Realization of Prince Anandsen

The realization of Prince Anandsen

With firm determination Vikram carried Betal again and Betal started off with another story. The story was of the Prince of Chandrapur , Anandsen who had a passion for hunting. Once while he was hunting in the jungle, due to the storm he was separated from his friends and could not see anything. He fell down from the horse and banged his head against a stone. His horse ran away and he became unconscious. Later, few soldiers saw him and brought him to consciousness and told him that they were the soldiers of King Dharmaveer of Avantipur and that they were making him captive for the offence of crossing the border. Anandsen tried to say something but the soldiers told him to say whatever he wanted in the court of King Dharmaveer. When he was presented before King Dharmaveer, he became happy to know that Anandsen was the son of his best friend Sumeetsen. He told Anandsen to live in the palace for as much time as he wanted and also apologized for his soldiers’ behaviour. Anandsen told him not to bother as the soldiers were doing their duty. In fact they had saved his life and so he was thankful to them. Anandsen then asked permission to leave but King Dharmaveer forced him to stay back for a few more days. He also told Anandsen that he would send a messenger to his state to inform his parents about his wellbeing. Anandsen happily enjoyed the hospitality of Dharmaveer. One day, while he was lying down, he heard a sweet voice singing prayers to the Devi. He went to the temple to see who was singing. After the prayers were over, King Dharamveer introduced her to Anandsen saying that she was his daughter named Roopvati. Anandsen fell in love with her and always dreamt of Roopvati dancing in front of him. Once he asked a servant to get the Veena for him to play. The servants informed him that even princess Roopvati loved playing the Veena.

He went to Princess Roopvati who was playing the Veena and told her that prince Anandsen wanted the Veena. Roopvati happily gave the Veena. When Anandsen started playing it, Roopvati came and sat beside to listen. When Anandsen stopped playing, he was shocked to see Roopvati there. Roopvati told him to make her his student and teach her to play the Veena. Anandsen said that he wanted to marry her. Both of them loved each other. Later, Anandsen asked King Dharamveer for his permission to marry Roopvati. King Dharamveer told him that he would love to accept his proposal but could not as he had already fixed Roopvati’s marriage with the Prince of Sundernagar. When Roopvati came to know about this she told Anandsen that she could not live without him. So Anandsen asked her if she was ready to elope. She replied that she was ready to go anywhere with him. Anandsen asked her if she knew about any horse seller. Roopvati told him to go to Haribaba, the horse merchant. Anandsen told Roopvati to meet him at Shahibaug and he would come there with the horse and from there they would run away. When Anandsen went to Haribaba, he showed him two horses, one young and the other old. When he asked the price, Haribaba said that the younger one was for fifty mohurs and the elder one was for hundred mohurs. Anandsen was surprised and asked him as to why it was so. Haribaba replied that if the old horse starts running it will only stop when he wanted but the young horse would stop wherever he saw water because he was scared of water and that his great grand mother was scared of water too and it passed on from his grand mother to his mother and now him. Anandsen kept thinking and then gave a hundred mohurs to Haribaba and went straight to his state without taking Roopvati and Roopvati kept waiting for him.

Saying this, Betaal stopped and asked Vikram why Anandsen did not take Roopvati with him. As usual he forced Vikram to answer or else he would behead him. Vikram replied that when Anandsen heard the story of the young horse, he deeply thought that he was taking away somebody’s daughter and putting a father’s respectability at stake. Tomorrow, when he would be married and if his daughter did the same, he would not be able to bear it. So without maligning King Dharamveer’s honor and respectability he went away from there. Betaal was pleased with Vikram’s answer but as he had opened his mouth, Betaal once again flew away.