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CHARLES WILLIAM WASON 
COLLECTION 

CHINA AND THE CHINESE 



THE GIFT OF 

CHARLES WILLIAM WASON 

CLASS OF 1876 

1918 



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THE JATAKA 



OR 



STOEIES OF THE BUDDHA'S FOEMEK BIKTHS 



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THE JATAKA 



OR 



STORIES OF THE BUDDHA'S 
FORMER BIRTHS. 



TRANSLATED FROM THE PALI BY VARIOUS HANDS 

UNDER THE EDITORSHIP OF 

PROFESSOR E. B. COWELL. 



VOL. V. 



TRANSLATED BY 



H. T. FRANCIS, M.A., 

SOMETIME FELLOW OP GONVILLE AND 0AIU8 COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, 



CAMBRIDGE : 
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 



190S 



I ll-l;ftUY 



EH 

PBIKTED BY JOHN OLAT, M.A. 
AT THE DNIVEBSITI PBESS. 




^'llWfc-'-' 



PEEFACE. 

The delay in the issue of this volume calls for a few words of 
explanation. I had hoped that the late Mr Neil of Pembroke 
would have collaborated with me in the fifth volume of the Jataka 
Translation as he had already done in Vol. III. But this was 
not to be, and his premature death in 1901, which was generally 
acknowledged to be a serious loss to the cause of Oriental learning, 
no less than to that of Classical scholarship, threw upon me the 
burden of undertaking the entire volume without his efficient aid 
and criticism. The beloved Master of our "Guild of Translators," 
the la,te Professor Cowell, assisted me in my task so long as his 
increasing years and infirmities allowed him to continue his un- 
wearied efforts for the advancement of Oriental studies, but he was 
not able to give to the work that minute and careful revision which 
he had so generously lavished on the four preceding volumes. My 
labours were also somewhat prolonged by the larger proportion of 
this volume which had to be versified. In rendering the gdthas I 
have done my best to give the exact sense of the Pali, so far as it 
was compatible with the exigencies of a metrical version, and if 
the result at times should strike the reader as rather feeble 
and pointless, I might urge in extenuation that the original is 
sometimes equally prosaic and commonplace. Moreover, although 
I have alwiays regarded Childers' Pali Dictionary as a work of 
extraordinary merit for the time at which it appeared, yet it would 
no doubt greatly lighten the labours of translators from the Pali, 



vi Preface. 

if the mass of critical annotations now scattered throughout the 
Pali Text Society's Publications and various other Oriental Journals 
could be gathered together and embodied in the new Pali Dictionary 
which Professor Rhys Davids has promised us. Meanwhile I have 
to thank Mrs Bode for her very useful Index to Pali words dis- 
missed in Translations which appeared in the P. T. Journal for 
1897—1901. 

It only remains for me to acknowledge my debt of gratitude to 
Professor Bendall for the kind help he has given me in the many 
difficulties I have referred to him, and for the readiness with which 
he has placed at my disposal the stores of his wide reading and 
critical scholarship. The sixth and last volume of the Translation, 
which was left unfinished by Professor Cowell, is now in the capable 
hands of Dr Rouse and will appear in due course edited and com- 
pleted by him. 

H. T. FRANCIS. 



GONVILLE AND CaIUS OoLLEQB, 

Oct. 26th, 1905. 



PIAE MEMORIAE 

EDWARDI BYLES COWELL 

DOCTISSIMI DILECTISSIMI 
ET 

ROBERTI ALEXANDRI NEIL 

DESIDERATISSIMI 
SACRUM 



CONTENTS. 



PA8E 
SI I. KIMCHANDA-JATAKA 1 

A priest who took bribes and gave false judgments is reborn to a 
state of suffering all day, but because he had kept half a fast-day, he 
enjoys great glory throughout the night. His king, who had become 
an ascetic, is transported by a river-nymph to the mango grove where 
the priest was reborn and hears the story of his alternate misery and 
bliss. 

512. KUMBHA-JATAKA 5 

How a forester accidentally discovered strong drink and how this 
led to the ruin of all India, until Sakka appeared on earth and by his 
exposition of the evils of drink induced a certain king to abstain 
from its use. 

513. JAYADDISA-JATAKA 11 

A female yakkha carries off a royal infant and rears him as her 
own offspring, teaching him to eat human flesh. In course of time 
the man-eater captures his royal brother, but sets him free on the 
condition that he should return as soon as he had redeemed his 
promise to a brahmin. The king's son surrenders himself as a 
victim in his father's stead, and the man-eater, who is now recognised 
as the king's brother, is converted and becomes an ascetic. 

514. CHADDANTA-JATAKA . 20 

A royal elephant had two wives. One of them, owing to an 
imaginary slight, conceives a grudge against her lord, and afterwards, 
when she is reborn as the favourite wife of a certain king, she 
pretends to be sick, and to have seen in a dream an elephant with six 
tusks ; and in order to recover from her sickness, she declares the 
possession of its tusks must be secured for her. A bold hunter, after 
crossing vast mountain ranges and encountering many difficulties 
and dangers, at length finds and slays the elephant, but the queen on 
receiving the tusks and hearing of the elephant's death is filled with 
remorse and dies of a broken heart. 



Contents. 



PAGE 

515. SAMBHAVA-JATAKA 31 

A king, anxious for a definition of goodness and truth, sends his 
brahmin chaplain to consult all the sages of India, and finally obtains 
the solution of his doubts from a boy only seven years old. 

516. MAHAKAPI-JATAKA 37 

A husbandman, in looking for his strayed oxen, loses himself in a 
forest, and falling into a deep pit is rescued by a monkey. The man 
makes an attempt upon the life of his benefactor, and for his in- 
gratitude is smitten with leprosy. 

517. DAKARAKKHASA-JATAKA see MAHAUMMAGGA-JATAKA. 42 

518. PANPAEA-JATAKA 42 

An ascetic worms out from a snake-king the- secret wherein his 
strength lies and betrays him to his enemy, the garuda-king. The 
garuda by means of this secret vanquishes the snake, but through 
pity sets him free. The snake invokes a curse on the ascetic, who is 
swallowed up by the earth to be reborn in hell. 

519. SAMBULA-JATAKA 48 

A prince is struck with leprosy and retires into a lonely forest, 
accompanied by his devoted wife, who carefully watches over him. 
She is rescued by Sakka from an ogre, and though she is suspected 
by her husband, yet by her virtue and faith she recovers him of his 
leprosy. He returns to rule over his kingdom but shows no gratitude 
to his wife, until at the reproof of his father he asks her forgiveness 
and restores her to her rightful position. 

520. GANDATXNDU-JATAKA " . 54 

An unrighteous king is reproved by a tree-sprite, and, as he travels 
with his chaplain on a tour of inspection through his dominions, 
many instances of the evil effects of his unjust rule are brought to his 
notice. Thenceforth the king rules his kingdom righteously. 

521. TESAKUNA-JATAKA 59 

A king finds a nest containing three eggs. When the young birds 
are hatched from them the king adopts them as his children. They 
all give him sound advice in the ruling of his kingdom and are pro- 
moted to high office in the state. 

522. SARABHANGA-JATAKA 64 

An archer displays wonderful feats of skill in shooting. He 
declines the honours offered him by his king and retires to a forest 
hermitage. Here he gathers around him a great company of disciples, 
solves the doubts of three kings as to the fate of certain notorious 
sinners, and converts them and a host of their followers to the 
ascetic life. 



Contents. xi 



PAGE 

523. ALAMBUSA-JATAKA " . . 79 

An ascetic by his great holiness excites the jealousy of Sakka, who 
sends down a heavenly nymph to seduce him. After a temporary 
lapse, the saint recovers his virtue and attains to a state of ecstasy. 

524. SAMKHAPALA-JATAKA M 

After a life of boUness a certain king is reborn in the Naga world. 
Growing weary of his state of glory he returns as a snake to earth, 
and would have perished at the hands of a band of ruffians, had he 
not been rescued by a rich householder travelling that way with a 
large retinue. The Naga king invites his benefactor to his heavenly 
mansion and keeps him there in great honour for a whole year, when 
he too wishes to leave the Naga world, to become an ascetic upon 
earth. By a recital of all that had happened to him and the Naga 
king, he converts the ruler of the land to a life of charity and good 
works. 

525. CULLA-SUTASOMA-JATAKA 91 

A king is so affected by the discovery of a grey hair on his head 
that he resigns his crown and resolves to become an ascetic. In spite 
of the entreaties of his parents, wife, children, and friends, he persists 
in his resolution and together with his family and a great number of 
his subjects enters on the religious life. 

526. NALINIKA-JATAKA 100 

Sakka, jealous of a holy ascetic, appears to the king of the country 
and declares that the drought from which the land was suffering was 
due to the action of this ascetic, and that the only way to remedy 
this evil was to overcome his virtue. To this end the king's daughter 
visits him, disguised as an ascetic youth, and owing to his simplicity 
his fall is brought about. When his father returns, he cautions his 
son against the wiles of womankind and brings about his restoration 
to his former state of holiness. 

527. UMMADANTi-JATAKA 107 

A king is bewitched by the wife of his commander-in-chief. This, 
officer by a ruse makes the king believe that his guilty secret is 
generally known, and by his wise counsel persuades him to give up 
his infatuation. 

528. MAHABODHI-JATAKA 116 

An ascetic finds favour with a king and is preferred to high 
honour, thereby exciting the envy of the king's councillors, who 
slander him to the king and lay a plot to kill him. He is saved by a 
warning from a dog. Afterwards the ascetic convicts the four wicked 
councillors of various heresies and brings about their disgrace and 
exile. 



xii Contents. 



PAGE 

529. SONAKA-JATAKA 127 

A king after many years is anxious to see again a friend of his 
early youth who had become a pacoekabuddha, and in the form of a 
song he offers a reward to anyone that can tell him where he is to 
be found. His friend teaches a little boy a refrain to the song which 
he is to sing before the king and to claim the promised reward. So 
the king finds his friend, and owing to his instruction he abdicates 
in favour of his son and adopts the religious life, 

530. SAMKICCA-JATAKA 134 

A prince who was eager to succeed to the throne proposes to 
murder his father. His friend, unable to dissuade him from his 
purpose, retires from the court and becomes an ascetic. The prince 
after the murder of his father is filled with guilty fears. His friend 
at length returns and, after describing all the various hells and the 
punishments of notorious sinners, by his admonition restores the 
king's peace of mind. 

531. KaSA-JATAKA 141 

A certain king has no heir, but at length, by the favour of Sakka, 
his chief queen miraculously gives birth to two sons. The elder is 
ill-favoured but supernaturally wise. He only consents to marry 
when a, princess is found exactly like a golden image which he 
himself had fashioned. The bride is not to look upon her husband's 
face by daylight tiU she has conceived. When she accidentally dis- 
covers how ugly he is, she leaves him and returns to her father's 
kingdom. He follows her there and under a variety of menial dis- 
guises tries, but in vain, to win her affections. At length by Sakka's 
device she incurs the enmity of seven kings and is rescued from 
imminent death by her despised husband. He returns with her to his 
own country where they live happily ever after. 

532. SONA-NANDA-JATAKA 164 

Two brahmin brothers become ascetics and watch over their aged 
parents. The younger one persists in supplying them with unripe 
fruits, and at length is sent away by the elder brother. The younger 
one by the help of a powerful king, whom he had made victorious over 
aU his rivals, regains his brother's favour and is allowed once more 
to minister to his father and mother. 

533. CULLA-HAMSA-JATAKA 175 

A king of wild geese is caught in a fowler's snare and deserted by 
all except his chief captain, who refuses to leave him. The fowler is 
so touched by this devotion that he would have released the captive 
bird, but they insist on being taken before the king of the country, 
and after preaching the Law to him the two birds are set at liberty 
and return home to their kith and kin. 



Contents. xiii 



PAGE 

534. MAHA-HAMSA-JATAKA 186 

A queen has a dream about golden geese and entreats the king to 
bring her one. The king has a decoy lake eonstructed and his fowler 
at length captures the king of the geese. The rest of the story is like 
the Cullahamsa-Jataka, 

535. SUDHABHOJANA-JATAKA 202 

A rich miser is seized with a great longing to have some rice 
porridge, and to escape having to give some to any one else he retires 
into a forest to cook it for himself. Sakka and other gods appear and 
claim a share of the porridge. The miser is converted by their ad- 
monitions, gives away all his money, and becomes an ascetic. He is 
afterwards called upon to award the prize of virtue to the best of four 
heavenly nymphs, the daughters of Sakka. He adjudges the prize to 
Honour, and on his rebirth in the deva world he is rewarded with the 
band of this nymph and enjoys immense power. 

536. KUNALA-JATAKA 219 

A king of birds for the instruction of his friend, a royal cuckoo, 
relates many instances he had known, to illustrate the deceitfulness, 
ingratitude, and immorality of womankind. 

537. MAHA-SDTASOMA-JATAKA 246 

A king, who had been a yakkha in a former birth, develops a taste 
for human flesh and has his subjects murdered to supply himself 
with his favourite food. When his guilt is brought home to him, he 
refuses to give up his cannibalism and is driven out of his kingdom. 
He now dwells in a forest and preys upon all travellers that pass that 
way. At length he captures a king who had been his friend and 
teacher in early youth, but releases him on the condition that he 
should return after he has fulfilled a promise that he has made to a 
brahmin. The king returns into captivity, and the man-eater is so 
pleased with his good faith that he offers to grant him any four boons 
that he may ask of him. When asked to give up cannibalism he 
reluctantly consents and is eventually restored to his kingdom. 



ADDITIONAL NOTES AND CORRECTIONS. 

No. 512. Jataka-Mala xvii. Eumbha-Jataka. 

No. 513. Cariya-Pitaka n. 9, Jayaddiaa. 

No. 516. Jataka-Mala xxiv. Mahakapi-Jataka. 

No. 524. Cariya-Pitaka ii. 10, Saukhapala. 

No. 529. Cariya-Pitaka in. 5, Sonapandita. 

Page 25, line 34, for firewood read fire-sticks or fire-drills. 



BOOK XVI. TIMSANIPATA. 
No. 511. 



KIMCHANDA-JATAKA. 

[1] " Why dost thou," eta. — This story the Master told, while dwelling at 
Jetavana, about the observance of fast-days'. 

Now one day when a, number of lay Brothers and Sisters, who were keeping 
a fast-day, came to hear the Law, and were seated in the Hall of Truth, the 
Master asked them if they were keeping fast-days, and on their saying that they 
were, he added, " And ye do well to observe fast-days : men of old, in conse- 
quence of keeping half a fast-day, attained to great glory," and at their request 
ne told a tale of the past. 



Once upon a time at Benares Brahmadatta ruled his kingdom righteously, 
and being a believer he was zealous in the observance of the duties of the 
fast-day, in the keeping of the commandments and in almsgiving. He also 
induced his ministers and the rest to take upon them vows of charity and 
the like. But his family priest was a backbiter, greedy of bribes, and 
a giver of unrighteous judgments. The king on a fast-day summoned his 
councillors and bade them keep the fast. The priest did not take upon 
himself the duties of the fast-day ; so when he had in the day been taking 
bribes and giving false judgments, and then had come to court to pay his 
respects, the king, after first asking each of his ministers if he were 
keeping the fast, questioned the priest, saying, "And are you. Sir, 
fasting?" He told a lie and said "Yes," and left the palace. Then a 
certain minister rebuked him, saying, " Surely you are not keeping the 
fast?" He said, "I took food early in the day, but when I go home I 
shall rinse my mouth and taking upon myself the duties of the fast-day, 
[2] I will eat nothing in the evening, and all night I will keep the moral 
law, and in this way I shall have kept half the fast-day." " Very good. 
Sir," they said. And he went home and did so. Now one day as he was 
seated at judgment, a certain woman, who kept the moral precepts, had a 

1 On the observance of poya (uposatha) days of. Hardy's Eastern Monachism, 
p. 237: "fasting" includes doing no wrong to one's neighbour. 

J. V. I 



The Jataka. Book XVI. 



case on, and not being able to go home, she thought, "I will not transgress 
the observance of the fast-day," and as the time drew near, she began to 
rinse her mouth. At that moment a lump of ripe mangoes was brought 
to the brahmin. He perceived that the woman was keeping the fast and 
said, "Eat this and so keep the fast." She did so. So much for the 
action of the brahmin. By and bye he died and was born again in the 
Himalaya country, in a lovely spot on the bank of the Kosiki branch of 
the Ganges, in a mango-grove, three leagues in extent, on a splendid royal 
couch in a golden palace. He was born again like one just awakened from 
sleep, well dressed and adorned, of exceeding beauty of form, and accom- 
panied by sixteen thousand nymphs. All night long he enjoys this glory, 
for by being born as a Spirit in a phantom palace' his reward is corre- 
sponding to his deed. So at the approach of dawn he enters a mango-grove, 
and at the moment of his entrance his divine body disappears, he assumes 
a form as big as a palm tree, eighty cubits high, and his whole body is 
ablaze like a judas-tree in full flower. He has but one finger on each 
hand, while his nails are as big as spades, and with these nails he digs into 
the flesh on his back and tearing it out eats it, and mad with the pain he 
suffers, he gives utterance to a loud cry. At sunset this body vanishes 
and his divine form reappears. Heavenly dancing girls, with various 
musical instruments in their hands, attend upon him, and in the enjoyment 
of great honour he ascends to a divine palace in a charming mango-grove. 
Thus did he, as the result of giving a mango fruit to a woman who was 
keeping a fast, acquire a mango-grove, three leagues in extent, but, in 
consequence of receiving bribes and giving false judgments, [3] he tears 
and eats the flesh from off his own back, whilst, owing to the fact of his 
having kept half the fast, he enjoys glory every night, surrounded by an 
escort of sixteen thousand dancing nymphs. 

About this time the king of Benares, conscious of the sinfulness of 
desires, adopted the ascetic life and took up his abode in a hut of leaves, 
in a pleasant spot on the lower Ganges, subsisting on what he could pick 
up. Now one day a ripe mango from that grove, the size of a large bowl, 
fell into the Ganges and was carried by the stream to a spot opposite the 
landing-place used by this ascetic. As he was rinsing his mouth, he saw 
the mango floating in mid-stream, and crossing over he took and brought 
it to his hermitage and placed it in the cell where his sacred fire was 
kepf. Then, splitting it up with a knife, he ate just enough to support 
life, and covering up the rest with the leaves of the plantain tree, he 
repeatedly day by day ate of it, as long as it lasted. And when it was all 
consumed, he could not eat any other kind of fruit, but being a slave to 
his appetite for dainties, he vowed he would eat only ripe mango, and 

1 Cf. vol. i. p. 240. 5 (Pali). 
' Cf. Mahavagga, i. 15. 2. 



No^ 511. 3 

going down to the river bank he sat looking at the stream, determined 
never to get up till he had found a mango. So he fasted there for six 
consecutive days, and sat looking for the fruit, till he was dried up by 
the wind and heat. Now on the seventh day a goddess of the river, by 
reflecting on the matter, found out the reason of his action, and thinking, 
" This ascetic, being the slave of his appetite, has sat fasting seven days, 
looking at the Ganges : it is wrong to deny him a ripe mango : for without 
it he will perish ; I will give him one." So she came and stood in the 
air above the Ganges, and conversing with him uttered the first stanza : 

Why dost thou on this river bank through summer heat remain? 
Brahmin, what is thy secret hope ? What purpose would'st thou gain ? 

[4] The ascetic on hearing this repeated nine stanzas : 

Afloat upon the stream, fair nymph, a mango I did see; 

With outstretched hand I seized the fruit and brought it home with me. 

So sweet it was in taste and smell, I deemed it quite a prize ; 
Its comely shape might vie with biggest water-jar in size. 

I hid it mid some plantain leaves, and sliced it with a knife ; 
A little served as food and drink to one of simple life. 

My store is spent, my pangs appeased, but still I must regret. 
In other fruits that I may find, no relish I can get. 

I pine away ; that mango sweet I rescued from the wave 
Will bring about my death, I fear. No other fruit I crave. 

I've told you why it is I fast, though dwelling by a streani 

Whose broadening waves with every fish that swims are said to teem. 

And now I pray thee tell to me, and flee thou not in fear, 

lovely maiden, who thou art, and wherefore thou art here. 

Fair are the handmaids of the gods, like burnished gold are they, 
Graceful as tiger brood along their mountain slopes that play. 

Here also in the world of men are women fair to see. 

But none amongst or gods or men may be compared to thee. 

1 ask thee then, lovely nymph, endowed with heavenly grace. 
Declare to me thy name and kin and whence derived thy race. 

[5] Then the goddess uttered eight stanzas : 

O'er this fair stream, by which thou sitst, brahmin, I preside, 
And dwell in vasty depths below, 'neath Ganges' rolling tide. 

All clad with forest growth I own a thousand mountain caves, 
Whence flow as many flooded streams to mingle with my waves. 

[6] Each wood and grove, to Nagas dear, sends forth full many a rill. 
And yields its store of waters blue, my ample course to fill. 

Oft borne upon these tribute streams are fruits from every tree, 
Rose-apples, bread-fmit, dates and figs, with mangoes one may see. 

And all that grows on either bank and falls within my reach, 
I claim as lawful prize, and none my title may impeach. 

Well knowing this, hearken to me, wise and learned king, 
Cease to indulge thy heart's desire — renounce the cursed thing. 

1—3 



The Jdtaka. Book XVI. 



ruler erst of broad domains, thy act I cannot praise, 

To long for death, in prime of youth, great folly, sure, betrays. 

Brahmins and angels, gods and men, all know thy deed and name. 
And saints who by their holiness attain on earth to fame — 
Yea, all that wise and famous are, thy sinful act proclaim. 

[7] Then the ascetic uttered four stanzas : 

One who knows how frail our life is, and how transient things of sense. 
Never thinks to slay another, but abides in innocence. 

Honoured once by saints in council, owner of a virtuous name, 
Now with sinful men conversing, thou dost win an evil fame. 

Were I on thy banks to perish, nymph with comely form endowed, 
111 repute would rest upon thee, like the shadow of a cloud. 

Therefore, goddess fair, I pray thee, every sinful deed eschew. 
Lest, a bye-word of the people, thou have cause my death to rue. 

[8] On hearing him, the goddess replied in five stanzas : 

Well I know the secret longing, thine to bear so patiently. 
And I yield myself thy servant and the mango give to thee. 
Lo ! foregoing sinful pleasures, pleasures hard to be resigned. 
Thou hast gained, to keep for ever, holiness and peace of mind. 

He that, freed from early bondage, hugs the chains he once forswore, 
Eashly treading ways unholy, ever sinneth more and more. 

1 will grant thy earnest craving, and will bid thy troubles cease, 
Guiding thee to cool recesses, where thou mayst abide in peace. 

Herons, maynah birds and cuckoos, with the ruddy geese that love 
Nectar from the bloom to gather, swans aloft in troops that move, 
Paddy-birds and lordly peacocks, with their song awake the grove. 

Saffron and kadamba blossoms lie as chaff upon the ground, 
Kipest dates, the palms adorning, hang in clusters all around. 
And, amidst the loaded branches, see how mangoes here abound ! 

[9] And singing the praises of the place she transported the ascetic 
thither, and, bidding him eat mangoes in this grove till he had satisfied his 
hunger, she went her way. The ascetic, eating mangoes till he had appeased 
his .appetite, rested awhile. Then, as he vrandered in the grove, he spied 
this Spirit in a state of suffering and he had not the heart to utter a 
word to him, but at sunset he beheld him attended by nymphs and in the 
enjoyment of heavenly glory and addressed him in three stanzas : 

AU the night anointed, fgted, with a crown upon thy brow. 

Neck and arms bedecked with jewels — all the day in anguish thou ! 

Many thousand nymphs attend thee. What a magic power is this ! 
. How amazing thus to vary from a state of woe to bliss ! 

What has led to thy undoing ? What the sin that thou dost rue ? 
Why from thine own back dost ever eat the flesh each day anew 1 

[10] The Spirit recognized him and said, "You do not recognize me, 
but I was once your chaplain. This happiness that I enjoy in the night 
is due to you, as the result of my keeping half the fast-day ; while the 



No. 512. 5 

suffering I experience by day is the result of the evil that I wrought. 
For I was set by you on the seat of judgment, and I took bribes and gave 
false decisions, and was a backbiter, and in consequence of the evil that 
I wrought by day, I now undergo this suffering," and he uttered a couple 
of stanzas : 

Once in holy lore delighting I in sinful toils was cast. 

Working evil for my neighbour, through the lengthening years I passed. 

He that shall, backbiting others, love on their good name to prey, 
Flesh from his own back will ever rend and eat, as I to-day. 

And so saying, he asked the ascetic why he had come here. The 
ascetic told all his story at length. " And now, holy sir,'' the Spirit said, 
"will you stay here or go away?" "I will not stay, I will return to my 
hermitage." The Spirit said, "Very well, holy sir, I will constantly supply 
you with a ripe mango," and by an exercise of his magic power he trans- 
ported him to his hermitage, and, bidding him dwell there contentedly, he 
exacted a promise from him and went his way. Thenceforth the Spirit 
constantly supplied him with the mango fruit. The ascetic, in the enjoy- 
ment of the fruit, performed the preparatory rites to induce mystic 
meditation and was destined to the Brahma-world. 



[11] The Master, having finished his lesson to the lay folk, revealed the 
Truths and identified the Birth : — At the conclusion of the Truths, some attained 
to the First Path, some to the Second, and others to the Third Path ; — "At that 
time the goddess was Uppalavanna, the ascetic was myself." 



No. 512. 

KUMBHA-JATAKA. 

" Who art thou," etc. — This story the Master, while dwelling at Jetavana, told 
concerning five hundred women, friends of Visakha, who were drinkers of strong 
drink. Now the story goes that a drinking festival was proclaimed at Savatthi, 
and these five hundred women, after providing fiery drink for their masters, at 
the end of the festival thought, " "We too will keep the feast," and they all went 
to Visakha and said, " Friend, we will keep the feast." She replied, " This is a 
drinking festival ; I will drink no strong drink." They said, " Do you then give 
an ofiering to the supreme Buddha : we will keep the feast." She readily 
assented and sent them away. And after entertaining the Master, and making 
him a large offering, she set out at eventide for Jetavana, with many a scented 
wreath in her hand, to hear the preaching of the Law, attended by these 
women. Now they were eager for drink, when they started with her, and, when 
they stood in the gabled chamber, they took strong drink, and then accompanied 



6 The Jataha. Book XVI. 

Visakha into the presence of the Master. Visakha saluted the Master and sat 
respectfully on one side. Some of the other women danced even before the 
Master ; some sang ; others made improper movements with their hands and 
feet; others quarrelled. The Master, in order to give them a shock, emitted 
a ray of light from his eyebrow ; and this was followed by blinding darkness. 
These women were terrified and frightened with the fear of death, and so the 
effect of the strong drink wore off. The Master, disappearing from the throne 
on which he was seated, took his stand on the top of Mount Sineru, and emitted 
a ray of light from the hairs between his eyebrows', like as if it had been the 
rising of a thousand moons. The Master, just as he stood there, to produce a 
sensation amongst these women, spoke this stanza : 

2 No place for laughter here, no room for joy, 
The flames of passion suffering worlds destroy. 
Why overwhelmed in darkest night, I pray, 
Seek ye no torch to light you on your way ? 

At the end of the stanza all the five hundred women were established in the 
fruition of the First Path. The Master came and sat down on the Buddha seat, 
in the shade of the Perfumed Chamber. Then Visakha saluted him and asked, 
" Holy sir, whence has arisen this drinking of strong drink, that does violence to 
a man's honour and to a tender conscience?" And telling her he related a story 
of the past. 



[12] Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was ruling in Benares, a 
forester, named Sura, who dwelt in the kingdom of Kasi, went to the 
Himalayas, to seek for articles of merchandise. There was a certain tree 
there that sprang up to the height of a man with his arms extended over 
his head, and then divided into three parts. In the midst of its three 
forks was a hole as big as a wine jar, and when it rained this hole 
was filled with water. Round about it grew two myrobalan' plants and 
a pepper shrub ; and the ripe fruits from these, when they were cut down, 
fell into the hole. Not far from this tree was some self-sown paddy. The 
parrots would pluck the heads of rice and eat them, perched on this tree. 
And while they were eating, the paddy and the husked rice fell there. So 
the water, fermenting through the sun's heat, assumed a blood-red colour. 
In the hot season flocks of birds, being thirsty, drank of it, and becoming 
intoxicated fell down at the foot of the tree, and after sleeping awhile 
flew away, chirping merrily. And the same thing happened in the case 
of wild dogs, monkeys and other creatures. The forester, on seeing this, 
said, " If thi.s were poison they would die, but after a short sleep they go 
away as they list; it is no poison." And he himself drank of it, and 
becoming intoxicated he felt a desire to eat flesh, and then making a fire 
he killed the partridges and cooks that fell down at the foot of the tree, 
and roasted their flesh on the live coals, and gesticulating with one hand, 
and eating flesh with the other, he remained one or two days in the same 

' This manifestation is abundantly illustrated in Buddhist art, especially in that of 
the Mahayana school. 
* Dhammapada, p. 146. 
' Of different kinds, Termiiialia Chebula and Emblica officinalis. 



No. 512. 7 

spot. Now not far from here lived an ascetic, named Varuna. The forester 
at other times also used to visit him, and the thought now struck him, 
"I will drink this liquor with the ascetic." So he filled a reed-pipe with 
it, and taking it together with some roast meat he came to the hut of 
leaves and said, "Holy sir, [13] taste this liquor," and they both drank it 
and ate the meat. So from the fact of this drink having been discovered 
by Sura and Varuna, it was called by their names (sura and varunl). 
They both thought, " This is the way to manage it," and they filled their 
reed-pipes, and taking it on a carrying-pole they came to a neighbouring 
village, and sent a message to the king that some wine merchants had 
come. The king sent for them and they ofiered him the drink. The king 
drank it two or three times and got intoxicated. This lasted him only one 
or two days. Then he asked them if there was any more. "Yes, sir," 
they said. "Where!" "In the Himalayas, sir." "Then bring it here." 
They went and fetched it two or three times. Then thinking, "We can't 
always be going there," they took note of all the constituent parts, and, 
beginning with the bark of the tree, they threw in all the other ingredients, 
and made the drink in the city. The men of the city drank it and became 
idle wretches. And the place became like a deserted city. Then these 
wine merchants fled from it and came to Benares, and sent a message to 
the king, to announce their arrival. The king sent for them and paid them 
money, and they made wine there too. And that city also perished in 
the same way. Thence they fled to Saketa, and from Saketa they came to 
Savatthi. At that time there was a king named Sabbamitta in Savatthi. 
He shewed favour to these men and asked them what they wanted. When 
they said, "We want the chief ingredients and ground rice and five hundred 
jars," he gave them everything they asked for. So they stored the liquor 
in the five hundred jars, and, to guard them, they bound cats, one to each 
jar. And, when the liquor fermented and began to escape, the cats drank 
the strong drink that flowed from the inside of the jars, and getting 
intoxicated they lay down to sleep ; and rats came and bit off the cats' 
ears, noses, teeth and tails. The king's oflScers came and told the king, 
"The cats have died from drinking the liquor.'' [14] The king said, 
"Surely these men must be makers of poison," and he ordered them both 
to be beheaded and they died, crying out, " Give us strong drink, give us 
mead'." The king, after putting the men to death, gave orders that the 
jars should be broken. But the cats, when the effect of the liquor wore 
off, got up and walked about and played. When they saw this, they told the 
king. The king said, "If it were poison, they would have died ; it must 
be mead ; we will drink it.'' So he had the city decorated, and set up a 
pavilion in the palace yard and taking his seat in this splendid pavilion 
on a royal throne with a white umbrella raised over it, and surrounded by 
1 Another reading has, "Wine, king, mead, king." 



8 The Jdtaka. Book XV J. 

his courtiers, he began to drink. Then Sakka, the king of heaven, said, 
"Who are there that in the duty of service to mother and the like 
diligently fulfil the three kinds of right conduct?" And, looking upon the 
world, he saw the king seated to drink strong drink and he thought, " If 
he shall drink strong drink, all India will perish : I will see that he shall 
not drink it." So, placing a jar full of the liquor in the palm of his hand, 
he went, disguised as a brahmin, and stood in the air, in the presence of 
the king, and cried, "Buy this jar, buy this jar." King Sabbamitta, on 
seeing him standing in the air and speaking after this manner, said, 
"Whence can this brahmin come?" and conversing with him he repeated 
three stanzas : 

Who art thou, Being from on high. 
Whose form emits bright rays of light. 

Like levin flash athwart the sky. 
Or moon illuming darkest night? 

To ride the pathless air upon, 

To move or stand in silent space — 
Real is the power that thou hast won. 

And proves thou art of godlike race. 

Then, brahmin, who thou art declare, 
And what within thy jar may be, 
[15] That, thus appearing in mid air. 

Thou fain wouldst sell thy wares to me. 

Then Sakka said, " Hearken then to me,'' and, expounding the evil 
qualities of strong drink, he said : 

This jar nor oil nor ghee doth hold, 

No honey or molasses here. 
But vices more than can be told 

Are stored within its rounded sphere. 

Who drinks will fall, poor silly fool. 

Into some hole or pit impure, 
Or headlong sink in loathsome pool 

And eat what he would fain abjure. 
Buy then, king, this jar of mine, 
Full to the brim of strongest wine. 

Who drinks, with wits distracted quite, 

Like grazing ox that loves to stray, 
[16] Wanders in mind, a helpless wight, 

And sings and dances all the day. 
Buy then &c. 

Who drinks will run all shamelessly. 

Like nude ascetic thro' the town. 
And late take rest — so dazed is he — 

Forgetting when to lay him down. 
Buy then &c. 

Who drinks, like one moved with alarm. 

Totters, as tho' he could not stand. 
And trembling shakes his head and arm. 

Like wooden puppet worked by hand. 
Buy then &c. 



No. 512. 

Who drink are burned to death in bed, 

Or else a prey to jackals fall, 
To bondage or to death are led. 

And suffer loss of goods withal. 
Buy then &o. 

Who drinks is lost to decency 
And talks of things that are obscene. 

Will sit undressed in company, 
Is sick and every way unclean. 

Buy then &c. 

Uplifted is the man that drinks, 
His vision is by no means clear, 

The world is all my own, he thinks, 
I own no earthly lord as peer. 

Buy then &c. 

Wine is a thing of boastful pride. 
An ugly, naked, cowardly imp. 

To strife and calumny allied, 
A home to shelter thief and pimp. 

Buy then &c. 

Tho' families may wealthy be. 
And covmtless treasures may enjoy, 

Holding earth's richest gifts in fee. 
This will their heritage destroy. 

Buy then &c. 

Silver and gold and household gear, 
Oxen and fields and stores of grain — 

All, all is lost : strong drink, I fear. 
Has proved of wealthy home the bane. 

Buy then &c. 

[17] The man that drinks is filled with pride, 
And his own parents will revile, 
Or, ties of blood and kin defied, 

Will dare the marriage bed defile. 
Buy then &c. 

She too that drinks will in her pride 
Her husband and his sire revile, 

And, dignity of race defied, 
A slave to folly will beguile. 

Buy then &c. 

The man that drinks will dare to slay 
A righteous priest or brahmin true, 

And then in suffering worlds for aye 
The sinful deed will have to rue. 

Buy then &c. 

Who drink will sin in triple wise. 
In word, in action, and in thought. 

Then sink to Hell, to agonize 

For all the evil they have wrought. 

Buy then &c. 

The man from whom men beg in vain, 
E'en at the cost of heaps of gold, 

From him when drunk their point they gain 
And readily the lie is told. 

Buy then &c. 



10 The Jataha. Book XVI. 

Should one that drinks a message bear 

And lo ! some great emergency 
Should suddenly arise, he'll swear 

The thing has slipped his memory. 
Buy then &o. 

E'en modest folk, intoxicate 

With wine, will most indecent be, 
And wisest men, when drunk, will prate 

And babble very foolishly. 
Buy then &c.» 

Thro' drink men, fasting, lie about. 
The hard bare ground their resting place. 

Huddled like swine, a shameless rout. 
They undergo most foul disgrace. 

Buy then &c. 

Like oxen smitten to the ground 
'Collapsing, in a heap they lie; 
[18] Such fire is in strong liquor found. 
No power of man with it can vie. 
Buy then &c. 

When all men, as from deadly snake. 

In terror from the poison shrink. 
What hero bold enough to slake 

His thirst from such a fatal drink? 
Buy then &c. 

'Twas after drinking this, I ween, 

The ^Andhakas and Vrishni race, 
Boaming along the shore, were seen 

To fall, each by his kinsman's mace. 
Buy then &c. 

Angels infatuate with wine 

Fell from eternal heaven, king. 
With all their magic power divine: 

Then who would taste the accursed thing? 
Buy then &c. 

Nor curds nor honey sweet is here. 

But evermore remembering 
What's stored within this rounded sphere, 

Buy, prithee, buy my jar, O king. 

[19] On hearing this the king, recognizing the misery caused by 
drink, was so pleased with Sakka that he sang his praises in two stanzas : 

[20] No parents had I sage to teach, like thee. 
But thou art kind and merciful, I see ; 
A seeker of the Highest Truth alway ; 
Therefore I will obey thy words to-day. 

Lo ! five choice villages I own are thine, 
Twice fifty handmaids, seven hundred kiue. 
And these ten cars with steeds of purest blood. 
For thou hast counselled me to mine own good. 

' Pattakkhandhd. Cf. note on Cullavagga, iv. 4. 7, Translation by Davids and 
Oldenberg, p. 13. 

^ See Wilson's Vishnu Purana (Hall's ed,), vol. v. pp. 147—149, Cf. Jataka, 
vol. IV. 81, vol. V. 267. 



