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EP 238: Bengal- The Boy whom Seven Mothers Suckled (Dey) · Sandman Stories Presents

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  Welcome back listeners to Sandman Stories Presents, a
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  folklore podcast where I read you to sleep or until the next
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  story. I'm your host, Dustin.
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  Today we are back in the book of Bengal folklore, written down by
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  Lal Bahari Day. This story is a bit of a sad
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  one, and it features a tiny bit of cannibalism.
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  The king wants a baby and then everything goes sideways.
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  But just remember that they're all mangoes.
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  OK, let's begin. The boy whom 7 mothers suckled.
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  Once Upon a time, there reigned a king who had 7 Queens.
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  It was very sad, for all 7 Queens were barren.
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  A holy medicant, however, told the king that in a certain
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  forest there grew a tree on a branch of which hung 7 mangoes.
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  If the king himself plucked those mangoes and gave one each
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  to all of the Queens, they would all become mothers.
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  So the king went to the forest, plucked the seven mangoes that
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  grew upon one branch, and gave a mango to each of the Queens to
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  eat. In short time the King's heart
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  was filled with joy as he heard that the seven Queens were all
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  with child. One day the king was out hunting
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  when he saw a young lady of peerless beauty crosses path.
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  He fell in love with her, brought her to his palace and
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  married her. This lady was however, not a
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  human being but a Rakshasi. But the king of course did not
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  know it. The king became dotingly fond of
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  her. He did whatever she told him.
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  One day she said to the king, You say that you love me more
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  than anyone else, Let me see whether you really love me.
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  So if you love me, make your seven other Queens blind and let
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  them be killed. The King became very sad at the
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  request of his best beloved queen, even more so as the seven
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  Queens were all with child. But there was nothing for it but
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  to comply with the Rakshasi Queen's request.
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  The eyes of the seven Queens were plucked out of their
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  sockets, and then the Queens themselves were delivered up to
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  the Chief Minister to be destroyed.
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  But the Chief Minister was a merciful man.
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  Instead of killing the seven Queens, he hid them in a cave
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  which was on the other side of a hill.
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  In the course of time, the eldest of the seven Queens gave
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  birth to a child. What shall I do with a child?
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  Said she, Now that we are blind and are dying for want of food,
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  let me kill the child, and let us all eat of his flesh.
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  So saying, she killed the infant, which turned back into a
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  mango, and gave to each of her sisters a part of the fruit to
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  eat. The 6th ate their portion, but
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  the 7th or youngest queen did not eat her share, but laid it
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  beside her. In a few days the second queen
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  also was delivered of a child, and she did with it, as her
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  eldest sister had done with hers.
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  So did the third, the 4th, the 5th, and the 6th queen.
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  At last the 7th queen gave birth to a son, but she, instead of
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  following the example of her sister Queens, resolved to nurse
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  the child. The other Queens demanded their
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  portions of the newly born baby. She gave each of them the
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  portion she had set aside. The other Queens at once
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  perceived that their portions were dry and could not therefore
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  be parts of the child just born. The 7th Queen told them that she
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  had made-up her mind not to kill the child but to nurse it.
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  The others were glad to hear this and they said that they
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  would all help her in nursing the child.
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  So the child was suckled by 7 mothers and it became, after
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  some years, the hardiest and strongest boy that ever lived.
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  In the meantime, the Rakshasi, wife of the King, was doing
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  infinite mischief in the royal household in the capital.
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  What she ate at the royal table did not fill her capacious
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  stomach. Therefore, in the darkness of
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  night she gradually ate up all the members of the royal family,
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  all the King's servants and attendants, all his horses,
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  elephants and cattle, till none remained in the palace, except
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  she herself in a royal consort. After that she used to go out in
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  the evening into the city and eat up a stray human being.
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  Here and there The king was left unattended by servants.
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  There was no person left to cook for him, for no one would take
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  his service. At last the boy, who had been
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  suckled by 7 mothers and who had now grown up to a stalwart
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  youth, volunteered his services. He attended on the King and took
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  every care to prevent the Queen from swallowing him up, for he
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  went away at home long before nightfall, and the Rakshasi
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  Queen never ceased her victims except at night.
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  Hence the Queen was determined in some way to get rid of the
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  boy, as the boy always boasted that he was equal to any work,
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  however hard. The queen told him that she was
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  suffering from some disease. It could only be cured by eating
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  a certain species of melon which was 12 cubits long, but the
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  stone of which was 13 cubits long.
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  That fruit could be had only from her mother, who lived on
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  the other side of the ocean. She gave him a letter of
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  introduction to her mother, in which she requested her to
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  devour the boy the moment he put the letter into her hands.
