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| Goblin from Warhammer |
Twenty Two Goblins
by Somadeva
translated by Arthur W Ryder
published in 1917
it is a translation of the Vetāla-pañca-viṃśati,
a Sanskrit Classic
A goblin is hanging in a tree, taking over a dead man's body. A good king is sent by a man desiring to become the King of the Fairies by retrieving the magical powers out of the goblin. The king is indebted to this man, because for many years, the man has been bringing him an offering of desirable jewels concealed inside of a piece of fruit everyday. The king asks him what he can do for him, and the man asks him to retrieve the goblin.
The goblin tells tales to King every time that he is removed from the tree, and questions the King at the end of each tale. The King must answer honestly if he knows the answer, or his head will burst into a hundred different pieces. For 22 different stories, the King answers the goblin's tales, but on the final time, the goblin warns the king what the man who sent the King to him is really after.
Reading Part A:
First Goblin: Well, these names are interesting. King Triple Victory, Ear-Lotus, Bite. I like that if the King doesn't answer, then his head will fly into a million pieces. I can't believe this how this whole thing got started though, and it's hard to believe a king would leave his duties to go and capture a goblin, but here we go.
Second Goblin: "Great-minded people do not waver until they have kept their promises, even at the cost of life." This is going to be a long journey with the goblin frequently escaping, I can see. Third Goblin: Usually women are bad, while only a few bad men occur here or there. Hummpppfff. I take offense to this. When was this story told, again? 12th century?
Reading Part B:
Fourth Goblin: "What good is life to me without my children?" And the father tried to cut off his own head, when suddenly a voice came out of nowhere, telling him to stop! I've been seeing this theme throughout a lot of old stories, lately. Sixth Goblin: The girl who transposed the head and the body of her husband and her brother. Ummmmm, interesting! What's going to happen here?! The king decides the head of the husband is to be her husband, for that's how we recognize people. True, it's how they think, and who really wants to kiss their brother? Seventh Goblin: The Mutual Services of King Fierce-Lion and Prince Good. I'm really loving these names here. This is actually one of my favorite stories: Ocean, sinking ship, dive in after the flag pole, sink down in the Ocean, discover a hidden city, and a beautiful maiden under the sea. **I really like the idea that the pool connects the two worlds. This is really similar to one of my favorite childhood books about a princess that goes between worlds through the decorative pond in her court, but I can never remember the name of that book.
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Vetala Panchavimshati (Sanskrit: वेतालपञ्चविंशति, or Baital Pachisi is a collection of tales and legends from India, and was originally written in Sanskrit. "One of its oldest recension's is found in the 12th Book of the Kathasaritsagara ("Ocean of the Streams of Story"), a work in Sanskrit compiled in the 11th century by Somadeva, but based on yet older materials, now lost. This recension comprises in fact twenty four tales, the frame narrative itself being the twenty fifth." (From the Wikipedia Page Vetala Panchavimshati.
I read the text by Somadeva written sometime in the 11th Century in Sanskrit (I read the translated to English version, of course!), of which other stories related to this are presumably lost. Arthur W Ryder translated the text into English. Although, conflicting information shows that Arthur W Ryder used Dandin's version of the text, which was written in the 7th-8th Century.
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Scholarship is less than sense
Therefore seek intelligence.
— an epigram Ryder translated
from the Panchatantra and quoted often.
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| Arthur W Ryder |