No. 513. 11 

Sakka on hearing this revealed his godhead' and made himself known, 

and standing in the air he repeated two stanzas : 

These hundred slaves, king, may still be thine, 
And eke the villages and herds of kine ; 
No chariots yoked to high-bred steeds I claim ; 
Sakka, chief god of Thirty Three, my name. 

Enjoy thy ghee, rice, milk and sodden meat. 
Still be content thy honey cakes to eat. 
Thus, king, delighting in the Truths I've preached. 
Pursue thy blameless path, till Heaven is reached. 

Thus did Sakka admonish him and then returned to his abode in 
Heaven. And the king, abstaining from strong drink, ordered the 
drinking vessels to be broken. And undertaking to keep the precepts 
and dispensing alms, he became destined to Heaven. But the drinking 
of strong drink gradually developed in India. 



_ The Master here ended his lesson and identified the Birth : " At that time 
Ananda was the king, and I myself was Sakka." 



No. 513. 



JAYADDISA-JATAKA. 

[21] "Lo ! after,^' etc. — This story the Master told of a Brother who supported 
his mother. The introductory story is like that told in the ^Sama Birth. But 
on this occasion the Master said, " Sages of old gave up the white umbrella with 
its golden wreath to support their parents," and with these words he told a story 
of the past. 



Once upon a time there lived a king in a city of the Northern 
Faficalas, in the kingdom of Kampilla, named PaBcala. His queen 
consort conceived and bare a son. In a former existence her rival in 
the harem, being in a rage, said, " Some day I shall be able to devour 
your offspring," and putting up a prayer to this effect she was turned 
into an ogress. Then she found her opportunity and, seizing the child 
before the very eyes of the queen and crunching and devouring it as 
if it were a piece of raw flesh, she made off. A second time she did 
exactly the same thing, but on the third occasion, when the queen had 
entered into her lying-in chamber, a guard surrounded the palace and 
kept a strict watch. On the day when she brought forth, the ogress 

' Should we not read devatta- for devadatta- ? 

" Vol. Ti. No. 540. Cf. also vol. iv. No. 510 Ayogharajdtaka. 



12 The Jataha. Book XVI. 



again appeared and seized the child. The queen uttered a loud cry of 
"Ogress," and armed soldiers, running up when the alarm was given by 
the queen, went in pursuit of the ogress. Not having time to devour 
the child, she fled and hid herself in a sewer. The child, taking the 
ogress for its mother, put its lips to her breast, and she conceived 
a mother's love for the infant, and repairing to a cemetery she hid him 
in a rock-cave and watched over him. And as he gradually grew up, 
she brought and gave him human flesh, and they both lived on this 
food. The boy did not know that he was a human being ; but, though 
he believed himself to be the son of the ogress, he could not get rid of 
or conceal his bodily form. So to bring this about she gave him 
a certain root. And by virtue of this root he concealed his form and 
continued to live on human flesh. Now the ogress went away to do 
service to the great king Vessavana', and died then and there. But 
the queen for the fourth time [22] gave birth to a boy, and because 
the ogress was now dead, he was safe, and from the fact of his being 
born victorious over his enemy the ogress, he was called Jayaddisa 
(prince Victor). As soon as he was grown up and thoroughly educated 
in all learning, he assumed the sovereignty by raising the umbrella, and 
ruled over the kingdom. At that time his queen consort gave birth to 
the Bodhisatta, and they called him prince Alinasattu. When he grew 
up and was fully instructed in all learning, he became viceroy. But 
the son of the ogress by carelessly destroying the root was unable to 
hide himself, but living in the cemetery he devoured human flesh in a 
visible form. People on seeing him were alarmed, and came and 
complained to the king : " Sire, an ogre in a visible shape is eating 
human flesh in the cemetery. In course of time he will find his way 
into the city and kill and eat the people. You ought to have him 
caught." The king readily assented, and gave orders for his seizure. 
An armed force was stationed all round the city. The son of the 
ogress, naked and horrible to look upon, with the fear of death upon 
him, cried aloud and sprang into the midst of the soldiers. They, with 
a cry of "Here's the ogre," alarmed for their very lives, broke into two 
divisions and fled. And the ogre, escaping from thence, hid himself 
in the forest and no longer approached the haunts of men. And he took 
up his abode at the foot of a banyan tree near a high-road through the 
forest, and as people travelled by it, he would seize them one by one, 
and entering the wood killed and ate them. Now a brahmin, at the head 
of a caravan, gave a thousand pieces of money to the warders of the 
forest,, and was journeying along the road with flve hundred waggons. 
The ogre in human shape leaped upon them with a roar. The men fled 
in terror and lay grovelling on the ground. He seized the brahmin, and 
^ One of the four great demon-kings, the Hindu Plutus. 



No. 513. 13 

being wounded by a splinter of wood as he was fleeing, and being hotly 
pursued by the forest rangers, he dropped the brahmin and went and 
lay down at the foot of the tree where he dwelt. On the seventh day 
after this, king Jayaddisa proclaimed a hunt and set out from the 
city. Just as he was starting, [23] a native of Takkasila, a brahmin 
named Nanda, who supported his parents, came into the king's presence, 
bringing four stanzas, each worth a hundred pieces of money ' The king 
stopped to listen to them, and ordered a dwelling-place to be assigned 
to him. Then going to the chase, he said, " That man on whose side 
the deer escapes shall pay the brahmin for his verses.'' Then a spotted 
antelope was started, and making straight for the king escaped. The 
courtiers all laughed heartily. The king grasped his sword, and pur- 
suing the animal came up with it after a distance of three leagues, 
and with a blow from his sword he severed it in two and hung the 
carcase on his carrying-pole. Then, as he returned, he came to the spot 
where the man-ogre was sitting, and after resting for a while on the 
ku§a grass, he essayed to go on. Then the ogre rose up and cried 
" Halt ! where are you going ? You are my prey,'' and seizing him by 
the hand, he spoke the first stanza : 

Lo! after my long seven days' fast 
A mighty prey appears at last! 
Pray tell me, art thou known to fame 1 
I fain would hear thy race and name. 

The king was terrified at the sight of the ogre, and, becoming as rigid 
as a pillar, was unable to flee; but, recovering his presence of mind, he 
spoke the second stanza : 

Jayaddisa, if known to thee, 
Pancala's king I claim to be : 
Hunting thro' fen and wood I stray: 
Eat thou this deer; free me, I pray. 

[24] The ogre, on hearing this, repeated the third stanza : 

To save thy skin, thou offerest me for food 
This quarry, king, to which my claim is good: 
Know I will eat thee first, and yet not balk 
My taste for venison: cease from idle talk. 

The king, on hearing this, called to mind the brahmin Nanda, and 
spoke the fourth stanza : 

Should I not purchase the release I crave, 
Yet let me keep the promise that I gave 
A brahmin friend. To-morrow's dawn shall see 
My honour saved, and my return to thee. 

' He ultimately gets four thousand pieces. 



14 The Jataka. Booh XVI. 

The ogre, on hearing this, spoke the fifth stanza : 

Standing so near to death, what is the thing 
That thus doth sorely trouble thee, O king? 
Tell me the truth, that so perhaps we may 
Consent to let thee go for one brief day. 

[25] The king, explaining the matter, spoke the sixth stanza : 

A promise once I to a brahmin made; 
That promise still is due, that debt unpaid: 
The vow fulfilled, to-morrow's dawn shall see 
My honour saved, and my return to thee. 

On hearing this, the ogre spoke the seventh stanza : 

A promise to a brahmin thou hast made; 
That promise still is due, that vow unpaid. 
Fulfil thy vow, and let to-morrow see 
Thy honour saved and thy return to me. 

And having thus spoken, he let the king go. And he, being allowed 
to depart, said, " Do not be troubled about me ; I will return at day- 
break," and, taking note of certain landmarks by the way, he returned 
to his army, and with this escort made his entrance into the city. Then 
he summoned the brahmin Nanda, seated him on a splendid throne, 
and, after hearing his verses, presented him with four thousand pieces 
of money. And he made the brahmin mount a chariot and sent him 
away, bidding his servants conduct him straight to Takkasila. On 
the next day, being anxious to return, he called his son, and thus 
instructed him. 



The Master, to explain the matter, spoke two stanzas : 

Escaped from cruel goblin he did come 
Full of sweet longings to his lovely home : 
[26] His word to brahmin friend he never broke, 
But thus to dear Allnasattu spoke. 

'My son, reign thou anointed king to-day 
Ruling o'er friend and foe with righteous sway; 
Let no injustice mar thy happy state ; 
I now from cruel goblin seek my fate.' 



The prince, on hearing this, spoke the tenth stanza : 

Fain would I learn what act or word 
Lost me the favour of my lord. 
That thou shouldst raise me to the throne 
Which, losing thee, I :would not own. 

The king, on hearing this, spoke the next stanza : 

Dear son, I fail to call to mind 
A single word or act unkind. 
But now that honour's debt is paid, 
I'll keep the vow to ogre made. 



No. 513. 15 

[27] The prince, on hearing this, spoke a stanza : 

Nay, I will go and thou stay here ; 
No hope of safe return, I fear. 
But shouldst thou go, I'll follow thee 
And both alike will cease to be. 

On hearing this, the king spoke a stanza : 

With thee doth moral law agree. 
But life would lose all charm for me, 
If on wood-spit this ogre grim 
Should roast and eat thee, limb by limb. 

Hearing this, the prince spoke a stanza : 

If from this ogre thou wilt fly. 
For thee I am prepared to die : 
Yea, gladly would I die, king. 
If only life to thee I bring. 

[28] On hearing this the king, recognizing his son's virtue, accepted 
his offer, saying, "Well, go, dear son." And so he bade his parents 
farewell and left the city. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, spoke half a stanza : 

Then the brave prince to his dear parents bade 
A last farewell, with low obeisance made. 



Then his parents and his sister and wife and the courtiers went forth 
from the city with him. And the prince here inquired of his father as to 
the way, and, after making careful arrangements and having admonished 
the others, he ascended the road and made for the abode of the ogre, 
as fearless as a maned lion. His mother, seeing him depart, could not 
restrain herself and fell fainting on the earth. His father, stretching out 
his arms, wept aloud. 



The Master, making the matter clear, spoke the other half stanza : 

His sire with outstretched arms, his son to stay. 
Wept sore. His mother, grieving, swooned away. 

And, thus making clear the prayer uttered by the father and the Act of Truth 
repeated by the mother and sister and wife, he uttered yet four more stanzas : 

But when his son had vanished quite 
From his despairing father's sight. 

With hands upraised the gods he praised 
Kings Vai-una and Soma hight, 
Brahma and lords of Day and Night. 
'By these kept safe and sound of limb. 
Escape, dear son, from ogre grim.' 



16 The Jataka. Book XVI. 

[29] 'i!s Rama's fair-limbed mother woni 
Salvation for her absent son, 
When woods of Dandaka he sought, 
So for my child is freedom wrought ; 
And by this Act of Truth I've charmed 
The gods to bring thee home unharmed.' 

'Brother, in thee no fault at all 
Open or secret I recall ; 
And by this Act of Truth I've charmed 
The gods to bring thee home unharmed.' 

'Void of offence art thou to me, 
I too, my lord, bear love to thee ; 
And by this Act of Truth I've charmed 
The gods to bring thee home unharmed.' 



[30] And the prince, following his father's directions, set out on the 
road to the dwelling of the ogre. But the ogre thought, " Kshatriyas have 
many wiles : who knows what will happen 1 " and climbing the tree 
he sat looking out for the coming of the king. On seeing the prince, 
he ' thought, " The son has stopped his father and is coming himself. 
There's no fear about him." And descending from the tree he sat with 
his back to him. On coming up the youth stood in front of the ogre, 
who then spoke this stanza : 

Whence art thou, youth so fair and fine? 
Knowest thou this forest realm is mine ? 
They hold their lives but cheap who come 
Where savage ogres find a home. 

Hearing this, the youth spoke this stanza : 

I know thee, cruel ogre, well ; 
Within this forest thou dost dwell. 
Jayaddisa's true son stands here : 
Eat me and free my father dear. 

Then the ogre spoke this stanza : 

Jayaddisa's true son I know ; 
Thy looks confess that it is so. 
[31] A hardship surely 'tis for thee 
To die, to set thy father free. 

Then the youth spoke this stanza: 

No mighty deed is this, I feel. 
To die, and for a father's weal 
And mother's love to pass away 
And win the bliss of heaven for aye. 

On hearing this, the ogre said, " There is no creature, prince, that 

' See Bamayana, book ill. 



No. 513. 17 

is not afraid of death. Why are not you afraid?" And he told him the 
reason and recited two stanzas : 

No evil deed of mine at all, 

Open or secret, I recall : 

Well weighed are birth and death by me, 

As here, so 'tis in worlds to be. 

Eat me to-day, O mighty one. 
And do the deed that must be done. 
I'll fall down dead frorn some high tree. 
Then eat my flesh, as pleaseth thee. 

[32] The ogre, on hearing his words, was terrified and said, " One 
cannot eat this man's flesh "; and, thinking by some stratagem to make 
him run away, he said : 

If 'tis thy will to sacrifice 

Thy life, young prince, to free thy sire. 
Then go in haste is my' advice 

And gather sticks to light a fire. 

Having so done, the youth returned to him. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, spoke another stanza : 

Then the brave prince did gather wood 
And, rearing high a mighty pyre. 

Cried, lighting it, ' Prepare thy food ; 
See ! I have made a goodly fire.' 



The ogre, when he saw the prince had returned and made a fire, said, 
" This is a lion-hearted fellow. Death has no terrors for him. Up 
to this time I have never seen so fearless a man." And he sat there, 
astounded, from time to time looking at the youth. And he, seeing what 
the ogre was about, spoke this stanza : 

Stand not and gaze in dumb amaze. 
Take me and slay, and eat, I pray, 
[33] While still alive, I will contrive 

To make thee fain to eat to-day. 

Then the ogre, hearing his words, spoke this stanza : 

One so truthful, kindly, just, 

Surely never may be eaten. 
Or his head, who eats thee, must 

Be to sevenfold pieces beaten. 

The prince, on hearing this, said, " If you do not want to eat me, why 
did you bid me break sticks and make a fire?" and when the ogre replied, " It 
was to test you ; for I thought you would run away,'' the prince said, " How 
now will you test me, seeing that, when in an animal form, I allowed 

J. Y, 2 



18 The Jataka. Booh XVI. 

Sakka, king of heaven, to put my virtue to the test ] " And with these 
words he spoke this stanza : — 

'To Indra once like some poor brahmin drest 
The hare did offer its own flesh to eat ; 
Thenceforth its form was on the moon imprest ; 
That gracious orb as Yakkha now we greet. 

[34] The ogre, on hearing this, let the prince go and said, 

As the clear moon from Eahu's grip set free 

Shines at midmonth with wonted brilliancy, 

So too do thou, Kampilla's lord of might, 

Escaped from ogre, shed the joyous light 

Of thy bright presence, sorrowing friends to cheer. 

And bring back gladness to thy parents dear. 

And saying, " Go, heroic soul," he let the Great Being depart. And 
having made the ogre humble, he taught him the five moral laws, and, 
wishing to put it to the test whether or not he was an ogre, he thought, 
" The eyes of ogres are red and do not wink. They cast no shadow and 
are free from all fear. This is no ogre ; it is a man. They say my father 
had three brothers carried oif by an ogress ; two of them must have been 
devoured by her, and one will have been cherished by her with the love of 
a mother for her child : this must be he. I will take him with me and 
tell my father, and have him established on the throne.'' And so thinking 
he cried, " Ho ! Sir, you are no ogre ; you are my father's elder brother. 
Well, come with me and raise your umbrella as emblem of sovereignty in 
your ancestral kingdom." And when he replied, " I am not a man," the 
prince said, "You do not believe me. Is there any one you will believe?" 
"Yes," he said, " there is in such and such a place an ascetic gifted with 
supernatural vision." So he took the ogre with him and went there. 
The ascetic no sooner caught sight of them than he said, " With what 
object are you two descendants from a common ancestor walking here!" 
And with these words he told them how they were related. The man- 
eater believed and said, " Dear friend, do you go home : as for me, I am 
born with two natures in one form. I have no wish to be a king. I'll 
become an ascetic." So he was ordained to the religious life by the 
ascetic. Then the prince saluted him and returned to the city. 



[35] The Master, to make the matter clear, spoke this stanza : 

Then did bold prince Alinasattu pay 

All due obeisance to that ogre grim, 
And free once more did wend his happy way 

Back to Kampilla, safe and sound of limb. 

' See No. 316 Sasajataka, vol. iii. p. 34 (English verBion). The commentary adds 
that in the present Kalpa the moon is marked by a yakkha instead of a hare. 



No. 513. 19 

And when the youth reached the city, the Master explained to the townsfolk 
and the rest what the prince had done, and spoke the last stanza : 

Thus faring forth afoot from town and country side, 

Lo ! eager throngs proclaim 

The doughty hero's name, 
Or as aloft on car or elephant they ride 

With homage due they come 

To lead the victor home. 



The king heard that the prince had returned and set out to meet him, 
and the prince, escorted by a great multitude, came and saluted the king. 
And he asked him, saying, " Dear son, how have you escaped from so 
terrible an ogre ? " And he said, " Dear father, he is no ogre ; he is your 
elder brother and ray uncle." And he told him all about it and said, 
" You must go and see my uncle." The king at once ordered a drum to 
be beaten, and set out with a great retinue to visit the ascetics. The 
chief ascetic told them the whole story in full ; how the child had been 
carried off by an ogress, and how instead of eating him she had brought 
iim up as an ogre, and how they were related one to another. The king 
said, " Come, brother, do you reign as king." " No, thank you. Sire," 
he replied. " Then come and take up your abode in our park and I 
will supply you with the four requisites." He refused to come. Then 
the king made a settlement oji a certain mountain, not far from their 
hermitage, and, forming a lake, prepared cultivated fields and, bringing 
a thousand families with much treasure, he founded a big village and 
instituted a system of almsgiving for the ascetics. This village grew 
into the town Cullakammasadamma. 

[36] The I'egion where the ogre was tamed by the Great Being 
Sutasoma was to be known as the town of Mahakammasadamma'. 



The Master, having ended his lesson, revealed the Truths and identified the 
Birth : — At the conclusion of the Truths the elder who supported his mother was 
established in the. fruition of the First Path : — " At that time the father and 
mother were members of the king's household, the ascetic was Sariputta, the 
man-eater was Angulimala, the young sister was Uppalavanna, the queen 
consort was Rahula's mother, prince Allnasattu was myself." 

1 The founding of a place of this name oeours at the end of the Mahasutasoma- 
Jatata, vol. v. p. 511. 



2-3 



20 The Jdtaka. Book XVI. 



No. 514. 

CHADDANTA-JATAKA'. 

"Large-eyed and peerless one," etc. — This was a story the Master, while 
sojourning at Jetavana, told of a female novice. A girl of good family at 
Savatthi, they say, recognizing the misery of the lay life, embraced asceticism, 
and one day went with other Sisters to hear the Law from the Bodhisatta, as he 
sat preaching from a magnificent throne, and observing his person to be endued 
with extreme beauty of form arising from the power of illimitable merit, she 
thought, " I wonder whether in a former existence those I once ministered to 
were this man's wives." Then at that very moment the recollection of former 
existences came back to her. " In the time of Chaddanta, the elephant, I was 
previously existing as this man's wife." And at the remembrance great joy and 
gladness sprang up in her heart. In her joyous excitement she laughed aloud 
as she thought, " Few wives are well disposed to their husbands ; most of 
them are ill disposed. I wonder if I were well or ill disposed to this man." 
And calling back her remembrance, she perceived that she had harboured a 
slight grudge in her heart against Chaddanta, the mighty lord of elephants, who 
measured one hundred and twenty cubits, and had sent Sonuttara, a hunter, 
who with a poisoned arrow wounded and killed him. Then her sorrow awoke 
and her heart grew hot within her, and being unable to control her feelings, 
bursting into sobs she wept aloud. On seeing this the Master broke into a 
smile, and on being asked by the assembly of the Brethren, "What, Sir, was 
the cause of your smiling ? " he said, " Brethren, this young Sister wept, on 
recalling a sin she once committed against me." And so saying he told a story 
of the past. 



[37] Once upon a time eight thousand royal elephants, by the exercise 
of supernatural powers moving through the air, dwelt near lake Chaddanta 
in the Himalayas. At this time the Bodhisatta came to life as the son of 
the chief elephant. He was a pure white, with red feet and face. By 
and bye, when grown up, he was eighty-eight cubits high, one hundred and 
twenty cubits long. He had a trunk like to a silver rope, fifty-eight 
cubits long, and tusks fifteen cubits in circumference, thirty cubits long, 
and emitting six-coloured rays. He was the chief of a herd of eight 
thousand elephants and paid honour to pacceka buddhas. His two head 
queens were CuUasubhadda and Mahasubhadda. The king elephant, with 
his herd numbering eight thousand, took up his abode in a Golden Cave. 
Now lake Chaddanta was fifty leagues long and fifty broad. In the middle 
of it, for a space extending twelve leagues, no sevala or panaka plant is 
found, and it consists of water in appearance like a magic jewel. Next to 
this, encircling this water, was a thicket of pure white lilies, a league in 

' In the Journal Asiatique for 1895, torn, v., N. S., will be found a careful study 
by M. L. Peer of the Chaddanta-Jataka, based on a comparison of five different ver- 
sions — two Pali, one Sanskrit, two Chinese, 



No. 514. 21 

breadth. Next to this, and encircling it, was a thicket of pure blue lotus, 
a league in extent. Then came white and red lotuses, red and white 
lilies, and white esculent lilies, each also a league in extent and each 
encircling the one before. Next to these seven thickets came a mixed 
tangle of white and other lilies, also a league in extent, and encircling 
all the preceding ones. Next, in water as deep as elephants can stand 
in, was a thicket of red paddy. Next, in the surrounding water, was 
a grove of small shrubs, abounding in delicate and fragrant blossoms of 
blue, yellow, red and white. So these ten thickets were each a league 
in extent. Next came a thicket of vai-ious kinds of kidney beans. 
Next came a tangle of convolvulus, cucumber, pumpkin, gourd and other 
creepers. Then a grove of sugar-cane of the size of the areca-nut tree. 
Then a grove of plantains with fruit as big as elephant's tusks. [38] 
Then a field of paddy. Then a grove of bread-fruit of the size of 
a water jar. Next a grove of tamarinds with luscious fruit. Then a 
grove of elephant-apple trees. Then a great forest of different kinds of 
trees. Then a bamboo grove. Such at this time was the magnificence 
of this region — its present magnificence is described in the Samyutta 
Commentary — but surrounding the bamboo grove were seven mountains. 
Starting from the extreme outside first came Little Black Mountain, 
next Great Black Mountain, then Water Mountain, Moon Mountain, 
Sun Mountain, Jewel Mountain, then the seventh in order Golden 
Mountain. This was seven leagues in height, rising all round the lake 
Chaddanta, like the rim of a bowl. The inner side of it was of a golden 
colour. From the light that issued from it lake Chaddanta shone like 
the newly risen sun. But of the outer mountains, one was six leagues in 
height, one five, one four, one three, one two, one a single league in 
height. Now in the north-east corner of the lake, thus girt about with 
seven mountains, in a, spot where the wind fell upon the water, grew a big 
banyan tree. Its trunk was five leagues in circumference and seven 
leagues in height. Four branches spread six leagues to the four points 
of the compass, and the branch which rose straight upwards was six 
leagues. So from the root upwards it was thirteen leagues in height, 
and from the extremity of the branches in one direction to the extremity 
of the branches in the opposite direction it was twelve leagues. And the 
tree was furnished with eight thousand shoots and stood forth in all its 
beauty, like to the bare Jewel Mount. But on the west side of lake 
Chaddanta, in the Golden Mount, was a golden cave, twelve leagues in 
extent. Chaddanta the elephant king, with his following of eight thousand 
elephants, in the rainy season lived in the golden cave ; in the hot season 
he stood at the foot of the great banyan tree, amongst its shoots, 
welcoming the breeze from off the water. Now one day they told him, 
"The great Sal grove is in flower." So attended by his herd he was 



22 The Jataka. Booh XVI. 

minded to disport himself in the Sal grove, [39] and going thither he 
struck with his frontal globe a Sal tree in full bloom. At that moment 
Cullasubhadda stood to windward, and dry twigs mixed with dead leaves 
and red ants fell upon her person. But Mahasubhadda stood to leeward, 
and flowers with pollen and stalks and green leaves fell on her. Thought 
Cullasubhadda, " He let fall on the wife dear to him flowers and pollen 
and fresh stalks and leaves, but on my person he dropped a mixture of 
dry twigs, dead leaves and red ants. Well, I shall know what to do ! " 
And she conceived a grudge against the Great Being. Another day the 
king elephant and his attendant herd went down to lake Chaddanta to 
bathe. Then two young elephants took bundles of usira root in their 
trunks and gave him a bath, rubbing him down as it were mount 
Kelasa. And when he came out of the water, they bathed the two 
queen elephants, and they too came out of the water and stood before 
the Great Being. Then the eight thousand elephants entered the lake 
and, disporting themselves in the water, plucked various flowers from the 
lake, and adorned the Great Being as if it had been a silver shrine, and 
afterwards adorned the queen elephants. Then a certain elephant, as he 
swam about the lake, gathered a large lotus with seven shoots and offered 
it to the Great Being. And he, taking it in his trunk, sprinkled the 
pollen on his forehead and presented the flower. to the chief elephant, 
Mahasubhadda. On seeing this her rival said, " This lotus with seven 
shoots he also gives to his favourite queen and not to me," and again 
she conceived a grudge against him. Now one day when the Bodhisatta 
had dressed luscious fruits and lotus stalks and fibres with the nectar of 
the flower, and was entertaining five hundred pacceka buddhas, Cullasu- 
bhadda offered the wild fniits she had got to the pacceka buddhas, and 
she put up a prayer to this effect : " Hereafter, when I pass hence, may I 
be reborn as tbe royal maiden Subhadda in the Madda king's family, and 
on coming of age may I attain to the dignity of queen consort to the 
king of Benares. Then I shall be dear and charming in his eyes, and 
in a position to do what I please. So I will speak to the king and 
send a hunter with h poisoned arrow to wound and slay this elephant. 
[40] And thus may I be able to have brought to me a pair of his 
tusks that emit six-coloured rays." Thenceforth she took no food and 
pining away in no long time she died, and came to life again as the 
child of the queen consort in the Madda kingdom, and was named 
Subhadda. And when she was of a suitable age, they gave her in 
marriage to the king of Benares. And she was dear and pleasing in 
his eyes, and the cliief of sixteen thousand wives. And she recalled to 
mind her former existences and thought, " My prayer is fulfilled; now will 
I have this elephant's tusks brought to me." Then she anointed her body 
with common oil, put on a soiled robe, and lay in bed pretending to be 



No. 514. 23 

sick. The king said, " Whei'e is Subhadda ! " And hearing that she was 
sick, he entered the royal closet and sitting on the bed he stroked her 
back and uttered the first stanza : 

Large-eyed and peerless one, my queen, so pale, to grief a prey, 
Like wreath that's trampled under foot, why fadest thou away? 

On hearing this she spoke the second stanza : 

As it would seem, all in a dream, a longing sore I had ; 
My wish is vain this boon to gain, and that is why I'm sad. 

The king, on hearing this, spoke a stanza : 

All joys to which in this glad world a mortal may aspire, 
"Whate'er they want is mine to grant, so tell me thy desire. 

On hearing this the queen said, "Great king, my desire is hard to 

attain ; I will not now say what it is, but I would have all the hunters that 

there are in your kingdom gathered together. [41] Then will I tell it in 

the midst of them." And to explain her meaning, she spoke the next 

stanza : 

Let hunters all obey thy call, within this realm who dwell. 

And what I fain from them would gain, I'U in their presence tell. 

The king agreed, and issuing forth from the royal chamber he gave 

orders to his ministers, saying, "Have it proclaimed by beat of drum that 

all the hunters that are in the kingdom of Kasi, three hundred leagues in 

extent, are to assemble." They did so, and in no long time the hunters 

that dwelt in the kingdom of Kasi, bringing a present according to their 

means, had their arrival announced to the king. Now they amounted in 

all to about sixty thousand. And the king, hearing that they had come, 

stood at an open window and stretching forth his hand he told the queen 

of their arrival and said : 

Here then behold our hunters bold, well trained in venery, 
Theirs is the skill wild beasts to kill, and all would die for me. 

The queen, on hearing this, addressed them and spoke another stanza : 

Ye hunters bold, assembled here. 
Unto my words, I pray, give ear: 
Dreaming, methought an elephant I saw, 
Six-tusked' and white without a flaw: 
His tusks I crave and fain would have; 
Nought else avails this life to save. 

The hunters, on hearing this, replied : 

Ne'er did our sires in times of old 
A six- tusked elephant behold: 
[42] Tell us what kind of beast might be 

That which appeared in dreams to thee. 

1 The Scholiast explains chabbisana (Sanskrit sJmdvishana) six-tusked as chahbanna 
six-coloured, perhaps more completely to identify the hero of the story with the 
Buddha. 



24 The Jataka. Book XVI. 

After this still another stanza was spoken by them : 

Four points, North, South, East, West, one sees, 

Four intermediate are to these, 

Nadir and zenith add, and then 

Say at which point of all the ten 

This royal elephant might be, 

That in a dream appeared to thee. 

After these words Subhadda, looking at all the hunters, spied amongst 
them one that was broad of foot, with a calf swollen like an alms basket, 
big in the knee and ribs, thick-bearded, with yellow teeth, disfigured with 
scars, conspicuous amongst them all as an ugly, hulking fellow, named 
Sonuttara, who had once been an enemy of the Great Being. And she 
thought, " He will be able to do my bidding," and with the king's per- 
mission she took him with her and, climbing to the highest floor of the 
seven-storeyed palace, she threw open a window to the North, and 
stretching forth her hand towards the Northern Himalayas she uttered 
four stanzas : 

Due north, beyond seven mountains vast, 
One comes to Golden Cliff at last, 
A height by goblin forms possessed 
And bright with flowers from foot to crest. 

Beneath this goblin peak is seen 
A cloud-shaped mass of darkest green, 
[43] A royal banyan tree whose roots 

Yield vigour to eight thousand shoots. 

There dwells invincible in might 
This elephant, six-tusked and white, 
With herd eight thousand strong for fight. 
.Their tusks to chariot-poles are like. 
Wind-swift are they to guard or strike. 

Panting and grim they stand and glare, 
Provoked by slightest breath of air, 
If they one born of man should see. 
Their wrath consumes him utterly. 

Sonuttara on hearing this was terrified to death and said : 

Turquoise or pearls of brilliant sheen, 
With many a gold adornment, queen, 
In royal houses may be seen. 
[44] What wouldst thou then with ivory do, 
Or wilt thou slay these hunters true? 

Then the queen spoke a stanza : 

Consumed with grief and spite am I, 
When I recall my injury. 
Grant me, hunter, what I crave. 
And five choice hamlets thou shalt have. 

And with this she said, "Friend hunter, when I gave a gift to the 
pacceka buddhas, I offered up a prayer that I might have it in my power 
to kill this six-tusked elephant and get possession of a pair of his tusks. 



No. 514. 25 

This was not merely seen by me in a vision, but the prayer that I offered 
up will be fulfilled. Do thou go and fear not." And so saying she 
reassured him. And he agreed to her words and said, "So be it, lady; 
but first make it clear to me and tell me where is his dwelling-place," and 
inquiring of her he spoke this stanza : 

Where dwells he? Where may he be found? 
What road is his, for bathing bound? 
Where does this royal creature swim? 
Tell us the way to capture him. 

[45] Then by recalling her former existence she clearly saw the spot 
and told him of it in these two stanzas : 

Not far this bathing-place of his, 

A deep and goodly pool it is: 

There bees do swarm and flowers abound. 

And there this royal beast is found. 

Now lotus-crowned, fresh from his bath 
He gladly takes his homeward path. 
As lily-white and tall he moves 
Behind the queen he fondly loves. 

Sonuttara on hearing this agreed, saying, "Fair lady, I will kill the 
elephant and bring you his tusks." Then in her joy she gave him a 
thousand pieces and said, "Go home meanwhile, and at the end of seven 
days you shall set out thither," and dismissing him she summoned smiths 
and gave them an order and said, "Sirs, we have need of an axe, a spade, 
an auger, a hammer, an instrument for cutting bamboos, a grass-cutter, 
an iron staff, a peg, an iron three-pronged fork ; make them with all speed 
and bring them to us." And sending for workers in leather, she charged 
them, saying, "Sirs, you must make us a leather sack, holding a 
hogshead's weight; we have need of leather ropes and straps, shoes big 
enough for an elephant, and a leather parachute : make them with all 
speed and bring them to us.'' And both smiths and workers in leather 
quickly made everything [46] and brought and offered them to her. 
Having provided everything requisite for the journey, together with 
firewood and the like, she put all the appliances and necessaries for the 
journey, such as baked meal and so forth, in the leather sack. The whole 
of it came to about a hogshead in weight. And Sonuttara, having com- 
pleted his arrangements, arrived on the seventh day and stood respectfully 
in the presence of the queen. Then she said, "Friend, all appliances for 
your journey are completed : take then this sack." And he being a stout 
knave, as strong as five elephants, caught up the sack as if it had been a 
bag of cakes, and, placing it on his hips, stood as it were with empty hands. 
Cullasubhadda gave the provisions to the hunter's attendants and, telling 
the king, dismissed Sonuttara. And he, with an obeisance to the king and 
queen, descended from the palace and, placing his goods in a chariot, set out 



26 The Jataha. Booh XVI. 

from the city with a great retinue, and passing through a succession of 
villages and hamlets reached the frontiers. Then he turned back the 
people of the country and went on with the dwellers on the borders till 
he entered the forest, and passing beyond the haunts of men he sent back 
the border people too, and proceeded quite alone on a road to a distance of 
thirty leagues, traversing a dense growth of kuga and other grasses, 
thickets of basil, reeds and rest-harrow, clumps of thick-thorn and canes, 
thickets of mixed growth, jungles of reed and cane, dense forest growth, 
impenetrable even to a snake, thickets of trees and bamboos, tracts of 
mud and water, mountain tracts, eighteen regions in all, one after 
another. The jungles of grass he cut with a sickle, the thickets of 
basil and the like he cleared with his instrument for cutting bamboos, 
the trees he felled with an axe, and the oversized ones he first pierced 
with an auger. Then, pursuing his way, he fashioned a ladder in the 
bamboo grove and climbing to the top of the thicket, he laid a 
single bamboo, which he had cut, over the next clump of bamboos, and 
thus creeping along on the top of the thicket he reached a morass. 
[47] Then he spread a dry plank on the mud, and stepping on it he 
threw another plank before him and so crossed the morass. Then he 
made a canoe and by means of it crossed the flooded region, and at 
last stood at the foot of the mountains. Then he bound a three-pronged 
grappling-iron with a rope and flinging it aloft he caused it to lodge 
fast in the mountain. Then climbing up by the rope he drilled the 
mountain with an iron staff tipped with adamant, and knocking a peg 
into the hole he stood on it. Then drawing out the grappling-iron he 
once more lodged it high up on the mountain, and from this position letting 
the leather rope hang down, he took hold of it and descejided and fastened 
the rope on the peg below. Then seizing the rope with his left hand and 
taking a hammer in his right he struck a blow on the rope, and having 
thus pulled out the peg he once more climbed up. In this way he mounted 
to the top of the first mountain and then commencing his descent on the 
other side, having knocked as before a peg into the top of the first 
mountain and bound the rope on his leather sack and wrapped it round 
the peg, he sat within the sack and let himself down, uncoiling the rope 
like a spider letting out his thread. Then letting his leather parachute 
catch the wind, he went down like a bird — so at least they say. Thus did 
the Master tell how in obedience to Subhadda's words the hunter sallied 
forth from the city and traversed seventeen different tracts till he reached 
a mountainous region, and how he there crossed over six mountains and 
climbed to the top of Golden Oliff : 

The hunter hearing, unalarmed. 

Set forth with bow and quiver armed, 

And crossing o'er seven mountains vast 

Eeached noble Golden Cliff at last. 



No. 514. 27 

Gaining the goblin-haunted height, 

What cloud-shaped mass bursts on his sight! 

A royal banyan 'tis whose roots 

Support eight thousand spreading shoots. 

[48] There stood invincible in might 
An elephant six-tusked and white, 
With herd eight thousand strong for fight ; 
Their tusks to chariot-poles are like : 
Wind-swift are they to guard or strike. 

Hard by a pool — 'tis full to the brim. 
Fit place for royal beast to swim; 
Its lovely banks with flowers abound 
And buzzing bees swarm all around. 

Marking the way the creature went 
Whene'er on bathing thought intent. 
He sunk a pit, to deed so mean 
Urged by the wrath of spiteful queen. 

Here follo.ws the story from beginning to end : the hunter, it is said, 
after seven years, seven months and seven days, having reached the dwelling- 
place of the Great Being in the manner related above, took note of his 
dwelling-place and dug a pit there, thinking, " I will take my stand here 
and wound the lord of elephants and bring about his death." Thus did he 
arrange matters and went into the forest and cut down trees to make posts 
and prepared a. lot of material. [49] Then when the elephants went to 
bathe, in the spot where the king elephant used to stand, he dug a square 
pit with a huge mattock, and the soil that he dug out he sprinkled on the 
top of the water, as if he were sowing seed, and on the top of stones like 
mortars he fixed posts, and fitted them with weights and ropes and spread 
planks over them. Next he made a hole of the size of an arrow and threw 
on the top earth and rubbish, and on one side he made an entrance for 
himself, and so, when the pit was finished, at break of day he fastened on 
a false top knot and donned robes of yellow and, taking his bow and a 
poisoned arrow, he went down and stood in the pit. 



