THE JĀTAKA
OR
STORIES OF THE BUDDHA'S FORMER BIRTHS
THE JĀTAKA
OR
STORIES OF THE BUDDHA'S FORMER BIRTHS.
Volume III
tr. by H.T. Francis and R.A. Neil
ed. E. B. Cowell
[1897]
PREFACE.
This volume of translation corresponds to the third volume of
the text, and the translators, Mr. H. T. Francis, and Mr. R. A. Neil, have
endeavoured to keep up an uniformity with the plan adopted in the two former
volumes. Mr. Francis is responsible for pp. 1-150 and p. 287 to the end, Mr.
Neil for pp. 151-286. The Secretary of State for India has kindly given
permission to illustrate one of the stories in this volume also from the
Bhārhut Stūpa.
The two translators of this volume cannot allow the book
to appear without expressing their gratitude to Professor Cowell for his
constant help and supervision and for his kindness in compiling the index.
CONTENTS.
30I. CULLAKĀLIṄGA-JĀTAKA 1A king, being eager to fight, finds occasion to quarrel with another king. Misled by a prophecy of victory and neglecting the omens, he is defeated by his adversary.
302. MAHĀASSĀROHA-JĀTAKA 1
A king, being defeated by rebels, finds a hospitable shelter with a poor countryman, and rewards his benefactor with the half of his kingdom.
303. EKARAJA-JATAKA 9
A king is taken prisoner and tortured, and by his patience under suffering wins his enemy to repentance.
304. DADDARA-JĀTAKA 10
How two brothers were driven from their father's kingdom, and how their pride was humbled by the contumely they suffered in their exile.
305. SĪLAVĪMAṀSANA-JĀTAKA 12
A teacher tests the virtue of his pupils by tempting them to steal. The only youth, that stands the test, is rewarded by marrying his master's daughter.
306. SUJĀTA-JĀTAKA 13
How the daughter of a fruiterer became a queen, and by her pride nearly lost her position.
307. PALĀSA-JĀTAKA 15
A brahmin pays honour to a tree-spirit and is rewarded by the discovery of a buried treasure.
308. JAVASAKUṆA-JĀTAKA 17
The story of the woodpecker and the ungrateful lion.
309. CHAVAKA-JĀTAKA 18
How a pariah, who stole mangoes, ventured to reprove a king for allowing a priest to teach him from a lower seat.
310. SAYHA-JĀTAKA 20
How a brahmin refused to give up the ascetic life in order to become family priest to a king.
311. PUCIMANDA-JĀTAKA 22
How a nimb-tree spirit frightened away a robber whose presence endangered the safety of the tree.
312. KASSAPAMANDIYA-JĀTAKA 24
A father and son in journeying together fall out by the way, and the old man is reproved for his want of self-restraint.
313. KHANTIVĀDI-JĀTAKA 26
How a wicked king cruelly maltreated an ascetic, and how the patience of the holy man endured to the end, and the king was cast into Hell.
314. LOHAKUMBHI-JĀTAKA 29
A king is terrified by hearing awful cries in the night and is urged by his family priest to avert the evil omen by the sacrifice of living creatures. A young brahmin interprets the sounds to be the cries uttered by lost souls in Hell, and the king takes comfort and forbids the sacrifice.
315. MAṀMMSA-JĀTAKA32
How four young merchants tried to wheedle a hunter out of his venison, and how one alone by his cunning address succeeded.
316. SASA-JĀTAKA 34
How a hare, in default of other food, offered its own flesh to be eaten, and was rewarded by having its form supernaturally impressed on the face of the moon.
317. MATARODANA-JĀTAKA 38
How a youth, when his brother died, demonstrated the folly of grieving for the dead.
318. KANAVERA-JĀTAKA 39
How a courtezan rescued a robber by betraying her lover to death, and how she was afterwards punished for her treachery.
319. TITTIRA-JĀTAKA 43
A decoy-partridge is troubled with scruples of conscience.
320. SUCCAJA-JĀTAKA 44
How a prince requited his wife's devotion with base ingratitude, until he was brought to a better mind by the admonition of his minister.
321 KUṬIDŪSAKA-JĀTAKA 47
How a monkey, through envy, destroyed a bird's nest.
322. DADDABHA-JĀTAKA 49
Of the timid hare and the flight of the beasts.
323. BRAHMADATTA-JĀTAKA 52
Of the ascetic who for twelve years had not the courage to ask for a trifling boon.
324. CAMMASĀṬAKA-JĀTAKA 55
Of a foolish mendicant who met his death by mistaking the butting of a ram for a respectful salutation.
325. GODHA-JĀTAKA 56
How a greedy ascetic was outwitted by a lizard.
326. KAKKĀRU-JĀTAKA 58
How a wicked priest was punished for assuming virtues to which he had no claim.
327. KĀKĀTI-JĀTAKA 60
How a roc carried off a king's wife to his island home, and was afterwards outwitted by the king's minstrel.
328. ANANUSOCIYA-JĀTAKA 62
The story of the holy man who found a wife by means of a golden image, and how on her death he neither fasted nor wept.
329. KĀLABĀHU-JĀTAKA 65
The story of the parrots and the black monkey, and how the monkey fell into disgrace and the parrots regained the king's favour.
330. SĪLAVĪMAṀSA-JĀTAKA 66
Of the man who tested the power of virtue and of the moral lessons he learned from the hawk and the piece of meat and from the slave-girl to whom loss of hope alone brought peace.
331. KOKĀLIKA-JĀTAKA 68
How a talkative king was admonished by the fate of the young bird that cried "cuckoo" too soon.
332. RATHALAṬṬHI-JĀTAKA 69
Of the priest and the carters and the danger of giving judgment before hearing both sides.
333. GODHA-JĀTAKA 71
How a roasted lizard ran away and how a king was convicted of ingratitude to his wife.
334. RĀJOVĀDA-JĀTAKA 73
A king is taught by the parable of the sweet and bitter fig how his realm is affected by a just or unjust rule.
335. JAMBUKA-JĀTAKA 74
Of the fate of the jackal that presumed to play the part of the lion.
336. BRAHĀCHATTA-JĀTAKA 76
How a prince by means of a spell discovered buried treasure and substituted grass for gold.
