Cradle Tales of Hindusim

The tale of Sati is gathered from the Bhagavat Purana and that of the Princess Uma from the Ramayana and from Kalidas' poem of Kumar Sambhaba The Birth of the War-Lord." Savitri the Indian Alcestis comes from that mine of jewels the Mahabharata as does also the incomparable story of Nala and Damayanti. [...] If so is the Krishna of the Return to Mathura of the Snake Kaliya of the Mountain and the Demons the Indian version of this Central Asian H erakles ? We have thus to decide whether the Krishna of the Puranic stories here given and the Krishna Partha Sarathi of the Mahabharata are two or one. [...] CUTTA _Ant 1907."CONTENTS THE CYCLE OF SNAKE TALES PAGE THE WONDROUS TALE OF THE CURSE THAT LAY UPON' TH E SNAKE-FOLK : AND FIRST OF THE SERPENT REALM BELOW THE EARTH 3 THE STORY OF THE DOOM OF PARIKSHEET 9 THE SACRIFICE OF JANAMEJAYA I 7 THE STORY OF SIVA THE GREAT GOD. 27 THE CYCLE OF INDIAN WIFEHOOD SATI THE PERFECT WIFE. [...] 267 BH A RATA. 271 THE JUDGMENT-SEAT OF VIKRAMADITYA 277 PRIT HI RAI LAST OF THE HINDU KNIGHTTHE INDIAN ROMEO AND JULIET 238 A CYCLE FROM THE MAHABHARATA THE STORY OF BHISHMA AND THE GREAT VAR 303 TILE ASCENT OF YUDISTHIRA INTO HEAVEN 330 THE CYCLE OF SNAKE TALESCRADLE TALES OF HINDUISM The Wondrous Tale of the Curse that lay upon the Snake-Folk : and first of the Serpent Realm below the [...] But when they told him the story of the hermit Shamika and his son Sringi and of the King's mansion built on a single column and the copper-coloured insect concealed in a fruit the mind of the young King put aside all the minor circumstances and fixed on the thought of the great Takshaka as the enemy of the royal house.