The Master, to make the whole thing clear, said : 

The pit with planks he first did hide, 
Then bow in hand he got inside. 
And as the elephant passed by, 
A mighty shaft the wretch let fly. 

The wounded beast loud roared with pain 
And all the herd roared back again: 
Crushed boughs and trampled grass betray 
Where panic flight directs their, way. 

Their lord had well nigh slain his foe. 
So mad with pain was he, when lo! 
A robe of yellow met his eyes. 
Emblem of sainthood, priestly guise 
And deemed inviolate by the wise. 



28 The Jataha. Booh XVI. 

[50] The Master, falling into conversation with the hunter, spoke a couple of 
stanzas : 

Whoso is marred with sinful taint 
And void of truth and self-restraint, 
Though robed in yellow he may be. 
No claim to sanctity has he. 

But one that's free from sinfal taint, 
Endued with truth and self-restraint. 
And firmly fixed in righteousness. 
Deserves to wear the yellow dress. 



[51] So saying, the Great Being, extinguishing all feeling of anger 
towards him, asked him, saying, "Why did you wound me? Was it for 
your own advantage or were you suborned by some one else?" 



The Master explaining the matter then said : 

The beast with mighty shaft laid low. 
Unruffled stUl, addressed his foe : 
'What object, friend, in slaying me. 
And, pray, who instigated thee?' 



Then the hunter told him and uttered this stanza : 

The king of Kasi's favoured queen 
Subhadda told me she had seen 
Thy form in dreams, 'and so,' said she, 
'I'll have his tusks ; go, bring them me.' 

Hearing this, and recognizing that this was the work of Cullasubhadda, 
he bore his suflferings patiently and thought, "She does not want my tusks; 
she sent him beca,use she wished to kill me,' and, to illustrate the matter, 
he uttered a couple of stanzas : 

Rich store of goodly tusks have I, 
Relics of my dead ancestry, 
And this well knows that cursed dame, 
'Tis at my life the wretch doth aim. 

[52] Rise, hunter, and or ere I die. 
Saw oflF these tusks of ivory : 
Go bid the shrew be of good cheer, 
'The beast is slain ; his tusks are here.' 

Hearing his words the hunter rose up from the place where he was 

sitting and, saw in hand, came close to him to cut off his tusks. Now the 

elephant, being like a mountain eighty cubits high, was but ineffectually 

cut. For the man could not reach to his tusks.' So the Great Being, 

bending his body towards him, lay with his head down. Then the hunter 

climbed up the trunk of the Great Being, pressing it with his feet as 

though it were a silver rope, and stood on his forehead as if it had been 



No. 514. 29 

Kelasa peak. Then he inserted his foot into his mouth, and striking the 
fleshy part of it with his knee, he climbed down from the beast's forehead 
and thrust the saw into his mouth. The Great Being suflfered excruciating 
pain and his mouth was charged with blood. The hunter, shifting about 
from place to place, was still unable to cut the tusks with his saw. So 
the Great Being letting the blood drop from his mouth, resigning himself 
to the agony, asked, saying, "Sir, cannot you cut them?" And on his 
saying "No," he recovered his presence of mind and said, "Well then, since 
I myself have not strength enough to raise my trunk, do you lift it up for 
me and let it seize the end of the saw." The hunter did so : and the Great 
Being seized the saw with his trunk and moved it backwards and 
forwards, and the tusks were cut off as it were sprouts. Then bidding 
him take the tusks, he said, " I don't give you these, friend hunter, 
because I do not value them, [53] nor as one desiring the position of 
Sakka, Mara or Brahma, but the tusks of omniscience are a hundred 
thousand times dearer to me than these are, and may this meritorious 
act be to me the cause of attaining Omniscience." And as he gave him 
the tusks, he asked, "How long were you coming here?" "Seven 
years, seven months, and seven days." " Go then by the magic power 
of these tusks, and you shall reach Benares in seven days." And he 
gave him a safe conduct and let him go. And after he had sent him 
away, before the other elephants and Subhadda had returned, he was 
dead. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

The hunter then the tusks did saw 
From out that noble creature's jaw, 
And with his shining, matchless prize 
Home with all speed he quickly hies. 



When he was gone, the herd of elephants not finding their enemy 
came back. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

Sad at his death and full of fright, 
The herd that took to panic flight, 
Seeing no trace of cruel foe, 
Eeturned to find their chief laid low. 



[54] And with them also came Subhadda, and they all then and there 
with weeping and lamentation betook them to th£ pacceka buddhas who 
bad been so friendly to the Great Being, and said, " Sirs, he who supplied 



30 The Jataka. Booh XV I. 

you with the necessaries of life has died from the wound of a poisoned 
arrow. Come and see where his dead body is exposed." And the five 
hundi-ed pacceka buddhas passing through the air alighted in the sacred 
enclosure. At that moment two young elephants, lifting up the body of 
the king elephant with their tusks, and so causing it to do homage to the 
pacceka buddhas, raised it aloft on a pyre and burned it. The pacceka 
buddhas all through the night rehearsed scripture texts in the cemetery. 
The eight thousand elephants, after extinguishing the flames, first bathed 
and then, with Subhadda at their head, "returned to their place of abode. 



The Master, to make this matter clear, said : 

They wept and wailed, as it is said, 
Each heaping dust upon his head. 
Then slow returning home were seen. 
Behind their ever gracious queen. 



And Sonuttara within seven days reached Benares with his tusks. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 
The hunter straight to Kasi hies 
Bearing his bright and matchless prize 
— The noble creature's tusks, I mean, 
Cheering all hearts with golden sheen — 
And to that royal dame he said, 
' Here are his tusks : the beast is dead.' 



[55] Now in ofiering them to the queen, he said, " Lady, the elephant, 
against whom you conceived a grudge in your heart for a trifling offence, 
has been slain by me.'' " Do you tell me that he is dead?" she cried. 
And he gave her the tusks, saying, " Be assured that he is dead : here are 
his tusks." She received the tusks adorned with six different coloured 
rays on her jewelled fan, and, placing them on her lap, gazed at the tusks 
of one who in a former existence had been her dear lord and she thought, 
" This fellow has come with the tusks he cut from the auspicious elephant 
that he slew with a poisoned shaft." And at the remembrance of the 
Great Being she was filled with so great sorrow that she could not endure 
it, but her heart then and there was broken and that very day she died. 



The Master, to make the story clear, said : 

His tusks no sooner did she see 

— Her own dear lord of old was he — 

Than straight her heart through grief did break 

And she, poor fool, died for his sake. 



No. 515. 31 

When he, almighty and all wise, 
Broke into smiles before their eyes, 
Straightway these holy Brethren thought, 
' Sure Buddhas never smile for nought.' 

'She whom you used to see,' he said, 
'A yeUow-robed ascetic maid. 
Was erst a queen and I,' he cried, 
'Was that king elephant who died.' 

'The wretch who took those tusks so white, 
Unmatched on earth, so shining bright, 
[56] And brought them to Benares town 
Is now as Devadatta known.' 

Buddha from his own knowledge told 
This long drawn tale of times of old. 
In all its sad variety, 
Though free from pain and grief was he. 

That elephant of long ago 

Was I, the king of all the band, 
And, Brothers, I would have you so 

This Birth aright to understand. 

These stanzas were recorded by elders as they chanted the Law and sang the 
praises of the Lord of all Power. 

[57] And on hearing this discourse a multitude entered the First Path, but 
the Sister afterwards by spiritual insight attained to Sainthood. 



No. 515. 

SAMBHAVA-JATAKA. 

" This rule," eta. — This story the Master when residing at Jetavana told 
concerning the Perfection of Wisdom. The circumstances leading to the intro- 
ductory story wiU be set forth in the Mahaummagga Birth ^. 



Once upon a time a king called DhanaSjaya Korabya reigned in the 
city of Indapatta in tlie Kuru kingdom. A brahmin named Sucirata 
was his priest and adviser in things temporal and spiritual. The king 
ruled his kingdom righteously, in the exercise of almsgiving and other 
good works. Now one day he prepared a question about the service of 
Truth, and having seated the brahmin Sucirata and paid him due honour, 
he put his question to him in the form of four stanzas : 

This rule and lordship I disdain, 

Sucirata, for I would fain 

Be great, and o'er the wide world reign. 

' Vol. vi. p. 329. Jataka, No. 546. 



32 The Jataha. Book XVI. 

By right alone — wrong I eschew — 
For whatsoe'er is good and true 
Kings above all men should pursue. 

By this for ever free from blame, 
Here and hereafter, we may claim 
Midst gods and men a glorious name. 

Know, brahmin, that I fain would do 
Whate'er is deemed both good and true. 
So pray, when asked, declare to me 
The Good and True, what they may be. 

[58] Now this was a profound question, falling within the range of a 

Buddha. This is a question one should put to an Omniscient Buddha, and, 

failing him, to a Bodhisatta who is seeking the Gift of Omniscience. 

But Sucirata, by reason of his not being a Bodhisatta, could not solve the 

question, and, so far from assuming an air of wisdom, he confessed his 

incompetency in the following stanza : 

No one but Vidhurai, king. 
Hath power to tell this wondrous thing, 
What is, my lord, the Good and True, 
That thou art ever fain to do. 

The king on hearing his words said, "Go then, brahmin, at once," and 

he gave him a present to take with him, and in his eagerness to get him oflF, 

he repeated this stanza : 

Lo! straight this weight of gold, my friend, 
By thee to Vidhura I send; 
Meet gift for sage who best can show 
The Good and True that I would know. 

[59] And with these words he gave him a tablet of gold, worth a 
hundred thousand pieces of money, on which to write the answer to the 
question, a chariot to travel in, an army to escort him, and a present to 
offer, and straightway despatched him. Issuing from the city of Indapatta, 
not going straight to Benares, he first visited all places wheresoever sages 
dwell, and, not finding any one in all India to solve the question, he 
gradually approached Benares. Taking up his abode there, he went with 
a few followers to the house of Vidhura, at the time of the early meal, and 
having announced his arrival, he was invited in and found Vidhura at 
breakfast in his own house. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, repeated the seventh stanza : 

Then straight in haste did Bharadvaja^ wend 
His way to Vidhura, and found his friend 
Sitting at home, and ready to partake 
Of simple fare, his early fast to break. 



Vidhura, the commentary explains, was the chaplain of the king of Benares. 
Bharadvaja is the family name of Sucirata. 



No. 515. 33 

Now Vidhura was a friend of his youth, and had been educated in the 
family of the same master, so after partaking of the meal with him, when 
breakfast was over, and Sucirata was comfortably seated, on being asked 
by Vidhura, "What brings you here, friend?" he told him why he had 
come and repeated the eighth stanza : 

I come at far-famed Kuru king's behest. 
Sprung from Yudhitthilai, and this his quest. 
To ask thee, Vidhura, to tell to me 
The True and Good, what it may surely be. 

[60] At that time the brahmin thinking to collect the ideas of a 

number of people pursues his quest, like to one piling up as it were a very 

Ganges flood, and there is no time for solving the problem. So stating 

the case he repeated the ninth stanza : 

O'erwhelmed by such a mighty theme 
As 'twere by Ganges' flooded stream, 
I cannot tell what this may be, 
The Good and True you seek from me. 

And so saying he added : "I have a clever son, far wiser than I am : 
he will make it clear to you. Go to him." And he repeated the tenth 
stanza : 

A son I have, my very own, 

'Mongst men as Bhadrakara known ; 

Go seek him out, and he'll declare 

To thee what Truth and Goodness are. 

On hearing this Sucirata leaving Vidhura's house went to the dwelling 
of Bhadrakara, and found him seated at breakfast in the midst of his 
people. 



The Master, to clear up the matter, repeated the eleventh stanza : 

Then Bharadvaja hastily 

To Bhadrakara's home did hie, 

Where amidst friends, all gathered round. 

Seated at ease the youth was found. 



On his arrival there he was hospitably received by the youth Bhadra- 
kara with the offer of a chair and gifts, and taking his seat, on being asked 
why he had come, he repeated the twelfth stanza : 

[61] I come at far-famed Kuru king's behest. 

Sprung from Yudhitthila, and this his quest. 
To ask thee, Bhadrakara, to show me 
Goodness and Truth, what they may surely be. 

Then Bhadrakara said to him, "Just now, Sir, I am intent on an 
intrigue with another man's wife. My mind is ill at ease, so I cannot 
1 The Kurus were descended from Yudhishthira. 
.T. V. 3 



34 The Jataha. Bool XVI. 

answer your question, but my young brother Sanjaya has a clearer intellect 
than I have. Ask him : he will answer your question." And in order 
to send him there, he repeated two stanzas ; 

Good venison I leave, a lizard to pursue : 

How then should I know aught about the Good and True? 

I've a young brother, you must know, 
Named SaSjaya. So, brahmin, go 
And seek him out, and he'll declare 
To thee what Truth and Goodness are. 

He at once set out for the house of Safijaya, and was welcomed by him 
and on being asked why he had come he told him the reason. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, uttered two stanzas : 

Then Bharadvaja hastily 

To home of Sanjaya did hie, 

Where amidst friends, all gathered round. 

Seated at ease the youth was found. 

I come at far-famed Kuru king's behest, 
Sprung from Yudhitthila, and this his quest, 
To ask thee, SaSjaya, to show to me 
tJoodness and Truth, what they may surely be. 



But Sanjaya also was engaged in an intrigue and said to him, " Sir, 
I am in pursuit of another man's wife, and going down to the Ganges 
[62] I cross over to the other side. Evening and morning as I cross the 
stream, I am in the jaws of death : therefore my mind is disturbed, and 
I shall not be able to answer your question, but my young brother 
Sambhava, a boy of seven years, is a hundred thousand times superior to 
me in knowledge. He will tell you : go and ask him." 



The Master, to make the matter clear, repeated two stanzas : 

Death opens wide his jaws for me, 

Early and late. How tell to thee 

Of "Truth and Goodness, what they be? 

I've a young brother, you must know. 
Called Sambhava. So, brahmin, go. 
And seek him out. He will declare 
To thee what Truth and Goodness are. 



No. 515. 35 

On hearing this Sucirata thought, "This question must be the most 
wonderful thing in the world. I fancy no one is equal to answering it," 
and so thinking he repeated two stanzas : 

This marvel strange misliketh me, 
Nor sire nor sons, none of the three. 
Knows how to solve this mystery. 

If ye thus fail, can this mere youth 
Know aught of Goodness and of Truth? 

On hearing this SaHjaya said, "Sir, do not regard young Sambhava as a 
mere boy. If there is no one that can answer your question, go and ask 
him." And, describing the qualities of the youth by similes that illustrated 
the case, he repeated twelve stanzas : 

[63] Ask Sambhava nor scorn his youth. 

He knows right well and he can tell 
Of Goodness and of Truth. 

As the clear moon outshines the starry host, 
Their meaner glories in his splendour lost, 

E'en so the stripling Sambhava appears 
To excel in Wisdom far beyond his years ; 
Ask Sambhava nor scorn his youth. 

He knows right well and he can tell 
Of Goodness and of Truth. 

As charming April doth all months outvie 
With budding flowers and woodland greenery. 

E'en so the stripling Sambhava appears &c. 

As Gandhamadana, its snowy height 
With forest clad and heavenly herbs bedight, 
Diifusing light and fragrance all around. 
For myriad gods a refuge sure is found. 

E'en so the stripling &c. 

As glorious fire, ablaze thro' some morass 
With wreathing spire, insatiate, eats the grass 
Leaving a blackened path, where'er it pass, 

Or as a ghee-fed flame in darkest night 
On choicest wood doth whet its appetite. 
Shining conspicuous on some distant height, 

E'en so the stripling &c. 

An ox by strength, a horse by speed. 
Displays his excellence of breed, 
A cow by milk in copious flow, 
A sage by his wise words we know. 

E'en so the stripling &c. 

[64] While Sanjaya was singing the praises of Sambhava, Sucirata 
thought, "I will find out by putting the question to him,'' so he asked, 
" Where is your young brother t " Then he opened the window and 

3—2 



36 The Jataka. Book XVI. 



stretching forth his hand, he said, "You see yonder boy with a complexion 
like gold, playing with other youths in the street before the door of the 
mansion : that is my young brother. Go up to him and ask him ; he will 
answer your question with all the charm of a Buddha." Sucirata, on hear- 
ing his words, descended from the mansion, and drew nigh to the boy at 
the very moment that he was standing with his garment loose and thrown 
over his shoulder, [65] and picking up some dirt with both hands. 



The Master, to explain the matter, repeated a stanza: 

Then Bharadvaja hastily 
To home of Sambhava did hie. 
And there out in the public way 
The little boy was found at play. 



The Great Being, when he saw the brahmin come and stand before 
him, asked, "Friend, what brings you here ? " He replied, " Dear youth, 
I am wandering through all India, and not finding any one competent to 
answer the question I put to him, I have come to you." The boy thought, 
"There is a question, they say, that has not been decided in all India. 
He has come to me. I am old in knowledge." And becoming ashamed 
he dropped the dirt that he held in his hand, readjusted his garment and 
said, "Brahmin, ask on, and I will tell you with the fluent mastery of a 
Buddha," and in his omniscience he invited him to choose what he would 
ask. Then the brahmin asked his question in the form of a stanza : 

I come at far-famed Kuru king's behest. 
Sprung from Yudhitthila, and this his quest, 
To ask thee, Sambhava, to show to me 
Goodness and Truth, what they may surely be. 

What he wanted became clear to Sambhava, as it were the full moon 
in the middle of the sky. "Then listen to me," he said, and answering 
the question as to the Service of Truth he uttered this stanza : 

I'll tell thee. Sir, and tell aright. 

E'en as a man of wisdom might. 

The king shall know the Good and True, 

But who knows what the king will do 1 

And as he stood in the street and taught the Truth with a voice sweet 
as honey, the sound spread over the whole of the city of Benares, to twelve 
leagues on every side. Then the king and all his viceroys and other rulers 
assembled together, and the Great Being in the midst of the multitude set 
forth his exposition of the Truth. 



No. 516. 37 

[66] Having thus promised in this stanza to answer the question, he 

now gave the answer as to the Service of Truth : 

In answer to the king, Suclrata, proclaim, 
' To-morrow and To-day are never quite the same ; 
I bid thee then, king Yudhitthila, be wise 
And prompt to seize whate'er occasion may arise.' 

I fain would have thee too, Sucirata, suggest 
A thought in which his mind may profitably rest, 
'A king all wicked ways should carefully eschew. 
Nor, like bewildered fool, an evil course pursue.' 

To loss of his own soul he never should transgress. 
Nor e'er be guilty of deeds of unrighteousness. 
Himself ne'er be engaged in any evil way, 
Nor ever in wrong path a brother lead astray. 

These points to carry out whoso doth rightly know. 
Like waxing moon, as king in fame doth ever grow. 
A shining light to friends and dear unto his kin. 
And, when his body fails, the sage to heaven will win. 

[67] The Great Being thus, like to one making the moon to rise in 
the sky, answered the brahmin's question with all the mastery of a 
Buddha. The people roared and shouted and clapped their hands. And 
there arose a thousand cries of applause with great wavings of cloths and 
snapping of fingers. And they cast ofi' the trinkets on their hands. And 
the value of what they threw down amounted to about a crore. And 
the king of Benares in his joy paid him great honour. And Sucirata, 
after ofiering him a thousand weight of gold, wrote down the answer to 
the question with vermilion on a golden tablet, and on coming to the city 
of Indapatta he told the king the answer as to the Service of Truth. And 
the king abiding steadfast in righteousness attained to heaven. 



At the end of the lesson the Master said, "Not merely now, Brethren, but 
formerly too, the Tathagata was great in answering questions," and he identified 
the Birth : "At that time Ananda was king Dhananjaya, Anuruddha was 
Sucirata, Kassapa Vidhura, Moggallana Bhadrakara, Sariputta the youth 
SaSjaya, and I myself was the wise Sambhava." 



No. 516. 

MAHAKAPI-JATAKA. 

"A king of Easi," etc. — This story was told by the Master, when dwelling in 
the Bamboo Grove, about Devadatta's hurling a stone at him. [68] So when 
the Brethren blamed Devadatta for having suborned archers to shoot the 
Buddha and afterwards hurled a stone at him, the Master said, " Not now only, 
but formerly also, Devadatta flung a stone at me," and so saying he related a 
story of the past. 



38 The Jataka. Book XVI. 

Once upon a time when Brahmadatta reigned in Benares, a Brahmin 
husbandman in a village of Kasi, after ploughing his fields, loosened his 
oxen and began to work with a spade. The oxen, while cropping leaves 
in a clump of trees, little by little escaped into the forest. The man, 
discovering that it was late, laid aside his spade to look for his oxen, and 
not finding them he was overcome with grief and wandered about the 
forest, seeking them, till he had entered the Himalaya region. There 
having lost his bearings he roamed about for seven days fasting, but seeing 
a tinduka tree he climbed up it to eat the fruit. Slipping ofi' the tree he 
fell sixty cubits into a hell-like abyss, where he passed ten days. At that 
time the Bodhisatta was living in the shape of a monkey, and while eating 
wild fruits he caught sight of the man, and after practising with a stone 
he hauled the fellow out. While the monkey was asleep, the man split 
his head open with a stone. The Great Being, becoming aware of his 
action, sprang up and perched on a branch of the tree and cried, " Ho ! 
Sirrah, you walk on the ground ; I will just point out to you the way from 
the top of the tree and then will be ofi'." So he rescued the fellow from 
the forest, set him on the right road and then himself disappeared in the 
mountainous region. The man, because he had sinned against the Great 
Being, became a leper, and even in this world appeared as a preta in human 
form. For seven years he was overwhelmed with pain, and in his wander- 
ings to and fro he found his way into the Migacira park in Benares, and 
spreading a plantain leaf in the enclosure he lay down, half maddened by 
his sufferings. At that moment the king of Benares came to the park and 
as he walked about he saw the man and asked him, " Who are you, and 
what have you done to bring this suflering upon you ? " And he told the 
king the whole story at length. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

A king of Kasi who, they say. 
O'er great Benares once held sway. 
With courtier friends the road to cheer,. 
Unto Migacira drew near. 

[69] A brahmin there the king did see 
— A walking skeleton was he — 
His skin was white with leprous blood 
And rough like gnarled ebon wood^. 

Astonied at the piteous sight 
Of this sore troubled, luckless wight, 
•Alas! poor wretch,' he cried, 'declare 
What name 'mongst ogres thou dost bear.' 



" Bauhinia Variegata. 



No. 516. 39 



'Thy hands and feet are white as snow, 
Thy head is whiter still, I trow, 
Thy frame with leprous spots o'ergrown, 
Disease has marked thee for its own. 

'Thy back like spindles in a row 
A long unequal curve doth show ; 
Thy joints are as black knots ; I ween. 
Thy like before was never seen, 

'Whence cam'st thou then, so travel -worn. 
Mere skin and bones, a wretch forlorn, 
By heat of blazing sun opprest, 
By thirst and hunger sore distrest? 

'With frame so marred, an awful sight. 
Scarce fit to look upon the light. 
Thy very mother — no, not she 
Would care her wretched son to see. 

' What sinful deed was thine, I pray. 
Or wrongfully whom didst thou slay? 
What the offence I fain would know, 
Reduced thee to this state of woe ? ' 



Then the brahmin said : 

I'll tell thee, Sir, and tell thee true 
E'en as a good man aye should do: 
For one that never speaketh lies 
Is praised in this world by the wise. 

[70] Once in a lonely wood I took my way. 

Seeking my kine that late had gone astray; 
Through pathless tracts of jungle, fitting home 
For the wild elephant, I heedless roam. 

Lost in the maze of this vast wilderness, 
From thirst and hunger suffering sore distress. 
For seven long days I wander thro' the wood 
Where the fell tiger rears his savage brood. 

E'en rankest poison I was fain to eat 
When lo ! a lovely tree my gaze doth meet ; 
O'er a sheer precipice it pendent swung, 
And fragrant fruit from all its branches hung. 

Whate'er had fallen to the wind's cold touch 
I greedily devoured and relished much, 
Then, still unsated, I climbed up the tree, 
'That way,' methought, 'lies full satiety.' 

I ne'er had tasted such ripe fruit before. 
And stretching forth my hand to gather more, 
The branch, on which my body rested, broke, ' 
As though clean severed by the woodman's stroke. 

With broken bough head over heels I went, 
With nought to check me in my swift descent 
Over the side of rocky precipice, 
Without escape from bottomless abyss. 



40 The Jataka. Booh XVI. 



The depth of water in the pool beneath 
Saved me from being rudely crushed to death, 
So there, poor luckless wight, without a ray 
Of hope to cheer me, ten long nights I lay. 

At length a monkey came — ^long-tailed was he 
And made his home in some rock cavity — 
And as he stept from bough to bough, the brute 
Did ever pluck and eat the dainty fruit. 

But when my thin and pallid form he spied, 
Touched with compassion for my woes, he cried, 
' Alas ! poor wretch, whom I see lying there 
Thus overwhelmed with anguish and despair. 
If man or goblin, who thou art, declare.' 

Then with due reverence I made reply; 
'A man and doomed without escape am I: 
But this I say, "AH blessings light on thee, 
If thou canst find a way of saving me.'" 

The monkey stepping on the height above 
Carried a heavy stone, his strength to prove, 
And when by practice he was perfect grown, 
The mighty one his purpose thus made known. 

'Climb thou, good sir, upon my back and cast 
Thy arms about my neck and hold me fast; 
Then will I with aU speed deliver thee 
From the stone walls of thy captivity.' 

I hearkened gladly, well remembering 
The counsels of the glorious monkey-king. 
And, climbing on his back, my arms I cast 
Round the wise creature's neck and held him fast. 

The monkey then, — so brave and strong was he — 
Exhausted by the effort though he be. 
From rocky fastness soon uplifteth me. 

And having haled me out, the hero cried, 
'I'm weary; stand as guard, Sir, by my side. 
While I anon in peaceful sleep abide. 

'Lion and tiger, panther eke and bear, 
[71] If they should ever take me imaware, 

Would kill me straight. To watch shall be thy care.' 

While, as I watched, he took a moment's rest. 
An ugly thought was harboured in my breast. 

'Monkeys and such like deer are good to eat; 
What if I kill him and my hunger cheat? 
The beast if slain would furnish savoury meat. 

'When sated, here no longer will I stay 
But well provisioned for fuU many a day 
Out from this forest I will find a way.' 

Taking a stone his skull I well nigh broke, 
But a lame hand put forth a feeble stroke. 

The monkey (juicldy bounded up a tree, 
And all bestained with blood regarded me 
From far, with tearful eyes, reproachfully. 



No. 516. 41 

'God bless thee, act not thus, I pray, good sir, 
For otherwise thy fate, I dare aver. 
Will long all others from such deeds deter. 

'Alas! for shame. What a return is this 
For having saved thee from that dread abyss ! 

'Rescued from death thou playedst a treacherous part 
And evil hast devised with evil heart. 

'Vile wretch, beware lest sharpest agony 
Springing from evil deed bring death to thee, 
E'en as its fruit destroys the bamboo tree'. 

' I trust thee not, for thou wouldst work me ill : 
Walk well in front that I may see thee still. 

'From ravening beast escaped, thou mayst regain 
The haunts of men : the path that stretches plain 
Before thine eyes, follow as thou art fain.' 

At this the monkey dried his tears, and sped 
Up to a mountain tarn, and bathed his head 
From stain of blood — by me alas ! 'twas shed — 

There too, with burning pains through him accursed, 
I dragged my tortured frame, to quench my thirst. 

But when to that blood-staindd lake I came, 
The crimson flood appeared one mass of flame. 

[72] Each liquid drop from it that did bedew 
My body, straight into a pustule grew. 
Like a cleft vilva-fruit, in size and hue. 

The sores discharging yield a loathsome smell, 
And whereso'er I fain would gladly dwell 
In town and country-side, all fly pell mell. 

Scattered by odours foul, the while they ply 

Their sticks and stones, and 'Come not thou too nigh 

To us, poor wretch,' all men and women cry. 

Such is the pain for seven long years I bear; 
According to his deeds each man doth fare. 

May good be with you all that here I see: 
Betray ye not your friends. How vile is he 
That sins against a friend with treachery. 

All who on earth to friends have proved untrue, 

As lepers here their sin must ever rue. 

And when the body fails, in Hell are born anew. 

[74] And while the man was speaking with the king, even as he spoke, 
the earth opened its mouth, and at that very moment the man disappeared 
and was reborn in Hell. The king, when the man was swallowed up in 
the earth, came forth from the park and entered the city. 



The Master here ending his lesson said, "Not only now. Brethren, but 
formerly too, Devadatta flung a stone at me," and he identified the Birth : " At 
that time the treacherous friend was Devadatta, I myself was the monkey-king." 

' The bamboo dies oft after bearing fruit. 



42 The Jataka. Booh XVI. 

No. 517. 

[75] DAKARAKKHASA- JATAKA. 
All of this will be set forth in the Mahaummagga Birth'. 



No. 518. 

PANPARA-JATAKA. 

" JVo man that lets," eic— This was a story told by the Master, whilst sojourn- 
ing at Jetavana, as to how Devadatta told a lie, and how the earth opened and 
swallowed him up. At that time, when Devadatta was being blamed by the 
Brethren, the Master said, " Not now only, Brethren, but of old too Devadatta 
told a lie and was swallowed up by the earth," and so saying he told a story of 
the past. 



Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was king in Benares, five 
hundred trading folk took ship and set sail, and on the seventh day when 
they were out of sight of land, they were wrecked in mid ocean and all 
save one man became food for fishes. This one by favour of the wind 
reached the port of Karambiya, and landing naked and destitute he went 
about the place, begging alms. The people thought, "Here is an ascetic, 
happy and contented with little," and they showed him every hospitality. 
But he said, "I have enough to live upon," and when they offered him 
under and upper garments, he would have none of them. They said, " No 
ascetic can go beyond this in the way of contentment," and being the more 
exceedingly pleased with him, they built him a hermitage for a dwelling- 
place, and he went by the name of the Karambiya ascetic. While he was 
living here, he met with great honour and gain, and both a snake-king and 
a garuda-king came to pay their respects to him, and the name of the 
former was Pandara. Now one day the garuda-king came to the ascetic 
and after saluting him took his seat on one side and said, " Sir, our people, 

' Vol. vi. p. 329, Jataka, No. 516. 



No. 518. 43 

when they attack snakes, many of them perish. We do not know the 
right way to seize snakes. There is said to be some mystery in the matter. 
You could, perhaps, wheedle them [76] out of the secret." " All right," 
said the ascetic, and when the garuda-king had taken his leave and de- 
parted, as soon as ever the snake-king arrived and with a respectful salu- 
tation had taken his seat, he asked him, saying, " King-snake, the garudas 
say that in seizing you, many of them are killed. In attacking you, how 
can they seize you securely?" "Sir," he replied, "this is our secret; if 
I were to tell it, I should bring about the destruction of all my kinsfolk." 
"What! do you really suspect me of telling some one else? I'll tell no 
one. I only ask to satisfy my own curiosity. You may trust and tell me 
without the slightest fear." The snake-king promised to tell him and took 
his leave. The next day the ascetic again asked him, and then too he did 
not tell him. But on the third day when the snake-king had come and 
taken his seat, the ascetic said, "To-day is the third day since I asked you. 
Why do you not tell me?" "I am afraid. Sir, you might tell some one 
else." " I'll not say a word to a creature : tell me without any fear." 
Then the snake made him promise to tell no one, and said, " Sir, we make 
ourselves heavy by swallowing very big stones and lie down, and when the 
garudas come, we open our mouths wide, and show our teeth and fall upon 
them. They come on and seize us by the head, and while they strive to 
lift us up, heavy as we are, from the ground, the water streams from them, 
and they drop down dead in the midst of it. In this way a number of 
garudas perish. When they attack us, why in the world do they seize us 
by the head? If the foolish creatures should seize us by the tail and hold 
us head downwards, they could force us to disgorge the stones we have 
swallowed, and so, making us a light weight, they could carry us off with 
them." Thus did the snake reveal his secret to this wicked fellow. Then, 
when the snake had gone away, up came the garuda-king, and saluting the 
Karambiya ascetic he asked, "Well ! Sir, have you learned his secret from 
the snake-king?" [77] "Yes, Sir," he said, and told him everything just 
as it was told him. On hearing it, the garuda said, "The snake-king has 
made a great mistake. He ought not to have told another how to destroy 
his kinsfolk. Well, to-day I must first of all raise a garuda' wind and 
seize him." So, raising a wind, he seized Pandara the snake-king by the 
tail and held him head downmost ; and having thus made him disgorge the 
stones he had swallowed, he flew up into the air with him. Pandaraka, as 
he was suspended head downwards in the air, sorely lamenting cried, " I 
have brought sorrow upon me," and he repeated these stanzas : 

1 The wind agitated by the wings of Garuda. Of. Ndgdnanda, Boyd's English 
version, p. 59 : " Garuda was in the habit of devouring one snake daily, catching it 
up from hell, whilst the ocean was cleft asunder from top to bottom by the wind of 
his wings." 



44 The Jataka. Booh XVI. 

The man that lets his secret thought be known, 
Random of speech, to indiscretion prone, 
Poor fool, at once is overcome by fear, 
As I king-snake am by a bird o'erthrown. 

The man who in his folly could betray 

The thought that he should hide from light of day. 

By his rash speech is overcome by fear. 
As I king-snake fall to this bird a prey. 

No comrade ought thy inmost thoughts to share, 
The best of friends ofttimes most foolish are, 
And if too wise, of treachery beware. 

I trusted him alas! for was not he 
A holy man, of strict austerity? 

My secret I revealed ; the deed is done 
And now I weep for very misery. 

Into my confidence the wretch did creep. 
Nor could I any secret from him keep: 

From him the danger that I dread has come. 
And now for very misery I weep. 

[78] Judging his friend as faithful to the core 

And moved by fear, or the strong love he bore. 

To some vile wretch his secret one betrays 
And is o'erthrown, poor fool, to rise no more. 

Whoso proclaims in evil company 

The secret thought that still should hidden lie, 

'Mongst men is counted as a poison-snake; 
'From such an one, pray, keep aloof,' they cry. 

Fair women, silken robes and sandal wood, 
Garlands and perfumes, even drink and food. 

Yea all desires — if only thou, O bird. 
Come to our aid — shall be by us eschewed. 

[79] Thus did Pandaraka, suspended in the air head downwards, utter 
his lament in eight stanzas. The garuda, hearing the sound of his lamen- 
tation, reproved him and said, "King- snake, after divulging your secret 
to the a'scetic, wherefore do you now lament?" And he uttered this . 
stanza : 

Of us three creatures living here, pray name 
The one that rightly should incur the blame. 

Nor priest nor bird, but foolish deed of thine, 
snake, hath brought thee to this depth of shame. 

On hearing this Pandaraka repeated another stanza : 

The priest, methought, must be a friend to me, 
A holy man, of strict austerity : 
[80] My secret I betrayed: the deed is done. 
And now I weep for very misery. 

Then the garuda repeated four stanzas : 

All creatures born into this world must die; 
Yet Wisdom's ways her children justify : 

By knowledge, justice, self-restraint and truth 
A man at length achieves his purpose high. 



No. 518. 45 

Parents are kind all other kin above, 
No third there is to show us equal love, 

Not e'en to them betray thy secret thought. 
Lest peradveuture they should traitors prove. 

Parents and kin of every degree. 

Allies and comrades all may friendly be: 

To none of them entrust thy hidden thought, 
Or thou wilt later rue their treachery. 

A wife may youthful be and good and fair. 

Own troops of friends, and children's love may share: 

Not e'en to her entrust thy hidden thought. 
Or of her treachery thou must beware. 

[81] Then follow these stanzas : 

His secret no man should disclose, but guard like treasure-trove : 
Disclosure of a secret thing no wise man would approve. 

Wise men to woman or a foe their secrets ne'er betray ; 
Trust not the slaves of appetite; creatures of impulse they. 

Whoso reveals his secret thought to one not overwise, 
Pears the betrayal of his trust and at his mercy lies. 

All such as know the secret thing that thou shouldst rather hide. 
Threaten thy peace of mind ; to none that secret thing confide. 

By day to thine own self alone the secret dare to name, 
But venture not at dead of night that secret to proclaim; 

For close at hand, be sure, there stand men ready to betray 

The slightest word they may have heard : so trust them not, I pray. 

These five stanzas will appear in the Problem of the Five Sages in the 
Ummagga Birth. 

Then follow these stanzas ; 

As some huge city fenced on every side 
With moat, of iron wrought, has long defied 
[82] All entrance of a foe to Fairy Land, 

So e'en are they that do their counsels hide. 

Who by rash speech to secrets give no clue. 
But ever steadfast to themselves are true, 

From them all enemies do keep aloof. 
As men flee far when deadly snakes pursue. 

When the Truth had been thus proclaimed by the garuda, Pandaraka 

said : 

A tonsured, nude ascetic left his home 

And seeking alms did through the country roam : 

To him my secret I alas ! did tell, 

And straight from happiness and virtue fell. 

What line of conduct should a priest pursue, 
What vows take on him, and what faults eschew? 
How free himself from his besetting sin, 
And at the last a heavenly mansion win ? 



46 The Jataha. Booh XVI. 

[83] The garuda said : 

By patience, self-restraint, long-suflfering. 
By calumny and ire abandoning, 
Thus may a priest get rid of every sin. 
And at the last a heavenly mansion win. 

Pandaraka, on hearing the garuda-king thus declare the Ti-uth, begged 
for his life and repeated this stanza : 

As mother gazing on her baby boy 
Is thrilled in every limb with holy joy. 
So upon me, king of birds, bestow 
That pity mothers to their children show. 

Then the garuda in granting him his life repeated another stanza : 

snake, to-day from death I set thee free; 
Of kinds of children there are only three, 
[84] Pupil, adopted child and true-born son : 
Of these rejoice that thou art surely one. 

