The Quick Witted Princess / बुधियारि रानी

September 11, 2016: Session 4
Maithili Folklore Story 16_09_11_4

Documented by Coralynn V. Davis
Transcription and Translation by Pranav Prakash

Teller: Manjula Devi Jha
Location: Madhubani
Date: 9/11/16

View the transcription in Maithili.

[ फेर स कहिये । ]

[ Tell it again. ]

कहलिये तऽ, जे एकटा छलैय…ब्राह्मण छलखिन्ह । बहूत गरीब । हुन्का एकटा बेटी रहैन । बहूत सुन्दर । त गरीब छलखिन्ह, त जाड़ेन-काठी बेटी बिछैलऽ गाछी-कलम में जायेत रहे । त ओय में एकटा राजकुमार एले । त हुन्का कहलखेन जे “आहाँ कीया एहन सुन्दरी भौ क ? ककर बेटी छी ? की…आहाँ एय जाड़ेन किया तोड़ै छी ?”

Wasn’t I saying it, that there was…a brahim. Extremely poor. He had a daughter. Incredibly pretty. Since he was beggarly, his daughters used to fetch firewood from bosks and groves. Once a prince happened to arrive there. He said to her, “Why are you doing this, you are so beautiful? Whose daughter are you? Why are you plucking firewood?”

त कहलके, “एना-एना हम बहूत गरीब छी । जाड़ेन-काठी तोड़ क लॅ जायेछी, त हमर बाबू बेचैछेथ, त ओय से हमरा सबके गुजर होय य ।” उ राजकुमार ओकरा जाड़ेन वाली क लॅ क अपन चेल गेल । कहलके, “हमरा संगे चॅलू ।” कहलके, “नै, नै, हम नै जायेब । हमरा…माय-बाप ताकत, इ करत ।” ओ कहलके, “नै, आहाँ चॅलू । माय-बाप कॅ हम खबर कॅ देब ।” उ राजकुमार…ओ ब्राह्मणक बेटी कॅ लॅ गेल, सुन्दर ओहन देखै में छलै । राजमहल में लॅ जाय कॅ, राजा के अपन, रानी के पोशाक-तोशाक पहीरा कॅ, उ राजा (राजकुमार?) बियाह कॅ लेलक, ओकरा स । बियाह कॅ लेलक तऽ उ राजकुमारी भौ गेल । त ओकरा कहलके जे…सब पूछै जे “कतै स बि…” ओकरा घर के जे रेहै, माय पीतियाएन, जे रहै से पूछै, “कत सॅ आनलौं ? कत सॅ…?” अ त राजकुमारी ओकरा रस्ते में पहीरा-औढ़ा के लॅ गेल, राजकुमारी बनाकऽ महल । त कहलके, “कत एकर घर छे ? कत दुआएर छे ?” त उ अपना कहलके, ओकर सब कहे, “हम चाची ओठमाँ जाएब, चाची ओठमाँ जाएब, भौजी, ओत्तै जाएब, भौजी नैहर जाएब, भौजी नैहर…।” नैहर…इ कतै लॅ जेत्तै । फाटल-चीटल के घर-खोपड़ी, पैन जे चूबे, तऽ…बरसा होये तऽ घर में चूबै । सूर्ज उगठिन त सबटा ओकरा घरै में…रोसनी अबै…। तेना कॅ क माँ-बाप त गुजर करै । गुजर करै तऽ कहलके कि…जे अथि…।

