THE JĀTAKA
OR
STORIES OF THE BUDDHA'S FORMER BIRTHS
No. 379.
NERU-JĀTAKA.
"Ravens and crows," etc.—The Master told this tale in Jetavana concerning a certain Brother. The story is that he got the forms of meditation from the Master and then went to a frontier village. There the people, pleased with his deportment, fed him, built him a hut in the wood, and exacting a promise, made him live there, and gave him great honour. But they forsook him for the teachers of the permanence of matter, afterwards forsaking those for the sect who deny immortality, and those again for the sect of naked ascetics: for teachers of all these sects came among them in turn. So he was unhappyamong those people who knew not good and evil, and after the rains and the pavāraṇa 1 he went back to the Master, and at his request told him where he had stayed during the rains and that he had been unhappy among people who knew not good and evil. The Master said, "Sages of old, even when born as beasts, stayed not a day among those who knew not good and evil, why have you done so?" and so he told the tale.
Ravens and crows, and we the best of
birds,
When on this mountain, all appear the same.
Mean jackals rival tigers and their lords,When on this mountain, all appear the same.
The lions: what can be the mountain's name?
The Bodhisatta hearing this spoke the third stanza:
Noblest of Mountains, Neru is it hight,
All animals are here made fair to sight.
The younger one hearing this spoke the remaining three stanzas:All animals are here made fair to sight.
Where’er the good find honour small or
none,
Or less than others, live not, but begone.
Dull and clever, brave and coward, all are honoured equally:Or less than others, live not, but begone.
Undiscriminating Mountain, good men will not stay on thee!
[248] Best, indifferent and meanest Neru does not separate,
Undiscriminating Neru, we alas! must leave thee straight.
With this they both flew up and went to Cittakūṭa.
Footnotes
159:1 If Sumedha is a proper name, this must be taken from another story: but it may mean merely "wise."160:1 The festival at the end of the rains.
No. 380.
ĀSAṄKA-JĀTAKA.
"In heavenly garden," etc.—The
Master told this tale while dwelling at Jetavana, concerning the temptation of
a Brother by his former wife. The occasion will appear in the Indriya 1 Birth. The Master found that the brother was backsliding
owing to thoughts of his wife, so he said, "Sir, this woman does you harm:
formerly also for her sake you sacrificed an army of the four divisions and
dwelt in the Himālaya three years in much misery": so he told an old tale.Now the Bodhisatta had given the maiden the name Āsaṅkā because she was brought to him by his crossing the water owing to his doubt (āsaṅkā), "What is in this lotus?" He did not say to the king directly, "Take her and go," but said, "If you know this maiden's name, O great king, take her and go." "Lord, if you tell it, I shall know." "I shall not tell it, but when you know it take her and depart." The king agreed, and thenceforth considered along with his ministers, "What may be her name?" He put forward all names hard to guess and talked with the Bodhisatta, saying, "Such and such will be her name": but the Bodhisatta said nay and refused him. So a year passed while the king was considering. Lions and other beasts seized his elephants and horses and men, there was danger from snakes, danger from flies, and many died worn out with cold. The king said to the Bodhisatta, "What need have I of her?" and took his way. The maiden Āsaṅkā stood at an open crystal window. The king seeing her said, "We cannot find your name, live here in the Himālaya, we will depart." "Great king, if you go you will never find a wife like me. In the Heaven of the Thirty-three, in the Cittalatā garden, there is a creeper named Āsāvatī: in its fruit a divine drink is born, and they who drink of it once are intoxicated for four months and lie on a divine couch: it bears fruit once in a thousand years and the sons of the gods, though given to strong drink, [251] bear with their thirst for that divine drink saying, "We shall reap fruit from this," and come constantly throughout the thousand years to watch the plant saying, "Is it well?" But you grow discontented in one year: he who wins the fruit of his hope is happy, be not discontented yet," and so she spoke three stanzas:
In heavenly garden grows Āsāvatī;
Once in a thousand years, no more, the tree
Bears fruit: for it the gods wait patiently.
Hope on, O king, the fruit of hope is sweet:
A bird hoped on and never own’d defeat.
His wish, though far away, he won complete:
Hope on, O king: the fruit of hope is sweet.
The king was caught by her words: he gathered his ministers again
and guessed at the name, making ten guesses each time till another year was
past. But her name was not among the ten, and so the Bodhisatta refused him.
Again the king said, "What need have I of her?" and took his way. She
showed herself at the window: and the king said, "You stay, we will
depart." [252] "Why depart, great king?" "I cannot find
your name." "Great king, why can you not find it? Hope is not without
success; a crane staying on a hill-top won his wish: why can you not win it?
Endure, great king. A crane had its feeding-ground in a lotus-pool, but flying
up lit on a hill-top: he stayed there that day and next day thought, "I am
happily settled on this hill-top: if without going down I stay here finding
food and drinking water and so dwell this day, Oh itOnce in a thousand years, no more, the tree
Bears fruit: for it the gods wait patiently.
Hope on, O king, the fruit of hope is sweet:
A bird hoped on and never own’d defeat.
His wish, though far away, he won complete:
Hope on, O king: the fruit of hope is sweet.
would be delightful." That very day Sakka, King of heaven, had crushed the Asuras and being now lord in the heaven of the Thirty-three was thinking, "My wishes have come to the pitch of fulfilment, is there any one in ṭhe forest whose wishes are unfulfilled?" So considering, he saw that crane and thought, "I will bring this bird's wishes to the pitch of fulfilment": not far from the crane's place of perch there is a stream, and Sakka sent the stream in full flood to the hill-top: so the crane without moving ate fish and drank water and dwelt there that day: then the water fell and went away: so, great king, the crane won fruition of that hope of his, and why will you not win it? Hope on," she said, with the rest of the verse. The king, hearing her tale, was caught by her beauty and attracted by her words: he could not go away, but gathering his ministers, and getting a hundred names [253] spent another year in guessing with these hundred names. At the end of three years he came to the Bodhisatta and asked, "Will that name be among the hundred, lord?" "You do not know it, great king." He saluted the Bodhisatta, and saying, "We will go now," he took his way. The maiden Āsaṅkā again stood by a crystal window. The king saw her and said, "You stay, we will depart." "Why, great king?" "You satisfy me with words, but not with love: caught by your sweet words I have spent here three years, now I will depart," and he uttered these stanzas:
You please me but with words and not in
deed:
The scentless flower, though fair, is but a weed.
Promise fair without performance on his friends one throws away,
Never giving, ever hoarding: such is friendship's sure decay.
Men should speak when they will act, not promise what they cannot do:
If they talk without performing, wise men see them through and through.
My troops are wasted, all my stores are spent,
I doubt my life is spoilt: ’tis time I went.
[254] The maiden Āsaṅkā hearing the
king's words said, "Great king, you know my name, you have just said it;
tell my father my name, take me and go," so talking with the king, she
said:The scentless flower, though fair, is but a weed.
Promise fair without performance on his friends one throws away,
Never giving, ever hoarding: such is friendship's sure decay.