So saying, he alighted from the air and placed the snake upon the 
ground. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, repeated two stanzas : 

The bird, so saying, straight released his foe 
And gently bore him to the earth below; 
'Set free to-day, go, safe from danger dwell 
In water or on land. I'll guard thee well. 

'As a skilled leech to men with sickness curst. 
Or a cool tank to those that are athirst, 
As house that shelters from a chilling frost. 
So I a refuge prove to thee, when lost.' 



And saying, " Be off," he let him go. And the snake disappeared in 
the abode of the nagas. But the bird, returning to the dwelling-place of 
the garudas, said, " The snake Pandaraka has won my confidence under 
oath and has been let loose by me. I will now put him to the test, to 
see what his feelings are towards me," and repairing to the abode of the 
nagas, he raised a garuda wind. On seeing him the snake-king thought 
the garuda-king must have come to seize him, so he assumed a form that 
stretched to a thousand fathoms and making himself heavy by swallowing 
stones and sand [85] he lay down, keeping his tail beneath him and raising 
the hood upon his head, as if minded to bite the garuda-king. On 
seeing this the garuda repeated another stanza : 

snake, thou madest peace with thine old enemy; 

But now thou showst thy fangs. Whence comes this fear to thee? 



No. 518. 47 

On hearing this the snake-king repeated three stanzas : 

Ever suspect a foe, uor trust thy friend aa staunch; 
Security breeds fear, to kill thee root and branch. 

What ! trust the man with whom one quarrelled long ago ! 
Nay, stand upon thy guard. No one can love his foe. 

Inspire a trust in all, but put thy trust in none, 
Thyself suspected not, be to suspicion prone. 
He that is truly wise ought every nerve to strain 
That his true nature ne'er may be to others plain. 

Thus did they talk one with another, and becoming reconciled and 
friendly they repaired together to the hermitage of the ascetic. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said, 

The godlike graceful pair of them now see. 
Breathing an air of holy purity; 
[86] Like steeds well matched 'neath equal yoke they ran, 
To seek the dwelling of that saintly man. 

With regard to this the Master uttered another stanza : 

Then to the ascetic straight king-snake did go. 
And thus Pandaraka addressed his foe, 
' Know that to-day, all danger past, I'm free. 
But 'tis not due to love of thine for me.' 



Then the ascetic repeated another stanza : 

To that bird-king, I solemnly declare, 
I greater love than e'er to thee did bear. 
Moved by affection for that royal bird, 
I of set purpose, not through folly, erred. 

On hearing this, the snake-king repeated two stanzas : 

The man that looks at this world and the next. 
Ne'er finds himself with love or hatred vext, 
'Neath garb of self-restraint thou fain wouldst hide. 
But lawless acts that holy garb belied. 

[87] Thou, seeming noble, art with meanness stained. 
And, as ascetic clad, art unrestrained; 
By nature with ignoble thoughts accurst, 
Thou in all kinds of sinful act art versed. 

So to reprove him, he uttered this stanza, reviling him : 

Informer, traitor, that wouldst slay 
A guileless friend, be thy head riven 

By this my Act of Truth, I pray. 
Piecemeal, all into fragments seven. 



48 The Jataha. Booh XVI. 

So before the very eyes of the snake-king, the head of the ascetic 
was split into seven pieces, and at the very spot where he was sitting 
the ground was cleft asunder. And, disappearing into the Earth, he 
was re-born in the Avici hell, and the snake-king and the garuda-king 
returned each to his own abode. 



The Master, to make clear the fact that he had been swallowed up by the 
earth, repeated the last stanza : 

Therefore I say, friends ne'er should treacherous be; 
Than a false friend worse man is none to see. 
Buried in earth the venomous creature lies. 
And at the snake-king's word the ascetic dies. 

[88] The Master here ended his discourse and said, " Not now only. Brethren, 
but of old too, Devadatta told a lie and was swallowed up by the earth," and he 
identified the Birth : " At that time the ascetic was Devadatta, the snake-king 
Sariputta, and the garuda-king was myself." 



No. 519. 



SAMBULA-JATAKA. 



" Tied to the spot," etc. This story the Master, while dwelling at Jetavana, 
told of queen Mallika. The introductory story is related at length in the 
Kummasapindai Birth. Now by the efficacy of a gift of three portions of 
sour gruel to the Tathagata, she that very day rose to the position of chief 
queen, and being possessed of faithful servants and endued with the five 
feminine charms, full of knowledge, and a disciple of the Buddha, she showed 
herself a devoted wife. Her devotion was blazed abroad throughout the city. 
So one day a discussion was started in the Hall of Truth, how that queen 
Mallika was a faithful and devoted wife. The Master, on his coming there, 
asked the Brethren what was the topic they were discussing as they sat 
together, and on hearing what it was he said, "Not now only, but formerly 
too. Brethren, she was a devoted wife"; and so saying, he told a story of 
the past. 



Once upon a time king Brahmadatta had a son named Sotthisena, 
and when he had come of age the king set him up as viceroy. His 
chief consort, Sambula by name, was extremely beautiful, and gifted 
with so radiant a form that she appeared like a lamp-flame shining in 

' Vol. iii. No. 415, p. 245, English version. 



No. 519. 49 

a sheltered spot. By and bye leprosy showed itself in Sotthisena and 
the physicians failed to cure it. When the sore discharged, he be- 
came so loathsome that in his depression he cried, " What good is my 
kingdom to me? I shall perish without a friend in the wilderness." 
And, bidding them tell the king, he left his harem and departed. 
Sambula, though he made many attempts to stop her, refused to return, 
and saying, "I will watch over you, my lord, in the forest," went forth 
from the city with him. On entering the forest, he built a hut of leaves 
and took up his abode in a shady and well-watered spot, where wild fruit 
abounded. How then did the royal lady watch over him 1 Why she 
rose up early in the morning, swept out his hermitage, set some water 
for him to drink, [89] furnished him with a tooth-stick and water to 
wash his mouth, and when his mouth was cleansed, she ground various 
simples and anointed his sores, and gave him luscious fruits to eat; 
when he had rinsed his mouth and washed his hands, she saluted him 
and said, " Be earnest in well-doing, my lord." Then taking a basket, 
a spade and a hook, she went into the forest to gather wild fruit, and 
she brought and set it on one side, and fetching water in a jar, she with 
various powders and clay washed Sotthisena and again offered him wild 
fruit. And when he had finished his meal, she brought him scented 
water and herself partook of the fruit. Then she arranged a board 
with a coverlet, and as he lay down on it, she bathed his feet, and 
after dressing and cleaning his head and back and feet, she came and 
lay down by the side of the bed. In this way did she watch over her 
lord. One day, as she was bringing fruit from the forest, she espied 
a mountain cave, and putting down the basket from her head, she stood 
on the edge of the cave, and, stepping down to bathe, she rubbed her 
body all over with yellow dye and took a bath. After washing herself, 
she climbed up again and put on her bark garment and stood on the 
edge of the pool. And the whole forest was lighted up with the radiance 
that was shed from her person. At that moment a goblin, going forth to 
find his prey, caught sight of her, and falling in love with her, he repeated 
a couple of stanzas : 

Tied to the spot and trembling as in fear. 
Who in this vooky cave is standing here? 
Tell us, I pray, O slender-waisted dame, 
Who may thy kinsmen be, and what thy name. 

Who art thou, lady, ever fair and bright, 

And what thy birth that thou canst flood with light 

This grove, iit home of every beast of prey? 

An ogre I to thee due homage pay. 

[90] On hearing what he said, she replied in three stanzas : 

Prince Sotthisena, know full well, is heir to Kasi throne. 
And I, this prince's wedded wife, as Sambula am known. 

J. v. 4 



> 



50 The Jdtaha. Book XVI. 

Videha's royal son is sick and in the forest lies; 

Alone I tend him, mad with pain, or else he surely dies^ 

This savoury bit of venison I picked up in the wood. 
And bear it to my lord to-day, now faint for want of food. 

This is followed by stanzas spoken alternately by the goblin and 
the lady: 

What good is this sick lord of thine, Sambula, to thee ? 
No wife, but nurse is what he craves. I will thy husband be. 

With sorrow worn, a wretch forlorn, no beauty can I claim, 
If thou art fain a bride to gain, go woo some fairer dame. 

Four hundred wives have I to grace my home on yonder hill; 
lady, deign o'er them to reign, and each fond wish fulfil. 

Fair maid so bright with golden light, whate'er is dear to thee 
Is mine to give, so come and live a life of joy with me. 

[91] But if denied to me as bride, thou art my lawful prey. 

And wilt be good to serve as food to break my fast to-day. 

(That ogre grim with his seven tufts inspiring dread alarm, 
Found helpless Sambula astray and seized her by the arm. 

Thus held by him, that ogre grim, her lustful, cruel foe, 
She still deplored her absent lord, nor e'er forgot his woe.) 

No grief to me that I should be this hateful ogre's prey. 
But that the love of my dear lord from me should fall away. 

No gods are here, but absent far they flee. 
Nor any guardians of the world I see, 
To check the course of outrage and suppress 
All acts of unrestrained licentiousness. 

[92] Then was the abode of Sakka shaken by the efficacy of her 
virtue, and his throne of yellow marble showed signs of heat. Sakka, 
on reflection, discovered the cause, and, taking his thunderbolt, he came 
with all speed, and, standing above the goblin, spoke another stanza : 

'Mongst women folk the chief in fame. 
She's wise and perfect, bright as flame, 
Shouldst thou eat her, thy skull be riven, 
goblin, into fragments seven. 
So harm her not; let her go free, 
For a devoted wife is she. 

On hearing this the goblin let Sambula go. Sakka thought: "This 
goblin will be guilty of the same thing again," and so he bound him 
with celestial chains and let him loose on the third mountain from 
thence, that he might not return ; and, after earnestly exhorting the 
royal lady, he departed -to his own abode. And the princess, after 
sunset, by the light of the moon reached the hermitage. 



y 



\ 



No. 519. 51 

To explain the matter, the Master repeated eight stanzas ; 

Escaped from ogre, to her hut she fled, 

As bird returning finds its fledghngs dead. 

Or cow, robbed of her calf, laments an empty shed. 

Thus Sambula, of royal fame, made moan. 
Wild-eyed and helpless, in the wood, alone. 

Hail, priests and brahmins, righteovis sages too. 
Deserted, I for refuge fly to you. 

AU hail, ye lions and ye tigers fell, 

And other beasts that in the woodland dwell. 

All hail, ye grasses, herbs and plants that creep. 
All hail, ye forests green and mountains steep. 

All hail to Night, bedecked with stars on high. 
Dark as blue lotus of the deepest dye. 

[93] All hail to Ganges : mother of rivers she. 
Known amongst men as famed Bhagirathi. 

Hail, Himavat, of all the mountains king, 
Huge rooky pile, o'ertopping everything. 



Regarding her, as she uttered this lamentation, Sotthisena thought, 
" She is overdoing her lamentation : I do not quite know what it all 
means. If she were acting thus for love of me, her heart would be 
broken. I will put her to the test.'' And he went and sat at the door 
of his hut. She, still lamenting, came to the door, and, making a 
low obeisance, she said, "Where has my lord been?" "Lady," he 
said, " on other days you have never come at this hour ; to-day 
you are very late," [94] and in the form of a question he spoke this 
stanza : 

Illustrious lady, why so late to-day? 
What favoured lover led to this delay? 

Then she made answer, " My lord, I was returning with my fruit 
when I beheld a goblin, and he fell in love with me, and seizing me by 
the hand, he cried: 'Unless you obey my words, I will eat you alive.' 
And at that moment, sorrowing for you only, I uttered this lament ; and 
she repeated this stanza : 

Seized by my foe, I, full of woe, these words to him did say; 
' No grief to me that I should be a hateful ogre's prey, f 
But that the love of my dear lord from me should fall aiVay.'" 

Then she told him the rest of the story, saying, " So when I was 
seized by this goblin, and was unable to make him let me go, I acted so 
as to excite the attention of the god. Then Sakka came, thunderbolt in 
hand, and, standing in the air, he threatened the goblin and\ made him 
release me. And he bound him with magic chains and deposited him on 

4—2 



52 The Jataka. Book XVI. 

the third mountain range from here, and so departed. Thus was I saved 
by means of Sakka." Sotthisena, on hearing this, replied: "Well, lady, 
it may be so. With womenkind it is hard to discover the truth. In the 
Himalaya region dwell many foresters, ascetics and magicians. Who shall 
believe you ? " And so saying, he repeated a stanza : 

You jades are ever by far too clever. 

Truth among such is a great rarity. 
Ways of the sex are enough to perplex, 

E'en as the course of a fish in the sea. 

On hearing his words, she said : " My lord, though you do not believe 

me, by virtue of the truth I speak, I will heal you." So, filling a pot of 

water and performing an Act of Truth, she pojired the water on his head 

and spoke this stanza : 

[95] May Truth for aye my shelter be. 
As 1 love no man more than thee. 
And by this Act of Truth, I pray, 
May thy disease be healed to-day. 

When she had thus performed an Act of Truth, no sooner was the 
water sprinkled over Sotthisena than the leprosy straightway left him, 
as it were copper rust washed in some acid. After staying a few days 
there, they departed from the forest, and, coming to Benares, entered the 
park. The king, being apprised of their arrival, went to the park, and 
there and then bade the royal umbrella to be raised over Sotthisena, and 
ordered that Sambula, by sprinkling, should be raised to the position 
of chief queen. Then conducting them into the city, he himself adopted 
the ascetic life and took up his abode in the park, but he still con- 
stantly took his meals in the palace. And Sotthisena merely conferred 
on Sambula the rank of chief consort, but no honour was paid her, 
and he ignored her very existence and took his pleasure with other 
women. Sambula, through jealousy of her rivals, grew thin and pale 
of countenance, and her veins stood out upon her body. One day 
when her father-in-law, the ascetic, came to have a meal, to get rid 
of her grief she came to him when he had finished eating, and saluting 
him, sat down on one side. On seeing her in this languid condition, he 
repeated a stanza : 

Seven hundred elephants by night and day 
Are guarding thee, all ready for the fray. 
Hundreds of archers shielding thee from harm; 
Whence come the foes to fill thee with alarm? 

[96] On hearing his words she said, " Your son, my lord, is no longer 

the same to me "; and she repeated five stanzas : 

Fair as a lotus are the maids he loves. 
Their swan-like voice his deepest passion moves. 
And as he listens to their measured strain, 
In his affections I no longer reign. 



No. 519. 53 

In human shape but like to nymphs divine, 
Adorned with ornaments of gold they shine, 
Of perfect form the noble maidens lie 
In graceful pose, to charm the royal eye. 

If I once more might wander in the wood, 
To glean a portion for his daily food. 
Once more I should a husband's love regain. 
And quit the court in forest realms to reign. 

A woman may in softest robes be drest. 
And be with food in rich abundance blest. 
Fair though she be, yet if an unloved wife. 
Best fix a rope and put an end to life. 

Yea the poor wretch on bed of straw ^ that lies, 
If she find favour in her husband's eyes. 
Enjoys a happiness unknown to one, 
_Ilich in all else, but poor in love alone. 

[97] When she had thus explained to the ascetic the cause of her thus 
pining away, he summoned the king and said, " Dear Sotthisena, when 
you were crushed by the disease of leprosy and hid yourself in the forest, 
she went with you and ministered to your wants, and by the power of 
truth healed your sickness, and now after she has been the means of your 
being established on the throne, you do not even know the place of her 
sitting and uprising ; this is very wrong of you. An act of treachery to a 
friend like this is a sin," and reproving his son, he repeated this stanza : 

A loving wife is ever hard to find. 
As is a man that to his wife is kind : 
Thy wife was virtuous and loving too ; 
Do thou, king, to Sambula be true. 

[98] After he had thus reproved his son, he got up and went away. 
The king, when his father was gone, called for Sambula and said, " My 
dear, forgive the wrong I have done you this long time. Henceforth 
I confer on you all power," and he repeated the final stanza : 

Shouldst thou, with wealth in great abundance blest, 

StiU pine away, by jealousy opprest, 

I and these maidens, creatures of thy hand, 

Will be obedient to thy command. 

Thenceforth the pair lived happily together and after a life of charity 
and good works they departed to fare according to their deeds. The 
ascetic, after entering upon ecstatic meditation, passed to the heaven of 
Brahma. 



The Master here ended his lesson and saying, " Not now only, but formerly 
too, MaUika was a devoted wife," he identified the Birth : "At that time Sambula 
was MaUika, Sotthisena was the king of Kosala, and the ascetic father was 
myself." 

' Beading kafadutiyS. 



54 The Jdtaha. Booh XVI. 



No. 520. 



GANDATINDU-JATAKA. 



" Zecd is the way" etc. This story the Master, dwelling at Jetavana, told 
concerning the admonition of a king. This admonition of a king has already 
been related in full'. 



Once upon a time in the kingdom of Kampilla, in a city of the 
Northern Paficalas, a king called Paficala, being established in evil courses 
and reckless, ruled his kingdom unrighteously. So all his ministers 
likewise became unrighteous. His subjects being oppressed by taxation 
took their wives and families and wandered in the forest like wild beasts. 
Where once stood villages, there now were none, [99] and the people 
through the fear of the king's men by day did not venture to dwell 
in their houses, but fencing them about with thorn branches, as soon 
as the day bi'oke, they disappeared into the forest. By day they were 
plundered by the king's men and by night by robbers. At that time 
the Bodhisatta came to life in the form of a divinity of a tinduka tree 
outside the city, and every year received from the king an offering worth 
a thousand pieces of money, and he thought, "This is a roi faineant; his 
whole kingdom is going to ruin ; besides me there is no one that can set 
the king in the right way, and he is a benefactor to me and every year 
honours me with an offering of a thousand pieces. I will admonish him." 
So in the night he entered into the royal chamber, and taking up his 
position at the bed's head he stood poised in the air, emitting a bright 
light. The king, when he saw him thus shining like the newly-risen sun, 
asked him who he was and wherefore he had come. Ou hearing his words 
he said, " Great king, I am the divinity of the tinduka tree, and I come to 
give you good advice." " What advice have you to give me ? " said the 
king. '.'Sire," said the Great Being, "you are careless in your rule, and 
so all your kingdom is going to ruin, as if it were the prey of hirelings. 
Kings that are careless in their rule are not masters of all their realm, but 
in this world they meet with destruction and in the world to come they 
are re-born in hell, and when they are careless both those within their 
domain and those outside it are careless too, and therefore a king ought to 

' No. 334, vol. ill. Eajovada-Jataka. No. 521, vol. v. 



No. 520. 55 

be exceedingly careful," and so saying, to inculcate a moral lesson, he 
repeated these stanzas : 

Zeal is the way to Nirvana, but sloth leads to death, it is said ; 
While vigilant souls never die, the careless are even as dead. 

From pride as its root cometh sloth : from sloth cometh loss and decay : 
Decay is the parent of sin. All sloth, great king, put away. 

Brave souls by their sloth many times of wealth and of realm have been shorn. 
And so village lords may become like the waif, without home, all forlorn. 

[100] When a prince in his rule gi'oweth slack, mitnie to his name and his fame. 
Should his wealth all at once disappear, of that prince it is counted as shame. 

Thou art slack out of season, king, from the right thou hast wandered away. 
Thy realm that so flourished of old to robbers doth now fall a prey. 

No son shall inherit thy realm, with its treasures of gold and of com. 
Thy realm to the spoiler a prey and thou of thy wealth liest shorn. 

The prince that is stript of his realm, with its stores and its wealth manifold. 
His friends and his kith and his kin esteem him no more as of old. 

His guards and his charioteers, his horse and his footmen so bold. 
As they see him of all dispossest, regard him no more as of old. 

The fool of disorderly life is by evil advice led astray, 

Soon stript is the fool of his fame, as the snake its old skin casts away. 

But the man who arising betimes unwearied and orderly is. 
His oxen and kine thrive apace, and riches increasing are his. 

Great king, ever open thine ears, and list to what people may say. 

That seeing and hearing the truth, thou mayst win to good fortune thy way. 

[101] Thus did the Great Being admonish the king in eleven stanzas, 
and " Go," said he, " without delay and foster thy kingdom, and destroy it 
not," and so departed to his own abode. And the king hearkened to his 
words and, being much moved, on the morrow he handed over his kingdom 
to his ministers, and accompanied by his chaplain he left the city betimes 
by the eastern gate [102] and went a furlong's distance. There an old 
man, a native of the village, carried branches of thorn from the forest and 
putting them all round his house closed the door, and with his wife and 
children betook himself to the forest. At eventide when the king's men 
had departed, he returned to his house, and by the door his foot was 
pierced with a thorn point, and sitting cross-legged and extracting the 
thorn he cursed the king in the following stanza : 

Struck by an arrow in the fray. 

So may Pancala mourn. 
As I have cause to grieve to-day, 

Thus wounded by a thorn. 

This imprecation on the king came about by the power of the 
Bodhisatta, and it was as one possessed by the Bodhisatta that he 
cursed him. In this light is his action to be regarded. Now at this 



56 The Jataka. Booh XVI. 

juncture the king and his chaplain stood before him in disguise. So the 
chaplain hearing his words uttered another stanza : 

Thou art old, mjr good sir, and thy sight is too dim 

To discern things aright, I'll . be sworn ; 
As for king Brahmadatta, what is it to him, 

That thy foot has been pierced by a thorn ? 

On hearing this the old man repeated three stanzas : 

'Tis due to Brahmadatta, sure, that I am racked with pain, 
Just as defenceless folk are oft by their oppressors slain. 

By night to thieves a prey are we, to publicans by day, 

Lewd folks abound within the realm, when evil kings bear sway. 

Distrest by such a fear as this, men to the forest flee. 
And round their dwelUngs scatter thorns, for their secvmty. 

[103] On hearing this the king addressing his chaplain said, " Master, 

the old man speaks truly : it is our fault. Come, let us return and rule 

the kingdom righteously." Then the Bodhisatta, taking posse.ssion of the 

body of the chaplain, stood before him and said, " Great king, let us 

investigate the matter.'' And passing from that village to another one 

they listened to the words spoken by an old woman. She was, it is said, 

a poor woman and had two grown up daughters under her care, whom she 

would not allow to enter the forest. But she herself brought fire-wood 

and leaves of trees and ministered to her daughters. One day she climbed 

up a bush to gather leaves and falling rolled upon the ground, and she 

cursed the king, threatening him with death, and uttered this stanza : 

Oh ! when will Brahmadatta die, for long as he shall reign. 
Our daughters live unwedded and for husbands sigh in vain ? 

Then the priest checkiag her spoke this stanza : 

Evil and profitless withal these words of thine, jade, 

Whence shall the king find in his realm a husband for each maid? 

[104] The old woman on hearing this repeated two stanzas : 

Not evil are these words of mine, nor spoken aU in vain. 
So long as thy defenceless folk are by oppressors slain. 

By night to thieves a prey are we, to publicans by day. 

Lewd folks abound within the realm, when evil kings bear sway. 

When times are bad, poor maids are sad, for husbands none have they. 

Hearing her words they thought, " She speaks to the point," and going 

farther on they listened to what a ploughman was saying. As he was 

ploughing, they say, his ox called Saliya was laid low, being struck by the 

ploughshare, and its owner cursed the king and repeated this stanza : 

So may Paucala fall to earth by spear-thrust of his foe, 
As Saliya by ploughshare hvu^, poor wretch, here lieth low. 

Then the priest, to check him, spoke this stanza : 

With Brahmadatta thou art wroth, though no good cause is shown. 
And while thou dost revile the king, the guilt is all thine own. 



No. 520. 57 

Hearing this the ploughman replied in three stanzas : 

With Brahmadatta I am wroth, and rightly I maintain ; 
Defenceless folk are ever thus by their oppressor slain. 
By night to thieves a prey are we &c. 

[105] The slave had twice ' to cook the food and brought it late to me; 
While all agape for her, my ox was wounded fatally. 

Going on still further they stayed in a certain village. Next day early 
in the morning a vicious cow kicked a milkman and upset him, mUk and 
all. The man cursed Brahmadatta and repeated this stanza : 

By stroke of sword PaScala's lord shall fall amidst the fray, 
As I'm laid low by kick of cow, milk-pail and all, to-day. 

The brahmin in a stanza said : 

A cow, say, kicks against the pricks, or pail of milk upsets — 
What's this to Brahmadatta that all this abuse he gets? 

On hearing this the milkman repeated three stanzas : 

Pancala's king, brahmin, is to blame, for in his reign 
Defenceless folk are seen to be by their oppressors slain. 
By night &c. 

A wild and savage cow that we had never milked before 

We milked to-day : demands for milk grow ever more and more. 

[106] They said, "He speaks the truth," and going forth from that 
village they climbed into the highway and started towards the city. And 
in a certain village tax-collectors killed a young dappled calf and stripped 
off its skin to make a sword-sheath, and the mother of the calf was so 
grieved for the loss of her young one that she neither ate grass nor drank 
water but roamed to and fro, lamenting. On seeing her the village boys 
cursed the king and spoke this stanza : 

So let Pancala pine away and childless weep in vain. 

As this poor cow distracted seeks the calf that men have slain. 

Then the priest spoke another stanza : 

When from its herd some beast escapes, and roars to ease its pain. 
Herein what cause hast thou of Brahmadatta to complain? 

Then the village boys repeated two stanzas : 

King Brahmadatta's sin in this, brahmin, to me is plain, 
Defenceless folk are ever thus by their oppressors slain. 

By night to thieves a prey are we, to publicans by day, 

Lewd folks abound within the realm, when evil kings. bear sway. 

Why should a tender calf be killed, just for a sheath, I pray ? 

" You speak truth," they said and departed. Then, going on their way, 
in a certain dry tank crows were striking frogs with their beaks and 

1 The scholiast explains that the royal tax-gatherers had eaten the food first 
cooked by the slave for her master. 



58 The Jataka. Booh XVI. 

devouring them. When they reached this spot, the Bodhisatta by the 
exercise of his power cursed the king by the mouth of a frog, saying, 

[107] So may Pancala killed in fight be eaten, sons and all. 

As woodland frog to village crows a prey this day I faU. 

Hearing this the priest conversing with the frog repeated this stanza : 

Kings cannot, frog, as you must know. 
Guard every creature here below, 
In this no wicked king is he. 
That crows eat living things like thee. 

On hearing this the frog repeated two stanzas : 

The priest with words too flattering 
Thus wickedly deceives the king ; 
The king, though people are oppressed. 
Deems the priest's pohcy the best. 

If blest with all prosperity 
This realm should glad and peaceful be, 
Crows richest offerings' might enjoy, 
Nor need aught living to destroy. 

[108] On hearing this the king and the priest thought, "All creatures, 
including the frog that lives in the forest, curse us," and going thence to 
the city they ruled their, kingdom righteously, and abiding in the admoni- 
tion of the Great Being they devoted themselves to charity and other good 
works. 



The Master here ended his discourse to the king of Kosala in these words, 
" A king, Sire, must forsake evil courses, and rule his kingdom righteously," and 
he identified the Birth : "At that time the divinity of the tinduka tree was 
myself." 

1 A crow was called baliputtho, "nourished by oblations." 



No. 521. 59 



BOOK XVII. CATTALISANIPATA. 



No. 521. 

TESAKUNA-JATAKA. 

[109] " 'Tis this I ask," etc. This story the Master, while dwelling at Jetavana, 
told by way of admonition to the king of Kosala. Now this king came to hear 
the preaching of the law and the Master addressed him in the following terms : 
"A king, Sire, ought to rule his kingdom righteously, for whenever kings are 
unrighteous, then also are his officers unrighteous." And admonishing him in 
the right way as related in the Catukkanipata (4th Book) he pointed out the 
suffering and the blessing involved in following or abstaining from evil coiu'ses, 
and expounded in detail the misery resulting from sensual pleasures, comparing 
them to dreams and the like, saying, " In the case of these men, 

No bribe can move relentless death, no kindness mollify, 

No one in fight can vanquish death. For all are doomed to die. 

And when they depart to another world, except their own virtuous action they 
have no other sure refuge, so that they must inevitably forsake low associations, 
and for their reputation's sake they must not be careless, but be earnest and 
exercise rule in righteousness, even as kings of old, before Buddha arose, abiding 
in the admonition of the wise, ruled righteously and departing attained to the 
heavenly city," and at the request of the king he told a story of the past. 



Once upon a time Brahmadatta ruled in Benares and had no heir, and 
his prayer for a son or daughter was not answered. Now one day he 
went with a large escort to his park and after amusing himself a part of 
the day in the grounds [110] he had a couch spread for him at the foot of 
the royal sal tree, and after a short nap he awoke and, looking up to the 
sal tree, he beheld a bird's nest in it, and at the sight of it a desire to 
possess it sprang up in his heart, and summoning one of his attendants he 
said, "Climb the tree and see if there is anything in the nest or not." 
The man climbed up and finding three eggs in it told the king. " Then 
mind you do not breathe over them," he said, and, spreading some cotton in 
a casket, he told the man to come down gently, and place the eggs in it. 
When they had been brought down, he took up the casket and asked his 
courtiers to what bird these eggs belonged. They answered, " We do not 
know : hunters will know.'' The king sent for the hunters and asked them. 
" Sire,'' said they, " one is an owl's egg, another is a maynah bird's, and 
the third is a parrot's." " Pray are there eggs of three different birds in 



60 The Jataha. Booh XVII. 

one nest 1 " " Yes, Sire, when there is nothing to fear, what is carefully 
deposited does not perish." The king being pleased said, "They shall be 
my children," and committing the three eggs to the charge of three 
courtiers, he said, " These shall be my children. Do you carefully watch 
over them and when the young birds come out of the shell, let me know." 
They took good care of them. First of all the owl's egg was hatched, and 
the courtier sent for a hunter and said, " Find out the sex of the young 
bird, whether it is a cock or a hen bird," and when he had examined it and 
declared it to be a cock bird, the courtier went to the king and said, "Sire, 
a son is born to you.'' The king was delighted and bestowed much wealth 
on him and saying, [111] "Watch carefully over him and call his name 
Vessantara,'' he sent him away. He did as he was told. Then a few 
days afterwards the egg of the maynah bird was hatched, and the second 
courtier likewise, after getting the huntsman to examine it, and hearing 
it was a hen bird, went to the king and announced to him the birth of 
a daughter. The king was delighted, and gave to him also much treasure 
and saying, " Watch carefully over my daughter and call her name 
Kundalini," he sent him away. He also did what he was told. Then 
after a few days the parrot's egg was hatched and the third courtier, when 
told by the huntsman who examined it that it was a cock bird, went and 
announced to the king the birth of a son. The king was delighted and 
paying him liberally said, "Hold a festival in honour of my son with 
great pomp, and call his name Jambuka,'' and then sent him away. He 
too did as he was told. And these three birds grew up in the houses of 
the three courtiers with all the ceremony due to royalty. The king speaks 
of them habitually, as 'my son' and 'my daughter.' His courtiers made 
merry, one with another, saying, " Look at what the king does : he goes 
about speaking of birds as his son and his daughter." The king thought, 
"These courtiers do not know the extent of my children's wisdom. I will 
make it evident to them." So he sent one of his ministers to Vessantara 
to say, " Your father wishes to ask you a question. When shall he come 
and ask it 1 " The minister came and bowing to Vessantara delivered the 
message. Vessantara sent for the courtier who looked after him and said, 
" My father," they tell me, " wants to ask me a question. When he 
comes, we must shew him all respect," and he asked "When is he to 
come 1 " The courtier said, " Let him come on the seventh day from this." 
Vessantara on hearing this said, " Let my father come on the seventh day 
from this,'' and with these words he sent the minister away. He went 
and told the king. On the seventh day the king ordered a drum to be 
beaten through the city and went to the house where his son lived. 
Vessantara treated the king with great respect and had great respect paid 
even to the slaves and hired servants. The king, after partaking of food 
in the house of Vessantara, and enjoying great distinction, returned to his 



No. 521. 6] 

own dwelling-place. Then he had a big pavilion erected in the palace- 
yard, and, having made proclamation by beating a drum through the city, 
he sat in his magnificent pavilion surrounded by a great retinue [1 1 2] and 
sent word to a courtier to conduct Vessautara to him. The courtier 
brought Vessantara on a golden stool. The bird sat on his father's lap 
and played with his father, and then went and sat on the stool. Then 
the king in the midst of the crowd of people questioned him as to the 
duty of a king and spoke the first stanza : 

'Tis this I ask Vessantara — dear bird, mayst thou be blest — 
To one that's fain o'er men to reign, what course of life is best? 

Vessantara, without answering the question directly, reproved the 
king for his carelessness and spoke the second stanza : 

Kamsa my sire, of Kasi lord, so careless long ago. 

Urged me his son, though full of zeal, still greater zeal to show. 

Rebuking the king in this stanza and saying, " Sire, a king ought to 
rule his kingdom righteously, abiding in the three truths," and telling of a 
king's duty he spoke these stanzas : 

First of all should a king put away all falsehood and anger and scorn ; 
Let him do what a king has to do, or else to his vow be forsworn. 

By passion and sin led astray, should he err in the past, it is plain 
He will live to repent of the deed, and will learn not to do it again. 

When a prince in his rule groweth slack, untrue to his name and his fame, 
Should his wealth all at once disappear, of that prince it is counted as shame. 

'Twas thus that Good Fortune and Luck, when I asked, made reply unto me, 
' In a man energetic and bold we delight, if from jealousy free.' 

[113] 111 Luck, ever wrecking good fortune, delighteth in men of ill deeds, 
The hard-hearted creatures in whom a spirit of jealousy breeds. 

To all, great king, be a friend, so that all may thy safety insure, 
111 Luck put away, but to Luck that is good be a dwelling secure. 

The man that is lucky and bold, thou that o'er Kasi dost reign. 

His foes will destroy root and branch, and to greatness will surely attain. 

Great Sakka all courage in man ever watches with vigilant eyes. 
For courage as virtue he holds and in it true goodness espies. 

Gandharvas, gods, angels and men, one and all, emulate such a king, 
And spirits appearing stand by, of his zeal and his vigour to sing. 

Be zealous to do what is right, nor, however reviled, yield to sin. 
Be earnest in efforts for good — no sluggard can bliss ever win. 

Herein is the text of thy duty, to teach thee the way thou shouldst go : 
'Tis enough to win bliss for a friend or to work grievous ill for a foe. 

[115] Thus did the bird Vessantara in a single stanza rebuke the 
carelessness of the king, and then in telling the duty of a king in eleven 
stanzas answered his question with all the charm of a Buddha. The hearts 
of the multitude were filled with wonder and amazement and innumerable 
shouts of applause were raised. The king was transported with joy and 
addressing his courtiers asked them what was to be done for his son; for 



62 The Jataka. Book XVII. 

having spoken thus. " He should be made a general in the army, Sire." 
"Well, I give him the post of general," and he appointed Vessantara 
to the vacant post. Thenceforth placed in this position he carried out 
his father's wishes. Here ends the story of Vessantara's question. 

[116] Again the king after some days, just as before, sent a message 
to Kundalini, and on the seventh day he paid her a visit and returning 
home again he seated himself in the centre of a pavilion and ordered 
Kundalini to be brought to him, and when she was seated on a golden 
stool, he questioned her as to the duty of a king and spoke this stanza : 

Kundalini, of royal birth, couldst thou resolve my quest. 

To one that's fain o'er men to reign, what course of life is best ? 

When the king thus asked her as to the duties of a king, she said, 
" I suppose, Sir, you are putting me to the test, thinking ' What will a 
woman be able to tell vaeV so I will tell you, putting all your duty as a 
king into just two maxims," and she repeated these stanzas : 

The matter, my friend, is set forth in a couple of maxims quite plain — 
To keep whatsoever one has, and whatever one has not to gain. 

Take as counsellors men that are wise, thy interests clearly to see. 
Not given to riot and waste, from gambling and drunkenness free. 

Such an one as can guard thee aright and thy treasure with all proper zeal. 
As a charioteer guides his car, he with skill steers the realm's common weal. 

Keep ever thy folk well in hand, and duly take stock of thy pelf, 
Ne'er trust to another a loan or deposit, but act for thyself. 

What is done or undone to thy profit and loss it is well thou shouldst know. 
Ever blame the blame-worthy and favour on them that deserve it bestow. 

[117] Thou thyself, great king, shouldst instruct thy people in every good way. 
Lest thy realm and thy substance should fall to unrighteous officials a prey. 

See that nothing is done by thyself or by others with overmuch speed. 
For the fool that so acts without doubt will live to repent of the deed. 

To wrath one should never give way, for should it due bounds overflow. 
It will lead to the ruin of kings and the proudest of houses lay low. 

Be sure that thou never as king thy people mislead to their cost, 
Lest all men and women alike in an ocean of trouble be lost. 

When a king from all fear is set free, and the pleasures of sense are his aim, 
Should his riches and all disappear, to that king it is counted as shame. 

Herein is a text of thy duty, to teach thee the way thou shouldst go. 

Be an adept in every good work, to excess and to riot a foe. 

Study virtue, for vice ever leads to a state fuU of suffering and woe. 

[120] Thus did Kundalini also teach the king his duty in eleven 
stanzas. The king was delighted and addressing his courtiers asked them, 
saying, " What is to be given to my daughter as a reward for her having 
spoken thusV "The office of treasurer, Sire." " Well then, I grant her 
the post of treasurer," and he appointed Kundalini to the vacant post. 
Thenceforth she held the office and acted for the king. Here ends the 
story of the question of Kundalini. 



No. 521. 63 

Again the king after the lapse of a few days, just as before, sent a 
messenger to the ■wise Jambuka, and going there on the seventh day and 
being magnificently entertained he returned home and in the same manner 
took his seat in the centre of a pavilion. A courtier placed the wise 
Jambuka on a stool bound with gold, and came bearing the stool on his 
head. The wise bird sitting on his father's lap and playing with him at 
length took his seat on the golden stool. Then the king, asking him a 
question, spoke this stanza : 

We've questioned both thy brother prince, and also fair Kundalini ; 
Now, Jambuka, do thou in turn the highest power declare to' me. 