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  The boy, suspecting foul play, tore up the letter and proceeded
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  on his journey. The dauntless youth passed
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  through many lands and at last stood on the shore of the ocean,
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  on the other side of which was the country of the Rakshasis.
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  He then bowled as loud as he could and said Granny, Granny
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  come and save your daughter, She is dangerously I'll.
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  An old Rakshasi on the other side of the ocean heard the
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  words cross the ocean, came to the boy and on hearing the
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  message took the boy on her back and recrossed the ocean.
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  So the boy was in the country of the Rakshasi's.
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  The 12 cubit melon with its 13 cubit stone was given to the boy
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  at once and he was told to perform the journey back.
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  But the boy pleaded fatigue and beg to be allowed to rest one
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  day. To this the old Rakshasi
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  consented, observing a stout club and a rope hanging on the
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  Rakshasi's room. The boy inquired what they were
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  there for. She replied, Child, by that club
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  and rope I cross the ocean. If anyone takes a club and the
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  rope in his hands and addresses them with the following magical
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  words, O stout club, O strong rope, take me at once to the
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  other side, then immediately the club and rope will take him to
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  the other side of the ocean. Observing a bird in a cage
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  hanging in one corner of the room, the boy inquired what it
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  was. The old Rakshasi replied It
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  contains a secret child which must not be disclosed to
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  mortals, and yet how can I hide it from my own grandchild?
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  That bird child contains the life of your mother.
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  If the bird is killed, your mother will die at once.
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  Armed with these secrets, the boy went to bed that night.
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  The next morning the old Rakshasi, together with all the
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  other Rakshasis, went to distant countries to forage.
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  The boy took down the cage from the ceiling as well as the club
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  and the rope. Having secured the bird, he
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  addressed the club and rope. Thus, O stout club, O strong
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  rope, take me at once to the other side.
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  In the twinkling of an eye the boy was put on this side of the
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  ocean. He then retraced his steps, came
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  to the Queen, and gave to her, to her astonishment, the 12
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  cubit melon with its 13 cubit stone, but the cage with the
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  bird in it he kept carefully concealed.
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  In the course of time the people of the city came to the king and
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  said, A monstrous bird comes out, apparently from the palace
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  every evening, and seizes the passengers in the streets and
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  swallows them up. This has been going on for so
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  long a time that the city has almost become desolate.
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  The king could not make out what this monstrous bird was.
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  The King's servant, the boy, replied that he knew the
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  monstrous bird and that he would kill it, providing the queen
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  stood beside the king. By royal command the queen was
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  made to stand by the king. Then the boy took the bird from
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  the cage which he had brought from the other side of the
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  ocean, On seeing which she fell into a fainting fit.
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  Turning to the king, the boy said, Sire, you will soon
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  perceive who the monstrous bird is that devours your subjects.
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  Every evening, as I tear off each limb from this bird, the
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  corresponding limb of the man devourer will fall off.
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  The boy then tore off one leg of the bird in his hand.
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  Immediately, to the astonishment of the whole assembly, for the
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  citizens were all present, One of the legs of the queen fell
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  off, and when the boy squeezed the throat of the bird, the
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  queen gave up the ghost. The boy then related his own
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  story and that of his mother and stepmothers.
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  The seven Queens whose eyesight was miraculously restored were
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  brought back to the palace, and the boy that was suckled by 7
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  mothers was recognized by the king as his rightful heir.
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  So they live together happily. Thus my story endeth the Nadia
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  thorn withereth, et cetera. The end
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  that story, wow. It was fun but the original had
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  them eating baby meat and that was a bit much for me.
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  Perhaps on a Sandman After Dark episode.
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  I have half a plan to make the folklore stories that are too
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  gruesome or sexual for the regular feed into a different
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  show. I love the relation to the
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  Indian and Turkish stories plus the Rakshasi's.
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  All in all it's just a fun story and the podcast shout out is
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  too. Verbal diorama hosted by Em.
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  The show goes behind the scenes and tells you all about how a
• 10:47
  movie gets made. She gives you the inspiration
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  and the path the movie takes until it gets made.
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  It's a wonderful podcast, I suggest listening to the episode
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  all about Wally and if you like her show as much as I do, give
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  her a like a rating and a review.
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  And the listener shout out is to Male the capital of the
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  Maldives. It is one of the most densely
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  packed cities in the world. There are over 200,000 people
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  living in just over 8 square miles.
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  It is a cool mix of Dravidian people who migrated to the
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  islands from South India and Sri Lanka.
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  And there's also an Arab influence, which can be seen in
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  the writing system and some of the vocabulary.
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  What I like to visit. Oh, heck yeah.
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  And so to my listener in the Maldives, I say Shukoriya, Adi,
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  hail regande. Thank you and good night.