Men should speak when they will act, not promise what they cannot do:
If they talk without performing, wise men see them through and through.
My troops are wasted, all my stores are spent,
I doubt my life is spoilt: ’tis time I went.
Prince, you have said the word that is
my name:
Come, king: my father will allow the claim.
The king went to the Bodhisatta, saluted and said, "Lord,
your daughter is named Āsaṅkā."
"From the time you know her name, take her and go, great king." He
saluted the Bodhisatta, and coming to the crystal palace he said, "Lady,
your father has given you to me, come now." "Come, great king, I will
get my father's leave," she said, and coming down from the palace she
saluted the Bodhisatta, got his consent and came to the king. The king took her
to Benares and lived happily with her, increased with sons and daughters. The
Bodhisatta continued in unbroken meditation and was born in the Brahma world.Come, king: my father will allow the claim.
After the lesson, the Master declared the Truths and identified the Birth: After the Truths, the Brother was established in the Fruition of the First Path:—"Āsaṅkā was the former wife, the king was the discontented Brother, the ascetic was myself."
Footnotes
161:1 No. 423, infra.No. 381.
MIGĀLOPA-JĀTAKA. 1
[255] "Your ways, my son," etc.—The Master told this tale in Jetavana, of an unruly Brother. The Master asked the Brother, "Are you really unruly?" He said, "Yes, lord": and the Master saying, "You are not unruly for the first time; formerly too through unruliness you did not the bidding of the wise and met your death by the Verambha 2 winds," told an old-world tale.
Your ways, my son, to me unsafe appear,
You soar too high, above our proper sphere.
When earth is but a square field to your sight,You soar too high, above our proper sphere.
Turn back, my son, and dare no higher flight.
Other birds on soaring pinions lofty flight e’er now have tried,
Struck by furious wind and tempest they have perished in their pride.
[256] Migālopa through disobedience did not do his father's bidding, but rising and rising he passed the limit his father told him, clove even the Black Winds when he met them, and flew upwards till he met the Verambha winds in the face. They struck him, and at their mere stroke he fell into pieces and disappeared in the air.
His aged father's wise commands
disdained,
Beyond the Black, Verambha Winds he gained.
His wife, his children, all his household herd,Beyond the Black, Verambha Winds he gained.
All came to ruin through that froward bird.
So they who heed not what their elders say,
Like this proud vulture beyond bounds astray,
Meet ruin, when right rules they disobey.
Footnotes
164:1 Cf. no. 427 infra.164:2 A wind so called from a sea of the same name, see Divyāvadāna, p. 105.
No. 382.
SIRIKĀLAKAṆṆI-JĀTAKA.
[257] "Who is this," etc.—The Master told this tale in Jetavana concerning Anāthapiṇḍika. From the time when he was established in the fruition of the First Path he kept all the five first commandments unbroken; so also did his wife, his sons and daughters, his hired servants and his workpeople. One day in the Hall of Truth they began to discuss whether Anāthapiṇḍika was pure in his walk and his household also. The Master came and was told their subject: so he said, "Brethren, the wise men of old had pure households," and told an old tale.the Buddhas bathe at their own place, the paccekabuddhas at theirs, [258] the Brethren at theirs, the ascetics at theirs, the gods of the six Kāma-heavens 1 at theirs, and the goddesses at theirs. These two came thither and began to quarrel as to which of them should bathe first. Kālakaṇṇī said, "I rule the world: it is proper that I bathe first." Sirī said, "I preside over the course of conduct that gives lordship to mankind: it is proper that I bathe first." Then both said, "The Four Kings will know which of us ought to bathe first": so they went to them and asked which of the two was worthy to bathe first in Anotatta. Dhataraṭṭha and Virūpakkha said, "We cannot decide," and laid the duty on Virūḷha and Vessavaṇa. They too said, "We cannot decide, we will send it to our Lord's feet": so they sent it to Sakka. He heard their tale and thought, "Those two are the daughters of my vassals; I cannot decide this case ": so he said to them, "There is in Benares a merchant called Suciparivāra; in his house are prepared an unused couch and bed: she who can first sit or lie there is the proper one to bathe first." Kālakaṇṇī hearing this on the instant put on blue 2 raiment and used blue ointment and decked herself with blue jewels: she descended from the heaven as on a stone from a catapult, and just after the mid-watch of night she stood in the air, diffusing a blue light, not far from the merchant who was lying on a couch in the presence-chamber of his mansion. The merchant [259] looked and saw her: but to his eyes she was ungracious and unlovely. Talking to her he spoke the first stanza:
Who is this so dark of hue,
So unlovely to the view?
Who are you, whose daughter, say,
How are we to know you, pray?
Hearing him, Kālakaṇṇī spoke the
second stanza:So unlovely to the view?
Who are you, whose daughter, say,
How are we to know you, pray?
The great king Virūpakkha is my sire:
I am Misfortune, Kālakaṇṇī dire:
Give me the house-room near you I desire.
Then the Bodhisatta spoke the third stanza:I am Misfortune, Kālakaṇṇī dire:
Give me the house-room near you I desire.
What the conduct, what the ways,
Of the men with whom you dwell
This is what my question prays:
We will mark the answer well.
Then she, explaining her own qualities, spoke the fourth stanza:Of the men with whom you dwell
This is what my question prays:
We will mark the answer well.
The hypocrite, the wanton, the morose,
The man of envy, greed and treachery:
Such are the friends I love: and I dispose
Their gains that they may perish utterly.
The man of envy, greed and treachery:
Such are the friends I love: and I dispose
Their gains that they may perish utterly.
[260] She spoke also the fifth, sixth, and seventh stanzas:
And dearer still are ire and hate to
me,
Slander and strife, libel and cruelty.
The shiftless wight who knows not his own good,Slander and strife, libel and cruelty.
Resenting counsel, to his betters rude:
The man whom folly drives, whom friends despise,
He is my friend, in him my pleasure lies.
[261] Then the Great Being, blaming her, spoke the eighth stanza:
Kāli, depart: there's naught to please
you here:
To other lands and cities disappear.
Kālakaṇṇī, hearing him,
was sorrowful and spoke another stanza:To other lands and cities disappear.
I know you well: there's naught to
please me here.
Others are luckless, who amass much gear;
My brother-god and I will make it disappear.
When she had gone, Sirī the goddess, coming with raiment and
ointment of golden hue and ornament of golden brightness to the door of the
presence-chamber, diffusing yellow light, rested with even feet on level ground
and stood respectful. The Bodhisatta seeing her repeated the first stanza:Others are luckless, who amass much gear;
My brother-god and I will make it disappear.
Who is this, divine of hue,
On the ground so firm and true?
Who are you, whose daughter, say,
How are we to know you, pray?
[262] Sirī, hearing him, spoke the second stanza:On the ground so firm and true?
Who are you, whose daughter, say,
How are we to know you, pray?
The great king Dhataraṭṭha
is my sire:
Fortune and Luck am I, and Wisdom men admire:
Grant me the house-room with you I desire.