Thus did the king, in asking a question of the Great Being, not ask 
him in the way in which he had asked the others, but asked him in a 
special way. Then the wise bird said to him, " Well, Sire, listen atten- 
tively, and I will tell you all," and like a man placing a purse containing 
a thousand pieces of money into an outstretched hand, he began his 
exposition of a king's duty : 

Amidst the great ones of the earth a fivefold power we see ; 
Of these the power of limbs is, sure, the last in its degree, 
And power of wealth, mighty lord, the next is said to be. 

The power of counsel third in rank of these, king, I name ; 
The power of caste without a doubt is reckoned fourth in fame. 
And all of these a man that's wise most certainly will claim. 

[121] Of all these powers that one is best, as power of learning known, 
By strength of this a man is wise and makes success his own. 

Should richest realm fall to the lot of some poor stupid wight, 
Another will by violence seize it in his despite. 

However noble be the prince, whose lot it is to rule. 
He is hard put to live at all, if he should prove a fool. 

'Tis wisdom tests reports of deeds and makes men's fame to grow, 
Who is with wisdom gifted still finds pleasure e'en in woe. 

None that are heedless in their ways to wisdom can attain, 
But must consult the wise and just, or ignorant remain. 

Who early rising shall betimes unweariedly give heed 
To duty's varied calls, in life is certain to succeed. 

No one that's bent on hurtful things or acts in listless mood 
In aught that he may undertake wiU come to any good. 

But one that will unweariedly a rightful course pursue, 
Is sure to reach perfection in whatever he may do. 

To safeguard one's store is to gain more and more, 
And these are the things I would have thee to mind ; 

For the fool by ill deeds, like a house built of reeds, 
Collapses and leaves rack and ruin behind. 

[123] Thus did the Bodhisatta in all these points sing the praises of 
the five powers, and exalting the power of wisdom, like to one striking the 
orb of the moon with his words, he admonished the king in eleven stanzas : 



64 The Jatalca. Booh XVII. 

Unto thy parents, warrior king, do righteously; and so 
By following a righteous life to heaven thou, sire, shalt go'. 

[124] After uttering ten stanzas about the way of righteousness, still 

further admonishing the king he spoke the eoncltiding stanza : 

Herein is the text of thy duty, to teach thee the way thou shouldst go : 
Follow wisdom and ever be happy, the Truth in its fulness to know. 

Thus did the Great Being, as though he were letting down the 
heavenly Ganges, teach the Law with all the charm of a Buddha. And 
the multitude paid him great honour and raised innumerable shouts of 
applause. The king was delighted and addressing his councillors asked, 
[125] "How ought my son, wise Jambuka, with a beak like the fresh fruit 
of the rose-apple, to be rewarded for having spoken thus ? " " With the 
post of commander-in-chief, Sire." "Then I offer him this post," he said, 
and appointed him to the vacant office, and thenceforth in the position of 
commander-in-chief he carried out the orders of his father. Great honour 
was paid to the three birds, and all three of them gave instruction in 
temporal and spiritual matters. The king, abiding in the admonition of 
the Great Being, by almsgiving and other good works became destined to 
heaven. The councillors after performing the king's obsequies, speaking 
to the bii-ds said, " My lord, Jambu, the king ordered the royal umbrella 
to be raised over you." The Great Being said, "I have no need of the 
kingdom, do you exercise rule with all vigilance," and after establishing 
the people in the moral law, he said " Execute justice," and he had 
righteous judgment inscribed on a golden plate and disappeared in the 
forest. And his admonition continued in force forty thousand years. 



The Master by means of his admonition of the king taught this lesson and 
identified the Birth : "At that time the king was Ananda, Kiindalim was 
Uppalavanna, Vessantara was Sariputta, the bird Jambu was myself."' 



No. 522. 

SAEABHANGA-JATAKA. 

" Beringed and gallantly," etc. — This was a story the Master, while dwelling 
in the Bamboo Grove, told concerning the death of the Elder, the Great 
Moggallana^. The Elder Sariputta', after gaining the consent of the Tathagata 

' Here follow nine similar couplets already given in vol. iv. No. 501, Rohantamiga- 
Jataka, p. 263, English version ; see also Seuart's Mahdvastu, vol. i. p. 282. 

' For the death of Moggallana, see FausboU's Dhammapada, p. 298, and Bigandet'a 
Legend of the Bv/rmese Buddha, vol. 2, oh. i. p. 26. 

' For Sariputta's death, see vol. i. No. 95, Mahasudassana- Jataka, p. 230, English 
versiou, and Bigandet, op. cit. p. 19. 



No. 522. 65 

when he was living at Jetavana, went and died in the village of Nala, in the very 
I'oom where he was born. The Master, on hearing of his death, went to Rajagaha 
and took up his abode in the Bamboo Grove. An Elder dwelt there on the 
slopes of Isigili (Mount of Saints) at the Black Rock. This man, by attaining 
perfection in supernatural power, was able to make his way into heaven and 
hell. In the god-world he beheld one of the disciples of Buddha enjoying great 
power, and in the world of men he saw one of the disciples of the heretics 
suffering great agony, and on returning to the world of men he told them how 
in a certain god-world such and such a lay Brother or Sister was re-born and 
enjoying great honour, and amongst the followers of the heretics such and 
such a man or woman was re-born in hell [126] or other states of suffering. 
People gladly accepted his teaching and rejected that of the schismatics. 
Great honour was paid to the disciples of Buddha, while that paid to the 
schismatics fell away. They conceived a grudge against the Elder, and said: 
"As long as this fellow is alive, there are divisions amongst our followers, 
and the honour paid to us falls away: we will put him to death"; and they 
gave a thousand pieces of money to a brigand who guarded the ascetics to 
put the Elder to death. He resolved to kill the Elder, and came with a great 
following to Black Rock. The Elder, when he saw him coming, by his magic 
power flew up into the air and disappeared. The brigand, not finding the Elder 
that day, returned home and came back day after day for six successive days. 
But the Elder, by his magic power, always disappeared in the same way. On 
the seventh day an act committed of old by the Elder, carrying with it conse- 
quences to be recognised on some future occasion, got its chance for mischief. 
The story goes that once upon a time, hearkening to what his wife said,, he 
wanted to put his father and mother to death ; and, taking them in a carriage 
to a forest, he pretended that they were attacked by robbers, and struck and 
beat his parents. Through feebleness of sight being unable to see objects clearly, 
they did not recognise their son, and thinking they were robbers said : " Dear 
son, some robbers are killing us: make your escape," and lamented for him 
only. He thought, "Though they are being beaten by me, it is only on my 
account they make lamentation. I am acting shamefully." So he reassured 
them and, pretending that the robbers had been put to flight, he stroked their 
hands and feet, saying, " Dear father and mother, do not be afraid, the robbers 
have fled," and brought them again to their own house. This action for ever 
so long not finding its opportunity but ever biding its time, like a core of 
flame hidden under ashes, caught up and seized upon the man when he was 
re-born for the last time, and the Elder, in consequence of his action, was unable 
to fly up into the air. His magic power that once could quell Nanda' and Upa- 
nanda and cause Vejayanta to tremble, as the result of his action became mere 
feebleness. The brigand crushed all his bones, subjecting him to the ' straw and 
meal' torture 2, and, thinking he was dead, went oft' with his followers. But the 
Elder, on recovering consciousness, clothed himself with Meditation as with 
a garment, and flying up into the presence of the Master, saluted him and 
said, " Holy Sir, my sum of life is exhausted : I would die," and having gained 
the Master's consent, he died then and there. At that instant the six god- 
worlds were in a general state of commotion. "Our Master," they cried, "is dead." 
And they came, bringing incense and perfume and wreaths breathing divine 
odours, and all kinds of wood, [127] and the funeral pile was made of sandal- 
wood and ninety-nine precious things. The Master, standing near the Elder, 
ordered his remains to be deposited, and for the space of a league all round 
about the spot where the body was burned flowers rained down upon it, and 
men and gods stood mingled together, and for seven days held a sacred 
festival. The Master had the rehcs of the Elder gathered together, and 
erected a shrine in a gabled chamber in the Bamboo Grove. At that time 
they raised the topic in the Hall of Truth, saying, "Sirs, Sariputta, because 

1 Nanda and Upananda were two kings of the Nagas, Vejayanta was the palace of 
Indra. Jataka Index, vol. vii. p. 66, gives corrected reading Nandopananda-damana. 

2 But of. Anguttara Nikdya, Pt. i. p. 114, ed. by E, Morris, 1883. Mil. i. 277. 
Translation with note by E. Davids. 

J. V. 5 



66 The Jdtaka. Book XVII. 

he did not die in the presence of the Tathagata, has not received great 
honour at the hands of the Buddha, but the Great Elder Moggallana, because 
he died near the Master, has had great honour paid to him." The Master 
came up, and asking the Brethren what they were sitting in conclave to discuss, 
on hearing what it was, said: "Not now only. Brethren, but formerly also 
Moggallana received great honour at my hands " ; and, so saying, he related a 
story of the past. 

'Once upon a time, when Brahniadatta was reigning in Benares, the 
Bodhisatta was conceived by the brahmin wife of the royal chaplain, 
and at the end of ten months was born early in the morning. At 
that moment there was a blaze of all kinds of arms in the city of 
Benares for the space of twelve leagues. The priest, on the birth of 
the boy, stepped out of doors and looked up to the sky for the purpose 
of divining his son's destiny, and knew that this boy, because he was 
born under a certain conjunction in the heaven, would surely be the 
chief archer in all India. So he went betimes to the palace and inquired 
after the king's health. On his replying, "How, my master, can I be 
well : this day there is a blaze of weapons throughout my dwelling- 
place," he said, "Fear not, Sire; not merely in your house, but throughout 
all Ihe city is this blaze of arms to be seen. This is due to the fact that 
a boy is born to-day in our house." " What, master, will be the result of 
the birth of a boy under these conditions ? " " Nothing, Sire, but he will- 
prove to be the chief archer in all India." "Well, master, do you 
then watch over him, and when he is grown up, present him to us." 
And so saying, he ordered a thousand pieces of money to be given 
him as the price of his nurtured The priest took it and went home, 
and on the naming-day of his son, on account of the blaze of arras at 
the moment of his birth, he called him Jotipala. He was reared in 
great state, and at the age of sixteen he was extremely handsome. 
Then his father, observing his personal distinction, said, " Dear son, 
go to Takkasila [128] and receive instruction in all learning at the 
hands of a world-famous teacher." He agreed to do so and, taking his 
teacher's fee, he bade. his parents farewell and repaired thither. He 
presented his fee of one thousand pieces of money and set about ac- 
quiring instruction, and in the course of seven days he had reached 
perfection. His master was so delighted with him that he gave him 
a precious sword that belonged to him, and a bow of ram's-born and 
a quiver, both of them deftly joined together, and his own coat of mail 
and a diadem, and he said, " Dear Jotipala, I am an old man, do you 
now train these pupils"; and he handed over to him five hundred 
pupils. The Bodhisatta, taking everything with him, said good-bye to 
his teacher and, returning to Benares, went to see his parents. Then 
his father, on seeing him standing respectfully before him, said, "My 
son, have you finished your studies?" "Yes, sir." On hearing his 
1 Compare vol. in. No. 423, Indriya Jdtaka. ^ khiramulam, i.e. rpoipeia. 



No. 522. 67 

answer he went to the palace and said, "My son, Si^e, has completed 
his education: what is he to do?" "Master, let him wait on us." 
" What do you decide, Sire, about his expenses ? " " Let him receive 
a thousand pieces of money daily." He readily agreed to this, and 
returning home he called hia boy to him and said, "Dear son, you 
are to serve the king." Thenceforth he received every day a thousand 
pieces of money and attended on the king. The king's attendants were 
oflFended ; " We do not see that Jotipala does anything, and he receives 
a thousand pieces of money every day. We should like to see a speci- 
men of his skill." The king heard what they said and told the priest. 
He said, "All right. Sire," and told his son. "Very well, dear father," 
he said, " on the seventh day from this I will show them ; let the king 
assemble all the archers in his dominion." The priest went and repeated 
what he said to the king. The king, by beat of drum through the 
city, had all his archers gathered together. When they were assembled, 
they numbered sixty thousand. The king, on hearing that they were 
assembled, said : " Let all that dwell in the city witness the skill of 
Jotipala." And making proclamation by beat of drum, he had the 
palace yard made ready, and, followed by a great crowd, [129] he 
took his seat on a splendid throne, and, when he had summoned the 
archers, he sent for Jotipala. He put the bow and quiver and coat 
of mail and diadem, which had been given to him by his teacher, 
beneath his under garment, and had the sword carried for him, and then 
came before the king in his ordinary garb and stood respectfully on 
one side. The archers thought, "Jotipala, they say, has come to give 
us a specimen of his skill, but from his coming without a bow he will 
evidently want to receive one at our hands," but they all agreed they 
would not give him one. The king, addressing Jotipala, said, "Give 
us proof of your skill." So he had a tent-like screen thrown round 
about him, and taking his stand inside it, and doffing his -cloak, he 
girt on his armour, and got into his coat of mail and fastened the 
diadem on his head. Then he fixed a string of the colour of coral on 
his ram's-horn bow, and binding his quiver on his back and fastening 
his sword on his left side, he twirled an arrow tipt with adamant on 
his nail, and threw open the screen and sallied forth like a Naga 
prince bursting out of the earth, splendidly equipped, and stood making 
an obeisance to the king. The multitude, on seeing him, jumped' about 
and shouted and clapped their hands. The king said, "Jotipala, give 
us a specimen of your skill." "Sire," he said, "amongst your archers 
are men who pierce like lightning', able to split a hair, and to shoot 
at a sound (without seeing) and to cleave a (falling) arrow^. Summon 

^ akkhanavedhi, E. Morris, P. T. S. J. for 1885, p. 29. Kern takes it as ' target 
cleaving,' Bodhicarydvatara comm. ed. Poussin (B. Ind.), p. 124 note. 

2 Perhaps this refers to a feat like that of Looksley ("Eobin Hood ") in Ivanhoe. 

5—2 



68 The Jataha. Booh XVII. 

four of these archers.'' The king summoned them. The Great Being set 
up a pavilion in a square enclosure in the palace yard, and at the four 
corners he stationed the four archers, and to each of them he had thirty 
thousand arrows allotted, assigning men to hand the arrows to each, 
and he himself taking an arrow tipt with adamant stood in the middle 
of the pavilion and cried, " O king, let these four archers all at once 
shoot their arrows to wound me ; I will ward off the arrows shot by 
them." The king gave the order for them to do so. "Sire," they 
said, " we shoot as quick as lightning, and are able to split a hair, 
and to shoot at the sound of a voice (without seeing), and to cleave 
a (falling) arrow, but Jotipala is a mere sti-ipling; we will not shoot 
him." The Great Being said, "If you can, shoot me." "Agreed," 
they said, and with ,one accord they shot their arrows. The Great 
Being, striking them severally with his iron arrow, in some way or 
other, [130] made them drop on the ground, and then throwing a 
wair round them, he piled them together and so made a magazine 
of arrows, fitting each arrow, handle level with handle, stock 
with stock, feathers with feathers, till the bowmen's arrows were 
all spent, and when he saw that it was so, without spoiling his 
magazine of arrows, he flew up into the air and stood before the king. 
The people made a great uproar, shouting and dancing about and 
clapping their hands, and they threw oflF their garments and orna- 
ments, so that there was treasure lying in a heap to the amount of 
eighteen crores. Then the king asked ,him, " What do you call this 
trick, Jotipala?" "The arrow-defence, Sire." "Are there any others 
that know it ? " " No one in all India, except myself. Sire." " Show 
us another trick, friend." " Sire, these four men stationed at four 
corners failed to wound me. But if they are posted at the four 
corners, I will wound them with a single arrow." The archers did 
not dare to stand there. So the Great Being fixed four plantains at 
the four corners, and fastening a scarlet thread on the feathered part 
of the arrow, he shot it, aiming at one of the plantains. The arrow 
struck it and then the second, the third and the fourth, one after 
another, and then struck the first, which it had already pierced, and 
so returned to the archer's hand ; while the plantains stood encircled with 
the thread. The people raised myriad shouts of applause. The king 
asked* "What do you call this trick, friend?" "The pierced circle. Sire." 
"Show us something more." The Great Being showed them the arrow- 
stick, the arrow-rope, the arrow-plait, and performed other tricks called the 
arrow-terrace, arrow-pavilion, arrow- wall ^, arrow-stairs, arrow- tank,- and 
made the arrow-lotus to blossom and caused it to rain a shower of arrows. 

> Cf. Mahdhhdrata, vi. 58. 2 and 101. 32, koshthaki^kritya, surrounding, enclosing. 
' This is taken from a reading of one MS. and is required to make up the twelve 
examples of his skill. 



No. 522. 69 

[131] Thus did he display these twelve unrivalled "acts of skill, and 
then he cleft seven incomparably huge substances. He pierced a plank 
of fig-wood, eight inches thick, a plank of asana-wood, four inches thick, 
a copper plate two inches thick, an iron plate one inch thick, and after 
piercing a hundi'ed boards joined together, one after another, he shot 
an arrow at the front part of waggons full of straw and sand and 
planks, and made it come out at the back part; and, shooting at the 
back of the waggons, he caused the arrow to come out at the front. 
He drove an arrow through a space of over a furlong in water 
and more than two furlongs of earth, and he pierced a hair, at 
the distance of half a furlong, at the first sign of its being moved 
by the wind. And when he had displayed all these feats of skill, 
the sun set. Then the king promised him the post of commander- 
in-chief, saying, " Jotipala, it is too late to-day ; to-morrow you shall 
receive the honour of the chief command. Go and have your beard 
trimmed and take a bath," and that same day he gave hiui a hundred 
thousand pieces of money for his expenses. The Great Being said, 
" I have no need of this,'' and he gave hia lords eighteen crores of 
treasure and went with a large escort to bathe; and, after he had had 
his beard trimmed and had bathed, arrayed in all manner of adorn- 
ments, he entered his abode with unparalleled pomp. After enjoying 
a variety of dainty viands, he got up and lay down on a royal couch, 
and when he had slept through two watches, in the last watch he 
woke up and sat cross-legged on his couch, considering the beginning, 
the middle and the end of his feats of skill. " My skill," he thought, 
" in the beginning is evidently death, in the middle it is the enjoy- 
ment of sin, and in the end it is re-birth in hell : for the destruction 
of life and excessive carelessness in sinful enjoyment causes re-birth in 
hell. The post of commander-in-chief is given me by the king, and 
great power will accrue to me, and I shall have a wife and many 
children ; but if the objects of desire are multiplied, it will be hard to 
get rid of desire. I will go forth from the world alone and enter the 
forest: [132] it is right for me to adopt the life of an ascetic." .So 
the Great Being arose from his couch, and without letting anybody 
know, he descended from the terrace, and going out by the house-door^ 
he went into the forest all alone, and repaired to a spot on the banks 
of the Godhavari, near the Kavittha^ forest, three leagues in extent. 
Sakka, hearing of his renunciation of the world, summoned Vissakamma 
and said, " Friend, Jotipala has renounced the world ; a great company 
will gather round him. Build a hermitage on the banks of the Godhavari 
in the Kavittha forest and provide them with everything necessary 

1 aggadvdram perhaps a house-door opposed to the main entrance. Of. 1. 114 and v. 263. 
" The Eavittha is the Feronia Elephantum oi elephant apple tree. 



70 The Jataka. Book XVII. 

for the ascetic life." Vissakamma did so. The Great Being, -when he 
reached the place, saw a road for a single foot-passenger and thought, 
"This must be a place for ascetics to dwell in," and travelling by this 
road and meeting with no one, he entered the hut of leaves. On 
seeing the requisites for ascetic life he said, " Sakka, king of heaven, 
methinks, knew that I had renounced the world " ; and, doffing his cloak, 
he put on an inner and outer robe of dyed bark and threw an antelope's 
skin over one shoulder. Then he bound up his coil of matted locks, 
shouldered a pingo of three bushels of grain, took a mendicant's staff 
and sallied forth from his hut, and climbing up the covered walk, he 
paced up and down it several times. Thus did he glorify the forest with 
the beauty of asceticism, and after performing the Kasina ritual, on the 
seventh day of his religious life he developed the eight Attainments and 
the five Faculties, and lived quite alone, feeding on what he could glean and 
on roots and berries. His parents and a crowd of friends and kinsfolk and 
acquaintances, not seeing him, wandered about disconsolate. Then a certain 
forester, who had seen and recognised the Great Being in the Kavittha 
hermitage, told his parents and they informed the king of it. The king 
said, "Come, let us go and see him," and taking the father and mother, and 
accompanied by a great multitude, he arrived at the bank of the Godhavari 
by the road which the forester pointed out to him. The Bodhisatta, on 
coming to the river-bank, seated himself in the air, and after teaching 
them the Law, [133] he brought them all into his hermitage, and there 
too, seated in the air, he revealed to them the misery involved in sensual 
desires and taught them the Law. And all of them, including the 
king, adopted the religious life. The Bodhisatta continued" to dwell 
there, surrounded by a band of ascetics. And the news that he was 
dwelling there was blazed abroad throughout all India. Kings with 
their subjects came and took orders at his hands, and there was 
a great assembly of them till they gradually numbered many thou- 
sands. Whoever reflected on thoughts of lust, or the wish to hurt or 
injure others, to him came the Great Being, and seated in the air 
before him, he taught him the Law and instructed him in the Kasina 
ritual. His seven chief pupils were Salissara', Mendissara, Pabbata, 
Kaladevala, Kisavaccha, Anusissa, and Narada. And they, abiding in 
his admonition, attained to ecstatic meditation and reached perfection. 
By and bye the Kavittha hermitage became crowded, and there was 
no room for the multitude of ascetics to dwell there. So the Great 
Being, addressing Salissara, said, " Salissara, this hermitage is not big 
enough for the crowd of ascetics ; do you go with this company of 
them and take up your abode near the town of Lambaculaka in 

' All these names occur in vol. in. No. 423, Indriya Jataka, and for the legends of 
Eisavaocha and Nalikira see Hardy's Manual, p. S5. 



No. 522. 71 

the province of king Candapajjota." He agreed to do so and, taking 
a company of many thousands, went and dwelt there. But as people 
still came and joined the ascetics, the hermitage was full again. The 
Bodhisatta, addressing Mendissara, said, " On the borders of the country 
of Surattha is a stream called Satodika. Take this band of ascetics 
and dwell on the borders of that river." And he sent him away. In 
the same way on a third occasion he sent Pabbata, saying, " In the 
great forest is the Anjana mountain : go and settle near that.'' On 
the fourth occasion he sent Kaladevala, saying, " In the south country 
in the kingdom of Avanti is the Ghanasela mountain : settle near 
that." The Kavittha hermitage again ovei-flowed, though in five dif- 
ferent places there was a company of ascetics numbering many thou- 
sands. And Kisavaccha, asking leave of the Great Being, [134] took 
up his abode in the park near the commander-in-chief, in the city of 
Kunibhavati in the province of king Dandaki. Narada settled in the 
central province in the Aranjara chain of mountains, and Auusissa 
remained with the .Great Being. At this time king Dandaki deposed 
from her position a courtezan whom he had greatly honoured, and, roaming 
about at her own will, she came to the park, and seeing the ascetic 
Kisavaccha, she thought, " Surely this must be 111 Luck. I will get rid 
of my sin' on his person and will then go and bathe." And first 
biting her tooth-stick, she spat out a quantity of phlegm, and not only 
spat upon the matted locks of the ascetic, but also threw her tooth- 
stick at his head and went and bathed. And the king, calling her 
to mind, restored her to her former position. And infatuated by her 
folly, she came to the conclusion that she had recovered this honour 
because she had got rid of her sin on the person of 111 Luck. Not 
long after this the king deposed his family priest from his office, and 
he went and asked the woman by what means she had recovered her 
position. So she told him it was from having got rid of her offence on 
the person of 111 Luck . in the royal park. The priest went and got 
rid of his sin in the same way, and him too the king reinstated 
in his office. Now by and bye there was a disturbance on the 
king's frontier, and he went forth with a division of his army to 
fight. Then that infatuated priest asked the king, saying, "Sire, do 
you wish for victory or defeat 1 " When he answered, " Victory," he 
said, "Well, 111 Luck dwells in the royal park; go and convey your 
sin to his person." He approved of the suggestion and said, " Let 
these men come with me to the park and get rid of their sin on the 
person of 111 Luck." And going into the park, he first of all nibbled 
his tooth-stick and let his spittle and the stick fall on the ascetic's matted 
locks and then bathed his head, and his army did likewise. When 
the king had departed the commander-in-chief came, and seeing the 
1 Compare Frazer's Golden Bough, vol. in. p. 120, ' Divine Scapegoats. ' 



72 The Jataha. Book XVII. 

ascetic, he took the tooth-stick out of his locks and had him thoroughly 
washed and then asked, " What will become of the king 1 " " Sir, there 
is no evil thought in my heart, but the gods [135] are wroth and on the 
seventh day from this all his kingdom will be destroyed : do you flee 
with all speed and go elsewhere." He was terribly alarmed, and went 
and told the king. The king refused to believe him. So he returned 
to his own house, and taking his wife and children with him, he fled 
to another kingdom. The master Sarabhanga', hearing about it, sent 
two youthful ascetics and had Kisavaccha brought to him in a palan- 
quin through the air. The king fought a battle, and taking the rebels 
prisoners returned to the city. On his return the gods first caused it 
to rain from heaven, and when all the dead bodies had been washed 
away by the flood of rain, there was a shower of heavenly flowers 
on the top of the clean white sand, and on the flowers there fell 
a shower of small coins, and after them a shower of big pieces of 
money, and this was followed by a shower -of heavenly ornaments. The 
people were highly delighted and began to pick up. ornaments of gold, 
even fine gold. Then there rained upon their persons a shower of 
all manner of blazing weapons, and the people were cut piece-meal. 
Then a shower of blistering embers fell on them, and over these huge 
blazing mountain peaks, followed by a shower of fine sand filling a space 
of sixty cubits. Thus was a part of his realm sixty leagues in extent 
destroyed, and its destruction was blazed abroad throughout all India. 
Then the lords of subordinate kingdoms within his realm, the three 
kings, Kalinga, Atthaka, Bhimaratha, thought, " Once upon a time 
in Benares, Kalabu'', king of Kasi, having sinned against the ascetic 
Khantivadi, it is reported he was swallowed up in the earth, and 
Nalikira in like manner having given ascetics to be devoured by dogs, 
and Ajjuna^ of the thousand arms who sinned against Angirasa likewise 
perished, and now again king Dandaki, having sinned against Kisavaccha, 
report says, is destroyed, realm and all. We know not the place where 
these four kings are re-born : no one except Sarabhanga, our master, is able 
to tell us this: We will go [136] and ask him." And the three kings 
went forth with great pomp to ask this question. But though they heard 
rumours that so and so was gone, they did not really know it, but each 
one fancied that he alone was going, and not far from Godhavari they all 
met, and alighting from their chariots, they all three mounted upon a 
single chariot and journeyed together to the banks of Godhavan. At this 
moment Sakka, sitting on his throne of yellow marble, considered the 

1 The Jotipala of the early part of the story is here identified with the Bodhisatta, 



2 Vol. III. No. 313, Khantivadi Jataha. 

3 Arjuua, called Kartavlryya. See Tawney's Katha Sarit Sagara, vol. n. p. 639, 
and Uttara Kdnda of the Bamdyam, Sarga 32. 



No. 522. 73 

seven questions and said to himself, "Except Sarabhanga, the master, there 
is no one else in this world or the god-world that can answer these ques- 
tions : I will ask him these questions. These three kings have come to the 
banks of Godhavari to make inquiry of Sarabhanga, the master. I will also 
consult him about the questions they ask." And, accompanied by deities 
from two of the god-worlds, he descended from heaven. That very 
day Kisavaocha died, and to celebrate his obsequies, innumerable bands 
of ascetics, who dwelt in four dift'erent places, raised a pile of sandal-wood 
and burned his body, and in a space of half a league round about the 
place of his burning there fell a shower of celestial flowers. The Great 
Being, after seeing to the depositing of his remains, entered the hermitage 
and, attended by these bands of ascetics, sat down. When the kings arrived 
on the banks of the river there was a sound of martial music. The Great 
Being, on hearing it, addressed the ascetic Anusissa and said, "Go and 
learn what this music means " ; and taking a bowl of . drinking-water, 
he went there, and seeing these kings, he uttered this first stanza in 
the form of a question : 

Beringed and gallantly arrayed, 

All girt with jewel-hilted blade, 

Halt ye, great chiefs, and straight declare 

What name 'midst world of men ye bear? 

[137] Hearing his words, they alighted from the chariot and stood 

saluting him. Amongst them king Atthaka, falling into talk with him, 

spoke the second stanza : 

Bhlmaratha, Kalinga famed. 

And Atthaka — thus are we named — 

To look on saints of life austere 

And question them, are we come here. 

Then the ascetic said to them, " Well, sire, ye have reached the 

place where ye would fain be : therefore, after bathing take a rest, 

and entering the hermitage, pay your respects to the band of ascetics, 

and put your question to the master"; and thus, holding friendly 

converse with them, he tossed up the jar of water' and wiping up 

the drops that fell he looked up to the sky and beheld Sakka, 

the lord of heaven, surrounded by a company of gods, and descending 

from heaven, mounted on the back of Eravana^, and conversing with him, 

he repeated the third stanza : 

Thou' in mid-heaven art fixed on high 
Like full-orbed moon that gilds the sky, 
I ask thee, mighty spirit, say 
How art thou known on Earth, I pray. 

1 In the old Bengali poem, Chandi, a jar of water is amongst the good omens seen by 
the hero Chandraketu when starting on a journey. See note by Professor Cowell in 
his translation of the Sana-darsana-samgraha, p. 237. 

' Indra's elephant. 

' The third person with nominative bhavam understood seems to be used here for 
the second person. 



74: The Jataka. Booh XVII. 

On hearing this, Sakka repeated the fourth stanza : 

Sujampati in heaven proclaimed 
As Maghava on Earth is named; 
This king of gods to-day comes here 
To see these saints of life austere. 

[138] Then Anusissa said to him: "Well, sire, do you follow us''; 
and taking the drinking-vessel, he entered the hermitage, and after 
putting away the jar of water, he announced to the Great Being that 
the three kings and the lord of heaven had arrived to ask him certain 
questions. Surrounded by a band of ascetics, Sarabhanga sat in a large, 
wide enclosed space. The three kings came, and, saluting the band of 
ascetics, sat down on one side. And Sakka, descending from the sky, 
approached the ascetics, and saluting them with folded hands, and 
singing their praises, repeated the fifth stanza : 

. Wide known to fame this saintly band. 
With mighty powers at their command: 
I gladly bid you hail: in worth 
Ye far surpass the best on earth. 

Thus did Sakka salute the band of ascetics, and guarding against 
the six faults in sitting, he sat apart. Then Anusissa, on seeing 
him seated to leeward of the ascetics, spoke the sixth stanza ; 

The person of an aged saint 
Is rank, the very air to taint. 
Great Sakka, beat a quick retreat 
From saintly odours, none too sweet. 

[139] On hearing this, Sakka repeated another stanza: 

Though aged saints offend the nose 
And taint the sweetest air that blows: 
Gay flowerets' fragrant wreath above 
This odour of the saints we love; 
In gods it may no loathing move. 

And having so spoken, he added, " Reverend Anusissa, I have 
made a great effort to come here and ask a question : give me leave 
to do so." And on hearing Sakka's words Anusissa rose from his seat, and 
granting him permission, he repeated a couple of stanzas to the company 
of ascetics : 

Famed Maghava, Sujampati 
— Almsgiver, lord of sprites is he — 
Queller of demons, heavenly king, 
Craves leave to put his questioning. 
Who of the sages that are here 
Will make their subtle questions clear 
For three who over men hold sway, 
And Sakka whom the gods obey ? 

[140] On hearing this the company of ascetics said, "Reverend 
Anusissa, you speak as though you saw not the earth on which you 



No. 522. 75 

stand : except our teacher Sarabhanga, who else is competent to answer 

these questions '! " and so saying, they repeated a stanza : 

"lis Sarabhanga, sage and saint. 
So chaste and free from lustful taint, 
The teacher's son, well disciplined, 
Solution of their doubts will find. 

And so saying, the company of ascetics thus addressed Anusissa : 

" Sir, do you salute the teacher in the name of the company of 

saints and find an opportunity to tell him of the question proposed by 

Sakka." He readily assented and, finding his opportunity, repeated 

another stanza : 

The holy men, Kondannai, pray 

That thou wouldst clear their doubts away; 

This burden lies, as mortals hold. 

On men in years and wisdom old. 

Then the Great Being, giving his consent, repeated the following stanza : 

I give you leave to ask whate'er 
Ye most at heart are fain to hear; 
I know both this world and the next; 
No question leaves my mind perplext. 

[141] Sakka, having thus obtained his permission, put a question 
which he had himself prepared : 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

Sakka, to cities bountiful, that sees the Truth of things. 
To learn what he was fain to know, began his questionings. 

What is it one may slay outright and never more repent? 
What is it one may throw away, with all good men's consent? 
From whom should one put up with speech, however harsh it be? 
This is the thing that I would have KondanSa tell to me. 



Then explaining the question, he said : 

Anger is what a man may slay and never more repent; 
Hypocrisy he throws away with all good men's consent; 
From all he should put up with speech, however harsh it be. 
This form of patience, wise men say, is highest in degree. 

Eude speech from two one might with patience hear. 
From one's superior, or from a peer. 
But how to bear from meaner folk rude speech 
Is what I fain would have Kondanna teach. 

Eude speech from betters one may take through fear 
Or, to avoid a quarrel, from a peer, 
[142] But from the mean to put up with rude speech 
Is perfect patience, as the sages teach. 

Verses such as these one must understand to be connected in the way 

of question and answei*. 

^ This, the scholiast explains, is the family name of Sarabhanga. 



76 The Jataka. Booh XVII. 

When he had thus spoken, Sakka said to the Great Being, " Holy sir, 

in the first instance you said, ' Put up with harsh speech from all ; this, 

men say, is the highest form of patience,' but now you say, ' Put up here 

with the speech of an inferior ; this, men say, is the highest form of 

patience ' ; this latter saying does not agree with your former one." Then 

the Great Being said to him, "Sakka, this last utterance of mine is in 

respect of one who puts up with harsh speech, because he knows the 

speaker to be his inferior, but what I said first was because one cannot 

by merely looking on the outward form of people know for certain their 

condition, whether superior to oneself or not," and to make it clear how 

difficult it is by merely regarding the outward form to distinguish the 

condition of persons, whether inferior or not, except by means of close 

intercourse, he spoke this stanza : 

How hard it is to judge a man that's polished in exterior 

Be he one's better, equal or, it may be, one's inferior. 

The best of men pass through the world ofttimes in meanest form disguised ; 

So then bear with rough speech from all, if thou, my friend, be well advised. 

On hearing this Sakka full of faith begged him, saying, "Holy sir, 

declare to us the blessing to be found in this patience," and the Great 

Being repeated this stanza : 

No royal force, however vast its might. 
Can win so great advantage in a fight 
[143] As the good man by patience may secure : 
Strong patience is of fiercest feuds the cure. 

When the Great Being had thus expounded the virtues of patienci;, 

the kings thought, " Sakka asks his own question ; he will not allow us an 

opportunity of putting ours." So seeing what their wish was he laid 

aside the four questions he had himself prepared and propounding their 

doubts he repeated this stanza : 

Thy words are grateful to mine ear. 
But one thing more I fain would hear; 
Tell us the fate of Dandaki 
And of his fellow-siuners three. 
Destined to sufier what re-birth 
For harassing the saints on earth. 

Then the Great Being, answering his question, repeated five stanzas: 

Uprooted, realm and all, erewhile 
Who Kisavaccha did defile, 
O'erwhelmed with fiery embers, see. 
In Kukkula lies Dandaki. 

Who made him sport of priest and saint 
And preacher, free from sinful taint. 
This Nalikira trembling fell 
Into the jaws of dogs in hell. 
So Ajjuna, who slew outright 
That holy, chaste, long-suffering wight, 
[144] Anglrasa, was headlong hurled 
To tortures in a suffering world. 



No. 522. 77 

Who once a sinless saint did maim 
— Preacher of Patience was his name — 
Kalabu now doth scorch in hell, 
Midst anguish sore and terrible. 

The man of wisdom that hears tell 
Of tales like these or worse of hell, 
Ne'er against priest or brahmin sins 
And heaven by his right action wins. 

[146] When the Great Being had thus pointed out the places in which 
the. four kings were re-born, the three kings were freed from all doubt. 
Then Sakka in propounding his remaining four questions recited this 
stanza : 

Thy words are grateful to mine ear. 

But one thing more I fain would hear : 

Whom does the world as ' moral ' name, 

And whom does it as ' wise ' proclaim ? 

Whom does the world for 'pious' take, 

And whom does Fortune ne'er forsake ? 

Then in answering him the Great Being repeated four stanzas : 

Whoso in act and word shows self-restraint. 
And e'en in thought is free from sinful taint. 
Nor lies to serve his own base ends — the same 
All men as ' moral ' evermore proclaim. 

He who revolves deep questions in his mind 
Yet perpetrates nought cruel or unkind, 
Prompt with good word in season to advise. 
That man by all is rightly counted wise. 

Who grateful is for kindness once received, 
And sorrow's need has carefully relieved, 
Has proved himself a good and steadfast friend — 
Him all men as a pious soul commend. 

