The Prince and the Yaksha
Adapted from Hindu Tales: An English Translation of Jacobi’s Ausgewählte Erzählungen in Māhārāshṭrī
Long ago, a young prince set out on a journey through a vast wilderness. The path was long and arduous, made worse by the scorching midday sun. The forest around him had recently been ravaged by fire, leaving a desolate landscape with little shelter from the heat.
As the prince traveled deeper into this barren wilderness, his strength began to fail. His delicate constitution was ill-suited to such harsh conditions, and he desperately searched for water to quench his thirst, but found none. The combination of the long journey, the intense heat, and his exhaustion soon overwhelmed him.
In the distance, he spotted a sattachaya tree standing alone in the wasteland. With his last reserves of energy, he ran toward it and collapsed in its shade. His eyes rolled back as he fell unconscious to the ground.
At that moment, something remarkable happened. The Yaksha—a powerful nature spirit—who dwelt in that tree saw the prince’s plight. Moved by the power of the prince’s good karma from past lives, the Yaksha brought fresh, cold water and sprinkled it over the young man’s limbs, reviving him.
When the prince regained consciousness, he gratefully drank the water offered by the Yaksha. Curious about his mysterious benefactor, he asked, “Who are you, and from where did you bring this water?”
“I am the Yaksha who dwells in this tree,” the spirit replied. “I brought this water for you from Manasa, the most excellent of lakes.”
The prince, still feeling the effects of the heat, said, “This burning fever within me can only be fully relieved by bathing in Lake Manasa itself.”
Hearing this, the Yaksha replied, “I will fulfill your wish.” The spirit cupped his hands to form a bowl-like cavity and, through his magical powers, transported the prince directly to the sacred Lake Manasa.
The prince immersed himself in the cool waters, following the proper ritual bathing customs. But his presence at the lake did not go unnoticed. Another Yaksha named Asiyakkha, who lived on Mount Veyaddha, spotted the prince. Mistaking him for an intruder with malicious intent, Asiyakkha flew into a rage and confronted the young man.
The battle that followed was extraordinary. First, Asiyakkha summoned a mighty wind filled with flying pebbles that uprooted the largest trees. The air grew dark with thick dust. Then he conjured fearsome Pisachas—ghoulish spirits with hair as red as blazing fire, who laughed maniacally while surrounded by whirling flames.
The prince stood his ground, showing no fear. Seeing this, Asiyakkha bound him with fetters made of living snakes that flashed flames and sparks from their eyes. But the prince tore these serpent bonds apart as if they were worn-out ropes.
The enraged Yaksha then attacked with his bare hands, landing mighty blows. The prince responded with powerful punches that shattered his opponent. Asiyakkha, growing more furious, struck the prince’s chest with an iron-studded hammer.
Undeterred, the prince uprooted a massive sandalwood tree and struck the Yaksha across the thighs, causing him to fall to the ground like a felled tree. In desperation, Asiyakkha hurled an entire mountain at the prince. The impact severely injured the young man, and he briefly lost consciousness.
When the prince recovered, he engaged the Yaksha in hand-to-hand combat. With a single blow of his hammer-like fist, he shattered Asiyakkha into a hundred pieces. Being immortal, the Yaksha did not die but vanished with a terrible howl.
Gods and celestial beings who had gathered to witness this extraordinary battle showered flowers upon the prince, exclaiming, “Ah, the Yaksha has been vanquished by the prince!”
As the sun began to set, the victorious prince departed from Lake Manasa and traveled a short distance into the forest. There, he encountered eight charming young women who appeared as beautiful as the goddesses of the eight directions of heaven. They gazed at him with tender looks.
Curious, the prince approached them gently and asked in a sweet voice, “Who are you? Why do you grace this desolate wilderness with your presence?”
They replied, “Our city, called Piyasamgama, is not far from here. Please, first take rest there.” They led the prince to their city, where he was brought before their father, King Bhanuvega.
The king rose to greet the prince and performed the proper rites of hospitality. Then he addressed the young man: “Illustrious sir, these eight girls are my daughters. The sage Accimali foretold that ‘he who will vanquish the Yaksha Asiyakkha will be their husband.’ Therefore, I ask you to marry them.”