337. PĪṬHA-JĀTAKA 78
The duty of hospitality inculcated by the story of the merchant and the ascetic.
338. THUSA-JĀTAKA 80
How a king was saved from being killed by his son, through the repetition of a spell at critical moments.
339. BĀVERU-JĀTAKA 83
How a crow was ousted from a position of favour when a peacock appeared.
340. VISAYHA-JĀTAKA 85
How a rich merchant, after he was reduced to beggary, continued to exercise charity.
341. KAṆḌARI-JĀTAKA 87
(See Kunūla-Jātaka, No. 523.)
342. VĀNARA-JĀTAKA 87
The crocodile outwitted by the monkey.
343. KUNTANI-JĀTAKA 89
The heron's revenge for the loss of her young ones.
344 AMBACORA-JĀTAKA 90
How a false ascetic robbed a mango orchard and charged some innocent maidens with the theft.
345. GAJAKUMBHA-JĀTAKA 92
Of a slothful king admonished by the example of a lazy tortoise.
346. KESAVA-JĀTAKA 93
The sick hermit and his friend, or love the best physician.
347. AYAKŪṬA-JĀTAKA 96
How a king who had forbidden the sacrifice of living creatures was shielded by a god from the vengeance of a goblin.
348. ARAÑÑA-JĀTAKA 98
Of a virtuous youth led astray by evil communications.
349. SANDHIBHEDA-JĀTAKA 99
A jackal by slanderous words brings about a fatal quarrel between a lion and a bull.
350. DEVATĀPAÑHA-JĀTAKA 101
(See Ummagga-Jātaka.)
351. MAṆIKUṆḌALA-JĀTAKA 102
(Same as No. 303.)
352. SUJĀTA-JĀTAKA 103
A father is cured of inordinate grief by the feigned madness of his son.
353. DHONASĀKHA-JĀTAKA 105
How a king, who was guilty of gross cruelty, met with fitting retribution.
354. URAGA-JĀTAKA 107
How, when a brahmin lost his son, neither he nor any of his family lamented or wept, and of their exceeding great reward.
355. GRATA-JĀTAKA 111
(Same as No. 303.)
356. KĀRAṆḌIYA-JĀTAKA 113
A teacher is taught by his pupil the folly of preaching to unwilling hearers.
357. LAṬUKIKA-JĀTAKA 115
How a quail brought about the destruction of an elephant that had killed her young ones.
358. CULLADHAMMAPĀLA-JĀTAKA 117
A king, being jealous of his queen's affection for her child, has the boy mutilated and killed, and is punished by being cast into Hell.
359. SUVAṆṆAMIGA-JĀTAKA 120
How a stag caught in a snare was released from death by the devotion of his doe.
360. SUSSONDI-JĀTAKA 123
(Same as No. 327.)
361. VAṆṆĀROHA-JĀTAKA 126
The jackal as calumniator tries in vain to set a lion and a tiger at variance.
362. SĪLAVĪMAṀSA-JĀTAKA 128
How a man tried his own reputation for virtue.
363. HIRI-JĀTAKA 129
(Imperfect. Same as Akataññu-Jātaka, No. 90.)
364. KHAJJOPANAKA-JĀTAKA 130
(See Mahāummagga. )
365. AHIGUṆḌIKA-JĀTAKA 130
How a monkey that had been beaten was not to be cajoled by soft words.
366. GUMBIYA-JĀTAKA 132
How a merchant warned the members of his caravan against eating strange food, and how those that neglected his warning were poisoned by an evil spirit.
367. SĀLIYA-JĀTAKA 133
The biter bit, or the story of the knavish doctor who was killed by the snake which he pretended was harmless.
368. TACASĀRA-JĀTAKA 134
The same story as the preceding one, to which is added how certain lads were acquitted of the charge of having caused the death of the doctor.
369. MITTAVINDA-JĀTAKA 136
(A fragment of No. 41.)
370. PALĀSA-JĀTAKA 137
How a Judas tree was destroyed by the parasitic growth of a banyan shoot.
371. DĪGHITIKOSALA-JĀTAKA 139
A prince spares the life of the king who had slain his father and thereby wins him to repentance.
372. MIGAPOTAKA-JĀTAKA 140
An ascetic is admonished against excessive grief for the loss of a pet deer.
373. MŪSIKA-JĀTAKA 142
A king by repeating a spell at critical moments baffles the attempts of his heir to kill him.
374. CULLADHANUGGAHA-JĀTAKA 144
A woman who betrayed her husband to death, and was afterwards deserted by her lover, has her folly brought home to her by witnessing the fate of a greedy jackal.
375. KAPOTA-JĀTAKA 148
How a greedy crow was made ridiculous and tortured to death.
376. AVĀRIYA-JĀTAKA 151
How a foolish ferryman behaved when offered good advice instead of his fare.
377. SETAKETU-JĀTAKA 153
How caste and feigned sanctity were foiled.
378. DARĪMUKHA-JĀTAKA 156
How a king renounced his kingdom on the advice of an old friend, who had become a paccekabuddha.
379. NERU-JĀTAKA 159
How royal birds avoid a golden mountain which makes all birds appear alike.
380. ĀSAṆKA-JĀTAKA 161
How a king spent three years in finding out the name of his future queen.
381. MIGĀLOPA-JĀTAKA 164
How a disobedient vulture perished.
382. SIRIKĀLAKAṆṆI-JĀTAKA 165
How precedence was settled by a good merchant between the goddesses of Good and Ill Fortune.
383. KUKKUṬA-JĀTAKA 168
How a cat failed to deceive a cock.
384. DHAMMADDHAJA-JĀTAKA 170
How a hypocritical crow was put to death.
385. NANDIYAMIGA-JĀTAKA 171
How a good deer brought blessings to his kindred and to all animals.
386. KHARAPUTTA-JĀTAKA 174
How a king got a charm from a nāga by which he understood the sounds of all animals: his queen tried to get the charm from him, but was foiled through some advice given by Sakka, disguised as a goat.
387. SŪCI-JĀTAKA 178
How a young smith made a marvellous needle, and thereby won to wife the daughter of a head-smith.
