One to Thirteen

Aṣṭāvakra said to the king: Here among these matchless kings gathered together, there is no telling one debater from another, any more than one can tell apart the swans calling on a great lake. And to Bandin he said: You who think yourself the greatest of speakers, today you will not answer me. You have made your wager. Stand firm before me, Bandin, as before a blazing fire.

Do not wake a sleeping tiger, said Bandin, or a poisonous snake licking the corners of its mouth. You have struck its head as if you had trodden on it, and you will not get away unbitten. A weak man who in his pride strikes a mountain only breaks his own hand and nails, and no wound is seen on the mountain. All kings bow before the king of Mithilā as calves before a bull.

Then Aṣṭāvakra, roaring with anger in the assembly, said to Bandin: Answer what I say, and I will answer what you say. And they began.

Each in turn spoke a verse on a number, naming things that come in that number, from the gods, the sacrifice, the metres of the hymns, the sky and daily life. Bandin began with one, Aṣṭāvakra answered with two, and so on, each verse one number higher, until one of them could not go on.

One fire is kindled in many ways, said Bandin. One sun lights up all this world. One hero, the king of the gods, slays the enemies. Yama alone is lord of the ancestors.

Two friends, Indra and Agni, go together, said Aṣṭāvakra. Two are the divine seers, Nārada and Parvata. Two are the Aśvins, two the wheels of a chariot. Husband and wife, two, were ordained by the Creator.

Three times are creatures born through their deeds, said Bandin. Three yoked together carry the Vājapeya sacrifice. The priests spread out three pressings of soma. Three are the worlds and three the lights.

Four are the dwellings of the brahmins, said Aṣṭāvakra. Four, yoked together, carry this sacrifice. Four are the quarters and four the classes. The cow is called four-footed.

Five are the fires, said Bandin, and the paṅkti metre has five feet. Five are the sacrifices and five the senses. In the Veda five apsaras with five tufts are seen, and in the world the holy land of the five rivers is famous.

Six, some declare, is the fee at the laying of the sacred fire, said Aṣṭāvakra. These six seasons are the wheel of time. Six are the senses and six the Kṛttikās. Six one-day sacrifices are seen in all the Vedas.

Seven are the tame animals and seven the wild, said Bandin. Seven metres carry one sacrifice. Seven are the seers and seven the honours, and the vīṇā is famed for its seven strings.

Eight śāṇas make a śatamāna, said Aṣṭāvakra, and the śarabha that kills lions has eight feet. We have heard of eight Vasus among the gods, and the sacrificial post in every sacrifice has eight corners.

Nine are the kindling verses for the ancestors, said Bandin, and they say creation is ninefold. The bṛhatī metre is taught to have nine syllables, and nine is the furthest any count goes.

Ten are the stages of a man's life in the world, said Aṣṭāvakra, and ten hundreds make a thousand. Women with child carry their children ten months. Ten are the Erakas, the Dāśas, the Daśārṇas.

Eleven are the victims of the eleven-fold rite, said Bandin, and eleven the sacrificial posts. Eleven are the changes of living beings, and eleven Rudras are named among the gods in heaven.

The year has twelve months, said Aṣṭāvakra, and the jagatī metre has twelve syllables to a foot. The twelve-day sacrifice is taught as the common one, and the brahmins speak of twelve Ādityas.

The thirteenth day of the moon is called the most fierce, said Bandin, and the earth has thirteen islands.

There Bandin stopped, with only half a verse spoken, and could not go on. Aṣṭāvakra finished the verse for him: And the long metres begin with thirteen syllables.

Then a great shout went up, for Bandin, the sūta's son, was silent and stood with his head bowed, lost in thought, while Aṣṭāvakra spoke on. And in the uproar at King Janaka's rich sacrifice, all the brahmins came to Aṣṭāvakra with folded hands and honoured him.