The Prince, the Sea-Princess and the Barber

The two jackals at the Lion King’s court were grumbling because a newcomer, a bull, now controlled the food. “It is our own fault,” said Damanaka, “and people must suffer for their own mistakes. As the saying goes, fools pay for their folly.” And he told this story.

In the city of Golden Streets there reigned a brave king named Vira-vikrama. One day his officer of justice was leading a barber away to be punished, when a wandering beggar caught hold of the officer’s robe. “Don’t punish this man,” he cried. “Punish those who do wrong knowing full well what they are doing.” When they asked what he meant, he told them his story.

“I am Prince Kandarpa-ketu, son of the King of Ceylon. One day, walking in my summer garden, I heard a sea captain describe something he had seen far out at sea, deep under the water, on the fourteenth night of the moon. It looked like the tree of Paradise, and under it sat a lady of dazzling beauty, hung with pearls like the goddess Lukshmi, holding a lute and resting on a golden couch covered with jewels.

“At once I hired the captain and his ship and sailed to the place. There I saw the lady just as he had described her, and I was so overcome by her beauty that I leapt into the sea after her. In a moment I found myself in a city of gold. In a golden palace, surrounded by lovely young girls, sat the Queen of the Sea. She sent an attendant to greet me kindly, and I learned that she was Princess Ratnamanjari, daughter of the King of all the Spirits. She had vowed to marry whoever first came to see her golden city with his own eyes. So we were married, and I lived with her happily for many days.

“Then one day she took me aside. ‘Dear Prince,’ she said, ‘all these delights, and I myself, are yours. Only you must never touch that picture over there, the picture of the Fairy Streak-o’-Gold.’ For a long time I obeyed. But at last my curiosity was too strong, and I laid my hand on the picture. In an instant the fairy’s little foot, as lovely as a lotus flower, stepped out of the painting and kicked me through sea and sky all the way to my own country. Ever since, I have wandered in misery.

“Passing through this city, I happened to stay in a cowherd’s hut, and there I saw the truth about this barber’s affair. The cowherd came home at night with his cattle and found his wife talking with the barber’s wife, a sly woman who carried secret messages between his wife and a sweetheart she was not supposed to have. In a rage the cowherd beat his wife, tied her to the milking post and went to sleep.

“In the middle of the night the barber’s wife crept back. ‘Your sweetheart is pining for you,’ she whispered to the cowherd’s wife. ‘Go and comfort him, and I’ll tie myself to the post in your place until you come back.’ So they changed places.

“Soon the cowherd woke up and began to mock the woman at the post, thinking she was his wife. She dared not answer, and when she said nothing, he grew so angry that he cut off her nose. Then he went back to sleep.

“Before long the cowherd’s wife came home and asked if all was well. ‘Look at my face,’ said the barber’s wife, ‘and see for yourself.’ There was nothing for the cowherd’s wife to do but take her place at the post, while the barber’s wife went home, wondering how she could explain what had happened to her.

“Early in the morning, while it was still dark, the barber called to his wife to bring him his box of razors. She brought just one razor, and he threw it aside in annoyance. At once she screamed, ‘Neighbours, neighbours! He has cut off my nose!’ and she dragged him off to the officers.

“Meanwhile the cowherd, surprised at how quietly his wife was taking things, asked about her nose. ‘Cruel man,’ she said, ‘you cannot harm a faithful wife. If the god of death and the seven guardians of the world know that I am true, then let my face be unhurt!’ The cowherd ran for a light, and when he saw her face just as it had always been, he threw himself at her feet and begged her forgiveness.”

When the prince had finished, the king’s officer let him go. He then ordered that the barber be set free, the barber’s wife have her head shaved, and the cowherd’s wife be punished.

“That is my story,” said Damanaka, “and that is why I say we have no one to blame but ourselves.”

About this tale

This tale comes from the second part of the Hitopadesa, in Sir Edwin Arnold’s translation from the Sanskrit. The jackal Damanaka tells it to his brother, and inside it a wandering prince tells his own story, so that it is a tale within a tale within a tale.

The original is a story about deceit between husbands and wives. Here that part is told in plainer, gentler words, the cutting of the nose is told briefly, and the long verses are left out. Because of its subject, it suits older readers better than young children.

Read the original: Sir Edwin Arnold, The Book of Good Counsels from the Hitopadesa (Project Gutenberg #13268, The Prince and the Procuress)

Reading guidance: Older teen and adult readers; includes domestic abuse, facial mutilation, infidelity and a false accusation. Removed from child age categories; the ending requires critical discussion of unequal punishment.

A closer reading

The prince’s role changes from someone who broke a magical prohibition to a witness who can prevent a wrongful punishment. His earlier curiosity does not make the barber guilty, and the story he tells distinguishes an accusation from what he actually observed.

The ending calls attention to the women’s deception but gives no corresponding punishment for the cowherd’s beating and mutilation. That imbalance should be examined, not repeated as a complete account of justice. Infidelity, substitution and a false accusation are different wrongs; none makes domestic violence deserved. Damanaka’s claim that people have only themselves to blame fits the prince’s choice poorly as a universal rule for all the victims here.

Try this with the story

Create a witness timeline for the night in the cowherd’s hut and the morning accusation. Separate who did each act from who was blamed. Then identify whose harmful conduct the final judgment leaves unaddressed.

Questions to ask

• Which events does the prince witness, and which claims does his testimony contradict?
• Why is the barber not responsible for the injury?
• Which violent action goes unpunished in the ending?

You may also like

• The Story of the Terrible Bell — another tale from the jackals at the lion’s court
• The Story of the Cat Who Served the Lion — another fable told by the jackal Damanaka
• The House In The Lake.[2] — another tale of a magical kingdom under the water