388. TUṆḌILA-JĀTAKA 180
How a pig explained to his younger brother that death is not to be feared.
389. SUVAṆṆAKAKKAṬA-JĀTAKA 183
How a farmer was saved by a good crab from being killed by a snake in league with a crow: the two latter were themselves killed.
390. MAYHAKA-JĀTAKA 186
How a greedy, murdering uncle was compared to a certain bird, and so converted.
391. DHAJAVIHEṬHA-JĀTAKA 189
How a wicked person, disguised as a Brother, caused the expulsion of Brethren from a kingdom, and the spiritual ruin of the people: Sakka interfered and saved the kingdom.
392. BHISAPUPPHA-JĀTAKA 191
How a brahmin was accused of stealing the smell of a flower.
393. VIGHĀSA-JĀTAKA 193
How certain self-indulgent monks were warned by a parrot.
394. VAṬṬAKA-JĀTAKA 194
How a quail explained to a crow how to get fat.
395. KĀKA-JĀTAKA 195
How a greedy crow was made ridiculous and put to death.
396. KUKKU-JĀTAKA 197
How a king was converted by certain parables.
397. MANOJA-JĀTAKA 199
How a lion was enticed to his death by the counsel of a jackal.
398. SUTANO-JĀTAKA 201
How a king, falling into the power of a man-eating goblin, sent people daily to be eaten: a young man got the better of the goblin and converted him.
399. GIJJHA-JĀTAKA 204
How a good young vulture was loosed from a snare by a hunter.
400. DABBHAPUPPHA-JĀTAKA 205
How two otters, who had caught a fish, were cheated by a jackal.
40I. DASAṆṆAKA-JĀTAKA 207
How a king was cured of a sickness, born of longing for his wife, by seeing a man swallowing a sword.
402. SATTUBHASTA-JĀTAKA 210
How an old brahmin was sent away by his wife to beg: a snake got into his meal-bag unperceived: a young brahmin preacher guessed that the snake was there, and then exposed the wife's wickedness.
403. AṬṬHISENA-JĀTAKA 216
How a brahmin explains to a king why he makes no petition.
404. KAPI-JĀTAKA 218
How a naughty monkey brought ruin on his kindred.
405. BAKABRAḤMA-JĀTAKA 219
How an angel was converted from heresy.
406. GANDHĀRA-JĀTAKA 221
How two kings became ascetics, and one was admonished in a fault by the other.
407. MAHĀKAPI-JĀTAKA 225
How a monkey saved his followers at the cost of his own life.
408. KUMBHAKĀRA-JĀTAKA 228
How four kings became ascetics through observing a mango-tree, a bracelet, a flock of birds, and same bulls respectively: a potter and his wife separately follow their example.
409. DAḶHADHAMMA-JĀTAKA 233
How a she-elephant, forgotten by the king in her old age, was restored to honour.
410. SOMADATTA-JĀTAKA 235
How an ascetic was comforted for the loss of a young elephant.
411. SUSĪMA-JĀKATA 237
How a king became an ascetic on being shewn a grey hair by his chief queen.
412. KOṬISIMBALI-JĀTAKA 239
How a tree-spirit was frightened by a bird and comforted by a roc-king.
413. DHŪMAKĀRI-JĀTAKA 241
How a king neglected old friends for new ones: his case illustrated by a story of a brahmin goatherd and some deer.
414. JĀGARA-JĀTAKA 243
How an ascetic kept vigil at nights.
415. KUMMĀSAPIṆḌA-JĀTAKA 244
How a king and queen declared the merits in former births that brought about their birth in royal rank.
416. PARANTAPA-JĀTAKA 240
How a prince understood the speech of jackals: and how a king's son discovered and avenged his father's murder after many years.
417. KACCĀNI-JĀTAKA 253
How an old woman, expelled from her son's house owing to her daughter-in-law, thought that Right was dead: and how the whole family became reconciled.
418. AṬṬHASADDA-JĀTAKA 256
How eight sounds that had frightened a king were explained to him harmlessly.
419. SULASĀ-JĀTAKA 260
How a man who would have killed his wife was killed by her.
420. SUMAṄGALA-JĀTAKA 263
How a king would not decide a case till his anger was over.
421. GAṄGAMĀLA-JĀTAKA 266
How a willing servant was reborn as a king: how he shared his kingdom for a time with a poor water-carrier who had shown himself an honest fellow: how a barber got from the king the explanation of his birth in the kingly rank, and became a paccekabuddha, honoured by the king.
422. CETIYA-JĀTAKA 271
How a king, who told a lie in the golden age, sank into the earth and so down to Hell.
423. INDRIYA-JĀTAKA 276
How a tempted ascetic was warned by the story of a miserable hunter.
424. ĀDITTA-JĀTAKA 280
How seven paccekabuddhas came and received gifts from a king.
425. AṬṬHĀNA-JĀTAKA 282
How an ascetic repulsed a woman who had once behaved harshly to him.
426. DĪPI-JĀTAKA 285
How a panther ate a she-goat for all her politeness.
427. GIJJHA-JĀTAKA 287
How a vulture perished, through attempting too bold a flight.
428. KOSAMBĪ-JĀTAKA 289
(Imperfect—with a reference to the story in No. 371.)
429. MAHĀSUKA-JĀTAKA 291
How a grateful parrot refused to leave a barren fig-tree.
430. CULLASUKA-JĀTAKA 294
The same story as the preceding one.
431. HĀRITA-JĀTAKA 295
Of an ascetic who would not tell a lie to conceal his sin.
432. PADAKUSALAMĀṆAVA-JATAKA 298
A boy receives, as a gift from a goblin mother, the power of recognizing footsteps even in the air, and a king, to test the boy's skill, steals his own jewels and then sets the boy to catch the thief. When the boy by a number of pointed stories convicts him of theft, the king is put to death by his own subjects and the boy becomes king.
433. LOMASAKASSAPA-JĀTAKA 306
How a king promised his daughter in marriage to an ascetic, if he would offer a living sacrifice, and how the ascetic resisted the temptation.
434. CAKKAVĀKA-JĀTAKA 309
How a crow, through his greediness, could not attain to the beauty of the ruddy goose.