ThenFortune and Luck am I, and Wisdom men admire:
Grant me the house-room with you I desire.
What the conduct, what the ways
Of the men with whom you dwell?
This is what my question prays;
We will mark your answer well.
He who in cold and heat, in wind and sun,Of the men with whom you dwell?
This is what my question prays;
We will mark your answer well.
Mid thirst and hunger, snake and poison-fly,
His present duty night and day hath done;
With him I dwell and love him faithfully.
Gentle and friendly, righteous, liberal,
Guileless and honest, upright, winning, bland,
Meek in high place: I tinge his fortunes all,
Like waves their hue through ocean that expand. 1
To friend or unfriend, better, like or
worse,
Helper or foe, by dark or open day,
Whoso is kind, [263] without harsh word or curse,
I am his friend, living or dead, alway.
But if a fool have won some love from me,Helper or foe, by dark or open day,
Whoso is kind, [263] without harsh word or curse,
I am his friend, living or dead, alway.
And waxes proud and vain,
His froward path of wantonness I flee,
Like filthy stain.
Each man's fortune and misfortune are
his own work, not another's:
Neither fortune nor misfortune can a man make for his brothers.
Such was Sirī's answer when questioned by the merchant.Neither fortune nor misfortune can a man make for his brothers.
[264] The Bodhisatta rejoiced at Sirī's words, and said, "Here is the pure seat and bed, proper for you; sit and lie down there." She stayed there and in the morning departed to the Heaven of the Four Great Kings and bathed first in lake Anotatta. The bed used by Sirī was called Sirisaya: hence is the origin of Sirisayana, and for this reason it is so called to this day.
Footnotes
165:1 These are Dhataraṭṭha, King of the North, Virūḷha of the South, Virūpakkha of the West, and Vessavaṇa of the East.166:1 Of which the Heaven of the Four Kings is the first.
166:2 Blue is the unlucky colour.
167:1 Perhaps vaṇṇam is really for the Sanskrit vṛṃhan increasing.
No. 383. 1
KUKKUṬA-JĀTAKA.
[265] "Bird with wings," etc.—The Master told this tale in Jetavana, concerning a Brother who longed for the world. The Master asked him, "Why do you long for the world?" "Lord, through passion, for I saw a woman adorned." "Brother, women are like cats, deceiving and cajoling to bring to ruin one who has come into their power," so he told an old tale.by devices the other cocks except the Bodhisatta and ate them: but the Bodhisatta did not fall into her power. She thought, "This cock is very crafty, but he knows not that I am crafty and skilful in device: it is good that I cajole him, saying, "I will be your wife," and so eat him when he comes into my power." She went to the root of the tree where he perched, and praying him in a speech preceded by praise of his beauty, she spoke the first stanza:
Bird with wings that flash so gaily,
crest that droops so gracefully,
I will be your wife for nothing, leave the bough and come to me.
The Bodhisatta hearing her thought, "She has eaten all my
relatives; now she wishes to cajole me and eat me: I will get rid of her."
So he spoke the second stanza:I will be your wife for nothing, leave the bough and come to me.
Lady fair and winning, you have four
feet, I have only two:
Beasts and birds should never marry: for some other husband sue.
[266] Then she thought, "He is exceedingly crafty; by some
device or other I will deceive him and eat him "; so she spoke the third
stanza:Beasts and birds should never marry: for some other husband sue.
I will bring thee youth and beauty,
pleasant speech and courtesy:
Honoured wife or simple slave-girl, at thy pleasure deal with me.
Then the Bodhisatta thought, "It is best to revile her and
drive her away," so he spoke the fourth stanza:Honoured wife or simple slave-girl, at thy pleasure deal with me.
Thou hast drunk my kindred's blood, and
robbed and slain them cruelly:
"Honoured wife"! there is no honour in your heart when wooing me.
She was driven away and did not endure to look at him again."Honoured wife"! there is no honour in your heart when wooing me.
So when they see a hero, women sly,
(Compare the cat and cock,) to tempt him try.
He that to great occasion fails to rise(Compare the cat and cock,) to tempt him try.
’Neath foeman's feet in sorrow prostrate lies.
[267] One prompt a crisis in his fate to see,
As cock from cat, escapes his enemy.
These are stanzas inspired by Perfect Wisdom.
Footnotes
168:1 See Morris in Folk-lore Journal, ii. p. 332.No. 384. 1
DHAMMADDHAJA-JĀTABA.
"Practise virtue," etc.—The Master told this tale while dwelling in Jetavana, of a deceitful Brother. He said, "Brethren, this man is not deceitful now for the first time": so he told an old-world tale.
Practise virtue, brethren, bless you!
practise virtue, I repeat:
Here and after virtuous people have their happiness complete.
The birds, not knowing that he said this with deceit to eat their
eggs, praised him and spoke the second stanza:Here and after virtuous people have their happiness complete.
Surely a righteous fowl, a blessed
bird,
He preaches on one leg the holy word.
The birds, believing that wicked one, said, "Sir, you take no
other food but feed on wind only: so pray watch our eggs and young," so
they went to their feeding-ground. That sinner when they went away ate his
bellyful of their eggs and young, and when they came again he stood calmly on
one foot with his mouth open. The birds not seeing their children when they came
made a great outcry, "Who can be eating them?" but saying, "This
crow is a holy person," they do not even suspect him. Then one day the
Bodhisatta thought, "There was nothingHe preaches on one leg the holy word.
wrong here formerly, it only began since this one came, it is good to try him": so making as if he were going to feed with the other birds he turned back and stood in a secret place. [269] The crow, confident because the birds were gone, rose and went and ate the eggs and young, then coming back stood on one foot with his mouth open. When the birds came, their king assembled them all and said, "I examined to-day the danger to our children, and I saw this wicked crow eating them, we will seize him": so getting the birds together and surrounding the crow he said, "If he flees, let us seize him," and spoke the remaining stanzas:
You know not his ways, when this bird
you praise:
You spoke with foolish tongue:
"Virtue," he'll say, and "Virtue" aye,
But he eats our eggs and young.
The things he preaches with his voiceYou spoke with foolish tongue:
"Virtue," he'll say, and "Virtue" aye,
But he eats our eggs and young.
His members never do:
His Virtue is an empty noise,
His righteousness untrue.
At heart a hypocrite, his language charms,
A black snake slinking to his hole is he:
He cozens by his outward coat of arms
The country-folk in their simplicity.
Strike him down with beak and pinion,
Tear him with your claws:
Death to such a dastard minion,
Traitor to our cause.
[270] With these words the leader of the birds himself sprang up and struck the crow in the head with his beak, and the rest struck him with beaks and feet and wings: so he died.
Footnotes
170:1 See Morris in Folk-lore Journal, ii. p. 304.No. 385.
NANDIYAMIGA-JĀTAKA.