The prince agreed, and the wedding ceremonies were performed with great splendor. The marriage string was tied around his wrist, and he spent the night with his new brides in the chamber of love.
But when he awoke the next morning, the prince found himself lying alone on the bare ground. Confused, he wondered, “What is this?” The only evidence of his wedding was the marriage string still tied around his wrist. Undaunted by this strange turn of events, he continued his journey.
Soon, he came upon a magnificent palace atop a mighty mountain, its pillars made of precious jewels. Suspecting more magical trickery, he approached cautiously. As he drew near, he heard the sound of a woman weeping pitifully.
Fearlessly, the prince entered the palace and climbed to its seventh story. There, he found a heavenly maiden crying and repeatedly lamenting, “Sanamkumara, moon of the sky of the Kuru race, may you be my spouse at least in another birth.”
Amazed at hearing his own name, the prince was given a seat and asked her, “What connection do you have with this Sanamkumara that you seek his protection?”
She replied, “He is my husband by virtue of my wishes alone. King Suraha of the city of Saketa had promised me to him in marriage because I fell in love with Sanamkumara after seeing his portrait brought by a messenger. I am the beloved daughter of the king’s mother, Candajasa. But before the wedding could take place, I was abducted from my palace by a Vidyadhara prince who brought me to this white palace created by his magic, and then disappeared.”
While she was speaking, the Vidyadhara named Vajiavega, son of Asanivega, suddenly returned. Seeing the prince, he used his powers to fling him high into the celestial sphere. The maiden cried out in anguish and fainted.
In the meantime, the prince managed to kill the wicked Vidyadhara with a single blow of his fist and returned unharmed to the maiden’s side. He revived her, told her his story, and married her. She became his “Pearl of Women,” named Sunanda.
Shortly afterward, Vajiavega’s sister Samjhavali arrived and was enraged to find her brother slain. But then she remembered an astrologer’s prediction that she would marry her brother’s killer. With Sunanda’s consent, the prince married Samjhavali as well.
Soon after, two Vidyadharas came to the prince with a message: “Your Majesty, Asanivega has learned of his son’s death and marches against you with an army of Vidyadharas. Kings Candavega and Bhanuvega have sent us, their sons Haricanda and Candasena, with a chariot and equipment for battle. Our fathers have also come to serve you.”
Indeed, Candavega and Bhanuvega arrived to aid the prince, and Samjhavali gave him the magical science called Pannatti. The prince, alongside his new allies and their armies, engaged Asanivega’s forces in battle.
When the armies clashed, the prince found himself in direct combat with Asanivega. The Vidyadhara king hurled the Great Snake Missile, but the prince countered it with the Garuda Missile. When Asanivega launched the Missile of Fire, the prince neutralized it with the Missile of Varuna, god of waters. Against the Missile of Wind, the prince deployed the Missile of the Mountain.
Frustrated, Asanivega attacked with bow and arrow, but the prince severed his bowstring. The Vidyadhara drew his scimitar, only to have his hand cut off. Finally, when Asanivega attempted hand-to-hand combat, the prince used his disc weapon to behead him.
In that moment, the Royal Fortune of Asanivega, along with all his Vidyadhara subjects, transferred their allegiance to the prince, now recognized as Sanamkumara. Victorious, he descended from the sky with the Vidyadharas to a magnificent palace where Sunanda and Samjhavali joyfully welcomed him.
The prince then traveled to Mount Veyaddha, surrounded by companies of Vidyadharas, with the sound of festive instruments filling the air. He was enthroned as king of all the fairies, and they lived in great joy.
One day, Candavega approached the new king with a story: “Your Majesty, the saint Accimali once told me that your destiny was foretold by the Jinas. You are the fourth universal monarch, and your battle with the Yaksha Asiyakkha was predestined by enmity from a previous life.”
And so it was revealed that in a past existence, the prince had been a king named Vikkamajasa, and Asiyakkha had been a merchant who coveted the king’s wife. Their conflict, carried across lifetimes, had finally been resolved through the prince’s victory, fulfilling an ancient prophecy and establishing his rightful place as a universal monarch.
This tale teaches that our actions create connections that span multiple lifetimes, and that true courage comes from facing challenges with determination rather than fear. It also shows how destiny guides us to fulfill our purpose, even through seemingly random encounters.
