King Vikramaditya reached the peepal tree. He pulled the corpse down and putting it on his shoulder walked as usual. Baital again started to tell him a story as follows:
Once, there was a king named Jwalasen. He ruled the kingdom of Ujjain. But he was not a good king. He was an addict and gambled the whole day. One day, King Jwalasen was gambling as usual. In the process, he lost his kingdom to his opponent who was the neighbouring king. The neighbouring king threw King Jwalasen out of the kingdom. So, he decided to take shelter in a friendly kingdom. Keeping this in mind, he started his journey.
On the way, King Jwalasen passed a crematory. He saw a hermit deep in meditation. The King was hungry, so he paid respects to the hermit and sat next to him.
After a while, the hermit opened his eyes. He saw the King sitting beside him and asked, “Who are you?” King Jwalasen told everything about himself to the hermit. Then he also mentioned that he was very hungry. The hermit replied, “I have only fruits and nuts to offer you. Would you like to eat those?” The hungry King replied immediately, “Yes, Your Holiness!”
So, the hermit gave his skull bowl, which was filled with fruits and nuts, to the King. But the King did not wish to eat from the skull bowl. He said, “I cannot eat from this skull bowl as I am a king.” The hermit just smiled. Then he chanted a mantra. Suddenly, a beautiful woman appeared there. The hermit told the woman to take the king inside his hut and serve him delicious food in gold utensils.
So, the woman took the King inside the hut. But the King was surprised to see a palace there. The woman served him delicious food in gold utensils. King Jwalasen was attracted to the woman. He enjoyed the food as well as her company. After eating to his heart’s content, he lay down to rest. Soon, he was fast asleep.
Several hours later when the King got up, he was sad to see that there was no palace and no woman. Everything had disappeared. The King went to the hermit and asked, “Where has everything disappeared, Your Holiness?”
The hermit replied, “That was all illusion. I had created it.” The King requested the hermit to teach him that art. The hermit said, “It needs concentration and dedication.” The King said he would do it. So, the hermit gave the mantra to the King.
The King was ecstatic. The hermit said, “Master the mantra by heart. Then recite it for thirty days standing in cold water and then again for thirty days sitting in front of the fire.” The King promised the hermit that he would follow his instructions. He learnt the mantra by heart. Then he recited it for the first thirty days standing in cold water and then again for another thirty days sitting in front of the fire. But before showing his powers to the hermit, he decided to test the powers of the mantra by calling the same young girl, whom the hermit had sent. So, the King uttered the mantra. Sadly, the mantra did not create any woman. The King was very disappointed.
Having ended the story here, Baital asked King Vikramaditya, “Vikram, answer me as to why the mantra did not work. Was the hermit at fault?”
Baital continued, “If you knowingly do not answer my question correctly, I shall break your head into pieces.” King Vikramaditya replied, “No, the hermit cannot be blamed. It was the fault of the King. It is not possible to master a mantra by just reciting it without concentration. Though the King did all that the hermit had told him to yet he lacked concentration. He was constantly thinking of the girl, of spending time with her or the luxuries of life, which he always desired to have. One needs to have concentration to succeed. This is the reason the King failed.”
Baital said, “You are absolutely right as usual, Vikram! But you have spoken. I cannot stay with you now, so I will go.” Vikramaditya tried to hold Baital tightly but could not stop him. Baital at once flew off King Vikramaditya’s shoulder. He headed straight for his abode in the peepal tree. King Vikramaditya was furious. He followed him once again.
