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71-4 - The
Sayings of Haykar the Sage:
Haykar and the King of Egypt
After
three days of usual rest the King of Egypt wore a robe of bright red color
and his all courtiers also robed in the same color sat in the court, and
the King called Haykar in the court. Haykar came and sat down after
prostrating in front of him. After a long delay, Pharoah asked - "O
Abikam, Whom do I resemble, and what may these my Lords and Ministers
represent?" Haykar said - "O My Lord, You look like Bel the idol
and your chieftains look like your servants." Then King dismissed him
and asked him to come next day.
Haykar
presented himself in the King's court again on next day. The King had worn
a coat of red coat with many colors, and his people wore white, he asked
Haykar - "O Abikam, Whom do I resemble and what may these my Lords
and Ministers represent?" Haykar replied - "O Lord, You are like
the Sun, and your nobles are like your rays." Then King dismissed him
and asked him to come next day. When Haykar came next day, the King and
his people, all were wearing pure white. He asked the same question again. Haykar replied - "O Lord, You are looking
like the Moon and your people are
looking like stars, planets and constellations." The King called him
again next day.
When
he came next day, he found the King's people wearing various colors, and
the King wearing red velvet robe. The King asked him the same question for
the fourth time. Haykar replied - "O My Lord, You are looking like the
auspicious month of Naysan and other people resemble white chamomile and
its bloom." Hearing this the King got very pleased, he said - "O Abikam, First you compared me with Bel the idol, then with the Sun, then
with the Moon, and then with the auspicious month Naysan; but now you tell
me what does your Lord Sankhareeb and his courtiers resemble?"
Haykar
said - "Heaven protect me if I mention my Lord and his people while
you are sitting on your throne, but rise from your throne, and I will tell
you what my Master and his people represent." Pharaoh was struck with
astonishment at such heat of tongue and courageous speech. He rose from
his throne and stood facing Haykar and asked him - "Now tell me, what
do they resemble?" Haykar said - "My Lord resembles the God of Heaven,
and his lords represent the Lightening and Thunder. Winds blow by his
will, and rain falls by his will. When he orders the lake plays and the
thunder roars. At his command, the Sun refuses to give light, and the Moon
and stars stand still."
Pharaoh
got very surprised to hear this, at the same time he got very angry too. He
spoke very angrily - "O Man, You are not Abikam, tell me the Truth who
are you?" Haykar said - "I am Haykar, the Chief Secretary to
Sankhareeb and also his Vazeer." Pharaoh said - "You said right,
but we have heard that Haykar is dead, while you are alive and
alert." Haykar replied - "You are right. But who knows all
hidden things. My master ordered to kill me on the reports of some
traitors, but my Allaah saved me." Pharaoh said - "Now you go
and come tomorrow and tell me what nobody has ever heard, nor I, nor my
courtiers, nor any of my capital."
Haykar
went home and wrote on a paper - "From Sankhareeb to the King of
Egypt: Peace be on you, O my brother. As you know a brother needs a
brother, and the kings require other kings, my hope from you is 900 weight
of gold which I require to spend on the pay and allowances of my
soldiers." He folded the letter and sent it next day to Pharaoh by a
messenger. Pharaoh said - " I have never heard anybody saying like
this at all, nor anybody has spoken to me like this." Haykar said -
"This is true because you owe this money to my King."
Pharaoh
said - "Allaah bless you who suits the service of the kings. Allaah
has perfected you with knowledge and wisdom; and now remains our
one need that is to build a cottage in the sky." Haykar said -
"I will do so, as you wish and choose, but please keep ready for me
gypsum lime and ashlar stone and brick clay and some handicraft men, while I
also bring architects and masons to build it."
So
Pharaoh got ready all the things and went to a spacious place with his
courtiers only; while Haykar bought his things with his pages. But when
all gathered at the place, Haykar brought out his vultures, and his lads
tied the legs of both the vultures together making fast and let them lose.
The vultures flew high and got stabled in the sky. At this point the lads
cried aloud - "Send up to us the stones and the mud and the slaked
lime that we may build a cottage for King Pharaoh, because we are standing
here idle."
At
this all present got confused as what to do, but Haykar and his lads asked the handicraft men and royal guards to provide them what they wanted. At
this Pharaoh cried - "O Haykar, Are you out of your mind? Who can
provide this material at such a height." Haykar replied - "O My Lord,
How then we will build the cottage up there otherwise? And if my King has
been here, he would have erected such buildings here in a
single day."
Pharaoh
said - "Look Haykar, I think presently you should go to your home and
take some rest, and come tomorrow." Accordingly Haykar went to his
home and came to Pharaoh next morning. Pharaoh asked him - "Haykar,
What of the horses of your Lord, when he was in Assyria and Nineveh, their
voice was heard by our mares, and they miscarried?" Hearing this,
Haykar took a tabby-cat and tying her beat her up until all Egyptians
heard her outcries and reported the matter to the King. Pharaoh asked him
- O Haykar, Why did you beat this innocent dumb animal?" He replied -
"Lord, She has done me a wrongful deed." "And what is that
deed?" Haykar said - "My master Sankhareeb gave me a beautiful
intelligent cock, when it was in my mansion, she tore off his head, that
is why I punished her."
Pharaoh
said - "O Haykar, I can see now that you are old and daring. Nineveh
is 860 Parasang (1 Parasang is approximately 3.5 miles) far from Mishra,
then how could this cat, covering that distance, has torn off the head
your cock, and come back to Egypt by morning?" Haykar replied -
"O My Lord, Seeing that Assyria is so far from Egypt, how can the
voice of the horses of my Lord reach unto Nile land and be heard by your
mares so that they could miscarry?"
This
story reminds me Birbal stories No 6
and No 41.
Pharoah
got very pleased to hear this answer, he said to him - "It is my
desire that you make me two ropes of sand." Haykar said - "Ask
your people to bring me a cord from your stores that I twist it like
it." His people brought the cord, and Haykar went to the back of his
palace and dug two round holes equal to the thickness of the cord, then
he collected sand from the river-bed and placed it therein, so that
when the Sun rose and his light entered the cylinder, the sand appeared in
the sunlight like ropes. Then he said to Pharaoh - "Order your slaves
to take up these ropes and I will twist as many ropes as you want for you ."
Pharaoh
said - "O Haykar, We see a millstone here which is broken, and I ask
you to sew it." Haykar looked about himself, and seeing there another
stone, said to Pharaoh - "O My Lord, Here I am a stranger, nor I have
my darning materials, but you may ask your cobblers to provide me, out of
this other stone, with shoemaker's tools a needle and thread so that I may sew your
this torn millstone."
At
this Pharaoh laughed and he and his people cried - "Blessed be Allaah,
who has given you all this knowledge and wisdom." And seeing that
Haykar had answered his all the questions, Pharaoh accepted his defeat and
gave him three years tax tribute and the loan he requested. He robed him
and his guards with robes of honor, gave money for traveling and bade all
of them good-bye - "Go in safety, Tell my Salaam to your King. Excuse
us for that which we gave to you." Haykar accepted all this from the
King and said to him - "O Lord, I desire an order from you that no
man of Assyria and Nineveh remains with you in Egypt and should go with me
to home." After he got the order he went away to his home taking
treasures and money.
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