari. For a long time they did not have any babies. By god’s grace at last Sallari laid two eggs. When both of them had gone in search of food, the bamboo bush caught fire and the eggs were destroyed. When Salyavan and Sallari came back, they were extremely sad. So both of them decided to jump in that fire and die. When they were about to jump in the fire , Salyavan ran away and I who was Sallari in previous birth was born with the memory of previous birth. This is the reason why I do not want to have anything with males.”
This story was heard by Bhatti who was hiding in the attic in the form of a lizard. He went back and appeared as the father of Vikrama girl along with the 1000 coins. Champakavalli was greatly sad at parting with the friend.
The next day Bhatti took the form of a magician and appeared before the king and showed him several breath taking tricks with the help of Vetala. When the king presented him with a heavy purse Bhatti told the king, “ Sir these tricks are like child play to my guru who is the forest. Unfortunately he will not come here to show his magic before you, because , he does not see any woman.”
King was particular to see the tricks of Bhatti’s guru and arranged for a non women audience. However Champakavalli was very particular on seeing the tricks. She was also present there hiding below a screen. Vikrama came as Guru of Bhatti and performed marvelous tricks. At the end when king asked him, why he will not see woman, he told,
“There was a forest called Pretty forest. There was a temple for the Goddess there. In the bamboo bushes there lived two pigeons called Salyavan and Sallari. For a long time they did not have any babies. By god’s grace at last Sallari laid two eggs. When both of them had gone in search of food, the bamboo bush caught fire and the eggs were destroyed. When Salyavan and Sallari came back, they were extremely sad. So both of them decided to jump in that fire and die. When they were about to jump in the fire , Sallari ran away and I who was Salyavan in previous birth was born with the memory of previous birth. This is the reason why I do not want to have anything to do with females.”
As soon as he told this story, Champakavalli jumped from behind the screen and started shouting that it was Salyavan who did not die. The king as well as the learned people heard them both and decided that Both Salyavan and Sallari died in their previous births but not knowing about each other’s death. So they all thought that it is appropriate that Sallari and Salyavan of this birth should marry each other. The marriage was celebrated after their consent. When Vikramadhithya wanted to go back to Ujjain, all people came to know that I was the great Vikramadhithya who has married their princess.