The man with every gift at his command, 
True, tender, free and bountiful of hand, 
Heart-winning, gracious, smooth of tongue withal — 
Fortune from such an one will never fall. 

[148] Thus did the Great Being, like as if he were causing the 
moon to arise in the sky, answer the four questions. Then followed, 
the asking of the other questions and their answers. 

Thy kindly words fall grateful on mine ear. 
But one thing further I am fain to hear : 
Virtue, fair fortune, goodness, wisdom — say 
Which of all these do men call best, I pray. 

Wisdom good men declare is best by far. 
E'en as the moon eclipses every star ; 
Virtue, fair fortune, goodness, it is plain. 
All duly follow in the wise man's train. 

Thy kindly words fall grateful on mine ear. 
But one thing further I am fain to hear : 
To gain this wisdom what is one to do, 
What line of action or what course pursue ? 
Tell us what way the path of wisdom lies 
And by what acts a mortal groweth wise. 



78 Thi Jataka. Book XVII. 

With clever, old, and learned men consort, 
Wisdom from them by questioning extort : 
Their goodly counsels one should hear and prize. 
For thus it is a mortal man grows wise. 

The sage regards the lust of things of sense 
In view of sickness, pain, impermanence ; 
Midst sorrows, lust, and terrors that appal, 
Calm and unmoved the sage ignores them all. 

Thus would he conquer sin, from passion free. 

And cultivate a boundless charity; 

To every living creature mercy show, 

And, blameless soul, to world of Brahma go. 

[149] While the Great Being was thus still speaking of the sins of 

sensual desires, these three kings together with their armies got rid of the 

passion of sensual pleasure by means of the opposite quality. And the 

Great Being, becoming aware of this, by way of praising them recited 

this stanza: 

Bhimaratha by power of magic came 
With thee, O Atthaka, and one to fame 
As king Kalinga known, and now all three, 
Once slaves to sensuality, are free. 

[150] On hearing this, the mighty kings singing the praises of the 
Great Being recited this stanza : 

'Tis so, thou reader of men's thoughts : all three 
Of us from sensuality are free, 
Grant us the boon for which we are right fain. 
That to thy happy state we may attain. 

Then the Great Being, granting them this favour, repeated another 
stanza : 

I grant 1 the boon that ye would have of me. 
The more that ye from sensual vice are free : 
So may ye thrill with boundless joy to gain 
That happy state to which ye would attain. 

On hearing this they, signifying assent, repeated this stanza : 

We will do everything at thy behest, 
Whate'er thou in thy wisdom deemst the best; 
So will we thrill with boundless joy to gain 
That happy state to which we would attain. 

Then did the Great Being grant holy orders to their armies and 
dismissing the band of ascetics repeated this stanza : 

Due honour lo ! to Kisavaccha came ; 
So now depart, ye saints of goodly fame, 
In ecstasy delighting calmly rest ; 
This joy of holiness is far the best. 

[151] The saints, assenting to his words by bowing to him, flew up 
into the air and departed to their own places of abode. And Sakka rising 

1 Beading karomi for karohi. 



No. 523. 79 



from his seat and raising his folded hands and making obeisance to the 
Great Being, as though he were worshipping the sun, departed together 
with his company. 

The Master on seeing this repeated these stanzas : — 

Hearing these strains that Highest Truth did teach 
Set forth by holy sage in goodly speech, 
The glorious Beings to their heavenly home 
Once more with joy and gratitude did come. 

The holy sage's strains strike on the ear 
Pregnant with meaning and in accents clear ; 
Who gives good heed and concentrates' his mind 
Upon their special thought will surely find 
The path to every stage of ecstasy. 
And from the range of tyrant Death is free. 

Thus did the Master bring his teaching to a climax in Arhatship and saying, 
" Not now only, but formerly also, there was a rain of flowers at the burning 
of the body of Mogallana," he revealed the Truths and identified the Birth : 
"Salissara was Sariputta, Mendissara was Kassapa, Pabbata Anuruddha, 
Devala Kaooayana, Anusissa was Auanda, Kisavaccha Kolita, Sarabhaiiga the 
Bodhisatta : thus are ye to understand the Birth." 



No. 523. 

ALAMBUSA-JATAKA. 

[152] " Thm mighty Indra," etc. This story the Master, while residing at 
Jetavana, told about the temptation of a Brother by the wife of his unregenerate 
days. The subject-matter of the tale is related in full in the Indriya Birth'''. 
Now the Master asked the Brother, " Is it true, Brother, that you were ren- 
dered discontented?" "It is true, Eeverend Sir." "By whom?" "By my 
wife of former days." " Brother," he said, " this woman wrought mischief for 
you : it was owing to her that you fell away from mystic meditation, and lay 
for three years in a lost and distracted condition, and on the recovery of your 
senses you uttered a great lamentation," and so saying he told him a story of 
the past. 

Once upon a time in the reign of Brahmadatta in Benares, the 
Bodhisatta was born of a brahmin family in the kingdom of Kasi, and 
when of age he became proficient in all liberal arts, and adopting the 
ascetic life he lived on wild berries and roots in a forest home. Now a 
certain doe in the brahmin's mingeing-place ate grass and drank water 
mingled with his semen, and was so much enamoured of him that she 
became pregnant and henceforth ever resorted to the spot near the 
hermitage. The Great Being examining into the matter learned the facts 
of the case. By and bye the doe gave birth to a man child, and the Great 

1 atthikaroH, 'to realise,' 'understand.' E. Morris, P. T. S. J. 1886, p. 107. 
" Vol. ni. No. 423. 



80 The Jataka. Book XVII. 

Being watched over it with a father's affection. And his name was 
Isisinga^. And when the lad reached years of discretion, he admitted him 
to holy orders, and when he himself grew an old man, he repaired with 
him to the Nari grove and thus admonished him, " My dear boy, in this 
Himalaya country are women as fair as these flowers : they bring utter 
destruction on all that fall into their power : you must not come under 
their sway." And shortly afterwards he became destined to birth in the 
Brahma world. But Isisiiiga, indulging in mystic meditation,- made his 
dwelling in the Himalaya region, a grim ascetic, with all his senses 
mortified. So by the power of his virtue the abode of Sakka was shaken. 
Sakka, on reflection, discovered the cause and thinking, " This fellow 
will bring me down from my position as Sakka, I will send a heavenly 
nymph to make a breach in his virtue," and after examining the whole 
angel world, amongst twenty-five millions of handmaids, save and except 
the nymph Alambusa, he found no other that was equal to the task. So 
summoning her, he bade her bring about the destruction of the saint's 
virtue. 



, [153] The Master, in explanation of this matter, uttered this stanza : 

Then mighty Indra, lord of lords, the god that Vatra slew, 
Unto his hall the nymph did call, for well her wiles he knew. 
And 'Fair Alambusa,' he cried, 'the angel host above 
To Isisinga bid thee go, to tempt him with thy love.' 



Sakka ordered Alambusa, saying, " Go and draw nigh to Isisinga, 
and bringing him under your power destroy his virtue,'' and he uttered 
these words : 

Go, Temptress, ever dog his steps, for holy sage is he. 
And, seeking ever highest bliss, still triumphs over me. 

On hearing this Alambusa repeated a couple of stanzas : 

"Why, king of gods, of all the nymphs regardst thou me alone. 
And bidst me tempt the saintly man that menaces thy throne? 
In happy grove of Nandana is many a nymph divine, 
To one of them — it is their turn — the hateful task assign. 

[154] Then Sakka repeated three stanzas : 

Thou speakest sooth ; in happy grove of Nandana, I ween. 
May many a nymph, to rival thee in loveliness, be seen. 

But none like thee, peerless maid, with all a woman's wile 
This holy man in folly's ways so practised to beguile. 

_ Then queen of women as thou art, go, lovely nymph, thy way 
And by the power of beauty force the saint to own thy sway. 

' Rdmayaifa i. 9. The story of Bishyasringa ; and Barlaani and josaphat ed. by 
J. Jacobs. 



No. 523. 



On hearing this Alambusa repeated two stanzas : 

I will not fail, angel-king, to go at thy behest. 

But still with fear this sage austere I venture to molest. 

For many a one, poor fool, has gone (I shudder at the thought) 
In hell to rue the suffering due to wrongs on saints he wrought. 



This said, Alambusa, fair nymph, departed with all speed. 
Famed IsisiAga to entice to some unholy deed. 

[155] Into the grove for half a league with berries red so bright, 
The grove where Isisinga dwelt, she vanished out of sight. 

At break of day, ere yet the sun was scarce astir on high, 
To Isisinga, sweeping out his cell, the nymph drew nigh. 

These stanzas owed their inspiration to Perfect Wisdom. 



Then the ascetic questioned her and said : 

Who art thou, like to lightning flash, or bright as morning star. 
With ears and hands bedecked with gems that sparkle from afar? 
Fragrant as golden sandal-wood, in brightness like the sun, 
A slim and winsome maid art thou, right fair to look upon. 
So soft and pure, with slender waist and firmly springing gait, 
Thy movements are so full of grace, my heart they captivate. 

Thy thighs, Uke trunk of elephant, are finely tapering found. 
Thy buttocks soft to touch and like to any dice-board round. 

With down like lotus filaments thy navel marked, I ween, 

As though with black collyrium 'twere charged, from far is seen. 

Twin milky breasts, Uke pumpkins halved, their swelling globes display. 
Firm set, although without a stalk all unsupported thej'. 
Thy lips are red as is thy tongue, and, O auspicious sign. 
Thy neck long as the antelope's is marked with triple line^. 
[156] Thy teeth brushed with a piece of wood, kept ever clean and bright, 
Gleam in thy top and lower jaw with flash of purest white. 
Thy eyes are long and large of shape, a lovely sight to view. 
Like gunjd berries black, marked out with lines of reddish hue. 
Thy tresses smooth, not over long and bound in neatest coil. 
Are tipped with gold and perfumed with the finest sandal oil. 
Of all that live by merchandise, by herds or by the plough. 
Of all the mighty saints that live true to ascetic vow — 
Amongst them all in this wide world thy peer I may not see. 
Then what thy name and who thy sire, we fain would learn from thee. 

[157] While the ascetic thus sang the praises of Alambusa, from 

her feet to the hair of her head, she remained silent, and from his 

long drawn out speech observing how disturbed was his state of mind 

she repeated this stanza : 

Heaven bless thee, Kassapa^, my friend, the time is past and gone 
For idle questions such as these — for are we not alone? — 
Come let us in thy hermitage embracing haste to prove 
The thousand joys well known to all the votaries of love. 

' kambugiva: three folda on the neck, like shell-spirals, were a token of luck, 
Jdtaka iv. 130. ^ Kassapa was the family name of Isisiiiga. 



82 The Jdtaka. Book XVII. 

So saying Alambusa thought, " If I stand still, he -will not come 
within reach of me ; I will make as if I were running away," and with all 
the cunning of a woman's wiles she shook the purpose of the ascetic, as 
she fled in the direction from which she had approached him. 



The Master, to make the matterclear, spoke this stanza : 

This said, Alambusa, fair nymph, departed with all speed, 
Famed Isisifiga to entice to some unholy deed. 



[158] Then the ascetic, on seeing her depart, cried, "She is oflF," and by 
a swift movement on his part he intercepted her as she was slowly making 
off and with his hand seized her by the hair of her head. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

To check her flight, the holy man with motion swift as air 
In hot pursuit o'ertook the nymph and held her by the hair. 

Just where he stood the lovely maid embraced him in her arms, 
And straight his virtue fell before the magic of her charms. 

In thought she flew to Indra's throne in Nandana afar ; 
The god at once divined her wish and sent a golden car. 

With trappings spread and all adorned with manifold array : 
And there the saint lay in her arms for many a long day. 

Three years passed o'er his head as though it were a moment's space. 
Until at last the holy man woke up from her embrace. 

Green trees he saw on every side ; an altar stood hard by, 
And verdant groves re-echoing to the loud cuckoo cry. 

He looked around and weeping sore he shed a bitter tear; 
' I make no offering, raise no hymn ; no sacrifice is here. 

Dwelling within this forest lone, who can my tempter be? 
Who by foul practice has o'ercome all sense of right in me, 
E'en as a ship with precious freight is swallowed in the sea?' 



[159] On hearing this Alambusa thought : " Should I not tell him, he 

will curse me ; verily, I will tell him," and standing by him in a visible 

form she repeated this stanza : 

Sent by king Sakka, here I stand 
A willing slave at thy command ; 
Though far too careless to know this, 
'Twas thought of me that marred thy bliss. 

On hearing her words he called to mind his father's admonition, and 
lamenting how he was utterly ruined by disobeying the words of his 
father he repeated four stanzas : 

Thus would kind Kaasapa, my sire, 
With prudence heedless youth inspire : 
'Women are fair as lotus flower. 
Beware, good youth, their subtle power. 



No. 523. 83 

Of woman's budding charms beware, 
Beware the danger that lurks ther«.' 
'Twas thus my sire, by pity moved, 
Would fain have warned the son he loved. 

[160] My wise old father's words, alas ! 
Unheeded I allowed to pass. 
And so alone, in sore distress 
I haunt to-day this wilderness. 

Accursed be the life of old. 
Henceforth I'll do as I am told. 
Far better death itself to face, 
Than be again in such a case. 

So he forsook sensual desire and entered upon mystic meditation. 
Then Alambusa, seeing his virtue as an ascetic and aware that he had 
attained to a state of ecstasy, became terrified and asked his forgiveness. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, repeated two stanzas ; 

Alambusa no sooner knew 
His steadfast power and courage true 
Than bending low, the sage to greet. 
The nymph straightway embraced his feet. 

'O saint, all anger lay aside, 
A mighty work I wrought,' she cried, 

'When heaven itself and gods of fame 
Trembled with fear to hear thy name.' 



Then he let her go, saying, " I pardon thee, fair lady ; go, as thou 
wilt." And he repeated a stanza: 

My blessing on the Thirty-three 
And Vasava, their lord, and thee : 
Depart, fair maid, for thou art free. 

Saluting him she departed to the abode of the gods in that same 
golden car. 



[161] The Master, to make the matter clear, repeated three stanzas : 

Embracing then the sage's feet and circling to the right, 
With hands in suppliant attitude, she vanished from his sight, 

And mounting on the golden car, with trappings rich o'erspread, 
All splendidly caparisoned, to heavenly heights she sped. 

Like blazing torch or lightning flash, she passed athwart the sky. 
And Sakka, glad at heart, exclaimed, ' No boon can I deny.' 



84 The Jataka. Booh XVII. 

Receiving a boon from him she repeated the concluding stanza : 

If Sakka, lord of sprites, thou wouldst my heart's desire allow, 
Let me ne'er tempt a saint again to violate his vow. 



The Master here ended his lesson to that Brother and revealed the Truths 
and identified the Birth: — At the conclusion of the Truths that Brother was 
established in the Fruit of the First Path — " At that time Alambusa was the 
wife of his unregenerate days, Isisinga was the back-sliding Brother, and the 
great saint his father was myself." 



No. 524. 

SA]M[KHAPALA-JATAKA. 

" Of comely presence," etc. This was a story told by the Master, while dwell- 
ing at Jetavana, with regard to the duties of holy days. Now on this occasion 
the Master, expressing approval of certain lay folk who kept holy days, said : 
" Wise men of old, giving up the great glory of the Naga world, observed holy 
days," and at their request he related a story of the past. 



Once upon a time a king of Magadha ruled in Bajagaha. At that 
time the Bodhisatta was born as the son of this king's chief consort, and 
they gave him the name of Duyyodhana. On coming of age he acquired 
the liberal arts at Takkasila and returned home to see his father. And 
his father installed him in the kingdom [162] and adopting the religious 
life took up his abode in the park. Thrice a day did the Bodhisatta come 
to visit his father who thereby received great profit and honour. Owing 
to this hindrance he failed to perform even the preparatory rites that lead 
to mystic meditation and he thought, " I am receiving great profit and 
honour : so long as I live here, it will be impossible for me to destroy this 
lust of mine. Without saying a word to my son, I will depart elsewhere." 
So not telling a creature he left the park and passing beyond the borders 
of the realm of Magadha he built him a hut of leaves in the Mahuhsaka 
kingdom, near Mount Caudaka, in a bend of the river Kannapenna, where 
it issues out of the lake Samkhapala. There he took up his abode and 
performing the preparatory rites he developed the faculty of mystic medi- 
tation and subsisted on whatever he could pick up. A king of the Nagas, 
Saitikhapala by name, issuing forth from the Kannapenna river with a 
numerous company of snakes from time to time would visit the ascetic, and 



No. 524. 85 

he instructed the Naga king in the Law. Now the son was anxious to see 
his father and being ignorant as to where he had gone, he set on foot an 
inquiry, and on finding out that he was dwelling in such and such a place 
he repaired thither with a large retinue to see him. Having halted a short 
distance oflF, accompanied by a few courtiers he set out in the direction of 
the hermitage. At this moment Samkhapala with a large following sat 
listening to the Law, but on seeing the king approaching he rose up and 
with a salutation to the sage he took his departure. The king saluted his 
father and after the usual courtesies had been exchanged he inquired, 
saying, " Reverend sir, what king is this that has been to see you? " 
" Dear son, he is Samkhapala, the Naga king." The son by reason of the 
great magnificence of the Naga conceived a longing for the Naga world. 
Staying there a few days he furnished his father with a constant supply of 
food, and then returned to his own city. There he had an alms-hall 
erected at the four city gates, and by his alms-giving he made a stir 
throughout all India, and in aspiring to the Naga world he ever kept the 
moral law and observed the duty of holy days, and at the end of his life he 
was re-born in the Naga world as king Sarfcikhapala. [163] In course of 
time he grew sick of this magnificence and from that day desiring to be 
born as a man he kept the holy days, but dwelling as he did in the Naga 
world his observance of them was not a success and he deterioi-ated in 
morals. From that day he left the Naga world and not far from the river 
Kannapenna, coiled round an ant-hill between the high road and a 
narrow path, he there resolved to keep the holy day and took upon 
himself the moral law. And saying "Let those that want my skin or 
want my skin and flesh, let them, I say, take it all," and thus sacrificing 
himself by way of charity he lay on the top of the ant-hill and, stopping 
there on the fourteenth and fifteenth of the half-month, on the first 
day of each fortnight he returned to the Naga world. So one day 
when he lay there, having taken upon himself the obligation of the 
moral law, a party of sixteen men who lived in a neighbouring village, 
being minded to eat flesh, roamed about in the forest with weapons in 
their hands and when they returned without finding anything, they 
saw him lying on the ant-hill and thinking, " To-day we have not 
caught so much as a young lizard, we will kill and eat this snake-king,'' 
but fearing that on account of his great size, even if they caught him, he 
would escape from them, they thought they would pierce him with stakes 
just as he lay there coiled up, and after thus disabling him, effect his 
capture. So taking stakes in their hands they drew nigh to him. And 
the Bodhisatta caused his body to become as big as a trough-shaped canoe, 
and looked very beautiful, like a jasmine wreath deposited on the ground, 
with eyes like the fruit of the guHjd shrub and a head like a jayasumana' 
' Pentapetes Phoenicea. 



86 The Jataka. Booh XVII. 

flower and at the sound of the foot-steps of these sixteen men, drawing out 
his head from his coils, and opening his fiery eyes, he beheld them coming 
with stakes in their hands and thought, " To-day my desire will be fulfilled 
as I lie here, I will be firm in my resolution and yield myself up to them 
as a sacrifice, and when they strike me with their javelins and cover me 
with wounds, I will not open my eyes and regard them with anger." And 
conceiving this firm resolve through fear of breaking the moral law, [164] 
he tucked his head into his hood and lay down. Then coming up to 
him they seized him by the tail and dragged him along the ground. Again 
dropping him they wounded him in eight different places with sharp stakes 
and thrusting black bamboo sticks, thorns and all, into his open wounds, 
so proceeded on their way, carrying him with them by means of strings in 
the eight several places. The Great Being from the moment of his being 
wounded by the stakes never once opened his eyes nor regarded the men 
with anger, but as he was being dragged along by means of the eight 
sticks his head hung down and struck the ground. So when they found 
that his head was drooping, they laid him down on the high road and 
piercing his nostrils with a slender stake they held up his head and 
inserted a cord, and after fastening it at the end they once more raised 
his head and set out on their way. At this moment a landowner named 
Ajara, who dwelt in the city of Mithila in the kingdom of Videha, seated 
in a comfortable carriage was journeying with five hundred wagons, and 
seeing these lewd fellows on their way with the Bodhisatta, he gave all 
sixteen of them, together with an ox apiece, a handful of golden coins to 
each, and to all of them outer and inner garments, and to their wives 
ornaments to weai-, and so got them to release him. The Bodhisatta 
returned to the Naga palace and without any delay, issuing forth with a 
great retinue, he approached Ajara, and after singing the praises of the 
Naga palace he took him with him and returned thither. Then he 
bestowed great honour on him together with three hundred Naga maidens 
and satisfied him with heavenly delights. Alara dwelt a whole year in the 
Naga palace in the enjoyment of heavenly pleasures, and then saying to 
the Naga kir^, " My friend, I wish to become an ascetic," and taking 
with him everything requisite for the ascetic life he left the abode of the 
Nagas for the Himalaya region and taking orders dwelt there for a long 
time. By and bye he went on a pilgrimage and came to Benares where 
he took up his abode in the king's park. Next day he entered the city 
for alms and made his way to the door of the king's house. The king of 
Benares on seeing him was so charmed with his deportment that he 
called him to his presence, seated him on a special seat assigned to 
him and served him with a variety of dainty food. [165] Then seated 
on a low seat the king saluted him and conversing with him gave utter- 
ance to the first stanza : 



No. 524. 87 

Of comely presence and of gracious mien, 

A scion thou of noble rank, I ween ; 

Whj then renounce earth's joys and worldly gear 

To adopt the hermit's robe and rule severe? 

In what follows the connexion of the stanzas is to be understood 
in the way of alternate speeches by the ascetic and the king. 

lord of men, I well remembering 

The abode of that almighty Naga king. 

Saw the rich fruit that springs from holiness, 

And straight believing donned the priestly dress. 

Nor fear nor lust nor hate itself may make 
A holy man the words of truth forsake : 
Tell me the thing that I am fain to know. 
And faith and peace within my heart will grow. 

king, on trading venture was I bound 
"When these lewd wretches in my path were found, 
A full-grown snake in captive chains was led. 
And home in triumj)h joyously they sped. 

As I came up with them, king, I cried, 
— Amazed I was and greatly terrified — 
' Where are ye dragging, sirs, this monster grim. 
And what, lewd fellows, will ye do with him ? ' 

[166] ' This full-grown snake that ye see fettered thus 
With its hiige frame will furnish food to us. 
Than this, Alara, thou couldst hardly wish 
To taste a better or more savoury dish.' 

'Hence to our home we'll fly and in a trice 
Each with his knife cut off a dainty slice 
And gladly eat his flesh, for, as you know. 
Snakes ever find in us a deadly foe.' 

' If this huge snake, late captured in the wood. 
Is being dragged along to serve as food, 
To each an ox I offer, one apiece. 
Should you this serpent from his chains release.' 

'Beef has for us a pleasant sound, I vow. 
On snake's flesh we have fed full oft ere now. 
Thy bidding, O Alara, we will do ; 
Henceforth let friendship reign betwixt us two.' 

Then they released him from the cord that passed 
Kight through his nose and knotted held him fast. 
The serpent-king set free from durance vile 
Turned him .towards the east, then paused awhile. 

And facing still the east, prepared to fly, 

Looked back upon me with a tearful eye. 

While I pursuing him upon his way 

Stretched forth clasped hands, as one about to pray. 

' Speed thou, my friSnd, like one in haste that goes. 
Lest once again thou fall amongst thy foes. 
Of such like ruffians shun the very sight, 
Or thou'mayst suffer to thine own despite.' 

Then to a charming limpid pool he sped 
— Canes and rose apples both its banks o'erspread — 
[167] Right glad at heart, no further fear he knew. 
But plunged in azure depths was lost to view. 



88 The Jataka. Book XVII. 

No sooner vanished had the snake, than he 

Revealed full clearly his divinity, 

In kindly acts he played a filial part, 

And with his grateful speeches touched my heart. 

'Thou dearer than my parents didst restore 
My life, true friend e'en to thy inmost core. 
Through thee my former bliss has been regained, 
Then come, Alara, see where once I reigned, 
A dwelling stored with food, like Indra's town 
Masakkasara, place of high renown.' 

[168] The serpent-king, sire, after he had spoken these words, still 

further singing the praises of his dwelling place, repeated a couple of 

stanzas : 

What charming spots in my domain are seen. 
Soft to the tread and clothed in evergreen ! 
Nor dust nor gravel in our path we find. 
And there do happy souls leave grief behind. 

Midst level courts that sapphire walls surround 
Fair mango groves on every side abound, 
Whereon ripe clusters of rich fruit appear 
Through all the changing seasons of the y&ir. 

[169] Amidst these groves a fabric wrought of gold 
And fixed with silver bolts thou mayst behold, 
A dwelling bright in splendour, to outvie 
The lightning flash that gleams athwart the sky. 

Fashioned with gems and gold, divinely fair. 
And decked with paintings manifold and rare, 
'Tis thronged with nymphs magnificently dressed. 
All wearing golden chains upon their breast. 

Then in hot haste did Samkhapala climb 
The terraced height, on which in power sublime 
Uplifted on a thousand piers was seen 
The palace of his wedded wife and queen. 

Quickly anon one of that maiden band 
Bearing a precious jewel in her hand, 
A turquoise rare with magic power replete, 
And all unbidden oflered me a seat. 

The snake then grasped my arm and led me where 
There stood a noble and right royal chair, 
' Pray, let jour Honour sit here by my side, 
As parent dear to me art thou,' he cried. 

A second nymph then quick at his command 
Came with a bowl of water in her hand, 
And bathed my feet, kind service tendering 
As did the queen for her dear lord the king. 

[170] Then yet another maiden in a 'trice 

Served in a golden dish some curried rice. 
Flavoured with many a sauce, that haply might 
With dainty cravings tempt the appetite. 

With strains of music then— for such they knew 
Was their lord's wish — they fain were to subdue 
My will, nor did the king himself e'er fail 
My soul with heavenly longings to a.ssail. 



No. 524. 89 

Drawing nigh to me he thus repeated another stanza : 

Three hundred wives, Alara, here have I, 
Slim-waisted all, in beauty they outvie 
The lotus flower. Behold, they only live 
To do thy will : accept the boon I give. 

Alara said : 

[171] One year with heavenly pleasures was I blest 
When to the king this question I addressed, 
'How, Naga, is this palace fair thy home, 
And how to be thy portion did it come? 

Was this fair place by accident atta.ined, 
Wrought by thyself, or gift from angels gained? 
I ask thee, Naga king, the truth to tell. 
How didst thou come in this fair place to dwell ?' 

Then followed stanzas uttered by the two' alternately • 

'Twas by no chance or natural law attained. 
Not wrought by me, no boon from angels gained ; 
But to my own good actions, thou must know, 
And to ray merits these fair halls I owe. 

What holy vow, what life so chaste and pure 
"W^hat store of merit could such bliss secure? 
Tell me, serpent-king, for I am fain 
To know how this fair mansion thou couldst gain. 

I once was king of Magadha, my name 
Duyyodhana, a prince of mighty fame ; 
[172] I held my life as vile and insecure, 

■ Without all power in ripeness to mature. 

I meat and drink religiously supplied, 
And alms bestowed on all, both far and wide, 
My house was like an inn, where all that came. 
Sages and saints, refreshed their weary frame. 

Bound by such vows, such was the life I passed, 
And such the store of merit I amassed, 
Whereby this mansion was at length attained. 
And food and drink in ample measure gained. 

This life, however bright for many a day 
With dance and song, yet lasted not for aye, 
Weak creatures harry thee for all thy might 
And feeble beings put the strong to flight. 
Why, armed to the teeth in such unequal fray. 
To those vile beggars shouldst thou fall a prey 1 

By what o'ermastering dread wert thou undone? 
Where had the virus of thy poison gone ? 
Why, armed to the teeth and powerful as thou wert. 
From such poor creatures didst thou suffer hurt? 

By no o'ermastering dread was I undone, 

Nor could my powers be crushed by any one. 

The worth of goodness is by all confessed ; 

Its bounds, hke the sea shore, are ne'er transgressed. 

' The two interlocutors are the Naga king and Alara. 



90 The Jataka. Booh XVII. 

Two times each moon I kept a holy day ; 
'Twas then, Alara, that there crossed my way 
Twice eight lewd fellows, bearing in their hand 
A rope and knotted noose of finest strand. 

[173] The ruffians pierced my nose, and through the slit 
Passing the cord, dragged me along by it. 
Such pain I had to bear — ah ! cruel fate — 
For holding holy days inviolate. 

Seeing in that lone path, stretched at full length, 
A thing of beauty and enormous strength, 
'Why, wise and glorious one,' I cried, 'dost thou 
Take on thyself this strict ascetic vow ? ' 

Neither for child nor wealth is my desire 
Nor yet to length of days do I aspire ; 
But midst the world of men I fain would live. 
And to this end heroically strive. 

With hair and beard well-trimmed, thy sturdy frame 
Adorned with gorgeous robes, an eye of flame. 
Bathed in red sandal oil thou seemst to shine 
Afar, e'en as some minstrel king divine. 

With heavenly gifts miraculously blest 
And of whate'er thy heart may crave possest, 
I ask thee, serpent-king, the truth to tell. 
Why dost thou in man's world prefer to dwell ? 

Nowhere but in the world of men, I ween. 
May purity and self-restraint be seen : 
If only once midst men I draw my breath, 
I'll put an end to further birth and death. 

Ever supplied with bountiful good cheer, 
With thee, O king, I've sojourned for a year. 
Now must I say farewell and flee away. 
Absent from home no longer can I stay. 

My wife and children and our menial band 
Are ever trained to wait at thy command : 
[174] No one, I trust, has ofiered thee a slight 
For dear art thou, Alara, to my sight. 

Kind parents' presence fills a home with joy. 
Yet more than they some fondly cherished boy : 
But greatest bliss of all have I found here, 
For thou, O king, hast ever held me dear. 

I have a jewel rare with blood-red spot, 
That brings great wealth to such as have it not. 
Take it and go to thine own home, and when 
Thou hast grown rich, pray, send it back again. 

[175] Alara, having spoken these words proceeded as follows: 
"Then, O sire, I addressed the serpent-king and said, 'I have no need 
of riches, sir. But I am anxious to take orders,' [176] and having begged 
for everything requisite for the ascetic life, I left the Naga palace 
together with the king, and after sending him back I entered the 
Himalaya country and took orders." And after these words he delivered 



No. 525. 91 

a religious discourse to the king -of Benares and repeated yet another 

couple of stanzas : 

Desires of man are transient, nor can they 
The higher law of ripening change obey : 
Seeing what woes from sinful passion spring, 
Faith led me on to be ordained, Icing. 

Men fall like fruit, to perish straight away, 
All bodies, young and old alike, decay : 
In holy orders only find I rest. 
The true' and universal is the best. 

[177] On hearing this the king repeated another stanza : 

The wise and learned, such as meditate 
On mighty themes, we all should cultivate-; 
Hearkening, Alara, to the snake and thee, 
Lo ! I perform all deeds of piety. 

Then the ascetic, putting forth his strength, uttered a concluding 
stanza : 

The wise and learned, such as meditate 
On mighty themes, we all should cultivate : 
Hearkening, monarch, to the snake and me. 
Do thou perform all deeds of piety. 

Thus did he give the king religious instruction, and after dwelling in 
the .same spot four months of the rainy season he again returned to the 
Himalaya, and as long as he lived, cultivated the four Perfect States 
till he passed to the Brahma heaven, and Saiiikhapala, so long as he 
lived, observed holy days, and the kiug, after a life spent in charity and 
other good works, fared according to his deeds. 



The Master at the end of this discourse identified the Birth : "At that 
time the father who became an ascetic was Kassapa, the king of Benares was 
Ananda, Alara was Sariputta and Samkhapala was myself." 



No. 525. 

CULLA-S UTASOM A-JATAKA. 

" Good friends," etc. This story the Master while residing at Jetavana told 
concerning the perfect exercise of self-abnegation. The introductory story 
corresponds with that of the Mahanaradakassapa^ Birth. 



Once upon a time what is now Benares was a city called Sudassana 
and in it dwelt king Brahmadatta. His chief consort gave birth to the 

' apannaka, cf. vol. i. p. 95, Apannaka-Jataha. 
' 2 Vol. VI. No. 544. 



92 The Jataka. Book XVII. 

Bodhisatta. His face was glorious as the full moon, and therefore he 
was named Somakumara. When he arrived at years of discretion, owing 
to his fondness for Soma juice and his habit of pouring libations of it, 
men knew him as Sutasoma (Soma-distiller). When he was of age, he 
was instructed in the liberal arts at Takkasila, and on his return home he 
was presented with a white umbrella by his father and ruled his kingdom 
righteously and owned a vast dominion, and he had sixteen thousand 
wives with CandadevI as chief consort. By and bye when he was blest 
with a numerous family, he grew discontented with domestic life and retired 
into a forest, desiring to embrace the ascetic rule. One day he summoned 
his barber and thus addressed him, " When you see a grey hair on my 
head, you are to tell me." The barber agreed to do so and by and bye 
he espied a grey hair and told him of it. The king said, " Then, sir 
barber, pull it out and place it in my hand." The barber plucked it 
out with a pair of golden tweezers and laid it in his hand. The Great 
Being, when he saw it, exclaimed, " My body is a prey to old age," and 
in a fright he took the grey hair and descending from the terrace [178] 
he seated himself on a throne placed in the sight of the people. Then 
he summoned eighty thousand councillors headed by his general and sixty 
thousand brahmins headed by his chaplain and many others of his 
subjects and citizens and said to them, " A grey hair has appeared on 
my head ; I am an old man, and you are to know that I am become 
an ascetic," and he repeated the first stanza : 

Good friends and citizens assembled here. 

Hearken, my trusty counsellors, to me. 
Now that grey hairs upon my head appear, 

Henceforth it is my will a monk to be. 

On hearing this each one of them in a fit of dejection repeated this 
stanza : 

Such random' words as these in uttering 

Thou mak'st an arrow quiver in my heart: 
Remember thy seven hundred wives, O king ; 
What will become of them, shouldst thou depart 1 

Then the Great Being spoke the third stanza : 

Their sorrows soon another will console, 
For they are young in years and fair to see. 

But I am bent upon a heavenly goal 
And so right fain am I a monk to be. 

His counsellors, being unable to answer the king, went to his mother 
and told her about it. She came in hot haste [179] and asking him, 
"Is this true what they say, dear son, that you long to be an ascetic?" 
she i-epeated two stanzas: 

' ablmmma, out of one's range or sphere, unfit, improper. 



No. 525. , 93 

Ill-fated was the day, alas! that I 
Was hailed as mother to a son like thee, 

For heedless of my tears and bitter cry. 
Thou art resolved, king, a monk to be. 

Accursed was the day, alas ! that I, 

Sutasoma dear, gave birth to thee. 
For heedless of my tears and bitter cry. 

Thou art resolved, king, a monk to be. 

While his mother thus lamented, the Bodhisatta uttered not a word. 

She remained apart all by herself, weeping. Then they told his father. 

And he came and repeated a single stanza : 

What is this Law that leads thee to become 
Eager to quit thy kingdom and thy home? 
With thy old parents left behind to dwell 
Here all alone, seek'st thou a hermit's cell ? 

On hearing this the Great Being held his peace. Then his father 
said, " My dear Sutasoma, even though you have no affection for your 
parents, you have many young sons and daughters. They will not be able 
to live without you. At the very moment when they are grown up, 
will you become an ascetic?" and he repeated the seventh stanza : 

[180] But thou hast many a child, I ween. 
And all of tender years. 
When thou no longer mayst be seen, 
What sorrow will be theirs ! 

Hearing this the Great Being repeated a stanza : 

Yes, I have many a child, I ween. 

Of tender years are they, 
With them full long though I have been, 

1 now must part for aye. 

Thus did the Great Being declare the Law to his father. And 
when he heard his exposition of the Law, he held his peace. Then they 
told his seven hundred wives. And they, descending from the palace 
tower, came into his presence, and embracing his feet they made lamen- 
tation and repeated this stanza : 

Thy heart in sorrow, sure, must break 

Or pity is to thee unknown, 
That thou canst holy orders take. 

And leave us here to weep alone. 

The Great Being, on hearing their lamentation as they threw them- 
selves at his feet and cried aloud, repeated yet another stanza : 

My heart in sorrow may not break, 
[181] Though I feel pity for your pain, 
But holy orders I must take, 
That I may heavenly bliss attain. 

Then they told his queen consort, and she being heavy with child, 
though her time was well nigh come, approached the Great Being and 
saluting him stood respectfully on one side and repeated three stanzas : 



94 Tlie Jatala. Booh XVII. 

Ill-fated was the day, alas ! that I 

Sutasoma dear, espoused thee, 
For heedless of my tears and bitter cry 

Thou art resolved, king, a monk to be^ 

Accursed was the day, alas ! that I 

Sutasoma dear, espoused thee, 

For thou wouldst leave me in my throes to die, 
Determined as thou art a monk to be. 

The hour of my delivery is nigh. 

And I would fain my lord should stay with me 

Until my child is born, before that I 
See the sad day that I ain- reft of thee. 

Then the Great Being repeated a stanza : 

The hour of thy delivery is nigh. 
Until the babe is born, I'll stay with thee, 
[182] Then will I leave the royal imp and fly 

Far from the world a holy monk to be. 

On hearing his words she was no longer able to control her grief, 

and holding her heart with both her hands, said, " Henceforth, my lord, 

our glory is no more." Then wiping away her tears she loudly lamented. 

The Great Being to console her repeated a stanza : 

My queen, with eye like ebon flower. 
Dear Canda, weep not thou for me, 
But climb once more thy palace tower : 

1 go without one care for thee. 