"Will you go to the King's Park," etc.—The Master told this in Jetavana, of a Brother who supported his mother. He asked the Brother, "Is it true that you support lay folk?" "Yes, lord." "What are they?" "My father and mother,lord." "Well done, well done, Brother: you keep up the rule of the wise men of old, for they too even when born as beasts gave their life for their parents," and so he told an old tale.
seeing a brahmin they asked in human voice, "Sir, where are you going?" "To Sāketa," he said; so sending a message to their son they spoke the first stanza:
Will you go to the King's Park,
brahmin, when Oudh you're travelling through?
Find out our dear son Nandiya and tell him our message true,
"Your father and mother are stricken in years and their hearts are fain for you."
The brahmin, saying, "It is well," accepted, and going
to Sāketa next day entered the park, and asked "Which is Nandiya?"
The deer came near him and said, "I." The brahmin told his message.
Nandiya, hearing it, said, "I might go, brahmin; I might certainly leap
the fence and go: but I have enjoyed regular food and drink from the king, and
this stands to me as a debt: besides I have lived long among these deer, and it
is improper for me to go away without doing good to this king and to them, or
without showing my strength: but when my turn comes I will do good to them and
come gladly": and so explaining this, he spoke two stanzas:Find out our dear son Nandiya and tell him our message true,
"Your father and mother are stricken in years and their hearts are fain for you."
I owe the King my daily drink and food:
I cannot go till I have made it good.
To the King's arrows I'll expose my side:I cannot go till I have made it good.
Then see my mother and be justified.
[273] The brahmin hearing this went away. Afterwards on the day when his turn came, the king with a great retinue came into the park. The Bodhisatta stood on one side: and the king saying, "I will shoot the deer," fitted a sharp arrow to the string. The Bodhisatta did not run away as other animals do when scared by the fear of death, but fearless and making his charity his guide he stood firm, exposing his side with mighty ribs. The king owing to the efficacy of his love could not discharge the arrow. The Bodhisatta said, "Great king, why do you not shoot the arrow? shoot!" "King of deer, I cannot." "Then see the merit of the virtuous 1, O great king." Then the king, pleased with the Bodhisatta, dropped his bow and said, "This senseless length of wood knows your merit: shall I who have sense and am a man not know it? forgive me; I give you security." "Great king, you give me security, but what will this herd of deer in the park do?" "I give it to them too." So the Bodhisatta, having gained security for all deer in the park, for birds in the air and fishes in the water, in the way described in the Nigrodha Birth, established the king in the five commands and said, "Great king, it is good for a king to rule a kingdom by forsaking the ways of wrongdoing, not offending against the ten kingly virtues and acting with just righteousness.
[274]
Alms, morals, charity, justice and
penitence,
Peace, mildness, mercy, meekness, patience:
These virtues planted in my soul I feel,Peace, mildness, mercy, meekness, patience:
Thence springs up Love and perfect inward weal."
With these words he showed forth the kingly virtues in the form of a stanza, and after staying some days with the king he sent a golden drum round the town, proclaiming the gift of security to all beings: and then saying, "O king, be watchful," he went to see his parents.
Of old in Oudh a king of deer I hight,
By name and nature, Nandiya, Delight.
To kill me in his deer-park came the King,By name and nature, Nandiya, Delight.
His bow was bent, his arrow on the string.
To the King's arrow I exposed my side;
Then saw my mother and was justified.
These were the stanzas inspired by Perfect Wisdom.
Footnotes
173:1 There is a pun here on guṇam which means merit or string.No. 386.
KHARAPUTTA-JĀTAKA. 1
[275] "Goats are stupid," etc.—The Master told this tale in Jetavana, concerning temptation of a Brother by his former wife. When the Brother confessed that he was longing for the world, the Master said, "Brother, this woman does you harm: formerly also you came into the fire through her and were saved from death by sages," so he told an old tale.earth seeking food. The village boys seeing him said, "This is a snake," and struck him with clods and other things. The king, going to amuse himself in his garden, saw them, and being told they were beating a snake, said, "Don't let them beat him, drive them away "; and this was done. So the nāga-king got his life, and when he went back to the nāga-world, he took many jewels, and coming at midnight to the king's bedchamber he gave them to him, saying, "I got my life through you": so he made friendship with the king and came again and again to see him. He appointed one of his nāga girls, insatiate in pleasures, to be near the king and protect him: and he gave the king a charm, saying, "If ever you do not see her, repeat this charm." One day the king went to the garden with the nāga girl and was amusing himself in the lotus-tank. The nāga girl seeing a water-snake quitted her human shape and made love with him. The king not seeing the girl said, [276] "Where is she gone?" and repeated the spell: then he saw her in her misconduct and struck her with a piece of bamboo. She went in anger to the nāga-world, and when she was asked, "Why are you come?" she said, "Your friend struck me on the back because I did not do his bidding," shewing the mark of the blow. The nāga-king, not knowing the truth, called four nāga youths and sent them with orders to enter Senaka's bed chamber and destroy him like chaff by the breath of their nostrils. They entered the chamber at the royal bed-time. As they came in, the king was saying to the queen: "Lady, do you know where the nāga-girl has gone?" "King, I do not." "To-day when we were bathing in the tank, she quitted her shape and misconducted herself with a water-snake: I said, "Don't do that," and struck her with a piece of bamboo to give her a lesson: and now I fear she may have gone to the nāga-world and told some lie to my friend, destroying his good-will to me." The young nāgas hearing this turned back at once to the nāga-world and told their king. He being moved went instantly to the king's chamber, told him all and was forgiven: then be said, "In this way I make amends," and gave the king a charm giving knowledge of all sounds: "This, O king, is a priceless spell: if you give anyone this spell you will at once enter the fire and die." The king said, "It is well," and accepted it. From that time he understood the voice even of ants. One day he was sitting on the dais eating solid food with honey and molasses: and a drop of honey, a drop of molasses, and a morsel of cake fell on the ground. An ant seeing this comes crying, "The king's honey jar is broken on the dais, his molasses-cart [277] and cake-cart are upset; come and eat honey and molasses and cake." The king hearing the cry laughed. The queen being near him thought, "What has the king seen that he laughs?" When the king had eaten his solid food and bathed and sat down cross-legged, a fly said to his wife, "Come, lady, let us enjoy love." She said, "Excuse me for a little, husband: they
will soon be bringing perfumes to the king; as he perfumes himself some powder will fall at his feet: I will stay there and become fragrant, then we will enjoy ourselves lying on the king's back." The king hearing the voice laughed again. The queen thought again, "What has he seen that he laughs?" Again when the king was eating his supper, a lump of rice fell on the ground. The ants cried, "A wagon of rice has broken in the king's palace, and there is none to eat it." The king hearing this laughed again. The queen took a golden spoon and helping him reflected, "Is it at the sight of me that the king laughs?" She went to the bed-chamber with the king and at bed-time she asked, "Why did you laugh, O king?" He said, "What have you to do with why I laugh?" but being asked again and again he told her. Then she said, "Give me your spell of knowledge." He said, "It cannot be given": but though repulsed she pressed him again.
