कपटभिक्षु

{ kapaṭabhikṣu }

Puranic Encyclopaedia

KAPAṬABHIKṢU   A false sage. To illustrate the fact that if a man fails in his deceit he will be subjected to ridicule, a story of a false sage occurs in Kathāsaritsāgara. Since this Character has earned a place in the Indian literature his story is given below: There was once a city called Mākandī on the banks of the river Gaṅgā. In that city lived a sage who observed silence as a Vrata. One day when he went begging he saw a beautiful girl in a Vaiśya's house and the false ascetic was attracted by her. Breaking his silence he said “What a pity!” and left the place. The Vaiśya was worried why the sage said so and approached him and asked why he broke his silence to say so. The sage said: “Your daughter is ill-omened. If you give her in marriage all of you remaining will perish. So pack her in a box and with a torch burning on the top of it set it afloat on the river.” The Vaiśya did so. The sage coming to his Āśrama called his disciples to his side and said “To-night a box with a torch burning on the top of it will come floating on the river. You must take it and bring it to me without opening it.” The disciples went to the river and seeing the box coming floating caught it and took it to their preceptor. But from a point high up in the river a prince had seen the box coming floating and had opened it. He had then released the girl from the box and had floated the box again filling it with a black monkey. When the disciples got the box to the guru he said “Take it upstairs and keep it there. There is a Pūjā to be conduct- ed with the recital of sacred verses. It should not be seen by others. You can all go to sleep.” The false sage went up eager to enjoy the girl in the box and opened the box with pleasant thoughts. But to his utter horror there jumped from the box a ferocious black monkey who mauled him terribly. The Kapaṭabhikṣu was fooled. [Taraṅga 1. Lāvāṇakalambaka, Kathāsaritsāgara] .