Being unable to bear his words she mounted the palace tower and 
sat there weeping. Then the Bodhisatta's elder son seeing it said, 
"Why does my mother sit here weeping?" and he repeated this stanza 
in the form of a question : 

Who has annoyed thee, mother dear. 

Why dost thou weep and stare at me ? 
Whom of my kin that I see here 

Must I, all impious, slay for thee? 

Then the queen uttered this stanza : 

No harm, dear son, may touch his head. 
Who lives to work such woe for me : 
[183] For know it was thy sire who said, 
'I go without one care for thee.' 

Hearing her words he said, " Dear mother, what is this that you 
say ? If this be so, we shall be helpless," and making lamentation he spoke 
this stanza : 

I who once ranged the park to see 

Wild elephants engage in fight. 
If my dear sire a monk should be. 

What should I do, poor luckless wight? 

Then his younger brother who was seven years old, when he saw 
them both weeping, drew nigh to his mother and said, "My dear ones, 
why do ye weep 1 " and hearing the cause he said, " Well, cease to weep ; 



No. 525. 95 

I will not allow him to become an ascetic," and he comforted them both, 
and with his nurse, coming down from the palace tower, he went to his 
father and said, "Dear father, they tell me you are leaving us against 
our will and say you will be an ascetic ; I will not allow you to become 
an ascetic," and clasping his father firmly by the neck he uttered this 
stanza : 

My mother, lo ! is weeping and 

My brother fain would keep thee still, 
I too will hold thee by the hand 

Nor let thee go against our will. 

The Great Being thought, " This child is a source of danger to me ; 
by what means am I to get rid of him ? " then looking at his nurse he 
said, " Good nurse, behold this jewel ornament : this is yours : [184] 
only take away the child, that he be not a hindrance to me," and being 
unable by himself to get rid of the child who held him by the hand, he 
promised her a bribe and repeated this stanza : 

Up nurse and let the little boy 

Disport him in some other place. 
Lest haply he should mar my joy 

And hinder in my heavenward race. 

She took the bribe and comforting the child she went with him to 
another place, and thus lamenting repeated this stanza : 

What now if I reject outright 
— I need it not — this jewel bright ? 
For should my lord a hermit be, 
What use would jewels be to me? 

Then his commander-in-chief thought, " This king, methinks, has come 

to the conclusion that he has but little treasure in his house; I will 

let him know he has a great quantity," so standing up he saluted him 

and repeated this stanza : 

Thy coffers filled with treasures vast, 
Great wealth hast thou, O king, amassed : 
The world is all subdued by thee. 
Take thou thy ease ; no hermit be. 

Hearing this, the Great Being repeated this stanza : 

My coffers filled with treasures vast. 
Great wealth has been by me amassed : 
The whole world is subdued by me ; 
I leave it all a monk to be. 

[185] When he had departed on hearing this, a rich merchant 

named Kulavaddhana stood up and saluting the king repeated this 

stanza : 

Great wealth have I, O king, amassed. 
Beyond all power of reckoning vast : 
Behold I give it all to thee. 
Take thou thy ease; no hermit be. 



96 The Jataha. Book XVII. 

On hearing this the Great Being repeated a stan/a : 

Kulav%,ddhana, I know, 

Thy wealth on me thou wouldst bestow, 

But I a heavenly goal would win, 

So I renounce this world of sin. 

As soon as Kulavaddhana had heard this and was gone, he thus addressed 
his younger brother Somadatta, " Dear brother, I am as discontented as a 
wild cock in a cage, my dislike to household life gets the better of me ; 
this very day will I become a hermit; do you undertake to rule this 
kingdom," and handing it over to him he repeated this stanza : 

Somadatta, sure I feel 

Strange loathing o'er my senses steal 
At thought of my besetting sins : 
To-day my hermit life begins. 

On hearing these words Somadatta too longed to be a hermit and to 
make this clear he repeated another stanza : 

Dear Sutasoma, go and dwell 
As pleaseth thee in hermit cell ; 

1 too a hermit fain would be, 

For hfe were nought apart from thee. 

Then in refusing this Sutasoma repeated a half-stanza : 

Thou mayst not go, or through the land 
Home life would all come to a stand i. 

[186] On hearing this the people threw themselves down at the feet of 
the Great Being and, lamenting, said 

Should Sutasoma go away, 

What would become of us, we pray ? 

Then the Great Being said, " Well, grieve not : though I have been 
long with you, I shall now have to part from you ; there is no permanence 
in any existing thing," and teaching the Law to the people, he said. 

Like water through a sieve ^, our day 
So brief alas ! fast slips away : 
With life thus circumscribed, I ween. 
No room for carelessness is seen. 

Like water through a sieve, our day 
So brief alas ! fast slips away : 
With life thus circumscribed all round. 
Only the fool is careless found. 

Bound fast by lusts, wherein they fell, 
Such men enlarge the bounds of Hell, 
Crowd the brute world and realm of ghosts, 
And multiply the demon hosts. 

' Lit. "There is no cooking," or as the commentary explains, "no one kindles a 
fire in the oven." 

2 camgavdra. The word is rendered by B. D. in Mil. ii. p. 278 (S. B. E.) as 
" dyers' straining-cloth." Cf. Majjh. Nik. i. 144, and Neumann's translation i. p. 239, 
where he renders it geflecht, basket-work. 



No. 525. 97 

[187] Thus did the Great Being instruct the people in the Law, and 
climbing to the top -of the Palace of Flowers he stood on the seventh 
storey, and with a sword he out off his top-knot and cried, " I am now 
nothing to you ; choose ye a king of your own," and with these words he 
thi-ew his top-knot, turban and all, into the midst of the people. The 
people seized hold of it, and as they rolled over and over on the ground 
they loudly lamented, and a cloud of dust rose at this spot to a great 
height, and the people stepping back stood and looked at it, and said, 
" The king must have cut off his top-knot and thrown it, turban and all, 
into the midst of the crowd, and therefore it is that a cloud of dust has 
risen near the palace," and lamenting they uttered this stanza : 

Yon cloud of dust see how it towers 
Hard by the royal House of Flowers ; 
Famed King of Eight, methinks, our lord 
Has shorn his locks off with a sword. 

But the Great Being sent an attendant and had all the requisites for 
an ascetic brought to him, and had a barber to remove his hair and beard, 
and throwing his magnificent robe on a couch he cut off strips of dyed 
cloth, and putting on these yellow patches he fastened an earthen bowl 
on the top of his left shoulder and with a mendicant staff in his hand he 
paced backwards and forwards on the topmost storey, and then descending 
from the palace tower he stepped out into the street, but no one recognised 
him as he went. Then his seven hundred royal wives ascending the tower 
and not finding him, but seeing only the bundle of his adornments, came down 
and told the other sixteen thousand women, saying, " Mighty Sutasoma, 
your dear lord, has become an ascetic," and loudly lamenting they went out. 
At this moment [188] the people learned that he had become an ascetic, 
and the whole city was greatly stirred, and the people said, " They tell us, 
our king has become a monk," and they assembled at the palace dooi-, 
and crying, " The king must be here or there," they ran to all the places 
frequented by him, and not finding the king they wandered to and fro, 
uttering their lament in these stanzas : 

'Here are his golden palace-towers 
All hung with wreaths of scented flowers. 
Where girt with many a lady fair 
Our king would oftentimes repair. 

Here wreathed with flowers and wrought of gold 
His gabled-hall one may behold. 
Where, all his kinsfolk by his side, 
Our king would range in all his pride. 

' It Beems unnecessary to translate all the sixteen stanzas in the text, differing, as 
they do, from one another for the most part by a single word, usually the name of a 
tree or flower. 

J. v. 7 



98 The Jataka. Booh XVII. 

This is his garden bright with flowers 
Through all the season's changing hours, 
Where girt, &c. 

His lake o'erspread with lotus blue, 
Haunt of wild birds, here comes in view, 
Where, all his kinsfolk, &c. 

[190] Thus did the people utter lamentation in these various places, 
and then returning to the palace yard they repeated this stanza : 

King Sutasoma, sad to tell, 
Has left his throne for hermit cell. 
And, clad in yellow, goes his way 
Like some lone elephant astray. 

Then they went forth leaving all their household gear, and taking their 
children by the hand they repaired to the Bodhisatta, and with them went 
their parents and young children and sixteen thousand dancing girls. The 
whole city had the appearance of a deserted place, and behind them 
followed the country folk. The Bodhisatta with a company covering 
twelve leagues set out in the direction of the Himalayas. Then Sakka, 
taking note of his Renunciation of the World, addressing Vissakamma 
said, "Friend Vissakamma, king Sutasoma is retiring from the world. 
[191] He ought to have a place to dwell in : there wUl be a huge gathering 
of them." And he sent him, saying, " Go and have a hermitage erected, 
thirty leagues long and five leagues broad, on the banks of the Ganges in 
the Himalayan country.'' He did so, and, providing in this hermitage all 
that was requisite for the ascetic life, he made a foot-path straight t<J it 
and then returned to the angel-world. The Great Being entered the 
hermitage by this path, and, after he himself was first of all ordained, he 
admitted the rest to orders, and by arid bye a great number was ordained, 
insomuch that a space of thirty leagues was filled with them. Now how 
the hermitage was built by Vissakamma, and how a great number took 
orders and how the Bodhisatta's hermitage was arranged — all this is to be 
understood in the way related in the Hatthipala' Birth. In this case if a 
thought of desire or any other false thought sprang up in the mind of any 
one whatsoever, the Great Being approached him through the air, and 
sitting cross-legged in space be by way of admonition addressed him in a 
couple of stanzas : 

CaU not to mind love's sports of yore 
While still a smiling face you wore. 
Lest that Fair City of Delight 
Should waken lust and slay you quite. 

Indulge without or stint or stay 
Good will to men by night and day. 
So shall ye win the angel home 
Where all that do good deeds shall come. 

1 Vol. IV. No. 509. 



No. 525. 99 

[192] And this company of saints abiding by his admonition became 
destined to the Brahma world, and the story is to be told exactly as it is 
in the Hatthipala Birth. 



The Master having concluded this discourse said, " Not only now, Brethren, 
but formerly also the Tathagata made the Great Renunciation," and he identified 
the Birth. "At that time the father and mother were members of the Great 
King's Court, Canda was the mother of Rahula, the elder son was Sariputta, the 
younger son was Rahula, the nurse was Khujjuttara, Kulavaddhana, the rich 
merchant, was Kaasapa, the commander-in-chief was Moggallana, prince Soma- 
datta was Ananda, King Sutasoma was myself" 



7—2 



BOOK XVIII. PANNASANIPATA. 
No. 526. 



NALINIKA-JlTAKA. 

[193] ^'■Lo! the luTid," etc. This story the Master told while residing at 
Jetavana concerning the temptation of a Brother by the wife of his unregenerate 
days. And in telling the story he asked the Brother by whom he had been led 
astray. " By a former wife," said he. " Verily, Brother," the Master said, " she 
worketh mischief for you. Of old it was owing to her that you fell away from 
mystic meditation and w^re mightily destroyed." And so saying he told a story 
of the past. 



Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta ruled in Benares, the Bodhisatta 
was born of a wealthy family in the brahmins of the North, and when he 
had come of age and had been trained in all the arts, he adopted the 
ascetic life, and after developing supernatural powers by the exercise of 
mystic meditation he took up his abode in the Himalayas. Exactly in the 
same way as related in the 'Alambusa Birth a doe conceived by him and 
brought foith a son who was called Isisinga. Now when he was grown up, 
his father admitted him to holy orders and had him instructed in the rites 
inducing mystic meditation. In no long time he developed by this means 
supernatural faculties and enjoyed the bliss of ecstasy in the region of the 
Himalayas, and by mortification of the senses he became a sage of such 
severe austerity that the abode of Sakka was shaken by the power of his 
virtue. Sakka by reflection discovered the cause of it, and thinking, " I 
will find a way to break down his virtue," for the space of three years he 
stopped rain from falling in the kingdom of Kasi, and the country became 
as it were scorched up, and when no crops came to perfection, the people 
under the stress of famine gathered themselves together in the palace yard 
and reproached the king. Taking his stand at an open window, he asked 
what was the matter. [194] "Your Majesty," they said, "for three years 
no rain has fallen from heaven, and the whole kingdom is burned up and 
the people ai-e suffering greatly ; cause rain to fall. Sire." The king, 
taking upon him moral vows and observing a fast, yet failed to bring down 
the rain. It was then that Sakka at midnight entered the royal chamber 

1 Vol. V. No. 523. 



No. 526. 101 

and illuminating it all round was seen to stand in mid air. The king on 
seeing him asked, "Who art thou?" " I am Sakka," he said. "Wherefore 
art thou comeT' "Does rain fall in your realm, Sire?" "No, it does 
not rain." "Do you know why it does not rain?" "I do not know." 
"In the Himalaya country. Sire, dwells an ascetic named Isisinga, who 
from the mortilication of his senses is severely austere. He constantly, 
when it begins to rain, looks up at the sky in a rage and so the rain 
ceases." " What then is to be done now ? " " Shoiild his virtue be 
broken down, it will rain.'' "But who is able to overcome his virtue?" 
"Your daughter, Sire, Nalinika can do it. Summon her here and bid her 
go to such and such a place and make a breach in the virtue of the ascetic." 
And, having thus admonished the king, Sakka returned to his own abode. 
On the morrow the king took counsel with his courtiers and summoning 
his daughter addressed her in the iirst stanza : 

Lo ! the land lies scorched and ruined and my realm sinks to decay : 
Go, Nalinika, and, prithee, bring this brahmin 'neath thy sway. 

On hearing this she repeated a second stanza : 

How shall I endure this hardship, how, midst elephants astray. 
Through the glades of yonder forest shall I safely guide my way ? 

Then the king repeated two stanzas : 

Seek thy happy home, my daughter, and from thence without delay 
In a car of wood so deftly framed ride thou upon thy way. 

[195] Horses, elephants, and footmen — go, begirt with brave array. 

And with charm of beauty quickly thou shalt bring him 'neath thy sway. 

Thus for the protection of his realm did he talk with his daughter even 
of such things as should not be spoken of in words. And she readily lent 
an ear to his proposals. Then, after giving her all that she required, he 
sent her away with his ministers. They went to the frontier and, after 
pitching their camp there, they had the princess conveyed by a road 
pointed out to them by some foresters, and at break of day, entering the 
Himalaya country, they arrived at a spot close to the ascetic's hermitage. 
At this very moment the Bodhisatta, leaving his son behind in the 
hermitage, had gone into the forest to gather wild fruits. The foresters 
themselves approached the hermitage and, standing where they could see 
it, they pointed it out to Nalinika and repeated two stanzas : 

With plantain marked, midst bhurja trees so green, 
Lo ! Isisinga's pretty hut is seen. 

Yon smoke, methinks, arises from the flame 
Nursed by that sage of wonder-working fame. 

And the king's ministers at the very moment when the Bodhisatta had 
gone into the forest surrounded the hermitage and set a watch over it, and 
making the princess adopt the disguise of an ascetic, [196] and arraying 



102 - The Jataka. Book XVIIl. 

her in an outer and inner garment of beautiful bark adorned with all 
manner of ornaments, they bade her take in her hand a painted ball tied 
to a string and sent her into the hermitage grounds, while they themselves 
stood on guard outside. So playing with her ball she entered the cloister. 
Now at that moment Isisiiiga was seated on a bench at the door of his 
hut of leaves, and when he saw her coming he was terrified and got up 
and went and hid himself in the hut. And she drew nigh to the door 
and continued playing with her ball; 



The Master, to make this point and more beside clear, repeated three 

stanzas : 

Bedecked with gems as she drew nigh, a bright and lovely maid. 
Poor Isisinga sought in fear his cell's protecting shade. 

And while before the hermit's door with ball the -damsel plays, 
Her lovely limbs she doth expose all naked to his gaze. 

But when he saw her sporting thus, forth from his cell he broke. 
And, rushing from the leafy hut, words such as these, he spoke. 



Fruit of what tree may this. Sir, be, that howe'er far 'tis tost 
'Twill still return to thee again and never more is lost? 

Then she telling him of the tree spoke this stanza : 

Mquut Gandhamadana, the home wherein I dwell, can boast 
Of many a tree with fruit maybe such that though far 'tis tost, 
'Twill still return to me again and never more is lost. 

[197] Thus did she speak falsely, but he believed her, and thinking it 
was an ascetic he greeted her kindly and uttered this stanza : 

Pray, holy sir, come in and take a seat. 
Accept some food and water for thy feet. 
And resting here awhile enjoy with me 
Such roots and berries as I offer thee. 



[199]' [Being an ingenuovis youth and never having seen a woman 
before he was led to believe the extraordinary story she told him, and 

1 Nalinika, pretending slie has been wounded by a bear, practises on the simplicity 
of the ascetic youth with much the same guile as Venus employs to win Adonis. 
Compare The Passionate Pilgrim, 

Once, quoth she, did I see a fair sweet youth, 
Here hi these brakes, deep-wounded with a boar, 
Deep in the thigh... 
Malone in his Shakspeare, vol. x. p. 324, points out that Babelais, La Fontaine 
and other writers have sported with the same thought. Cf. Rabelais, n. chap, xv, 
The lion and the old woman. 



No. 526. 103 

through her seductions] his virtue was overcome and his mystic meditation 
broken off. After disporting himself with her till he was tired, he at 
length sallied forth and finding his way down to the tank he bathed and, 
when his fatigue had passed off, he returned and sat in his hut. And once 
more, still believing her to be an ascetic, he asked where she dwelt, and 
spoke this stanza : 

By what road hither hast thou come, 
And dost thou love thy woodland home ? 
Can roots and berries hunger stay, 
And how escap'st thou beasts of prey ? 

Then Nalinika recited four stanzas ; 

North of this the Khema flows 
Straight from Himalayan snows : 
On its banic, a, charming spot. 
May be ^een my hermit cot. 

Mango, tilak, sal full-grown. 
Cassia, trumpet-flower full-blown — 
All with song of elves resound : 
Here my home, Sir, may be found. 

Here with dates and roots, I ween. 
Every kind of fruit is seen : 
[200] 'Tis a gay and fragi'ant spot 
That has fallen to my lot. 

Roots and berries here abound, 
Sweet and fair and luscious found. 
But I fear, should robbers come. 
They'll despoil my happy home. 

The ascetic, on hearing this, to put her off till his father should return, 
spoke this stanza : 

My father foraging for fruit is gone ; 
The sun is sinking, he'll be here anon. 
When back from his fruit-gathering he is come, 
We'll start together for thy hermit-home. 

Then she thought: "This boy because he has been brought up in a 
forest does not know that I am a woman, but his father will know it as 
soon as ever he sees me, and will ask me what business I have here and 
striking me with the end of his carrying-pole, he will break my head. 
1 must be off before he returns and the object of my coming is already 
accomplished," and telling him how he was to find his way to her house 
she repeated another stanza : 

[201] Alas! I fear I may no longer stay. 

But many a royal saint lives on the way : 
Ask one of them to point you out the road; 
He'll gladly act as guide to my abode. 



104 The Jataha. Booh XVIII. 

Wheu she had thus devised a plau for her escape, she left the hermitage, 
and bidding the youth, as he was wistfully looking after her, to stay where 
he was, she returned to the ministers by the same road by which she had 
come there, and they took her with them to their encampment and by 
several stages reached Benares. And Sakka that very day was so delighted 
that he caused rain to fall throughout the whole kingdom. But directly 
she had left the ascetic, Isisinga, a fever seized upon his frame and all of a 
tremble he entered the hut of leaves and putting on his upper robe of bark 
he lay there groaning. In the evening his father returned and missing 
his son he said, "Where in the world is he gone?" And he put down his 
carrying-pole and went into the hut, and when he found him lying there 
he said, "What ails you, my dear son?" And chafing his back he uttered 
three stanzas ; 

No wood is out, no water fetched, no fire alight. I pray 

Tell me, thou silly lad, why thus thou dream'st the live-long day. 

Until to-day the wood was ever cut. 

The fire alight, and pot thereon was put, 

My seat arranged, the water fetched. In sooth 

Thou found'st thy pleasure in the task, good youth. 

To-day no wood is cleft, no water brought. 
No fire alight ; cooked food in vain is sought. 
To-day no welcome hast thou given to me: 
What hast thou lost? What sorrow troubles thee? 

[202] On hearing his father's words, in explaining the matter, he said: 

Here, Sire, to-day a holy youth has been, 
A handsome, dapper boy, of winsome mien: 
Not over tall nor yet too short was he, 
Dai'k was his hair, as black as black could be. 

Smooth-cheeked and beardless was this stripling wight, 
And on his neck was hung a jewel bright ; 
Two lovely swellings on his fair breast lay, 
Like balls of burnished gold, of purest ray. 

His face was wondrous fair, and from each ear 
A curved ring depending did appear ;_ 
These and the fillet on his head gave' out 
Flashes of light, whene'er he moved about. 

Yet other ornaments the youth did wear, 
Or blue or red, upon his dress and hair; 
Jingling, whene'er he moved, they rang again 
Like little birds ^ that chirp in time of rain. 

No robe of bark, sign of ascetic grim. 
No girdle made of munja grass for him. 
[203] His garments shimmer, clinging to the thigh. 
Bright as a flash of lightning in the sky. 

1 ciritlka is found as the name of a bird in Garaka, i. 27. 46, p. 174 of Calcatta, 
1877 edition. 



No. 526. 105 

Fruits of what tree beneath his waist are bound, 
— Smooth and without or stalk or prickle found — ? 
Stitched in his robe, in order loose but thick. 
They strike each other with a sounding 'click.' 

The tresses on his head were wondrous fair, 
Hundreds of curls perfuming all the air : 
These locks just parted in the midst had he — 
Dressed e'en as his would that my hair might be. 

But when his locks he did perchance unbind 
And loose in all their beauty to the wind, 
Their fragrance filled our home midst forest trees, 
Like scent of lotus borne along the breeze. 

His very dust was fair to look upon. 
His person quite unlike that of thy son : 
It breathed forth odours wafted everywhere. 
Like shrubs ablossom in the summer air. 

His fruit so bright and fair, of varied hue. 
Afar from him upon the ground he threw. 
Yet back to him 'twould evermore return: 
What fruit it is I fain from thee would learn. 

His teeth in even rows, so pure and white. 
Vie with the choicest pearls, a lovely sight ; 
Whene'er he opes his lips, how charming 'tis ! 
No food like ours, roots and vile potherbs, his! 

His voice so soft and smooth, yet firm and clear 
In gentle accents fell upon the ear; 
[204] It pierced me to the heart : so sweet a note 
Ne'er issued from melodious cuckoo's throat. 

Its tone I thought subdued, pitched far too low 
For one rehearsing holy lore, I trow ; 
Howbeit — so great his kindness — I would fain 
Renew my friendship with this youth again. 

His warm arms flashing in their gold array. 
Like gleams of lightning aU around me play. 
With down, as eye-salve soft, were they o'erspread. 
Round were his fingers, blushing coral-red. 

Smooth were his limbs, his tresses long untied. 
Long too his nails with tips all crimson dyed : 
With his soft arms around me clinging tight 
The fair boy ministered to my delight. 

His hands were white as cotton, gleaming bright 
Like golden mirror that reflects the light ; 
At their soft touch I felt a burning thrill, 
And though he's gone, the memory fires me still. 

No load of grain he brought, nor ever could 
Be won with his own hands to chop our wood. 
Nor would he with his axe hew down a tree 
Nor carry a sharp stake, to pleasure me. 

|i£ ^ ^ ^ ^ 4^ ^ 

[205] This rumpled couch with leaves of creepers made 
Bears witness to the merry pranks we played : 
Then in yon lake our weary limbs we lave 
And once more seek indoors the rest we crave. 



106 The Jataka. Book XVIII. 

To-day no holy texts can I recite, 
No fire for sacrifice is found alight : 
Yea, from all roots and berries I'll abstain 
Till I behold this pious youth again. 

Tell me, dear father, for thou know'st it well, 
Where in the world this holy youth may dwell ; 
And thither with all speed, pray, let us fly. 
Or at thy door my death will surely lie. 

I've heard him speak of glades, with flowerets gay. 
And thronged with birds that sing the live-long day, 
'Tis thither with all speed I fain would fly 
Or here at once I'll lay me down and die. 

[207] The Great Being on hearing the boy talk such nonsense knew at 
once that through some woman he had lost his virtue, and by way of 
admonition he repeated six stanzas : 

An ancient home for sages long has stood 
Within the sunlit precincts of this wood ; 
[208] In haunts of angels and of nymphs divine. 
This feeling of unrest should ne'er be thine. 

Friendships exist and then they cease to be ; 
Each one shows love to his own family ; 
But they poor creatures are who do not know 
To whom their origin and love they owe. 

Friendship is formed by constant intercourse ; 
When this is broken, friendship fails perforce. 

Shouldst thou set eyes upon this youth once more, 
Or converse hold with him, as heretofore. 
Just as a flood sweeps ofi' the ripened corn. 
So will the power of virtue be o'er-borne'. 

Demons there be that through the wide earth run 
In varied form disguised. Beware, my son ! 
He that is wise should not consort with such ; 
Virtue herself is blasted ^ at their touch. 

[209] On hearing what his father had to say the youth thought, "She 
was a female yakkha, he says," and he was terrified and put away the thought 
of her from him. Then he asked his father's pardon, saying, "Forgive me, 
dear father, I will not leave this spot. " And his father comforted him, saying, 
"Come, my boy, cultivate charity, pity, symp^hy and equanimity," and he 
proclaimed to him the attainment of the Perfect States. And the son 
walked accordingly therein and once more developed mystic meditation. 



The Master, having finished his lesson, revealed the Truths and identified the 
Birth : — At the conclusion of the Truths the back-sliding Brother was established 
in the fruition of the First Path: — "At that time the wife of his imregenerate 
days was Nalinika, the back-sliding Bi'other was Isisinga, and I myself was the 
father." 

^ The fifth stanza is a repetition of the preceding one and is omitted in the English. 
Beading natsati. 



No. 527. 107 



No. 527. 

UMMADANTi- JATAKA I. 

" Whose hmise is this," etc. This story the Master, while residing at Jetavana, 
told about a back-sliding Brother. The story rvins that one day, as he was going 
his rounds in Savatthi for alms, he saw a woman of surpassing beauty, magnifi- 
cently attired, and fell in love with her, and on returning home to his monastery 
he was unable to divert his thoughts from her. From that time, as it were, pierced 
with love's shafts and sick with desire he became as lean as a wild deer, with his 
veins standing out on his body, and as sallow as sallow could be. He no longer 
took delight inuny one of the Four Postures, or found pleasure in his own thoughts, 
but giving up all the services due to a teacher he abandoned the use of instruction, 
inquiry and meditation. His fellow-monks said, "Sir, once you were calm in 
mind and serene of countenance, but now it is not so. [210] What can be the 
cause?" they asked. "Sirs,"he answered, "I have no pleasure in anything." Then 
they bade him be happy, saying, "To be born a Buddha is a hard matter: so 
also is the hearing of the True Faith, and the attaining to birth as a human being. 
But you have attained to this, and, yearning to put an end to sorrow, you left 
your weeping kinsfolk and becoming a believer adopted the ascetic life. Why 
then do you now fall under the sway of passion? These evil passions are common 
to all ignorant creatures, from live worms upwards, and such of these passions 
as are material in their origin, they too are insipid. Desires are full of sorrow 
and despair : misery in this case ever increases more and more. Desire is like a 
skeleton or a piece of meat. Desire is like a torch made of a wisp of hay or a 
light from embers. Desire vanishes like a dream or a loan, or the fruit of a tree. 
Desire is as biting as a sharp-pointed spear, or as a serpent's head. But you, 
verily, after embracing so glorious a faith as this and becoming an ascetic, have 
now fallen under the sway of such harmful passions." When by their admonitions 
they failed to make him grasp their teaching, they brought him before the Master 
in the Hall of Truth. And when he said, "Why, Brethren, have you brought 
this Brother here against his will?" they answered, "They tell us, he is a back- 
slider." The Master asked if it were true, and on his confessing that it was so, 
the Master said, "Brother, sages of old, though ruling a kingdom, whenever lust 
sprang up in their hearts, passed under its sway for a time, but checked their 
roving thoughts and were guilty of no improper conduct." And with these words 
he related a story of the past. 



Once upon a time in the city of Aritthapura in the kingdom of the 
Sivis reigned a king named Sivi. The Bodhisatta came to life as the son 
of his chief queen, and they called him prince Sivi. His commander-in-chief 
also had a son born to him, and they named him Ahiparaka. The two 
boys grew up'as friends and at the age of sixteen they went to Takkasila, 
and, after completing their education, they returned home. The king made 
over his kingdom to his son, who appointed Ahiparaka to the post of 

' Compare Jdtaka-Mdld, xiii, and Buddhaghosha's Parables, eh. xxix, Story of 
Bahandama Uppalavanna. 



108 The Jataka. Booh XVIII. 

commauder-in-chief, and ruled his kingdom righteously. In that same city 
dwelt a rich merchant, named Tirltavaccha, worth eighty crores, and he 
had a daughter, a very fair and gracious lady, bearing on her person every 
mark of auspicious fortune, and on her naming-day she was called Umma- 
danti. When sixteen years old she was as beautiful as a heavenly nymph, 
of more than mortal loveliness. All worldlings who beheld her could not 
contain themselves, [211] but were intoxicated with passion, as it were 
with strong drink, and were quite unable to recover their self-control. So 
her father, Tirltavaccha, drew nigh to the king and said, "Sire, at home 
I have a treasure of a daughter, a fit mate even for a king. Send for your 
fortune-tellers, who can read the lineaments of the body, and have her 
tested by them and then deal with her according to your good pleasure." 
The king agreed and sent his brahmins, and they repaired to the 
merchant's house, and being received with great honour and hospitality 
partook of some rice-milk. At this moment Ummadanti came into their 
presence, magnificently attired. On catching sight of her they completely 
lost their self-control, just as if they were intoxicated with passion, and 
forgot that tliey had left their meal unfinished. Some of them took a 
morsel and thinking they would eat it put it on their heads. Some let it 
fall on their hips. Others threw it against the wall. Eveiy one was 
beside himself. When she saw them thus, she said, "They tell me, these 
fellows are to test the character of my marks,'' and she ordered them to 
be taken by the scruff of their neck and thrust out. And they were sorely 
annoyed and returned to the palace in a great rage with Ummadanti, and 
they said, "Sire, this woman is no mate for you: she is a witch." The 
king thought, "They tell me, she is a witch," and he did not send for her. 
On hearing what had happened she said, "I am not taken to wife by the 
king, because they say I am a witch : witches forsooth are just like me. 
Very well, should I ever see the king, I shall know what to do." And she 
conceived a grudge against him. So her father gave her iu marriage to 
Ahiparaka, and she was her husband's darling and delight. Now as the 
result of what act of hers had she become so beautiful ? By the gift of a 
scarlet robe. Once upon a time, they say, she was born in a poor family 
in Benares and on some festal day seeing certain holy women, magnificently 
clad in robes dyed scarlet with safflower and disporting themselves, she 
told her parents that she too would like to wear a similar robe and take 
her pleasure. And when they said, "My dear, we are poor people : whence 
are we to get you such a robe?" "well then," said she, "suffer me to earn 
wages in a wealthy household, and as soon as they recognise my merit, 
they will make me a present of a robe." [212] And having gained their 
consent she approached a certain family and proposed to let her service 
to them for a scarlet robe. They said, "After you have worked three 
years for us, we will recognise your merits by giving you one." She 



No. 527. 109 

readily agreed, and set about her work. Recognising her merit before the 
three years had expired, they gave her together with a thick safflower- 
dyed robe yet another garment, and sent her ofi', saying, "Go with your 
companions, and, after bathing, dress yourself in these robes." So she went 
with her companions and bathed, leaving the scarlet robe on the bank. 
At this moment a disciple of the Kassapa Buddha, who had been robbed 
of his garments and had put on pieces of a broken bough to serve as outer 
and inner robes, arrived at this spot. On seeing him she thought, " This 
holy man must have been robbed of his garment. In former times I 
too, from not having a robe offered to me, found it difficult to procure 
one,'' and she determined to divide the garment in two and give him the 
half of it. So she went up out of the water and put on her old dress and 
saying, "Stay, holy sir,'' she saluted the elder, and tearing her robe in 
two gave the half of it to him. Then he stood on one side in a sheltered 
spot and, throwing away his branch-garment, he made himself with one 
side of the robe an inner garment and with the other side an outer 
garment and stepped out into the open, and his whole person by the 
splendour of the robe was all ablaze, like the newly-risen sun. On seeing 
this she thought, "This holy man at first was not radiant, but now he 
shines like a newly-risen sun. I will give him this too." So she gave 
him the other half of the robe, and put up this prayer, "Holy sir, I 
would fain in some future stage of existence be of such surpassing 
beauty, that no one who sees me may have power to control himself, 
and that no other woman may be more beautiful." The elder returned 
her his thanks and went his way. After a period of transmigration in 
the world of gods, she was at this time born in Aritthapura and was as 
beautiful as she was described. Now in this city they proclaimed the 
Kattika festival, and on the day of full moon they decorated the city. 
Ahiparaka, on setting out for the post he had to guard, addressing her, 
said, [213] "Lady Ummadanti, to-day is the Kattika festival; the king, 
in marching in solemn procession round the city, will first of all come 
to the door of this house. Be sure you do not shew yourself to him, 
for on seeing you he will not be able to control his thoughts." As he 
was leaving her, she said to him, " I will see to it." And as soon as he was 
off, she gave an order to her handmaid to let her know when the king 
came to the door. So at sunset, when the full moon had risen and torches 
were blazing in every quarter of the city, which was decorated as it were 
some city of the gods, the king areayed in all his splendour, mounted on a 
magnificent car drawn by thoroughbreds and escorted by a crowd of 
courtiers, making a circuit of the city with great pomp, came first of all to 
the door of Ahiparaka's house. Now this house enclosed by a wall in 
colour like vermilion, furnished with gates and tower, was a beautiful 
and charming place. At this moment the maid brought her mistress 



no The Jataka. Booh XVIII. 

word of the king's amval, and Ummadanti bade her take a basket of 
flowers, and standing near the window she threw the flowers over the 
king with all the charm of a sylph. And looking up at her the king was 
maddened with passion and quite unable to control his thoughts, and he 
failed to recognise the house as that of Ahiparaka. So addressing his 
charioteer, he repeated two stanzas in the form of a question : 

Whose house is this, Sunanda, tell me true. 
All girt about with wall of golden hue ? 
What vision fair is this, like meteor bright. 
Or sunbeam striking on some mountain height ? 

A daughter of the house perchance is she. 
Herself its mistress, or son's wife maybe 1 
Your answer quickly in a single word — 
Is she imwed^ or owns she still a lord? 

[214] Then, in answering the king, he repeated two stanzas : 

All that your Highness asks I know fidl well. 
And of her parents on both sides can tell : 
As to her husband, night and day, king. 
He serves thy cause with zeal in everything. 

A powerfiil minister of thine is he. 

Vast wealth he owns and great prosperity ; 

She's wife of Ahiparaka the famed. 

And at her birth was Ummadanti named. 

On hearing this the king, in praising her name, repeated yet another 

stanza : 

Alas ! how ominous a name is here 
Given to this maiden by her parents dear; 
Since Ummadanti fixed her gaze on me, 
Lo ! a mad haunted man I grew to be. 

On seeing how agitated he was she closed the window and went straight 

to her fair chamber. And from the moment when the king set eyes on 

her, he had no more thought of making solemn procession round the city. 

Addressing his charioteer he said, " Friend Sunanda, stop the chariot ; 

[215] this is not a festival suitable for us; it is fit only for Ahiparaka, my 

commander-in-chief, and the throne also is better suited for him," and 

stopping the chariot he climbed up to his palace and, as he lay chattering 

upon the royal couch, he said, 

A lily maid, with eyes soft as a doe's. 
In the full moon's clear light before me rose, 
Beholding her in robe of dove-like hue, 
Methought two moons at once came into view. 

Darting one glance from her bright, lovely eyes, 
The temptress took me captive by surprise. 
Like woodland elf upon some mountain height. 
Her graceful motion won my heart at sight. 

' avilvata, i.e. avydvrita, not chosen in marriage. 



No. 527. Ill 

So dark and tall and fair the maid, with jewels in her ears, 
Clad in a single garment, like a timid doe, appears. 

With long-tressed hair and nails all staindd red. 
O'er her soft arms rich sandal essence shed. 
With tapering fingers and a gracious air. 
When will she smile on me, my charmer fair? 

When will Tirlti's slender-waisted maid, 
A gold adornment on her breast displayed. 
With her soft arms embracing cling to me. 
E'en as a creeper to some forest tree? 

When will she stained with dye of lac so bright. 
With swelling bosom, maiden lily-white. 
Exchange a kiss with me, as oft a glass 
Will from one toper to another pass? 

Soon as I saw her standing thus, so fair to outward view. 
No longer master of myself, reason away I threw. 

When UmmadantI I beheld, with jewelled ear-rings bright, 
Like one amerced right heavily,. I slept not day nor night. 