She replied, “We are somehow very poor. When I pluck and fetch the firewood, then my father is able to sell it, and that’s how we make our ends meet.” The prince took that firewood-gathering-girl with him. He said to her, “You come with me.” She replied, “No, no, I will not go. My father and mother will search for me, they will look for me.” He said, “No, you come with me. I will send a message to your parents.” That prince…he took the daughter of that brahmin with him. She was so good-looking. He brought her to his palace. He dressed like a king, and he dressed her like a queen. That king (prince?) was married to her. Since he was married to her, she became the princess. Then they said to him…everyone was asking, “Where is the bride from…?” All members residing in the palace – his mother, aunt, and others – were curious, “Where did he find her? From where…” On his part, the prince had dressed her like a princess on his way to the palace. So, everyone asked the prince, “Where is her home? Where is its doorway?” He responded to them. His family members said to him, “We want to visit our aunt’s house, we will go to our aunt’s home…our sister-in-law’s place…we want to go there, we want travel to our sister-in-law’s home, to our sister-in-law’s place…” Given what the sister-in-law’s home was like…where could she bring them. A dilapidated hut made of clay tiles and thatches, water dripping from its roof…when it rained, the rainwater would flow into the house. When the sun would rise, its rays would enter directly into the house…bright light poured in…that’s how miserably her parents got by. Given their modest means, she said…that…

बाप एलै । बाप क पता चललै जे, “एना एना, फलना ओठाँ के राजकुमार लॅ गेल हमरा बेटी के ।” त बाप एले बेटी कॅ भेट करे लॅ । त की लॅ क एते, एते-ओते कीछ लॅ क एले । बेटी ओकर बड्ड होशियार रहे । त बाप के पूछलके । लोग-सब रहे, सासुर के लोग सब रहे लॅग में बैसल, केना पूछतै जे, “आहाँ के की हालत एच्छ ?” बाप से पूछलके, “बाबू, चाँद सूरुज घर उगते ऐच्छ ?” इ मने…रोसनी घर ओहने टूटल ए । “बाबू…अथि…पूर्णिमा के चाँद घर में उगते एच्छ ?”
“हाँ बेटी, उगते ए ।”
“आलेड़-झालेड़ लटकल ए ?”
“हाँ बेटी, लटकल ए ।”
मने ओहने पुरान गोदड़ी टाँएग क, मने घर में गुजर चलै छी । 
“हाँ बेटी, लटकल ए ।”
“परवा दाना चुन-चुन खायते एच्छ ?” मने आहाँ सब माँएग-चाँएग क खायेछी ?
त कहलके, “हाँ बेटी, खायते छे ।”
आब ओकरा घर के जत्ते लोग रहै, से कहै, “बाप रे, एइ भौजी के नैहर एहन छै – चाँद-सुरुज घर में उगै छे, बरसा घर में होयेछे, परवा-कबूत्तर दाना चुन-चुन कॅ खायेछै । आब त हम सब जाएब ।” भाए के, चच्चा के कहै, “हमरा भौजी के गाँव लॅ जाओ ।”

Her father came. Her father found out that “after such-and-such turn of events, the prince of some region had taken my daughter away.” So, her father came to meet his daughter. What could he possibly bring for her daughter? He had assembled a few things from here and there, and he brought them to her. Her daughter was very intelligent. She asked his father. There were people around her, all of her in-laws were sitting next to her, so how could she ask him, “How is your living condition?” In stead, she asked, “Dad, do sun and moon still rise in our house?” That is…does the light still enter our broken house? She continued, “Dad…does the full moon still rise in our home?” 
“Yes dear, it still rises.”
“Are wall hangings still suspended?”
“Yes dear, they still are.”
She meant if they were still using trashed items to cover the roof, that is, to get by in house. 
“Yes dear, it still hanging above.”
“Do the birds still peck at grains?” That is, do you still beg and eat?
Then he replied, “Yes dear, they still eat grains.”
Now everyone in her in-laws’ family were amazed, “Oh my gosh, the home of sister-in-law is so grand that the sun and moon rise in their home, that it rains in her home, and that birds and pigeons peck at grains there. We all must see her house.” They asked the prince who was a brother to some and an uncle to others, “Please take us to sister-in-laws’ village.”

जेना आहाँ देखै लॅ एलिये न मिथिला – टूटल फाटल घर दुआर, रोड…हा हा हा…तेहना उ कहलके, “हम भौजी के गाँव जाएब, देखैला ।”

Like you have come to see Mithilā – its broken houses and doorsteps, road…ha ha ha…in the same way, they said, “We will go to the village of our sister-in-law, for the sake of seeing it.”