The king said, "If I give you this spell, I shall die." "Even though you die, give it me." The king, being in the power of womankind, saying, "It is well," consented and went to the park in a chariot, saying, "I shall enter the fire after giving away this spell." At that moment, Sakka, king of gods, looked down on the earth and seeing this case said, "This foolish king, knowing that he will enter the fire through womankind, is on his way; I will give him his life ": so he took Sujā, daughter of the Asuras, and went to Benares. [278] He became a he-goat and made her a she-goat, and resolving that the people should not see them, he stood before the king's chariot. The king and the Sindh asses yoked in the chariot saw him, but none else saw him. For the sake of starting talk he was as if making love with the she-goat. One of the Sindh asses yoked in the chariot seeing him said, "Friend goat, we have heard before, but not seen, that goats are stupid and shameless: but you are doing, with all of us looking on, this thing that should be done in secret and in a private place, and are not ashamed: what we have heard before agrees with this that we see:" and so he spoke the first stanza:
"Goats are stupid," says the
wise man, and the words are surely true:
This one knows not he's parading what in secret he should do.
The goat hearing him spoke two stanzas:This one knows not he's parading what in secret he should do.
O, sir donkey, think and realise your
own stupidity,
You're tied with ropes, your jaw is wrenched, and very downcast is your eye.
When you're loosed, you don't escape, Sir, that's a stupid habit
too:You're tied with ropes, your jaw is wrenched, and very downcast is your eye.
And that Senaka you carry, he's more stupid still than you.
[279] The king understood the talk of both animals, and hearing it he quickly sent away the chariot. The ass hearing the goat's talk spoke the fourth stanza:
Well, Sir king of goats, you fully know
my great stupidity:
But how Senaka is stupid, prithee do explain to me.
The goat explaining this spoke the fifth stanza:But how Senaka is stupid, prithee do explain to me.
He who his own special treasure on his
wife will throw away,
Cannot keep her faithful ever and his life he must betray.
The king hearing his words said, "King of goats, you will
surely act for my advantage: tell me now what is right for me to do." Then
the goat said, "King, to all animals no one is dearer than self: it is not
good [280] to destroy oneself and abandon the honour one has gained for the
sake of anything that is dear": so he spoke the sixth stanza:—Cannot keep her faithful ever and his life he must betray.
A king, like thee, may have conceived
desire
And yet renounced it if his life's the cost:
Life is the chief thing: what can man seek higher?
If life's secured, desires need ne’er be crossed.
So the Bodhisatta exhorted the king. The king, delighted, asked,
"King of goats, whence come you?" "I am Sakka, O king, come to
save you from death out of pity for you." "King of gods, I promised
to give her the charm: what am I to do now?" "There is no need for
the ruin of both of you: you say, "It is the way of the craft," and
have her beaten with some blows: by this means she will not get it." The
king said, "It is well," and agreed. The Bodhisatta after exhortation
to the king went to Sakka's heaven. The king went to the garden, had the queen
summoned and then said, "Lady, will you have the charm?" "Yes,
lord." "Then go through the usual custom." "What
custom?" "A hundred stripes [281] on the back, but you must not make
a sound." She consented through greed for the charm. The king made his
slaves take whips and beat her on both sides. She endured two or three stripes
and then cried, "I don't want the charm." The king said, "You
would have killed me to get the charm," and so flogging the skin off her
back he sent her away. After that she could not bear to talk of it again.And yet renounced it if his life's the cost:
Life is the chief thing: what can man seek higher?
If life's secured, desires need ne’er be crossed.
Footnotes
174:1 For variants on this story see Benfey in Orient and Occident, vol. ii. pp. 133 ff., and the second story in the Arabian Nights.No. 387.
SŪCI-JĀTAKA.
"Quickly threaded," etc.—The Master told this tale while dwelling in Jetavana, concerning the perfection of wisdom. The occasion of the tale will be given in the Mahāummagga 1. The Master addressed the brethren, "This is not the first time the Tathāgata is wise and skilled in devices," and so he told an old tale.
Quickly threaded, smooth and straight,
Polished with emery,
Sharp of point and delicate,
Needles! who will buy?
After this he praised it again and spoke the second stanza:—Polished with emery,
Sharp of point and delicate,
Needles! who will buy?
Quickly threaded, strong and straight,
Rounded properly,
Iron they will penetrate,
Needles! who will buy?
Rounded properly,
Iron they will penetrate,
Needles! who will buy?
[283] At that moment the maiden was fanning her father with a palm-leaf as he lay on a little bed to allay discomfort after his early meal, and hearing the Bodhisatta's sweet voice, as if she had been sickened by a fresh lump of meat, and had the discomfort extinguished by a thousand pots of water, she said, "Who is this hawking needles with sweet voice in a village of smiths? For what business has he come? I will find out": so laying down the palm-fan she went out and spoke with him outside, standing in the verandah. The purpose of Bodhisattas prospers: it was for her sake he had come to that village. She speaking with him said, "Young man, dwellers in all the kingdom come to this village for needles and the like: it is in folly you wish to sell needles in a village of smiths; though you declare the praise of your needle all day no one will take it from your hand; if you wish to get a price, go to another village": so she spoke two stanzas:—
Our hooks are sold, both up and down,
Men know our needles well:
We all are smiths in this good town:
Needles! who can sell?
In iron-work we have renown,Men know our needles well:
We all are smiths in this good town:
Needles! who can sell?
In weapons we excel:
We all are smiths in this good town:
Needles! who can sell?
The Bodhisatta hearing her words said, "Lady, you say this not knowing and in ignorance ": and so he spoke two stanzas:—
[284]
Though all are smiths in this good
town,
Yet skill can needles sell;
For masters in the craft will own
A first-rate article.
Lady, if once your father knowYet skill can needles sell;
For masters in the craft will own
A first-rate article.
This needle made by me;
On me your hand he would bestow
And all his property.
The head-smith hearing all their talk called his daughter and asked, "Who is that you are talking to?" "Father, a man selling needles." "Then call him here." She went and called him. The Bodhisatta saluted the head-smith and stood by. The head-smith asked, "Of what village are you?" "I am of such a village and son of such a smith." "Why are you come here?" "To sell needles." "Come, let us see your needle." [285] The Bodhisatta, wishing to declare his qualities among them all, said, "Is not a thing seen in the midst of all better than one seen by each singly?" "Quite right, friend." So he gathered all the smiths together and in their midst said, "Sir, take the needle." "Master, have an anvil brought and a bronze dish full of water." This was done. The Bodhisatta took the needle-tube from the wrapper and gave it to
them. The head-smith taking it asked, "Is this the needle?" "No, it is not the needle, it is the sheath." He examining could not see end nor tip. The Bodhisatta, taking it from them, drew off the sheath with his nail and showing it to the people with "This is the needle, this is the sheath," he put the needle in the master's hand and the sheath at his feet. Again when the master said, "This is the needle, I suppose," he answered, "This too is a needle-sheath": then he struck it off with his nail, and so he laid six sheaths in succession at the head-smith's feet and saying, "Here is the needle," laid it on his hand. The thousand smiths snapped their fingers in delight, and the waving of cloths began; then the head-smith asked, "Friend, what is the strength of this needle?" "Master, have this anvil raised up by a strong man and a water-vessel set under the anvil: then strike the needle straight into the anvil." He had this done and struck the needle by the point into the anvil. The needle 1 piercing the anvil lay across on the surface of the water not moving a hair's breadth up or down. All the smiths said, "We have never heard all this time even by rumour that there are such smiths as this:" so they snapped their fingers and waved a thousand cloths. [286] The head-smith called his daughter and in the midst of the assembly saying, "This maiden is a suitable match for you," he poured water on 2 them and gave her away. And afterwards when the head-smith died the Bodhisatta became head-smith in the village.