435. HALIDDIRĀGA-JĀTAKA 311
A youth, who was being led astray by female seductions, is rescued by the sage counsels of his father.
436. SAMUGGA-JĀTAKA 313
How a demon, who swallowed his wife and carried her about in his belly, even so failed to keep her virtuous.
437. PŪTIMAṀSA-JĀTAKA 316
How a wise she-goat outwitted the jackal that was plotting to kill her.
438. TITTIRA-JĀTAKA 319
How a wicked ascetic killed a learned partridge, and how a lion and a tiger avenged the death of the partridge.
BOOK IV. CATUKKANIPĀTA.
No. 301.
CULLAKĀLIṄGA-JĀTAKA. 1
[1] "Open the gate," etc.—This story was told by the Master while living at Jetavana, about the admission of four female ascetics to the religious life.Tradition says that Licchavis of the ruling family to the number of seven thousand seven hundred and seven had their abode at Vesālī. And all of them were given to argument and disputation.
Now a certain Jain, skilled in maintaining five hundred different theses, arrived at Vesālī and met with a kind reception there. A female Jain too of a similar character also came to Vesālī And the Licchavi chiefs got up a disputation between them. And when they proved well matched as disputants, the Licchavis were struck with the notion that such a pair would be sure to have clever children. So they arranged a marriage between them, and as the issue of this union in due course four daughters and a son were born. The daughters were named Saccā, Lolā, Avavādakā, and Paṭācārā, and the boy was called Saccaka. These five children when they reached years of discretion learned a thousand different theses, five hundred from the mother and five hundred from the father. And the parents schooled their daughters after this manner: "If any layman refutes your thesis, you are to become his wives, but if a priest refutes you, you must take orders at his hands."
After a time their parents died. And when they were dead, the Jain Saccaka lived on in the same place at Vesālī, studying the lore of the Licchavis. [2] But his sisters took in their hands a branch of the rose-apple tree, and in the course of their wanderings from city to city for purposes of disputation, at last reached Sāvatthi. There they planted the rose-apple branch at the city gate and said to some boys who were there, "If any man, be he layman or priest, is equal to maintaining a thesis against us, let him scatter with his foot this heap of dust and trample under foot this branch." And with these words they went into the city to collect alms.
Now the venerable Sāriputta, after sweeping up wherever it was necessary, and putting water into the empty pots and tending the sick, later on in the day went into Sāvatthi for alms. And when he had seen and heard about the bough, he ordered the boys to throw it down and trample upon it. "Let those," said he, "by whom this bough has been planted, as soon as they have finished their meal, come and see me in the gable-chamber over the gate of Jetavana."
So he went into the city, and when he had ended his meal, he took his stand in the chamber over the monastery gate. The female ascetics too, after going their rounds for alms, returned and found the branch had been trampled on. And when they asked who had done this, the boys told them it was Sāriputta, and if they were anxious for a disputation, they were to go to the chamber over the gate of the monastery.
So they returned to the city, and followed by a great crowd went to the gate-tower of the monastery, and propounded to the priest a thousand different theses. The priest solved all their difficulties and then asked them if they knew any more.
They replied, "No, my Lord."
"Then I," said he, "will ask you something."
"Ask on, my Lord," they said, "and if we know it, we will answer you."
So the priest propounded just one question to them, and when they had to give it up, the priest told them the answer.
Then said they, "We are beaten, the victory rests with you."
"What will you do now?" he asked.
"Our parents," they replied, "admonished us thus: "if you are refuted in disputation by a layman, you are to become his wives, but if by a priest, you are to receive orders at his hands".—Therefore," said they, "admit us to the religious life."
The priest readily assented and ordained them in the house of the Nun called Uppalavaṇṇā. And all of them shortly attained to Sainthood.
Then one day they started this topic in the Hall of Truth, how that Sāriputta proved a refuge to the four female ascetics, and that through him they all attained to Sainthood. When the Master came and heard the nature of their discourse, he said, "Not now only, but in former times too, Sāriputta proved a refuge to these women. (3) On this occasion he dedicated them to the religious life, but formerly he raised them to the dignity of queen consort." Then he told them an old-world story.
His ministers said, "Sire, there is one way open to you. You have four daughters of surpassing beauty. Bid them adorn themselves with jewels, and then seated in a covered carriage let them be driven to every village, town and royal city with an armed escort. And if any king shall be desirous of taking them into his harem, we will get up a fight with him."
The king followed their advice. But the kings of the various countries, wherever they came, were afraid to let them enter their cities, but sent them presents and assigned them quarters outside the city walls. Thus they passed through the length and breadth of India till they reached Potali in the Assaka country. But Assaka too closed his gates against
them and merely sent them a present. Now this king had a wise and able minister named Nandisena, who was fertile in expedients. He thought to himself: "These princesses, men say, have traversed the length of India without finding any to fight for their possession. If this is the case, India is but an empty name. I myself will do battle with Kāliṅga."
Then he went and bade the guards open the city gate to them, and spake the first stanza:
Open the gate to these maidens: thro’
Nandisena's might,
King Aruna's 1 sage lion, our city is guarded aright.
[4] With these words he threw open the gate, and brought the
maidens into the presence of king Assaka, and said to him, "Fear not. If
there is to be a fight, I will see to it. Make these fair princesses your chief
queens." Then he installed them as queens by sprinkling them with holy
water, and dismissed their attendants, bidding them go and tell Kāliṅga
that his daughters had been raised to the dignity of queen-consorts. So they
went and told him, and Kāliṅga said, "I
presume he does not know how powerful I am," and at once set out with a
great army. Nandisena heard of his approach and sent a message to this effect;
"Let Kāliṅga abide within
his own marches, and not encroach upon ours, and the battle shall be fought on
the frontiers of the two countries." On receiving this message, Kāliṅga
halted within the limits of his own territory and Assaka also kept to his.King Aruna's 1 sage lion, our city is guarded aright.