आब इ रानी उठल…सुइत रहल, पेठकुनिया लैद क, अन्न-पाएन छौड़ क । त राजकुमार एले त कहलके, “आहाँ कॅ की भैल?”
“आ ता इ सब जे कहैय देखब, त हमरा त, बाप एना-एना ऐच्छ । त आब हम, इ सब जे जाएत । ने लॅ जेबै त सब कहत जे “भौजी अपना गाँव ने लॅ जायेअ, चाची अपना गाँव ने लॅ जायेअ, त आब हम की करब ?”
कहलके, “आहाँ चिंता ने करू । आहाँ दु महिना के कहियो, जे, “दु महिना के बाद में हम जाएब, माँ के घर, त आहाँ सब कॅ लॅ जाएब ।”

Now this queen got up…she lied down in posture of a freefaller, she gave up eating and drinking. Then the prince came, and he said, “What has happened to you?” 
She replied, “Now that they all are saying that they want to see my home…that my…my father lives in such condition. Now what would I do, if they decide to go there? If I don’t let them visit my home, then they will say, “Our sister-in-law does not take us to her village. Our aunt does not take us to her village. What should I do?”
The prince replied, “Don’t you worry about this. You have to tell them, “two months,” that is, “I will visit my home after two months, I will go to my mother’s house, then I will take you all to my home.”

ताबे त अपन राजकुमार कि केलक त ओठमाँ ओकरा जा कॅ, तेहेन महल बना देलकै जे ओ चन्द्रमा उगै तो ओकरा घर में ओहेना, सुर्ज-उदय होये त ओहेना, ओ झाड़-झाड़िस लगा देलकै, बरसा जेकाँ होये…अथि…दुनिया के परवा पोएस देलकै । मजूर पड़वा अपन दिइन-भैर ओ दाना छिटै खाए । ओहने अपन पोसाक-तोसाक सॉस के, ससुर के, कॅ देलके । तखन अपन एकरा सब क लॅ गेल । कहलके, “चलू आब ।”

Within that time, what the prince did was that he went there, and he constructed such a grand palace where the moon used to rise in their home, and the sunrise happened in a similar way, and he suspended chandelier and wall hangings in the palace, and water flowed like a rain…and…many birds were fed in its precincts. A worker would spread the grains, and birds would peck at them all day. He dressed his mother-in-law in a royal manner, and his father-in-law too was dressed in the same way. Then he brought his family members there, he said, “Now let’s go.”

अ जत्तै घर में रहै से ओइठमाँ गेल । ओइठमाँ त देख कॅ…क्षुब्ध भौ गेल…जे एहन भौजी के नैहर छै । भोरे सुर्ज उदय होयेछे त घॅरे में । चन्द्रमा उगै छथिन्ह तॅ घरै में । बुझाए छै, ऑबै छै । बरसा होयेछे त झरना जेकाँ पाएन खसेछै – आँगन में, घर में । तेना कॅ क ओ लॅ गेल । फेर अपन माए-बाप ओहन सुख कॅ क, ओए बेटी के चलते रहे लगलै । राजकुमार स बियाह कॅ क, ओ रह लागल । नैहरो के लोग ओहन सुखी, अपनों ओहेन सुखी भो गेल ।

Everyone in the prince’s family went to see her palace. When they saw it…they were dumbfounded…such was the home of their sister-in-law. When the sun rises in the morning, it does so in their house. When the moon rises, it does so in their house. It appears as if they themselves enter the house. When it rained, it would come down like a waterfall – in the courtyard, in the house. In this way, they brought them to her home. Then her mother and father were able to live very comfortably. This was possible due to their daughter. After getting married to the prince, she stayed with him. Her family lived very happily, likewise she too led a fulfilling life.

त मने कहलिये जे ओकर बॅड़ नीक रहै तैं ने ओकरा ओँठमाँ जाए कॅ सबटा कॅ एलै । ऐँ…कनिया दुआरे ।

That’s what I meant to say, it was becuase her husband was very good that everyone could visit her place. It was all for the sake of his wife.