Vethala said to King Vikramaditya, “O King, listen to another tale while we travel.”

On the Malaya mountain lived Jimutaketu, king of the Vidyadharas. His son, Jimutavahana, was known for his great compassion. Jimutaketu possessed a Kalpa tree that granted wishes, and Jimutavahana used its wealth to relieve the poor. Later, when his relatives conspired against him, Jimutavahana left with his wife, Malayavati, and his friend Mitravasu and went to the Malaya mountain.

One day, while wandering on the mountain with his friend, Jimutavahana came upon a place covered with heaps of bones. He stopped and asked, “Whose bones are these? Why are so many lying here?” His friend then told him about the Nagas and Garuda. Long ago, Garuda had begun killing and eating the Nagas in great numbers.

Fearing that his whole race would be destroyed, Vasuki, king of the Nagas, made an agreement with Garuda to send him one Naga each day as food. From that time onward, one Naga was sent each day to the execution stone to be eaten.

Jimutavahana was deeply troubled when he heard this. As he stood there, he heard the sound of a woman weeping nearby and went to see who she was. He found an old woman crying bitterly and asked what had happened. She replied, “I am the mother of Shankhachuda, a young Naga. His turn has come, and today he must go to the execution stone to be eaten by Garuda.”

Hearing her words, Jimutavahana said, “Mother, do not weep. Your son shall not die today. I will give my own body to Garuda in his place.” But she refused to accept his sacrifice.

Just then, Shankhachuda himself arrived, wearing the red cloth that marked him as the Naga chosen for sacrifice. Shankhachuda refused to allow another to die in his place and went to Gokarna to worship Shiva before his death. Jimutavahana took the red cloth and went alone to the execution stone, where he sat waiting for Garuda.

Before long, Garuda appeared in the sky, enormous and terrible, rushing through the air like a flying mountain. Seeing the red cloth, he believed that the man sitting on the stone was the Naga sent for his meal. He seized Jimutavahana in his powerful claws and carried him to the top of a mountain. There, Garuda began to tear at his body, and blood flowed from his wounds.

Jimutavahana bore the pain silently without crying out. Garuda continued to feed, unaware that the man before him was not a Naga.

Meanwhile, Shankhachuda could not remain with his mother while another gave his life for him. He hurried back toward the execution stone and saw the trail of Jimutavahana’s blood. He followed it after Garuda, while his mother came behind him.

When Shankhachuda reached them, he cried out, “Garuda, stop! Do not eat him! I am the Naga who was sent to you today. He is not a Naga at all. He is Jimutavahana, a prince of the Vidyadharas. Leave him and take my body instead!”

Garuda stopped in astonishment. Looking at the wounded Jimutavahana, he asked, “Who are you? Why have you willingly given yourself to me in place of another?” Jimutavahana told him what had happened and how he had chosen to save Shankhachuda. Garuda listened, overcome with shame at what he had done.

Garuda repented of what he had done and said, “Ask for a boon.”

Jimutavahana said, “Restore to life all the Nagas whom you have killed, and from this day onward, do not prey upon their race.”

Garuda agreed and brought amrita. He sprinkled it upon the heaps of bones, and the Nagas whom he had killed rose again. He also promised that he would no longer prey upon their race.

Vethala’s Question

After telling the story, Vethala asked Vikramaditya, “O King, between Jimutavahana and Shankhachuda, whose sattva was greater? If you know the answer and yet remain silent, your head shall split into a hundred pieces. But if you speak, I shall leave your shoulder and return to the Shishapa tree.”

Vikramaditya’s Answer

[Source-lock pending: the winner of the sattva riddle has not yet been finalized.]

Hearing Vikramaditya’s answer, Vethala slipped from the king’s shoulder and returned to the Shishapa tree. Vikramaditya went after him once again.