At this time the Bodhisatta was following the ascetic life and was living in a hermitage on a spot lying between the two kingdoms. Said Kāliṅga, "These monks are knowing fellows. Who can tell which of us will gain the victory, and which will be defeated? I will ask this ascetic." So he came to the Bodhisatta disguised, and sitting respectfully on one side, after the usual kindly greetings he said, "Your Reverence, Kāliṅga and Assaka have their threes drawn up each within his own territory, eager for a fight. Which of them will be victorious, and which will be defeated?"
"Your Excellency," he replied, "the one will conquer, the other will be beaten. I can tell you no more. But Sakka, the King of Heaven, is coming here. I will ask him and let you know, if you come back again to-morrow."
[5] So when Sakka came to pay his respects to the Bodhisatta, he put this question to him, and Sakka replied, "Reverend Sir, Kāliṅga will conquer, Assaka will be defeated, and such and such omens will be seen beforehand." Next day Kāliṅga came and repeated his question, and the Bodhisatta gave Sakka's answer. And Kāliṅga, without inquiring what
the omens would be, thought to himself: " They tell me I shall conquer," and went away quite satisfied. This report spread abroad. And when Assaka heard it, he summoned Nandisena and said, "Kāliṅga, they say, will be victorious and we shall be defeated. What is to be done?"
"Sire," he replied, "who knows this? Do not trouble yourself as to who shall gain the victory and who shall suffer defeat."
With these words he comforted the king. Then he went and saluted the Bodhisatta, and sitting respectfully on one side he asked, "Who, Reverend Sir, will conquer, and who will be defeated?"
"Kāliṅga," he replied, "will win the day and Assaka will be beaten." "And what, Reverend Sir," he asked, "will be the omen for the one that conquers, and what for the one that is defeated."
"Your Excellency," he answered, "the tutelary deity of the conqueror will be a spotless white bull, and that of the other king a perfectly black bull, and the tutelary gods of the two kings will themselves fight and be severally victorious or defeated."
On hearing this Nandisena rose up and went and took the king's allies—they were about one thousand in number and all of them great warriors—and led them up a mountain close at hand and asked them saying, "Would you sacrifice your lives for our king?"
"Yes, Sir, we would," they answered.
"Then throw yourselves from this precipice," he said.
They essayed to do so, when he stopped them, saying, "No more of this. Show yourselves staunch friends of our king and make a gallant fight for him."
They all vowed to do so. And when the battle was now imminent, Kāliṅga came to the conclusion in his own mind that he would be victorious, and his army too thought "The victory will be ours." [6] And so they put on their armour, and forming themselves into separate detachments, they advanced just as they thought proper, and when the moment came for making a great effort, they failed to do so.
But both the kings, mounted on horseback, drew nigh to one another with the intention of fighting. And their two tutelary gods moved before them, that of Kāliṅga in the shape of a white bull, and that of the other king as a black bull. And as these drew nigh to one another, they too made every demonstration of fighting. But these two bulls were visible to the two kings only, and to no one else. And Nandisena asked Assaka, saying, "Your Highness, are the tutelary gods visible to you?"
"Yes," he answered, "they are."
"In what guise?" he asked.
"The guardian god of Kāliṅga appears in the shape of a white bull, while ours is in the form of a black bull and looks distressed."
"Fear not Sire, we shall conquer and Kāliṅga will be defeated. Only
dismount from your well-trained Sindh horse, and grasping this spear, with your left hand give him a blow on the flank, and then with this body of a thousand men advance quickly and with a stroke of your weapon fell to the ground this god of Kāliṅga, while we with a thousand spears will smite him and so shall Kāliṅga's tutelary deity perish, and then shall Kāliṅga be defeated and we shall be victorious."
"Good," said the king, and at a given signal from Nandisena he smote with his spear and his courtiers too smote with their thousand spears, and the tutelary god of Kāliṅga died then and there.
Meanwhile Kāliṅga was defeated and fled. And at the sight all those thousand councillors raised a loud cry, saying, "Kāliṅga is fled." Then Kāliṅga with the fear of death upon him, as he fled, reproached that ascetic and uttered the second stanza:
"Kāliṅgas
bold shall victory claim,
Defeat crowns Assakas with shame."
[7] Thus did your reverence prophesy,Defeat crowns Assakas with shame."
And honest folk should never lie.
Thus did Kāliṅga, as he fled, revile that ascetic. And in his flight to his own city he durst not so much as once look back. And a few days afterwards Sakka came to visit the hermit. And the hermit conversing with him uttered the third stanza:
The gods from lying words are free,
Truth should their chiefest treasure be.
In this, great Sakka, thou didst lie;
Tell me, I pray, the reason why.
On hearing this, Sakka spoke the fourth stanza:Truth should their chiefest treasure be.
In this, great Sakka, thou didst lie;
Tell me, I pray, the reason why.
Hast thou, O brahmin, ne’er been told
Gods envy not the hero bold?
The fixed resolve that may not yield,
Intrepid prowess in the field,
High courage and adventurous might
For Assaka have won the fight.
[8] And on the flight of Kāliṅga,
king Assaka returned with his spoils to his own city. And Nandisena sent a
message to Kāliṅga, that he was
to forward a portion for the dowry of these four royal maidens.
"Otherwise," he added, "I shall know how to deal with him."
And Kāliṅga, on hearing
this message, was so alarmed that he sent a fitting portion for them. And from
that day forward the two kings lived amicably together.Gods envy not the hero bold?
The fixed resolve that may not yield,
Intrepid prowess in the field,
High courage and adventurous might
For Assaka have won the fight.
Footnotes
1:1 See R. Morris, Folklore Journal, iii. 61.2:1 On the Coromandel coast.
3:1 The scholiast says Aruna was the real name of the Assaka king.
No. 302.
MAHĀASSĀROHA-JĀTAKA.