Footnotes
178:1 No. 546, vol. VI.No. 388.
TUṆḌILA-JĀTAKA.
"Something strange to-day," etc. The Master told this tale while dwelling in Jetavana, concerning a brother who feared death. He was born in Sāvatthi of good family and was ordained in the Faith: but he feared death and when he heard even a little moving of a bough, or falling of a stick or voice of bird orbeast or any such thing, he was frightened by the fear of death, and went away shaking like a hare wounded in the belly. The Brethren in the Hall of Truth began to discuss, saying, "Sirs, they say a certain Brother, fearing death, runs away shaking when he hears even a little sound: now to beings in this world death is certain, life uncertain, and should not this be wisely borne in mind?" The Master found that this was their subject and that the Brother allowed he was afraid of death: so he said, "Brethren, he is not afraid of death for the first time," and so he told an old tale.
and so in fear of death he turned back shaking to his brother; and when he came back he could not contain himself but reeled about shaking. Mahātuṇḍila seeing him said, "Brother, you are shaking to-day and reeling and watching the entrance: why are you doing so?" He, explaining the thing that he had seen, spoke the first stanza:—
Something strange to-day I fear:
The trough is full, and mistress by;
Men, noose in hand, are standing near:
To eat appears a jeopardy.
Then the Bodhisatta hearing him said, "Brother Cullatuṇḍila,
the purpose for which my mother rears pigs all this time [289] has to-day come
to its fulfilment: do not grieve," and so with sweet voice and the ease of
a Buddha he expounded the law and spoke two stanzas:—The trough is full, and mistress by;
Men, noose in hand, are standing near:
To eat appears a jeopardy.
You fear, and look for aid, and quake,
But, helpless, whither can you flee?
We're fattened for our flesh's sake:
Eat, Tuṇḍila, and cheerfully.
Plunge bold into the crystal pool,But, helpless, whither can you flee?
We're fattened for our flesh's sake:
Eat, Tuṇḍila, and cheerfully.
Wash all the stains of sweat away:
You'll find our ointment wonderful,
Whose fragrance never can decay.
As he considered the Ten Perfections, setting the Perfection of Love before him as his guide, and uttered the first line, his voice reached and extended to Benares over the whole twelve leagues. At the instant of hearing it, the people of Benares from kings and viceroys downwards came, and those who did not come stood listening in their houses. The king's men breaking down the bush levelled the ground and scattered sand. The drunkenness left the lewd fellows, and throwing away the nooses they stood listening to the law: and the old woman's drunkenness left her also. The Bodhisatta began to preach the law to Cullatuṇḍila among the multitude.
[290] Cullatuṇḍila hearing him, thought, "My brother says so to me: but it is never our custom to plunge into the pool, and by bathing to wash away sweat from our bodies and after taking away old stain to get new ointment: why does my brother say so to me?" So he spoke the fourth stanza:—
But what is that fair crystal pool,
And what the stains of sweat, I pray?
And what the ointment wonderful,
Whose fragrance never can decay?
The Bodhisatta hearing this said, "Then listen with attentive
ear," and so expounding the law with the ease of a Buddha he spoke these
stanzas:—And what the stains of sweat, I pray?
And what the ointment wonderful,
Whose fragrance never can decay?
The law is the fair crystal pool,
Sin is the stain of sweat, they say:
Virtue's the ointment wonderful,
Whose fragrance never will decay.
Men that lose their life are glad,Sin is the stain of sweat, they say:
Virtue's the ointment wonderful,
Whose fragrance never will decay.
Men that keep it feel annoy:
Men should die and not be sad,
As at mid-month's festal joy.
[292] So the Great Being expounded the law in a sweet voice with a Buddha's charm. The multitude by thousands snapped their fingers and waved their cloths, and the air was full of the cry, "Good, good." The king of Benares honoured the Bodhisatta with royal place, and giving glory to the old woman he caused both pigs to be bathed in perfumed water, and clothed with robes, and ornamented with jewels on the neck, and put them in the position of his sons in the city: so he guarded them with a great retinue. The Bodhisatta gave the five commands to the king, and all the inhabitants of Benares and Kāsi kept the commands. The Bodhisatta preached the law to them on the holy days (new and full moon), and sitting in judgment decided cases: while he lived there were no bringers of unjust suits. Afterwards the king died. The Bodhisatta did the last honours to his body: then he caused a book of judgments to be written and said, "By observing this book ye should settle suits ": so having expounded the Law to the people and preached to them with zeal, he went to the forest with Cullatuṇḍila while they all wept and lamented. Then the Bodhisatta's preaching went on for sixty thousand years.
Footnotes
180:1 Reading adhikaraṇim: but we are not certain of the meaning.180:2 See Colebrooke's Essays, vol. I. p. 232.
No. 389.
SUVAṆṆAKAKKAṬA-JĀTAKA.
"Gold-clawed creature," etc.—The Master told this tale when dwelling in the Bamboo-grove, of Ānanda's dying for his sake. The occasion is told in the Khandahāla 1 Birth about the hiring of bowmen, and in the Cullahaṃsa 2 Birthabout the roar of the elephant Dhanapāla 1. Then they began a discussion in the Hall of Truth: "Sirs, has the Elder Ānanda, Treasurer of the Law, who attained all the wisdom possible to one still under discipline, given up his life for the Perfect Buddha when Dhanapāla came?" The Master came and was told the subject of their discussion: he said, "Brother, in former times also Ānanda gave up his life for me:" and so he told an old tale.
entering the pool and washing his mouth felt a return of affection for the crab, and embracing it laid it in his outer garment and went to the field. The snake saw him come, and rushing swiftly forward bit him in the flesh of the calf and having made him fall on the spot fled to his ant-hill. The fall of the Bodhisatta, the spring of the golden crab from the garment, and the perching of the crow on the Bodhisatta's breast followed close on each other. The crow perching put his beak into the Bodhisatta's eyes. The crab thought, "It was through this crow that the danger came on my friend: if I seize him the snake will come," so seizing the crow by the neck with its claw firmly as if in a vice, he got weary and then loosed him a little. The crow called on the snake, "Friend, why do you forsake me and run away? this crab troubles me, come ere I die," and so spoke the first stanza: —
Gold-clawed creature with projecting
eyes,
Tarn-bred, hairless, clad in bony shell,
He has caught me: hear my woeful cries!
