Since childhood, Sahas Singh was known as restless and mischievous. He was the only son of his father and mother, they loved him deeply and spoiled him greatly. He had no interest in household chores, but he became addicted to hunting wild animals from childhood. It was also easy for him to swim across the river in flood. He was especially good at all sorts of tricks, so in the end his parents began to admonish him: “After all, we will soon be old men, son! All our hope is in you. You are our support in old age. How long will you be mischievous?” But all the persuasion was in vain. Sahas Singh was so born that he loved to show off his prowess.
One day, when he was still at school, the teacher took his students for a walk. They came to the river bank. And the water in the river has risen from the recent rains, rushing in a muddy stream, washing away the banks. The students began to play on the green grass near the shore, and one of them came to the very edge, slipped and fell into the water.
The stream picked him up and carried him away. Sahas Singh saw this and, without hesitation, rushed into the river. The teacher became not himself, the students froze in place. And Sahas Singh fearlessly fights against the current. He grabbed the drowning man and swam back. When they reached the shore, Sahas Singh put his fellow student on the ground face down and began to beat him on the back and pump him out. People from all over the area came running, thanking Sahas Sinha, praising him for his courage. And another time, also on a walk, one boy stepped on a snake. She wrapped herself around his leg. He screamed out of fear in a voice that was not his own. But Sahas Singh was not at a loss, ran up, grabbed the snake by the tail and crushed its head on a stone.
“You are a brave boy,” the teacher told him. – Don’t you think about the danger? What if you get into trouble yourself?
- How can you not help someone who is in trouble? Sahas Singh replied. “But there’s no need to think about the danger.” You still can't escape death. She will overtake you in bed, if it’s written that way.
Then the teacher realized that Sahas Singh was an extraordinary child. After all, virtues in a person are already visible from the cradle.
When Sahas Singh grew up, he heard about the incomparable princess Chandraprabhu, the daughter of the Utkal king Virpal. “Moonlight” - that’s what her name meant, and in fact she was the real moon on earth. Anyone who saw her at least once could not forget for the rest of his life. In any matter she was an expert. When she started singing, even the animals froze in place, as if spellbound. The fame of her beauty and virtues spread throughout all kingdoms and states. Many beautiful princes wooed her, but her father decided that he would marry his daughter to the one who could secretly take away an ancient bed decorated with precious stones from his palace. And if anyone is captured, then he will be a prisoner in the royal prison for the rest of his life. Many princes have already tried to steal the precious bed, but no one succeeded. And so the unfortunates rotted in the palace dungeons. Sahas Singh learned about all this and decided to achieve his goal at all costs.
He sent a message to King Virpal in Utkal: be ready, Sahas Singh is coming to you to take possession of the precious bed and receive the princess’s hand.
King Virpal read this message, grinned and threw it away.
Meanwhile, Sahas Singh, in the guise of a merchant, came to the royal capital. He walked the city streets all day. When evening came, he knocked on the house of a respectable Brahmin widow and asked to spend the night.
The old widow received him kindly;
- Be a guest, son! It is known that a kind guest brings happiness to the home.
Sahas Singh talked with the Brahmin woman and asked her about the royal family. Soon he became instead of a son for the old woman and began to help her in all matters. When he started talking about moving to another house, she wouldn’t let him go:
- Be my support in my old age, don’t leave me, son!
Sahas Singh wrote another message to the king, saying that I, Sahas Singh, walk around your city every day. Catch me if you can!
The king received this message, convened the royal council and declared to the courtiers:
“Some stranger boasts that he walks around our city, but we know nothing about it.” How long can you tolerate this?
The chief of the city guard heard this and turned purple with shame and anger. He swore that tomorrow he would capture Sahas Sinha and bring him to the king.
Sahas Singh learned about this oath and in the evening asked the Brahmana:
- Mother! Is the captain of the guard's family large?
- No, son, it’s not big. Himself, his wife, and even his daughter. Three in total. His daughter was given in marriage to a merchant’s son. Immediately after the wedding, the son-in-law equipped a ship and left for distant countries. Since then there has been no word of him. And the poor thing has no children.
Night has fallen. When the widow fell asleep, Sahas Singh got up, dressed himself in a woman's dress and adorned himself with jewelry. He was excellently handsome, so women’s clothing came in handy for him. He went out into the street and sat down under a tree - where the chief of the city guard was supposed to pass. And indeed, the chief of the guard soon appeared, looking for Sahas Sinha. He saw a beautiful young woman sitting under a tree on the street, was surprised and asked:
– What are you doing here alone at night?
- Oh, my misfortune, sir! I was walking from the village. And here Sahas Singh is rampaging. He stopped me: sit here, he said, and don’t move until I come, otherwise I’ll cut your head off with a sword.
The chief of the guard rejoiced:
“That’s exactly what I need.” I've been looking for him for a long time.
“Then put on my clothes and give me yours.”
He's about to return. You will grab him in an instant and rid the world of the villain.