"Thy gifts bestowed," etc.—This story the Master told while dwelling at Jetavana, about the Elder Ānanda. The circumstances that suggested the story have been already given. "In former days too," the Master said, "wise men acted on the principle that one good turn deserves another." And hereupon he told them a story of the olden time.And being minded to quell some disturbance on his frontier he set out with a large force, but being defeated he mounted his horse and fled till he reached a certain border village. Now there dwelt here thirty loyal subjects and they were gathered together very early, in the middle of the village, to transact the business of the place. And at this moment the king mounted on his mail-clad horse and splendidly equipped [9] rode into the place by the village gate. The people were terrified and saying, "What can this be?" fled every man to his own home. But there was one man who without going to his own house, came to welcome the king. And telling the stranger that the king, he heard, had come to the frontier, he inquired who he was and whether he was a royalist or a rebel. " I am for the king, Sir," he said. " Then come with me," he answered, and led the king to his home and made him sit down on his own seat. Then the man said to his wife, "My dear, bathe our friend's feet;" and when she had so done, he offered him the best food he could, and had a bed made ready for him, bidding him rest awhile. So the king lay down. Then his host took off the armour from the horse, turned him loose, gave him water to drink and grass to eat and rubbed him down with oil. Thus did he tend the king for three or four days, and the king said, "Friend, I am now off," and again be did all due service both to the king and his horse. The king after he had taken food, on leaving said, "I am called the Great Horseman. Our home is in the centre of the city. Should you come there on any business, stand at the door on the right hand and ask the porter where the Great Horseman dwells, and take him with you and come to our house." With these words he departed.
Now the army, not seeing the king, remained encamped outside the town, but when they saw him, they came out to meet him and escorted him home. The king on entering the city stood at the entrance of the
gate and calling the porter ordered the crowd to retire and said, "Friend, a certain man who lives in a frontier village will come here, anxious to see us, and will ask where the house of the Great Horseman is. Take him by the hand and bring him into our presence, and then you shall receive a thousand pieces of money."
But when the man failed to come, the king increased the tax on the village where he dwelt. But though the tax was raised, still he did not come. So the king increased the tax for the second and third time, and still he came not. Then the inhabitants of the village gathered together and said to the man: " Sir, from the time the Horseman came to you, [10] we have been so weighed down by the tax that we cannot lift up our head. Go and see the Great Horseman and persuade him to lighten our burden."
"Well, I will go," he answered, "but I cannot go empty-handed. My friend has two sons: so get you ready ornaments and suits of clothes for them and for his wife and for my friend himself."
"Very well," they said, and got everything ready for a present.
So he took both this gift and a cake fried in his own house. And when he came to the door on the right hand he asked the porter where the house of the Great Horseman might be. The porter answered, "Come with me and I will shew you," and took him by the hand, and on arriving at the king's gate sent in word, "The porter has come and has brought with him the man who dwells in the border village." The king on hearing it, rose from his seat and said, "Let my friend and all that have come with him enter." Then he went forward to welcome him and embraced him, and after inquiring if his friend's wife and children were well, he took him by the hand, stepped on the dais and seated him on the royal throne beneath the white umbrella. And he summoned his chief consort and said, "Wash my friend's feet." So she washed his feet. The king sprinkled water from a golden bowl, while the queen washed his feet and anointed them with scented oil. Then the king asked, "Have you anything for us to eat?" And he said, "Yes, my lord," and brought out cakes in a bag. The king received them in a golden dish, and showing great favour towards him he said, "Eat what my friend has brought," and gave some to his queen and his ministers, and himself too ate of it. Then the stranger brought out his other gift. And the king to show that he accepted it put off his silken garments and put on the suit of clothes that he had brought him. [11] The queen also laid aside her silk dress and ornaments and put on the dress and ornaments he had brought her. Then the king served him with food fit for a king and bade one of his councillors, saying, "Go and see that his beard is trimmed after the fashion of my own, and let him bathe in scented water. Then dress him in a silken robe worth a hundred thousand pieces of money, and adorn him in royal style and bring him
here." This was done. And the king by beat of drum through the city gathered together his councillors, and throwing a thread of pure vermilion across the white umbrella, gave him the half of his kingdom. From that day they ate, drank and dwelt together and they became firm and inseparable friends.
Then the king sent for the man's wife and family and had a house built for them in the city, and they ruled the kingdom in perfect harmony. So the courtiers waxed wroth and said to the king's son, "O prince, the king has given the half of his kingdom to a certain householder. He eats and drinks and dwells with him, and orders us to salute his children. What service he has done the king we know not. What does the king mean? We feel ashamed. Do you speak to the king." He readily agreed to do so, and told every word to the king and said, "O great king, do not act thus."
" My son," he answered, "do you know where I dwelt after I was defeated in battle?" 1
"I know not, my lord," he said.
"I was living," said the king, "in this man's house, and when I had recovered my health I came back and reigned again. How then should I not bestow honour on my benefactor?"
And then the Bodhisatta went on to say, "My son, whosoever giveth to one unworthy of his gift, and to the deserving giveth nought, that man when he falls into misfortune findeth no one to help him." And to point the moral he uttered these verses:
[12]
Thy gifts bestowed upon or fool or
knave,
In sorest need would bring no friend to save:
But grace or kindness to the good displayed
In sorest need would bring thee timely aid.
Boons to unworthy souls are spent in vain,
Thy smallest service to the good is gain:
A noble action though it stands alone,
Renders the doer worthy of a throne:
As fruit abundant from the tiny seed,
Eternal fame springs from a virtuous deed.
[13] On hearing this neither the councillors nor the young prince
had aught to say in answer.In sorest need would bring no friend to save:
But grace or kindness to the good displayed
In sorest need would bring thee timely aid.
Boons to unworthy souls are spent in vain,
Thy smallest service to the good is gain:
A noble action though it stands alone,
Renders the doer worthy of a throne:
As fruit abundant from the tiny seed,
Eternal fame springs from a virtuous deed.
Footnotes
8:1 Compare No. 157, vol. ii.No. 303.
EKARĀJA-JĀTAKA.