Why do you leave a mate that loves you well?
The snake hearing him, made its hood large and came consoling the
crow.Tarn-bred, hairless, clad in bony shell,
He has caught me: hear my woeful cries!
Why do you leave a mate that loves you well?
[296]
The snake fell on the crab amain, his
friend he'd not forsake:
Puffing his mighty hood he came: but the crab turned on the snake.
Puffing his mighty hood he came: but the crab turned on the snake.
’Tis not for the sake of food
Crabs would seize a snake or crow:
Tell me, you whose eyes protrude,
Why you take and grip us so?
Hearing him, the crab explaining the reason spoke two stanzas:—Crabs would seize a snake or crow:
Tell me, you whose eyes protrude,
Why you take and grip us so?
This man took me from the pool,
Great the kindness he has done;
If he dies, my grief is full:
Serpent, he and I are one.
Seeing I am grown so greatGreat the kindness he has done;
If he dies, my grief is full:
Serpent, he and I are one.
All would kill me willingly:
Fat and sweet and delicate,
Crows at sight would injure me!
[297] Hearing him, the snake thought: "By some means I must deceive him and free myself and the crow." So to deceive him he spoke the sixth stanza:—
If you have seized us only for his
sake,
I'll take the poison from him: let him rise:
Quick! from the crow and me your pincers take;
Till then the poison's sinking deep, he dies.
Hearing him the crab thought, "This one wishes to make me let
these two go by some means and then run away, he knows not my skill in device;
now I will loosen my claw so that the snake can move, but I will not free the
crow," so he spoke the seventh stanza:—I'll take the poison from him: let him rise:
Quick! from the crow and me your pincers take;
Till then the poison's sinking deep, he dies.
[298]
I'll free the snake, but not the crow;
The crow shall be a hostage bound:
Never shall I let him go
Till my friend be safe and sound.
So saying he loosened his claw to let the snake go at his ease.
The snake took away the poison and left the Bodhisatta's body free from it. He
rose up well and stood in his natural hue. The crab thinking, "If these
two be well there will be no prosperity for my friend, I will kill them,"
crushed both their heads like lotus-buds with his claws and took the life from
them. The she-crow fled away from the place. The Bodhisatta spiked the snake's
body with a stick and threw it on a bush, let the golden crab go free in the
pool, bathed and then went to Sālindiya. From that time there was still greater
friendship between him and the crab.The crow shall be a hostage bound:
Never shall I let him go
Till my friend be safe and sound.
"Māra, was the dusky serpent,
Devadatta was the crow,
Good Ānanda was the crab, and I the brahmin long ago."
At the end of the Truths many reached the First Path and the other
Paths. The female crow was Cińcamānavikā, though this is not mentioned in the
last stanza.Good Ānanda was the crab, and I the brahmin long ago."
Footnotes
183:1 No. 542, vol. VI.183:2 No. 533, vol. v.
184:1 See introductory story to No. 21, Vol. i.; Milindapañho, p. 207.
184:2 2 According to Childers, Pali Dictionary s.v. ammaṇam, this would be about eight thousand acres.
No. 390.
MAYHAKA-JĀTAKA.
[299] "Did we joy," etc.—The Master told this while dwelling in Jetavana, of a stranger merchant. There was in Sāvatthi a stranger merchant, rich and of great substance: he did not enjoy his wealth himself nor give it to others: if choice food of fine flavours was served he would not eat it, eating only broth ofrice-dust with sour gruel; if silken clothes perfumed with incense were brought him he had them removed, and wore clothes of coarse hair-cloth for sugar; if a chariot adorned with jewels and gold and drawn by high-bred horses were brought him, he had it taken away and went in a broken-down old chariot with a parasol of leaves overhead. All his life he did nothing with gifts or the other merits, and when he died he was born in the hell Roruva. His substance was heirless: and the king's men carried it into the palace in seven days and nights. When it was carried in, the king went after breakfast to Jetavana, and saluted the Master. When he was asked why lie did not wait regularly on Buddha, he answered, "Lord, a stranger merchant has died at Sāvatthi: seven days have been spent in carrying his wealth, to which he left no heir, into my house: but though he had all that wealth he neither enjoyed it himself nor gave it to others: his wealth was like lotus-tanks guarded by demons. One day he fell into the jaws of death after refusing to enjoy the flavour of choice meats and the like. Now why did that selfish and undeserving man gain all that wealth, and for what reason did he not incline his thoughts to the enjoyment of it?" This was the question he put to the Master. "Great king, the reason why he gained his wealth and yet did not enjoy it, was this," and so at his request the Master told a tale of old times.
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was king in Benares, there was an unbelieving selfish merchant in Benares: he gave nothing to any one, he provided for no one. One day going to wait on the king he saw a paccekabuddha, named Tagarasikhi, begging, and saluting him he asked, "Sir, have you got alms?" The paccekabuddha said, "Am I not begging, merchant?" [300] The merchant gave orders to his man, "Go, take him to my house, set him on my seat and give him his bowl-full of the food prepared for me." The man took him to the house, set him down, and told the merchant's wife: she gave him his bowl full of food of excellent flavours. He taking the food and leaving the house went along the street. The merchant, returning from court, saw him and saluting asked him if he had got food. "I have, merchant." The merchant, looking at his bowl, could not reconcile his will to it, but thinking, "Had my slaves or work-people eaten this food of mine they would have done me hard service: alas, it is a loss for me!" and he could not make the after-thought perfect. Now giving is rich in fruit only to one who can make the three thoughts perfect:—
Did we joy to feel the wish to give,
Give the gift, and give it cheerfully,
Ne'er regret the giving while we live,
Children born of us would never die.
Joy before the bounty's given, giving cheerfully,
Pleasure at the thought thereafter, that is perfect charity.
So the stranger merchant gained much wealth, by reason of his
giving alms to Tagarasikhi, but he could not enjoy his wealth because he could
not make his after-thought pure. "Lord, why did he have no son?" The
Master said, "O king, this was the cause of his having no son": and
so at his request he told a tale of old.Give the gift, and give it cheerfully,
Ne'er regret the giving while we live,
Children born of us would never die.
Joy before the bounty's given, giving cheerfully,
Pleasure at the thought thereafter, that is perfect charity.
to continue almsgiving with diligence; then he became an ascetic, and gaining the Faculties and Attainments he dwelt in the Himālaya. The younger brother took that one son: but seeing him grow up he thought, "If my brother's son lives, the estate will be divided into two parts, I will kill my brother's son." So one day, sinking him in a river, he killed him. After he had bathed and come home, his brother's wife asked him, "Where is my boy?" "He was disporting himself in the river: I looked for him but could not see him." She wept and said nothing. The Bodhisatta, knowing of this matter, thought, "I will make this business public"; and so going through the air and lighting at Benares in fair raiment under and upper, he stood at the door: not seeing the alms-chamber, he thought, "That wicked man has destroyed the chamber." The younger brother, hearing of his coming, came and saluted the Bodhisatta and taking him up to the roof gave him good food to eat. And when the meal was over, seated for friendly talk he said, "My son does not appear: where is he?" "Dead, my lord." "In what way?" "At a bathing place: but I do not know the exact way." "Not know, thou wicked man! your deed was known to me: did you not kill him in that way? will you be able to keep that wealth when destroyed by kings and others? What difference is there, between you and the Mayha bird?" So the Bodhisatta expounding the law with the ease of a Buddha spoke these stanzas:—
There is a bird called Mayhaka, in
mountain cave it lives:
On pipal trees with ripening fruit, "mine," "mine" the cry it gives.
