The Man of Miracles
The Night of Secrets
The night was dark. Flashes of lightning revealed terrifying faces all around, and thunderclaps echoed in the distant hills. Hyenas laughed, and jackals howled. But with firm steps, King Vikram returned to the old tree. He climbed it and brought down the corpse that hung from its top branch. With the corpse on his shoulder, he began crossing the cremation ground when the vampire possessing the corpse said, “O King, I suppose you are enduring these troubles with the intention of gaining some supernatural power. But know this, O King, supernatural power does not necessarily lead to happiness. Let me tell you the story of Maitreya to illustrate this point.”
The Tale of Maitreya
The vampire continued: This happened long ago when Pratapaditya was the King of Kanakaksha. In his court lived a talented artist, Kanakaksha, whose younger brother, Maitreya, had resided in the Himalayas since childhood. From a certain yogi, Maitreya learned the secret of performing miracles, though the yogi had warned him that it was undesirable to perform any miracle merely to impress or influence the worldly.
After the yogi’s death, Maitreya left the Himalayas and arrived in Ujjain. Kanakaksha was delighted to welcome his younger brother and presented him before the king. Kanakaksha had just completed a portrait of a horse when Maitreya, using his supernatural power, breathed life into it. The portrait transformed into a living horse!
A Shift in Power
The king and those present in the court were amazed, and the king bestowed upon Maitreya the position of a courtier. Soon, the king and Maitreya became close friends. One day, the king asked Kanakaksha to draw a portrait of himself. The artist gladly complied, and in the evening, he sent the portrait to Maitreya’s house with a request for Maitreya to breathe life into it and lead the king’s living replica to the palace at night.
Maitreya complied with the king’s request. At midnight, he led the king’s figure to the palace; however, an enemy of the king, lying in wait, mistook the dummy for the real king and shot an arrow at it. As Maitreya shouted for help, several people gathered, but the king’s dummy lay dead. Maitreya explained to the shocked crowd that the one who had died was not the real king, but only an illusory figure. However, by the next day, rumors spread throughout Ujjain, claiming that the one who had died was indeed the real king and that the king now on the throne was merely a dummy created by Maitreya.
The Consequences of Fame
People whispered about Maitreya everywhere he went. Initially, both he and the king ignored the gossip, but they soon felt unease about it. Ministers began to show greater respect to Maitreya, looking at the king with contempt. Neither the king nor Maitreya could feel at ease with the people.
Gradually, even members of the royal family began to view the king with suspicion, causing both him and Maitreya tremendous pain. One day, Maitreya met the king privately and said, “I have found a way to escape this knotty situation. I have a portrait of myself drawn by my brother. Tonight, I will breathe life into it. Tomorrow, you should summon my dummy to the court and accuse it of conspiracy against yourself and hang it.”
The Final Decision
“What will you do while I hang your dummy?” asked the king. “After breathing life into the portrait, I will leave for the Himalayas tonight,” Maitreya replied. The king looked sad, but after much contemplation, he reluctantly agreed to the plan.
At night, Maitreya breathed life into his own portrait and left Ujjain under the cover of darkness. In the morning, following the king’s orders, Maitreya’s living dummy was arrested and brought to the court. The king accused it of conspiracy and ordered it to be hanged. All present believed that the real Maitreya had been killed, as his figure was no longer seen, leading to the gossip about the king being the true ruler to cease.
The Vampire’s Challenge
The vampire paused for a moment before challenging the king to respond: “Why did Maitreya show his miracle in the court when his guru had warned him against it? How did Maitreya’s plan help the king? Why did Maitreya retreat to the Himalayas? Speak out the answers, if you can, O King. If you know the answers and yet remain silent, your head shall roll from your neck!”
King Vikram replied: “Maitreya had a great desire to impress others, so he performed his miracle in the court. However, upon realizing that his miracle brought great sorrow to the king, he devised a plan that led to the king hanging his dummy. People believed the real Maitreya was dead, which confirmed that the king was indeed the rightful ruler. Maitreya, having temporarily lost his eagerness for fame, decided it best to return to the Himalayas.”
As soon as King Vikram finished his response, the vampire, along with the corpse, vanished without a trace.