"O monarch that erst," etc.—This story the Master told while dwelling at Jetavana, about a courtier of the king of Kosala. The circumstances that suggested the story have been already related in the Seyyaṃsa 1 Birth. On this occasion the Master said, "You are not the only one who got good out of evil: wise men of old also got good out of evil." And he told an old-world story.But in the present story Dabbasena had the king of Benares seized while sitting on the dais in the midst of his councillors, and fastening him by a cord on the lintel of the door suspended him head downwards. The king cultivated feelings of charity towards the rebel prince, and by a process of complete absorption entered upon a state of mystic meditation, and bursting his bonds sat cross-legged in the air. The rebel prince was attacked with a burning pain in the body, and with a cry of "I burn, I burn" he rolled over and over on the ground. When he asked the reason of it, his courtiers replied, "It is because the king whom you suspend head downwards from the lintel of the door is such an innocent and holy man." Then said he, "Go quickly and release him." His servants went and found the king sitting cross-legged in the air, and came back and told Dabbasena. [14] So he went with all speed, and bowing before him asked his pardon and repeated the first stanza:
O monarch that erst in thy kingdom
didst dwell,
Enjoying such bliss as few mortals have seen,
How is it that lying midst tortures of Hell
Thou still art so calm and so gracious of mien?
On hearing this the Bodhisatta repeated the rest of the stanzas:Enjoying such bliss as few mortals have seen,
How is it that lying midst tortures of Hell
Thou still art so calm and so gracious of mien?
Of yore ’twas my one earnest prayer
unto Heaven
From the ranks of ascetics no more to be barred,
But now that such glory to me has been given,
O why should the form of my visage be marred?
From the ranks of ascetics no more to be barred,
But now that such glory to me has been given,
O why should the form of my visage be marred?
The end is accomplished, my task is now
done,
The prince once my foe is no longer estranged,
But now that the fame I so envied is won,
O why should the form of my visage be changed?
1When joy turns to sorrow, and weal becomes woe,The prince once my foe is no longer estranged,
But now that the fame I so envied is won,
O why should the form of my visage be changed?
Patient souls even pleasure may wring from their pain,
But no such distinction of feeling they know,
When the calm of Nirvāna poor mortals attain.
[15] On hearing this Dabbasena asked forgiveness of the Bodhisatta and said, "Rule over your own people and I will drive out the rebels from amongst you." And after punishing that wicked councillor he went his way. But the Bodhisatta handed over the kingdom to his ministers, and adopting the ascetic life of a Rishi he became destined to birth in the Brahma-world.
Footnotes
9:1 No. 282, vol. ii.9:2 No. 51, vol. i.
No. 304.
DADDARA-JĀTAKA.
"O Daddara, who," etc.—This story the Master told while dwelling at Jetavana, about a certain choleric fellow. The circumstance has been already related before. On this occasion when a discussion had arisen in the Hall of Truth about the passionate nature of the man, the Master came up, and when in answer to his inquiry he was told by the Brethren the subject of their discourse, he sent for the man and asked, "Is it true, Brother, what they say, that you are passionate?" "Yes, my Lord, it is so," he replied. [16] Then the Master said, "Not now only, Brethren, but of old too this fellow was very choleric, andowing to his passionate temper wise men of former days though continuing to lead perfectly innocent lives as Nāga princes, had to dwell three years on a filthy dunghill." And herewith he told an old story.
So he drove them forth from the Nāga country and they went and lived at Benares. And when the village boys saw them looking for their food in a ditch bounding the dunghill, they struck them and threw clods and sticks and other missiles at them, and crying out, "What have we here—water lizards with big heads and tails like needles?" uttered other words of abuse. But Culladaddara, by reason of his fierce and passionate nature, being unable to put up with such disrespect said, "Brother, these boys are mocking us. They don't know that we are venomous serpents. I can't stand their contempt for us. I will destroy them by the breath of my nostril." And then addressing his brother, he repeated the first stanza:
O Daddara, who such an insult could
bear?
"Ho! frog-eating stick-i’-the-mud," they cry:
To think that these poor harmless creatures should dare
A serpent with poisonous fang to defy!
[17] On hearing his words Mahādaddara uttered the rest of the
stanzas:"Ho! frog-eating stick-i’-the-mud," they cry:
To think that these poor harmless creatures should dare
A serpent with poisonous fang to defy!
An exile driven to a foreign shore
Must of abuse lay up a goodly store;
For where his rank and virtues none can know,
Only the fool his pride would care to show.
He who at home a "shining light" may be,
Abroad must suffer men of low degree.
So they dwelt there three years. Then their father recalled them
home. And from that day their pride was abated.Must of abuse lay up a goodly store;
For where his rank and virtues none can know,
Only the fool his pride would care to show.
He who at home a "shining light" may be,
Abroad must suffer men of low degree.
When the Master had brought his discourse to an end, he proclaimed the Truths and identified the Birth:—At the conclusion of the Truths the choleric Brother attained Fruition of the Third Path:—"At that time the choleric Brother was Culladaddara, and I myself was Mahādaddara."
Footnotes
10:1 Compare Lord Houghton's poem, "Pleasure and Pain."
See the Fakeer as he swings on his
iron,
See the thin Hermit that starves in the wild;
Think ye no pleasures the penance environ,
And hope the sole bliss by which pain is beguiled?
No! in the kingdoms those spirits are reaching,See the thin Hermit that starves in the wild;
Think ye no pleasures the penance environ,
And hope the sole bliss by which pain is beguiled?
Vain are our words the emotions to tell;
Vain the distinctions our senses are teaching,
For Pain has its Heaven and Pleasure its Hell!
No. 305.
SĪLAVĪMAṀSANA-JĀTAKA. 1
[18] "In sooth there is," etc.—This story the Master told while dwelling at Jetavana, about the rebuking of sin. The circumstances will be set forth in the Pānīya Birth 2 in the Eleventh Book. The following is a brief summary of it.Five hundred Brethren living in Jetavana, at the close of the middle watch of the night, entered into an argument on the pleasures of sense. Now the Master through all the six divisions of night and day keeps a continual watch over the Brethren, even as a one-eyed man carefully guards his eye, a father his only son, or a yak its tail. In the night time, with his supernatural vision regarding Jetavana, he beheld these Brethren, as it were, like robbers that had found their way into some great king's palace. And opening his perfumed chamber he summoned Ānanda and bade him assemble the Brethren in the Home of the Golden Pavement, and prepare a seat for him at the door of the perfumed chamber. Ānanda did as he was commanded and told the Master. Then the Master, sitting down on the seat prepared for him, addressed the Brethren collectively and said, "Brethren, wise men of old thought there was no such thing as secrecy in wrong-doing and so refrained from it," and he told them a story of the olden time.
