The Wicked Lady and the Buttermilk Wise Man (Seduction)

　　Once upon a time, a very rich man was living in Benares, in northern India. He had a daughter who was one of the most beautiful women in the city. Her skin was as soft as rose petals, her complexion was like lotus blossoms, and her hair was as black as midnight. But unfortunately her beauty was only skin deep. For, on the inside, she was very cruel. She insulted her servants and even enjoyed beating them. She became known as the ”Wicked Lady”.

　　One day she went down to the river for her bath. While she bathed, her servant girls played and splashed in the water. Suddenly it became dark and a heavy rainstorm came upon them. Most of the attendants and guards ran away. The servant girls said to each other, "This would be a perfect time to get rid of the Wicked Lady once and for all! So they deserted her there, still bathing in midstream. The storm became more and more terrible as the sun set.

　　When the servant girls arrived home without the Wicked Lady, the rich man asked them, "Where is my precious daughter

　　" They replied, "We saw her coming out of the river, but since then we haven”t seen her. We don”t know where she went." The rich man sent out relatives to search for her, but she was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile the Wicked Lady had been swept downstream by the ferocious flooded river.

　　There just so happened to be a holy man living in the forest next to the river. In this peaceful area he had been meditating for a long time, until he had come to enjoy the inner happiness of a high mental state. Because of this happiness, he was quite sure he had left the ordinary desires of the world behind.

　　At about midnight the Wicked Lady was carried past the holy man”s hut by the raging river. She was crying out and screaming for help. When he heard her, the holy man realised a woman was in danger. So he took a torch down to the river and saw her being swept along. He ped in and saved her. He comforted her, saying, "Don”t worry, I”ll look after you."

　　He carried her into his hut and made a fire to dry her off and warm her up. He gave her fruits to eat. When she had eaten her fill, he asked, "Where do you live

　　 How did you fall in the river

　　" She told him about the storm and how her servants deserted her. He took pity on her and let her sleep in his hut for the next couple of nights. He himself slept under the stars.

　　When she had recovered her strength, he told her it was time to return home. But she knew that he was the type of holy man who promised never to live with a woman, as husband and wife. That was why he had slept outside while she slept in the hut.

　　Just to prove her own power and superiority over him, she decided to seduce him into breaking his religious promise. She refused to leave until she had tricked him into falling in love with her.

　　The Wicked Lady used the poses and tricks and flatteries that women learn. The holy man was not yet strong enough to resist her tempting ways. After a few days she succeeded in seducing him into breaking his promise. They began living together in the quiet forest as if they were husband and wife. He lost the inner happiness he had gained by years of meditating.

　　But soon the Wicked Lady grew bored with forest life. She missed the noise and excitement of crowded city life. So she cooed and coaxed until she got her way, and they moved to a nearby village.

　　In the beginning, the holy man supported her by selling buttermilk. Later on, the villagers came and asked him for advice. They soon realised that listening to him brought good fortune. So they started calling him ”the Buttermilk Wise Man”, and gave him a hut to live in.

　　Then one day a gang of bandits attacked the village. They robbed all the valuables and kidnapped some of the village…

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