[302] The other birds, while thus he plains, in flocks about him
fly:On pipal trees with ripening fruit, "mine," "mine" the cry it gives.
They eat the fruit, but still goes on the Mayha's plaintive cry.
And even so a single man enormous wealth may win,
And yet may not divide it fair between himself and kin.
Not once enjoyment does he reap, of raiment or of food,
Of perfumes or of garlands gay; nor does his kinsfolk good.
"Mine, mine," he whimpers as he guards his treasures greedily:
But kings, or robbers, or his heirs that wish to see him die
Pillage his wealth: yet still goes on the miser's plaintive cry.
A wise man, gaining riches great, is helpful to his kin:
’Tis thus he'll win repute on earth and heaven hereafter win.
[303] So the Great Being expounding to him the law made him renew the alms-giving, and going to the Himālaya pursued meditation without interruption and so went to the Brahmaloka heaven.
No. 391.
DHAJAVIHEṬHA-JĀTAKA.
"Noble of face," etc.—The Master told this while dwelling in Jetavana, concerning his going about for the whole world's good. The occasion will appear in the Mahākaṇha Birth. 1 Then the Master said, "Brethren, this is not the first time the Tathāgata has gone about for the world's good," and so told an old tale.Now the wizard after his misconduct at night stands by day in a cemetery on one foot worshipping the sun. The king's men saw him and surrounded him: but he, thinking that his action had become known to them, [304] used his magic and flew away in the air. The king asked his men when they came back from seeing this, "Did you see him?" "Yes, we saw him." "Who is he?" "A Brother, your majesty." For after his misconduct at night he lived by day in disguise of a Brother. The king thought, "These men go about by day in ascetic's garb and misconduct themselves at night;" so being angry with the Brethren, he adopted heretical views, and sent round a proclamation by drum that all the Brethren must depart from his kingdom and that his men would punish them wherever found. All the ascetics fled from the kingdom of Kāsi, which was three hundred leagues in extent, to other royal cities, and there was no one, righteous Buddhist or Brahmin, to preach to the men of all Kāsi; so that the men without preaching became savage, and being averse to charity and the commandments were born in a state of punishment for the most part as they died, and never got birth in heaven. Sakka, not
seeing any new gods, reflected on what the reason might be, and saw that it was the expulsion of the Brethren from the kingdom by the king of Benares owing to his adopting heretical views in anger about the wizard: then he thought, "Except myself there is no one who can destroy this king's heresy; I will be the helper of the king and his subjects," so he went to the paccekabuddhas in the Nandamūla cave and said, "Sirs, give me an old paccekabuddha, I wish to convert the kingdom of Kāsi." He got the senior among them. When he took his bowl and robes Sakka set him before and came himself after, making respectful salutation and venerating the paccekabuddha: himself becoming a beautiful young Brother he went thrice round the whole city from end to end, and then coming to the king's gate he stood in the air. They told the king, "Your majesty, there is a beautiful young Brother with a priest standing in the air [305] at the king's gate." The king rose from his seat and standing at the lattice said, "Young Brother, why do you, who are beautiful, stand venerating that ugly priest and holding his bowl and robes?" and so talking with him he spoke the first stanza:—
Noble of face, you make obeisance low;
Behind one mean and poor to sight you go:
Is he your better or your equal, say,
Declare to us your name and his, we pray.
The Sakka answered, "Great king, priests are in the place of
teacher 1; therefore it is not right that I should utter his name: but
I will tell you my own name," so he spoke the second stanza:—Behind one mean and poor to sight you go:
Is he your better or your equal, say,
Declare to us your name and his, we pray.
Gods do not tell the lineage and the
name
Of saints devout and perfect in the way:
As for myself, my title I proclaim,
Sakka, the lord whom thirty gods obey.
The king hearing this asked in the third stanza what was the
blessing of venerating the Brother:—Of saints devout and perfect in the way:
As for myself, my title I proclaim,
Sakka, the lord whom thirty gods obey.
He who beholds the saint of perfect
merits,
And walks behind him with obeisance low:
[306] I ask, O king of gods, what he inherits,
What blessings will another life bestow?
Sakka replied in the fourth stanza:—And walks behind him with obeisance low:
[306] I ask, O king of gods, what he inherits,
What blessings will another life bestow?
He who beholds the saint of perfect
merits,
Who walks behind him with obeisance low:
Great praise from men in this world he inherits,
And death to him the path of heaven will show.
The king hearing Sakka's words gave up his own heretical views,
and in delight spoke the fifth stanza:—Who walks behind him with obeisance low:
Great praise from men in this world he inherits,
And death to him the path of heaven will show.
Oh, fortune's sun on me to-day doth
rise,
Our eyes have seen thy majesty divine:
Thy saint appears, O Sakka, to our eyes,
And many a virtuous deed will now be mine.
Sakka, hearing him praising his master, spoke the sixth stanza:—Our eyes have seen thy majesty divine:
Thy saint appears, O Sakka, to our eyes,
And many a virtuous deed will now be mine.
Surely ’tis good to venerate the wise,
To knowledge who their learned thoughts incline:
Now that the saint and I have met thine eyes,
O king, let many a virtuous deed be thine.
[301] Hearing this the king spoke the last stanza:—To knowledge who their learned thoughts incline:
Now that the saint and I have met thine eyes,
O king, let many a virtuous deed be thine.
From anger free, with grace in every
thought,
I'll lend an ear whenever strangers sue:
I take thy counsel good, I bring to nought
My pride and serve thee, Lord, with homage due.
Having said so he came down from the terrace, saluted the
paccekabuddha and stood on one side. The paccekabuddha sat cross-legged in the
air and said, "Great king, that wizard was no Brother: henceforward
recognise that the world is not vanity, that there are good Buddhists and
Brahmins, and so give gifts, practise morality, keep the holy-days,"
preaching to the king. Sakka also by his power stood in the air, and preaching
to the townsfolk, "Henceforward be zealous," he sent round proclamation
by drum that the Buddhists and Brahmins who had fled should return. Then both
went back to their own place. The king stood firm in the admonition and did
good works.I'll lend an ear whenever strangers sue:
I take thy counsel good, I bring to nought
My pride and serve thee, Lord, with homage due.
Footnotes
189:1 No. 469, vol. iv.190:1 It is wrong to tell the name of a saintly teacher, cf. Mahāvagga i. 74. 1.
Om Tat Sat
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