So one day he thus addressed his pupils: " My friends, I have a grown-up daughter, and I intend to give her in marriage, but I must have proper dresses and ornaments for her. Do you then steal some without your friends discovering it, and bring them to me. Whatever no one has seen you take I will accept, but if you allow anything you bring to be seen, I shall refuse it." They assented, saying, "Very well," and from that day they stole dresses and ornaments without their friends' knowledge
and brought them to him. And the teacher arranged whatever each pupil brought in a separate place. But the Bodhisatta stole nothing.
Then the teacher said, [19] "But you, my friend, bring me nothing." "True, Master," he replied. "Why is this, my friend?" he asked. "You accept nothing," he answered, "unless it is taken secretly. But I find there is no such thing as secrecy in wrong-doing."
And to illustrate this truth he repeated these two stanzas:
In sooth there is no act of sin, that
in this world may hidden lie,
That which the fool a secret deems, the spirits of the wood espy.
Concealment nowhere may be found, nor can a void exist for me,
E’en where no being is in sight, while I am there, no void can be.
The Master, being pleased with his words, said, "Friend,
there is no lack of wealth in my house, but I was anxious to marry my daughter
to a virtuous man, and I acted thus to prove these youths. But you alone are
worthy of my daughter." Then he adorned his daughter and gave her in
marriage to the Bodhisatta, but to his other pupils he said, "Take back
all that you brought me to your several homes again."That which the fool a secret deems, the spirits of the wood espy.
Concealment nowhere may be found, nor can a void exist for me,
E’en where no being is in sight, while I am there, no void can be.
Masters Bastard 1 and Low and Easy and Gay,
With Bravo and Frail, for a wife, went astray;
But our Brahmin, well seen in the Law from his youth,
Won a bride by his courage in holding the Truth.
[20] The Master, having brought this solemn lesson to an end,
declared the Truths and identified the Birth:—At the conclusion of the Truths
these five hundred Brethren attained to Sainthood:—"At that time Sāriputta
was the Teacher, and I myself was the Wise Youth."With Bravo and Frail, for a wife, went astray;
But our Brahmin, well seen in the Law from his youth,
Won a bride by his courage in holding the Truth.
Footnotes
12:1 See R. Morris, Folklore Journal, iii. 244.12:2 No. 459. Vol. iv.
No. 306.
SUJĀTA-JĀTAKA.
"What is this egg-shaped fruit," etc.—This story was told by the Master while dwelling at Jetavana, about queen Mallikā. One day, they say, there was a dispute at court between her and the king. 2 The king was so enraged that he.
ignored her existence. Mallikā thought: "The Master, I fancy, knows not how angry the king is with me." But the Master knew all about it and resolved to make peace between them. So early in the morning he put on his inner garment and taking his bowl and robes he entered Sāvatthi with a following of five hundred brethren and came to the palace gate. The king took his bowl from him, brought him into the house, and placing him on the seat prepared for him, poured the Water of Donation on the hands of the Brotherhood with Buddha at their head, and brought them rice and cakes to eat. But the Master covered up his bowl with his hand and said, "Sire, where is the queen?"
"What have you to do with her, Reverend Sir?" he answered. "Her head is turned, she is intoxicated with the honour she enjoys."
"Sire," he said, "after you yourself bestowed this honour on the woman, it is wrong of you now to get rid of her, and not to put up with the offence she has committed against you."
The king hearkened to the words of the Master and sent for the queen.
[21] And she ministered to the Master. "You ought," he said, "to live together in peace," and singing the praises of the sweets of concord he went his way. And from that day they lived happily together.
The Brethren raised a discussion in the Hall of Truth, how that the Master had reconciled the king and queen by a single word. The Master, when he came, inquired what the Brethren were discussing, and on being told said, "Not now only, Brethren, but formerly too I reconciled them by a single word of admonition." And he told an old story.
Now one day the king stood at an open window looking into the palace court. And at this very moment the daughter of a fruiterer, a beautiful girl in the flower of her youth, stood with a basket of jujubes on her head crying, "Jujubes, ripe jujubes, who'll buy my jujubes?" But she did not venture into the royal court. 1
And the king no sooner heard her voice than he fell in love with her, and when he learned that she was unmarried he sent for her and raised her to the dignity of chief queen, and bestowed great honour upon her. Now she was dear and pleasing in the king's eyes. And one day the king sat eating jujubes in a golden dish. And the queen Sujātā, when she saw the king eating jujubes, asked him, saying, "My lord, what in the world are you eating? " And she uttered the first stanza:
What is this egg-shaped fruit, my lord,
so pretty and red of hue,
In a gold dish set before thee? Pray tell me, where they grew.
And the king was wroth and said, "O daughter of a
greengrocer, dealer in ripe jujubes, do you not recognise the jujubes, the
special fruit of your own family?" And he repeated two stanzas:In a gold dish set before thee? Pray tell me, where they grew.
[22]
Bare-headed and meanly clad, my queen,
thou once didst feel no shame,
To fill thy lap with the jujube fruit, and now thou dost ask its name;
Thou art eaten up with pride, my queen, thou findest no pleasure in life,
Begone and gather thy jujubes again. Thou shalt be no longer my wife.
To fill thy lap with the jujube fruit, and now thou dost ask its name;
Thou art eaten up with pride, my queen, thou findest no pleasure in life,
Begone and gather thy jujubes again. Thou shalt be no longer my wife.
Then the Bodhisatta thought, "No one, except myself, will be able to reconcile this pair. I will appease the king's anger and prevent him from turning her out of doors." Then he repeated the fourth stanza:
These are the sins of a woman, my lord,
promoted to high estate:
Forgive her and cease from thine anger, O king, for ’twas thou didst make her great.
So the king at his word put up with the offence of the queen and
restored her to her former position. And thenceforth they lived amicably
together.Forgive her and cease from thine anger, O king, for ’twas thou didst make her great.
Footnotes
13:1 The Scholiast explains that these were the names of six leading disciples amongst those that yielded to temptation.13:2 Pasenadi, king of Kinsala
14:1 Reading rājaṅgaṇe na gacchati. With Fausbøll's text rājaṅgaṇena, it must be "She passed by way of the court."
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(Continued...)
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