The chief of the guard liked this idea. They exchanged clothes. The chief of the guard, dressed as a woman, sat under a tree, and Sahas Singh, in the magnificent robes of the chief of the guard, went straight to his house. He knocked on the gate and said to the guard who came out:
“Go and report that the son-in-law of the chief of the city guard has returned from a foreign land.”
The people in the house were happy about this news. The boss's wife came running and hugged her son-in-law. She could not think about deception, and she had only seen her son-in-law once at a wedding many years ago. Could she remember his face? After the treat, they took him to rest. Then the chief’s daughter appeared and timidly spoke:
- You haven’t thought about me for a long time...
But Sahas Singh pretended to be asleep. Could he not just touch, but even look into the face of someone else’s wife? After all, he revered her as his own sister or mother. The chief's daughter placed her necklace at Sahas Sinha's head and left the bedchamber.
Meanwhile, the chief of the guard was still sitting under the tree. It’s already dawn. How does it feel for him to appear in front of people in a woman’s dress? There was nothing to do, he somehow made it to his home. There they reported to him about the arrival of his son-in-law. The chief was delighted, but suddenly learned that his son-in-law had disappeared somewhere, and with him his daughter’s necklace.
On the same day, the king received another letter. “I, Sahas Singh, taught your guard commander a lesson. Who else will dare to catch me? Let him try."
All the courtiers were excited. The chief of the guard sat ashamed.
The king wanted to entrust this matter to a junior adviser, recently hired and already known for his intelligence, but he began to refuse. Then the Chief Minister stepped forward:
- Allow me, sir! I will capture Sahas Sinha no later than tomorrow.
King Virpal agreed.
It's midnight. It’s so dark that you can’t feel the other with one hand. And the wind penetrated to the bones. And Sahas Singh, dressed as a washerman, stood on the bank of the pond and beat wet laundry against a stone with all his might. The chief minister heard that some washer was working at midnight and shouted sternly:
- Hey, who's there? Is now the time to wash clothes? Why are you disturbing people's sleep? Can't you work during the day?
- Why can’t I? But Sahas Singh gave me this linen and told me to wash it immediately. If I don’t manage it in an hour, I won’t live in the world.
- Is that so? Then get out of here, and I’ll wait here for Sahas Sinha,” said the minister. The washerman left, and the minister began to wash the clothes. He washed until dawn, but Sahas Singh never showed up.
The next day the king again assembled his council. Now the chief minister sat without raising his eyes in shame. This time the king himself swore that he would catch Sahas Sinha.
In the evening he went out into the city secretly and without bodyguards. And Sahas Singh dressed up as a traveling merchant selling roasted grain, and sat down in the middle of the street with his frying pan and taganka. The king saw him and called out:
- Hey! Are you crazy? For whom are you roasting grain at night?
- What should I do, sir? This is Sahasa Sinha grain. He told me to fry him. If I don’t make it in time, he’ll kill me on the spot. He promised to be back in an hour.
- Is that so? – the king exclaimed. “Give me your clothes, and take mine.” You'll be back here in an hour.
Sahas Singh grinned to himself, exchanged clothes with the king and headed to the royal palace. He did not find the precious bed anywhere, but he saw the sleeping princess Chandraprabhu. He took all her clothes and jewelry that were lying at the head of the bed and disappeared.
The next day, everyone in the royal council was despondent. What to do now? Finally they came up with the idea of writing to Sahas Singh that he, a worthy man, was not expected to steal. If he wants to get a princess as his wife, then let him take away the bed.
And when they wrote the letter, they began to think about where to send it. We decided to post it around the city.
The next morning the king received an answer: “Honest people never steal. You will get everything back in due time. And no matter how you store the precious bed, I will take it away from under the most reliable protection, even in front of everyone.”
Then the bed was placed in the middle of the city square. The most reliable guards were placed around. Night has fallen. The moon was shining brightly. And then the guards saw a poor ascetic with a long braid on the top of his head and in an orange cassock.
The guards bowed to the holy man and asked for his blessing. The ascetic sat down among them, asked for fire and lit a pipe. Fragrant smoke streamed from the pipe.
“This is the kind of tobacco that the god Shiva himself smoked,” said the ascetic. - Try it, take one puff. You will instantly forget all your sorrows.
The guards took turns inhaling the fragrant smoke and immediately fell asleep. And Sahas Singh, disguised as an ascetic, took the precious bed and was gone.
The next day, in the royal council, King Virpal said:
- Well, Sahas Singh took away the precious bed, but where to look for him now? He is truly a brave man. I will gladly marry my daughter to him.
- Sir, Sahas Singh is here! - said the junior adviser.
- Where is he? I don't see.
- Here he is. Right in front of you.
-What are you saying, advisor? Are you sane? - the king got angry. - If he is here, then let him come!
Everyone in the royal assembly became silent. The junior adviser stood up and approached the king. Everyone looked at him in amazement.
- It's you? - the king exclaimed.
The king celebrated the wedding of his daughter with Sahas Singh with unprecedented pomp.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru