Vagabond Multilingual Journal Spring 2014 | Page 19

Having said that, he said to the prince, when you see the demons, you must say pretty
words to them. Just as a stone is worn away by the rubbing of water, so too will the
demons wear away by words.” But the prince was hesitant. He responded, “How will
sweet words defeat them? Fool! We will surely die.”
“No, no prince. The demons were not only powerful because of magic but because of
harsh words. If you speak sweet words, then the demons will not grow in strength. They
will become weak,” the sage-poet said.
“That being so, what will I say?” The prince asked. “You should speak pleasant words.
Even if you desire to speak meanly, you should not say terrible words. So that you are not
bewildered by fear of the demons, cover your face, skin, nose, eyes and ears. The mere
touch, smell, sound, sight, and the taste of blood in the air in their presence will defeat
you. Protect yourself and say the words.” The prince agreed but he thought to himself, “I
will say the words but there is no reason for protection.”
When the demon army approached the kingdom, Bhoja went to meet them along with
the sage-poet, but without protection. The prince prepared to say the words, but when
he came to the presence of the demons, he saw their terrible faces, heard the gnashing of
their teeth, smelled the stench of rotting meat, and felt the touch of their violence. And
when he tasted blood in the air, he became senseless with fear. In his state of confusion,
he spoke cruel words, not sweet ones: “Oh, my eyes! They burn! Damn it! How terrible!”
Having heard those words, the demons were not pleased and became extremely angry.
As they became angry, their power grew. Their teeth grew sharper, their noises became
loud, and they became more terrible before the prince’s very eyes.
Thank goodness the sage-poet was there. With his quick thinking and cunning, his
entire body was concealed by a covering and so he was protected. He did not become
bewildered in the demons’ presence and he said extremely beautiful words. Because he
could not see, he could say, “Oh lovely demons!” Because he could not hear, he said, “You
make beautiful sounds!” Because he could not smell, “Your lovely scent is like blossoms!”
Again and again the sage-poet said many such words and praised the demons. And as he
honored the demons, their power waned. When they were pleased, they were extremely
weak. So the army of the prince was able to kill the demons.
When all the demons were slain, the sage-poet said to the prince, “do you still think,
‘’there is no use for words and intellect?’” After that, when Bhoja became king, he knew
to honor people who of intellect and poetry. This is the story of Bhoja.

by Norielle Adricula
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