[216] Should Sakka grant a boon to me, my choice were quickly ta'en, 
I would be Ahiparaka one night or haply twain. 
And Ummadanti thus enjoyed, he might o'er Sivi reiga 

Then those councillors told Ahiparaka, saying, " Master, the king on 
making a solemn procession around the city went to the door of your house 
[217] and then turning back climbed up to his palace." So Ahiparaka 
went home and addressing Ummadanti asked her if she had shown herself 
to the king. " My lord," she said, " a certain pot-bellied fellow with huge 
teeth, standing up in his chariot, came here. I do not know whether he 
was a king or a prince, but I was told he was a lord of some kind, and 
standing at the open window I threw flowers over him. Meanwhile he 
turned back and went off." On hearing this he said, " You have ruined 
me," and early next morning ascending to the king's- house he stood at 
the door of the royal chamber and, hearing the king rambling about 
Ummadanti, he thought, " He has fallen in love with Ummadanti ; if he 
does not get her, he will die : it is my duty to restore him to life, if it can 
be done without sin on the part of the king or myself." So he went home 
and summoned a stout-hearted knave of a serving-man and said, " Friend, 
in such and such a place is a hollow tree that is a sacred shrine. Without 
saying a word to anyone, go there at sunset and seat yourself inside the 
tree. Then I shall come and make an offering there, and in worshipping 
the deities I shall put up this prayer ; ' king of heaven, our king, while 
a festival was going on, without taking any part in it, has gone into his 
royal closet and lies there chattering idly ; we do not know why he does 
so. The king has been a great benefactor of the gods and year by year 
has spent a thousand pieces of money in sacrifices. Tell us why the king 
talks thus foolishly and grant us the boon of the king's life.' Thus will 



112 The Jataka. Book XVII I. 

I pray and at this moment you are to remember to repeat these words, 
'O commander-in-chief, your king is not sick, but he is infatuated with 
your wife Ummadanti. If he shall get her, he will live ; otherwise he 
will die. If you wish him to live, give up Uramadanti to him.' This is 
what you are to say.'' And having thus schooled him he sent him away. 
So the servant went next day and seated himself inside the tree and 
when the general came to the place and put up his prayer, he repeated 
his lesson. The general said, " It is well," and with an obeisance to the 
deity he went and told the king's ministers, and entering the city he 
climbed up to the palace and knocked at the door of the royal closet. 
[218] The king having recovered his senses asked who it was. " It 
is I, Ahiparaka, my lord." Then he opened the king's door and going 
in he saluted the king and repeated a stanza : 

While kneeling at a sacred shrine, O king, 
A yakkha came and told me a strange thing. 
How Ummadanti had enslaved thy will: 
Take her and so thy heart's desire fulfil. 

Then the king asked, " Friend Ahiparaka, do even the yakkhas know 
that I have been talking foolishly owing to my infatuation for Umma- 
danti?" "Yes, my lord," he said. The king thought, "My vileness is 
known throughout the world," and he felt ashamed. And taking his 
stand in righteousness he uttered another stanza : 

Fallen from grace no godhead shall I win. 
And all the world will hear of my great sin : 
Think too how great thy grief of mind would be, 
Shouldst thou no more thy Ummadanti see. 

The remaining stanzas are repeated by the two alternately. 

Except thyself and me, king, no one 

In the whole world will know the deed that's done: 

Lo ! Ummadanti is my gift to thee. 

Thy passion sated, send her back to me. 

The sinner thinks, 'No mortal man has been 
A witness of my guilty deed, I ween,' 
[219] Yet all he does will fall within the ken 
Of ghostly beings and of holy men. 

Who in this world, supposing thou shouldst say, 
' I loved her not,' would any credence pay ? 
Think too how great thy grief of mind would be, 
Shouldst thou no more thy Ummadanti see. 

She was, great king, as dear to me as life, 
In very sooth a well-belovdd wife; 
Yet, sire, to Ummadanti straight repair, 
E'en as a lion to his rocky lair. 

The sage howe'er oppressed by his own woe, 
Will scarce an act that wins him bliss forego. 
E'en the dull fool intoxicate with bliss 
Would ne'er be guilty of a sin like this. 



No. 527. 113 

A fostering parent, king, I own in thee, 
Husband and lord, yea god art thou to me, 
Thy slaves my wife and child, and I thy thrall, 

Sivi, do thy pleasure with us all. 

Whoso shall wrong his neighbour nor repent, 
Saying, 'See here a lord omnipotent,' 
Will ne'er be found to live out half his days. 
And gods will view his conduct with dispraise. 

Should righteous men accept as gift a thing 
Freely bestowed by others, then, king. 
They who receive and they who grant have done 
A deed whereby the fruit of bliss is won. 

Who in this world, supposing thou shouldst say, 
'I love her not,' would any credence pay? 
[220] Think too how great thy grief of mind would be, 
Shouldst thou no more thy UmmadantI see. 

She was, great king, as dear to me as life. 
In very sooth a well-belovdd wife; 
Lo! Ummadants is my gift to thee. 
Thy passion sated, send her back to me. 

Who rids himself of pain at others' cost. 
Rejoicing still though others' joy be lost, 
Not he, but one that feels another's woe 
As 'twere his own, true righteousness can know. 

She was, great king, as dear to me as life, 
In very sooth a well-belovdd wife, 

1 give what most I prize, nor give in vain. 
They that thus give receive as much again. 

I might destroy myself for fleshly appetite. 

Yet would I never dare by wrong destroy the right. 

Shouldst thou, noble prince, thy love foreswear 
Because she is my wife, lo ! I declare 
Henceforth she is divorced and free to all. 
Thy slave to summon at thy beck and call. 

If thou, mine Ancient', to thy detriment, 
Shouldst put away thy wife, though innocent, 
Thou wotddst, methinks, have heavy blame to bear 
And ne'er a single soul to speak thee fair. 

With all such blame, my king, I could away, 
With censure, praise, or be it what it may. 
Let it fall on me, Sivi, as it will, 
Only do thou thy pleasure first fulfil. 

[221] He who esteem or blame regardeth not. 
For praise or censure careth not a jot — 
From him will glory and good fortune fly. 
As floods subside, leaving land high and dry. 

Whate'er of bliss or pain from hence may spring, 
O'erstepping right, or fit one's heart to wring, 
I'll welcome, if it joyous be or sad. 
As Earth puts up with all, both good and bad. 

1 Katta, a king's minister or officer. Cf. Jdtaka vi. 259, 24, 268, 6, and 313, 22. 
The commentary explains the word as ' a doer of euoh things as ought to be done.' 
Compare the use of eiepyh-ris as a title of honour, Hdt. viii. 85. 

J. V. 8 



114 The Jataka. Booh XVIII. 

I would not have another suffering 
From wrongful act that may his bosom wring, 
I'll bear the burden of my griefs alone, 
Steadfast in right, vexing the peace of none. 

A meritorious act to heaven will lead, 

Be thou no obstacle to such a deed; 

I UmmadantI a free offering send, 

As kings on brahmin priests much treasure spend. 

Truly to me great kindness hast thou shown, 
Thy wife and thou are both my friends, I own. 
Brahmins and gods ahke would blame me sore. 
And curses rest on me for evermore. 

Townsmen and countryfolk in this, I trust. 
Will ne'er, Sivi king, call thee unjust. 
Since Ummadanti is my gift to thee. 
Thy passion sated, send her back to me. 

Truly to me great kindness hast thou shown, 
Thou and thy wife are both my friends, I own, 
Good men's right acts are famed both far and wide, 
Hard to o'erstep is Eight, like Ocean's tide. 

Worshipful master, waiting to bestow • 
Whate'er I crave, kind benefactor, thou 
[222] E«payest sevenfold all I offer thee; 

Take Ummadanti; my free gift is she. 

Mine Ancient, Ahiparaka, in sooth, 
Eight hast thou followed, even from thy youth ; 
Who else of living men, I prithee, would 
Early and late have striven to do me good? 

O noble prince, thou art of peerless fame. 
Wise, knowing right and walking in the same, 
Shielded by right, mayst thou, king, live long. 
And, lord of right, teach me to shun the wrong. 

Come, hearken, Ahiparaka, to these my words and then 

I'll teach thee ways of righteousness as practised by good men. 

A king delighting in the law is blest, 
And of all men a learned one is best. 
Ne'er to betray a friend is good, I wis. 
But evil to eschew is perfect bliss. 

'Neath the mild sway of righteous king. 
Like shade from sun-stroke sheltering, 
His subjects all may dwell in peace, 
Eejoicing in their wealth's increase. 

No evil deed shall my approval win. 
However heedless it remains a sin: 
But such as sin 'gainst knowledge I detest; 
List to my parable; mark it and digest. 

iThe bull through floods a devious course wiU take, 

The herd of kine all straggling in his wake. 

So if a leader tortuous paths pursue, 

To base ends will he guide the vulgar crew, 

And the whole realm an age of license rue. 

' These lines occur in Jataka, vol. iii. p. 74 (English version). 



No. 527. 115 

But if the bull a course direct shall steer, 
The herd of kine straight follow in his rear. 
So should their chief to righteous ways be true, 
The common folk injustice will eschew, 
And through the realm shall holy peace ensue. 

[223] I woiild not by an unjust act e'en heaven itself attain, 
No, not if, Ahiparaka, the whole world I should gain. 

Whatever things of price 'mongst men esteemed good, 

Oxen and slaves and gold, garments and sandal wood. 

Brood mares, rich treasure, jewels bright 

And all that sun and moon watch over day and night. 

Not for all this would I injustice do, 

I amongst Sivis bom, a leader true. 

Father and chief and guardian of our land, 
As champion of its rights I take my stand, 
So will I reign on righteousness intent, 
To mine own will no more subservient. 

Auspicious is thy rule, great king, mayst thou continue long 
To guide the state with happy fate and in thy wisdom strong. 

Great joy is ours, king, that thou such zeal for right hast shown. 
Princes of might, neglecting right, ere now have lost a crown. 

^To parents dear, warrior king, do righteously; and so 
By following a righteous line to heaven thou, sire, shalt go. 

To wife and children, warrior king, do righteously; and so 
By following a, righteous line to heaven thou, sire, shalt go. 

To friends and courtiers, warrior king, do righteously; and so 
By following a righteous line to heaven thou, sire, shalt go. 

In war and travel, warrior king, do righteously; and so 
By following a righteous line to heaven thou, sire, shalt go. 

In town and village, warrior king, do righteously; and so 
By following a righteous line to heaven thou, sire, shalt go. 

In every land and realm, king, do righteously; and so 
By following a righteous line to heaven thou, sire, shalt go. 

To brahmins and ascetics all, do righteously; and so 

By following a righteous line to heaven thou, sire, shalt go. 

To beasts and birds, warrior king, do righteously; and so 
By following a righteous line to heaven thou, sire, shalt go. 

Do righteously, warrior king; from this all blessings flow; 
By following a righteous course to heaven thou, sire, shalt go. 

With watchful vigilance, king, on paths of goodness go : 
The brahmins, Indra, and the gods have won their godhead so. 

[227] When the king had thus been taught the law by his commander- 
in-chief Ahiparaka, he got rid of his infatuation for XJmmadanti. 



The Master, having ended his lesson, revealed the Truth, and identified the 
Birth. At the^nd of the Truths the Brother was established in the First Path. 
At that time Ananda was the charioteer Sunanda, Sariputta was Ahiparaka, 
Uppalavanna was UmmadantI, the followers of Buddha were the rest of the 
courtiers, and I myself was king Sivi. 

1 Jdtaka, vol. iv. p. 263 (English version). 

8—2 



116 The Jataka. Booh XVIII. 



No. 528. 

MAHABODHI- JATAKA ^ 

" What mean these things," etc. This story the Master, while residing at 
Jetavana, told concerning the Perfection of Wisdom. The incident will be found 
related in the Mahaummagga^. Now on this occasion the Master said, "Not 
now only, but formerly also, the Tathagata was wise and crushed all disputants," 
and with these words he told a story of the past. 



Once upon a time in the reign of Brahmadatta the Bodhisatta was 
bom at Benares in the kingdom of Kasi, in the family of a North brahmin 
magnate, worth eighty crores, and they named him young Bodhi. When 
he came of age, he was instructed in all learning at Takkasila, and returning 
home he dwelt in the midst of household cares. By and bye renouncing 
evil desires he retired to the Himalaya region [228] and took up the 
ascetic life of a wandering mendicant, and dwelt there for a long time,, 
living .on roots and wild berries. At the rainy season he came down from 
the Himalayas and going on his begging rounds he gradually approached 
Benares. There he took up his abode in the royal park, and on the 
following day going his round in the city for alms, in his character of a 
mendicant, he drew nigh to the palace gate. The king standing at his 
window saw him, and, being delighted with his calm demeanour, he intro- 
duced him into his palace and seated him on the royal couch. After a 
little friendly talk, the king listened to an exposition of the Law and then 
offered him a variety of dainty food. The Great Being accepted the food 
and thought, " Verily this king's court is full of hatred and abounds in 
enemies. Who, I wonder, will rid me of a fear that has sprung up in 
my mind 1 " And observing a tawny hound, a favourite of the king's, 
standing near him, he took a lump of food and made a show of wishing to 
give it to the dog. The king being aware of this had the dog's dish 
brought and bade him take the food and give it to the dog. The Great 
Being did so and then finished his own meal. And the king, gaining his 
consent to the arrangement, had a hut of leaves built for him in the royal 
park within the city, and, assigning to him all that an ascetic required, he 
let him dwell there. And two or three times every day the king came to 
pay his respects to him. And at meal times the Great Being continued to 

1 Compare Jdtaka-Mdld, xxiii. The Story of the Mahabodhi, and Digha Nikdya, u. 
Sdmanna-Phala (Dialogues of the Buddha translated by B. Davids, p. 65). 
" Jdtaka, vol. vi. No. 546. 



No. 528. 117 

sit on the royal couch and to share the royal food. And so twelve years 
passed. Now the king had five councillors who taught him his temporal 
and spiritual duties. One of them denied the existence of Cause (Karma). 
Another believed everything was the act of a Supreme Being. A third 
professed the doctrine of previous actions. A fourth believed in annihila- 
tion at death. A fifth held the Kshatriya doctrine. He who denied the 
Cause taught the people that beings in this world were purified by rebirth. 
He who believed in the action of a Supreme Being taught that the world 
was created by him. He who believed in the consequences of previous 
acts taught that sorrow or joy that befalls man here is the result of some 
previous action. The believer in annihilation taught that no one passes 
hence to another world, but that this world is annihilated. He who 
professed the Kshatriya creed taught that one's own interest is to be 
desired even at the cost of killing one's parents.- These men were ap- 
pointed to sit in judgment in the king's court, [229] and being greedy of 
bribes they dispossessed the rightful owner of property. Now one day a 
certain man, being worsted in a false action at law, saw the Great Being 
go into the palace for alms, and he saluted him and poured his grievance 
into his ears, saying, " Holy Sir, why do you, who take your meals in the 
king's palace, regard with indifference^ the action of his lord justices who 
by taking bribes ruin all men 1 Just now these five councillors, taking a 
bribe at the hands of a man who brought a false action, have wrongfully 
dispossessed me of my property." So the Great Being moved by pity for 
him went to the court, and giving a righteous judgment reinstated him in 
his property. The people with one consent loudly applauded his action. 
The king hearing the noise asked what it meant, and on being told what 
it was, when the Great Being had finished his meal, he took a seat beside 
him and asked, " Is it true, Reverend Sir, as they say, that you have 
decided a lawsuit?" "It is true. Sire." The king said, "It will be to 
the advantage of the people, if you decide cases : henceforth you are to sit 
in judgment." "Sire," he replied, "we are ascetics; this is not our 
business." " Sir, you ought to do it in pity to -the people. You need not 
judge the whole day, but when you come here from the park, go at early 
dawn to the place of judgment and decide four cases ; then return to the 
park and after partaking of food decide four more cases, and in this way 
the people will derive benefit." After being repeatedly importuned, he 
agreed to it and henceforth he acted accordingly. Tho.se who brought 
fraudulent actions found no further opportunity, and the councillors not 
getting any bribes were in evil plight and thought, " Ever since this 
mendicant Bodhi began to sit in judgment, we get nothing at all." And 
calling him the king's enemy they said, " Come, let us slander him to the 
king and bring about his death." So drawing nigh to the king they said, 
' ajjhupekkhati. Compare Jataka, i. 147, Cullavagga, iv. 4. 8. 



118 The Jataka. Booh XVIII. 

" Sire, the mendicant Bodhi wishes you harm." The king did not believe 
them and said, " Nay, he is a good and learned man ; he would not do so." 
" Sire," they replied, " all the citizens are his creatures : [230] we are the 
only five people he cannot get under his thumb. If you do not believe us, 
when he next comes here, take note of his following.'' The king agreed 
to do so, and standing at his window he watched for his coming, and, 
seeing the crowd of suitors who followed Bodhi without his knowledge, 
the king thought they were his retinue, and being prejudiced against him 
he summoned his councillors and asked, "What are we to do?" "Have 
him arrested. Sire," they said. " Unless we see some gross offence on his 
part," he said, "how are we to arrest him!" "Well then diminish the 
honour that is usually paid to him, and when he sees this falling off of 
respect, being a wise mendicant, he will without saying a word to anyone 
run away of his own accord." The king fell in with this suggestion and 
gradually diminished the respect paid to him. On the first day after this 
they seated him on a bare couch. He noticed it and at once knew that he 
had been slandered to the king, and returning to the park he was minded 
to take his departure that very day, but he thought, " When I know for 
certain, I will depart," and he did not go away. So the next day when 
he was seated on the bare couch, they came with food prepared for the 
king and other food as well, and gave him a mixture of the two. On the 
third day they did not suffer him to approach the dais, but placing him at 
the head of the stairs they offered him mixed food. He 'took it and 
retiring to the park made his meal there. On the fourth day they placed 
him on the terrace below and gave him broth made of rice dust, and this 
too he took to the park and made his meal there. The king said, 
" Though the honours paid to him are diminished, yet Great Bodhi, the 
mendicant, does not go away. What are we to do 1 " " Sire," they said, 
"it is not for alms he comes here; but he is seeking sovereignty. If 
he were coming merely for the alms, he would have run away the very 
first day he was slighted." " What then are we to do ? " " Have him 
slain tomorrow. Sire." He, said, " It is well," and placing swords in the 
hands of these very men he said, " Tomorrow, when he comes and stands 
inside the door, cut off his head and make mincemeat of him, and with- 
out saying a word to anyone throw his body on a dunghill, and then take 
a bath and return here." 

They readily agreed and said, "Tomorrow we will come and do so," 
[231] and having arranged matters with one another they departed to 
their several homes. The king too after his evening meal lay down on the 
royal couch and called to mind the virtues of the Great Being. Then 
straightway sorrow fell upon him and the sweat poured from his body, and 
getting no comfort in his bed he rolled about from side to side. Now his 
chief queen lay beside him but he exchanged not a single word with her. 



No. 528. 119 

So she asked him, saying, " How is it. Sire, that you do not say a word to 

me f Have I in any way offended you ? " " No, lady," he said, " but they 

tell me the mendicant Bodhi has become an enemy of ours. I have 

ordered five of my councillors to slay him tomorrow. After killing him 

they will cut him in pieces and cast his body on a dunghill. But for 

twelve years he has taught us many a truth. No single offence in him 

has ever been clearly seen by me before, but at the instigation of others 

I have ordered him to be put to death, and this is why I grieve.'' Then 

she comforted him, saying, " If, Sire, he is your enemy, why do you grieve 

at killing him 1 Your own safety must be attended to, even if the enemy 

you slay is your own son. Do not take it to heart." He was reassured 

by her words and fell asleep. At that moment the well-bred tawny hound 

hearing the talk thought, " Tomorrow by my own power I must save this 

man's life." So early next morning the dog went down from the terrace and 

coming to the big door he lay with his head on the threshold, watching the 

road by which the G-reat Being came. But those councillors with swords 

in their hands came early in the morning and took their stand inside 

the door. And Bodhi duly observing the time came from the park and 

approached the palace door. Then the hound seeing him opened his mouth 

and showed his four big teeth and thought, "Why, holy Sir, do you not seek 

your alms elsewhere in India 1 Our king has posted five councillors armed 

with swords inside the door to slay you. Do not come accepting death as 

your fate', but be off with all speed," and he gave a loud bark. From his 

knowledge of the meaning of all sounds Bodhi understood the matter and 

returned to the park [232] and took everything that was necessary for 

his journey. But the king standing at his window, when he found he 

was not coming, thought, " If this man is my enemy, he will return to the 

park and gather together all his forces and will be prepared for action, 

but if otherwise, he will certainly take all that he requires and be ready 

to go away. I will find out what he is about." And going to the park 

he found the Great Being coming out of his hut of leaves and with all his 

requisites at the end of his cloister walk, ready to start, and saluting him 

he stood on one side and uttered the first stanza : 

What mean these things, umbrella, shoes, skin-robe and staff in hand ? 
What of this cloak and bowl and hook ? I fain would understand 
Why in hot haste thou wouldst depart and to what far-off land. 

On hearing this the Great Being thought, "I suppose he does not 
understand what he has done. I will let him know." And he repeated 
two stanzas : 

These twelve long years I've dwelt, king, within thy royal park ; 
And never once before to-day this hound was known to bark. 
To-day he shows his teeth so white, defiant now and proud. 
And hearing what thou toldst the queen, to warn me, bays aloud. 

1 Jdtaka, iv. 417, "with death written on the brow." 



120 The JdtaJca. Book XVIII. 

Then the king acknowledged his sin, and asking to be forgiven he 
repeated the fourth stanza : 

[233] The sin was mine: thee, holy sir, my purpose was to slay; 

But now I favour thee once more, and fain would have thee stay. 

Hearing this the Great Being said, " Of a truth, Sire, wise men do not 
dwell with one who without having seen a thing with his own eyes follows 
the lead of others," and so saying he exposed his misconduct and spoke 
thus : 

My food of old was pure and white, next motley 'twas in hue. 
Now it is brown as brown can be. 'Tis time that I withdrew. 

First on the dais, then upstairs and last below I dine; 
Before I'm thrust out neck and crop, my place I will resign. 

Affect thou not a faithless friend : like a dry well is he ; 
However deep one digs it out, the stream will muddy be. 

A faithful friend aye cultivate, a faithless one eschew, 
As one athirst hastes to a pool, a faithful friend pursue. 

Cling to the friend that clings to thee, his love with love requite; 
One who forsakes a faithful friend is deemed a sorry wight. 

Who cleaves not to a steadfast friend, nor love requites with love, 
Vilest of men is he, nor ranks the monkey tribe above. 

To meet too often is as bad as not to meet at all ; 

To ask a boon a whit too soon — this too makes love to paU. 

Visit a friend but not too oft, nor yet prolong thy stay ; 
At the right moment favours beg: so love will ne'er decay. 

Who stay too long find oftentimes that friend is changed to foe; 
So ere I lose thy friendship I will take my leave and go.. 

[234] The king said : 

Though I with folded hands beseech, thou wilt not lend an ear, 
Thou hast no word for us to whom thy service would be dear, 
I crave one favour : come again and pay a visit here. 

The Bodhisatta said : 

If nothing comes to snap our life, king, if thou and I 
Still live, fosterer of thy realm, perhaps I'U hither fly. 
And we -may see each other yet, as days and nights go by. 

[235] Thus spoke the Great Being and preached the Truth to the king, 
saying, " Be vigilant, O Sire." And leaving the park, after going a round 
for alms in a district of his own, he departed from Benares and by degrees 
reached a place in the Himalayas, and after dwelling some time there he 
descended from the hills and settled in a forest near a frontier village. As 
soon as he was gone, those councillors once more sat in judgment, robbing 
the people, and they thought, " Should Great Bodhi, the mendicant, 
return, we shall lose our livelihood. What are we to do to prevent his 
coming back ?" Then this occurred to them: "Such people as these cannot 
leave any object to which they are attached. What can be the object 
here to which he is attached ? " Then feeling sure it must be the king's 



No. 528. 121 

chief consort, they thought, " This is the reason why he would return here. 
We will be beforehand' with them and put her to death.'' And they 
repeated this to the king, saying, " Sire, to-day a certain report is current 
in the city." " What report 1 " he said. " Great Bodhi the mendicant and 
the queen send messages to and fro, one to the other." " With what objects ? " 
" His message to the queen, they say, is this, ' Will you be able by your 
own power to put the king to death and to grant me the white umbrella?' 
Her message to him is, ' The king's death, verily, is my charge : you are 
to come quickly.' " They constantly repeated this till the king believed it 
and asked, "What then is to be done?" They answered, "We must put 
the queen to death." And without investigatiug the truth of the matter 
he said, " Well then put her to death ; and cutting up her body piecemeal 
throw it on the dunghill." They did so, and the news of her death was 
noised abrbad throughout the city. Then her four sous said, "Our mother 
though innocent has been put to death by this man,'' and they became the 
king's enemies. And the king was greatly terrified. The Great Being in 
due course heard what had happened and thought, " Excepting myself 
there is no one that can pacify these princes and induce them to forgive 
their father; I will save the king's life and deliver these princes from 
their evil purpose." So next day he entered a frontier village and after 
eating the flesh of a monkey given to him by the inhabitants [236] he 
begged for its skin which he had dried in his hei-mit's hut till it had lost 
all smell and then made it into an inner and outer robe which he laid upon 
his shoulder. Why did he do so ? That he might say, "It is very helpful 
to me.'' Taking the skin with him he gradually made his way to Benares 
and drawing nigh to the young princes he said to them, " To murder one's 
own father is a terrible thing : you must not do this. No mortal is 
exempt from decay and death. I have come here to reconcile you ; when 
I send a message, you are to come to me." After having thus exhorted 
the youths, he entered the park within the city and seated himself upon 
a stone slab, spreading the monkey-skin over it. 

When the keeper of the park saw this, he went in haste to tell the 
king. The king on hearing it was filled with joy, and taking those 
councillors with him went and saluted the Great Being, and sitting down 
began to converse pleasantly with him. The Great Being without any 
exchange of friendly greeting went on stroking his monkey-skin. The 
king said, " Sir, without making any provision' for me you continue to rub 
your monkey-skin. Is this more helpful to you than I am ?" "Yes, Sire, 
this monkey is of the greatest service to me. I travelled about sitting on 
its back. It carried my water-pot for me. It swept out my dwelling- 

1 patigacc'eva, v.l. patikacc'eva. Eefer to Trenckner's Milindapanha, note 48^^, 
pp. 421, 422. It has here the force of the Latin ultra. 

2 Another reading is ahathetva, " without addressing a word to me." 



122 The Jataka. Booh XVIII. 

place. It performed various duties of a minor kind for me. Through its 
simplicity I ate its flesh and having had its skin dried I spread it out and 
sit and lie on it : so it is very useful to me.'' Thus did he, in order to 
refute these heretics, attribute the acts of a monkey to the monkey-skin, 
and with this object he spoke as he did. From his having formerly 
dressed in its skin he said, "I travelled about sitting on its back.'' From 
placing it on his shoulder and from having thus carried his drinking 
vessel he said, " It carried my drinking vessel." From the fact of having 
swept the ground with the skin he said, "It sweeps out my dwelling 
place." When he lies down, because his back is touched by this skin, and 
when he steps upon it, because it touches his feet, he says, " It performed 
such and such various duties for me " : when he was hungry, because he 
took and ate its flesh, he says, [237] " Being such a simple creature, I ate 
its flesh." On hearing this those councillors thought, " This man is guilty 
of murder. Consider, pray, the act of this ascetic : he says he killed a 
monkey, ate its flesh and goes about with its skin," and clapping their 
hands they ridiculed him. The Great Being, on seeing them do this, said, 
"These fellows do not know that I am come' with this skin to refute their 
heresies : I will not tell them." And addressing the one that denied the 
Cause, he asked, saying, "Why, sir, do you blame me?" "Because you 
have been guilty of an act of treachery to a friend and of murder." Then 
the Great Being said, " If one should believe in you and in your doctrine 
and act accordingly, what evil has been done ? " And refuting his heresy 
he said : 

If this thy creed, 'AH acts of men, or good or base. 

From natural causes spring, I hold, in every case,' 

Where in involuntary acts can sin find place? 

If such the creed thou holdst and this be doctrine true, 

Then was my action right when I that monkey slew. 

Oouldst thou but only see how sinful is thy creed, 

Thou wouldst no longer then with reason blame my deed. 

[238] Thus did the Great Being rebuke him and reduce him to silence. 
The king, feeling annoyed at the rebuke before the assembly, collapsed' 
and sat down. And the Great Being, after refuting his heresy, addressed 
the one who believed that everything is brought about by a Supreme 
Being and said, "Why, sir, do you blame me, if you really fall back 
upon the doctrine that everything is the creation of a Supreme Being?" 
And he repeated this verse : 

If there exists some Lord all powerful to fulfil 

In every creature bliss or woe, and action good or ill. 

That Lord is stained with sin. Man does but work his will. 

If such the creed thou holdst and this be doctrine true. 
Then was my action right when I that monkey slew. 

' pattahkhandha, see note on p. 10. 



No. 528. 123 

Couldst thou but only see how sinful is thy creed, 

Thou wouldst no longer then with reason blame my deed. 

Thus did he, like one knocking down a mango with a club stick taken 

from the mango tree, refute the man who believed in the action of some 

Supreme Being by his very own doctrine, and then he thus addressed the 

believer in all things having happened before, saying, " Why, sir, do you 

blame me if you believe in the truth of the doctrine that everything has 

happened before 1 " And he repeated this verse : 

From former action still both bliss and woe begin ; 
This monkey pays his debt, to wit, his former sin : 
Each act's a debt discharged. Where then does guilt come in ? 

[239] If such the creed thou holdst and this be doctrine true, 
Then was my action right when I that monkey slew. 

Oouldst thou but only see how sinful is thy creed. 

Thou wouldst no longer then with reason blame my deed. 

Having thus refuted the heresy of this man too, he turned to the 
believer in annihilation' and said, "You, sir, maintain that there is no 
reward and the like, believing that all mortals suflFer annihilation here, 
and that no one goes to a future world. Why then do you blame me 1 " 
And rebuking him he said : 

Each living creature's form four elements compose ; 
To these component parts dissolved each body goes. 

The dead exist no more, the living still live on ; 

Should this world be destroyed, both wise and fools are gone : 

Amidst a ruined world guilt-stain defileth none. 

If such the creed thou holdst and this be doctrine true, 
Then was my action right when I that monkey slew. 

Couldst thou but only see" how sinful is thy creed, 

Thou wouldst no longer then with reason blame my deed. 

[240] Thus did he refute the heresy of this one too and then addressing 
him who held the Kshatriya doctrine, he said, " You, sir, maintain that a 
man must serve his own interests, even should he have to kill his own 
father and mother. Why, if you go about professing this belief, do you 
blame me 1 " And he repeated this verse : 

The Kshatriyas say, poor simple fools that think themselves so wise, 

A man may kill his parents, if occasion justifies. 

Or elder brother, children, wife, should need of it arise. 

Thus did he withstand the views of this man too, and to reveal his 
own view he said : 

'From off a tree beneath whose shade a man would sit and rest, 
'Twere treachery to lop a branch. False friends we both detest. 

1 ucchedavdda. Compare Vinaya Texts, n. Ill, Dliamma Sangani, p. 268 of 
translation, and Buddhist Suttas, p. 149 (S.B.E. xi.) and KatM Vatthu, Pakarana 
Atthakathd, p. 6 (P. T. S. J. 1889). 



124 The Jataha. Booh XVIII. 

But if occasion should arise, then extirpate that tree.' 

That monkey then, to serve my needs, was rightly slain by me. 

If such the creed thou holdst and this be doctrine true. 
Then was my action right when I that monkey slew. 

Couldst thou but only see how sinful is thy creed. 

Thou wouldst no longer then with reason blame my deed. 

[241] Thus did he refute the doctrine of this man too, and now that 
all these five heretics were dumbfounded and bewildered', addressing 
the king he said, "Sire, these fellows with whom you go about are 
big thieves who plunder your realm. Oh ! fool that you are, a man by 
consorting with fellows such as these both in this present world and that 
which is to come would meet with great sorrow," and so saying he taught 
the king the Truth and said : 

This man avers, 'There is no cause.' Another, 'One is Lord of all.' 
Some hold, 'Each deed was done of old.' Others, 'AH worlds to ruin fall.' 
These and the Kshatriya heretics are fools who think that they are wise. 
Bad men are they who sin themselves and others wickedly advise. 
Evil communications aye result in pains and penalties. 

Now by way of illustration, enlarging on the text of his sermon, he 

said : 

A wolf disguised as ram of old 
Drew unsuspected nigh the fold. 

The 2 panic-stricken flock it slew. 
Then scampered off to pastures new. 

Thus monks and brahmins often use 
A cloak, the credulous to abuse. 

Some on bare ground all dirty lie. 
Some fast, some squat in agony. 

[242] Some may not drink, some eat by rule, 
As saint each poses, wicked fool. 

An evil race of men are they, and fools who think that they'are wise. 
All such not only sin themselves, but others wickedly advise. 
Evil communications aye result in pains and penalties. 

Who say, 'No Force exists in anything,' 

Deny the Cause of all, disparaging 

Their own and others' acts as vanity, king, 

An evil race of men are they, and fools who think that they are wise. 
All such not only sin themselves, but others wickedly advise, 
Evil communications aye result in pains and penalties. 

If Force exists not anywhere nor acts be good or ill. 
Why should a king keep artisans, to profit by their skill? 

It is because Force does exist and actions good or ill. 
That kings keep ever artisans and profit by their skill. 

' nipjpapibhdna, cf. appatibhdna, Cullavagga, iv. 4. 8. 
' Beading vittaiayitva for citrasayitva. 



No. 528. 125 

If for a hundred years or more no rain or snow should fall, 
Our race, amidst a ruined world, would perish one and all. 

But as rains fall and snow withal, the changing year ensures, 
That harvest ripens and our land for ages long endures. 

'The bull through floods a devious course will take &c. 

Who plucketh fruit before it has well ripened on the tree. 
Destroys its seed and never knows how sweet the fruit may be. 

[243] So he that by unrighteous rule his country has destroyed. 

The sweets that spring from righteousness has never once enjoyed. 

But he that lets the fruit he plucks first ripen on the tree. 
Preserves its seed and knows full well how sweet the fruit may be. 

So he too by his righteous rule that has preserved the land. 
How sweet the fruits of justice are can fully understand. 

The warrior king that o'er the land unrighteous sway shall wield 
Will suffer loss in plant and herb, whate'er the ground shall yield. 

So should he spoil his citizens so apt by trade to gain, 
A failing source of revenue will his exchequer drain. 

And should he vex his soldiers bold, so skilled to rule the fight, 
His army wiU fall off' from him and shear him of his might. 

So should he wrong or sage or saint, he meets his due reward, 

And through his sin, howe'er high born, from heaven will be debaired. 

And should a wife by wicked king, though innocent, be slain. 
He suffers in his children and in hell is racked with pain. 

Be just to town and country folk and treat thy soldiers well. 
Be kind to wife and children and let saints in safety dwell. 

A monarch such as this, Sire, if free from passion found. 
Like Indra, lord of Asuras, strikes terror all around. 

[245] The Great Being having thus taught the Truth to the king 
summoned the four young princes and admonished them, explaining to 
them the king's action, and he said, "Ask the king's pardon," and having 
persuaded the king to forgive them, he said, " Sire, henceforth do not 
accept the statement of slanderers without weighing their words, and be 
not guilty of any similar deed of violence, and as for you young princes, 
act not treacherously towards the king," and he thus admonished them all. 
Then the king said to him, " Holy Sir, it was owing to these men that I 
sinned against you and the queen, and through accepting their statement 
I wrought this evil deed. [246] I will put all five of them to death." 
" Sire, you must not do this." "Then I will order their feet and hands to 
be cut off." " This too you must not do." The king assented, saying, " It 
is well," and he stript them of all their property and disgracing them in 
various ways, by fastening their hair into five locks'', by putting them into 

' These lines are to be found in Jataka, vol. iii. p. 74 (English) and vol. v. p. 113. 

" Compare Kathd Sarit Sagara, xii. 168, Tawney's translation, vol. i. p. 80, 
where as a mark of disgrace a woman's head is so shaved that five locks are left. 
Jataka vi. 135 shows that the cula was sometimes » mark of slavery. In Jataka v. 
p. 249 a little boy of poor parents is described as wearing his hair in this fashion. 



126 The Jataka. Booh XVIII. 

fetters and chains and by sprinkling cow-dung over them, he drove them 
out of his kingdom. And the Bodhisatta after staying there a few days 
and admonishing the king, bidding him be vigilant, set off for the Hima- 
layas and developed supernatural power arising out of mystic meditation, 
and so long as he lived, cultivating the Perfect States, he became a denizen 
of the Brahma world. 



The Master here ended his lesson and saying, " Not now only. Brethren, but 
formerly also, the Tathagata was wise and crushed all disputants," he thus 
identified the Birth: "At that time the five heretics i were Purana Kassapa, 
Makkhali Gosala, Pakudha Kaccana, Ajita Kesakambali, Nigantha Nathaputta, 
the tawny dog was Ananda, and the wandering mendicant Mahabodhi was I 
myself. 

1 For these heretics see Hardy's Manual, p. 300, and Vinaya Texts, ii. 111. Some 
of their names are found elsewhere with different forms, Purana, Kakudha Kacoayana 
and Kataputia. 



BOOK XIX. SATTHINIPATA. 



No. 529. 



SONAKA-JATAKA^ 

[247] "A thousand croiims," etc. This is a story told by the Master, while 
dwelling at Jetavana, concerning the Perfection of Renunciation. On this 
occasion the Bodhisatta sitting in the Hall of Truth in the midst of the Brethren, 
as they were singing the praises of the Perfection of Renunciation, said, " Brethren, 
not now only, but of old also the Tathagata verily left the world and made the 
Great Renunciation," and so saying he related a story of the past. 



Once upon a time, the Magadha king reigned in Eajagaha. The 
Bodhisatta was born to his chief queen and on his naming-day they called 
him prince Arindama. On the very day of his birth a son was also born 
to the royal chaplain, and to him they gave the name of young Sonaka. 
The two lads grew up together and when they were of age they were 
exceedingly handsome, in appearance not to be distinguished one from 
another, and they went to Takkasila and, after being trained in all 
sciences, they left that place with the intention of learning the practical 
uses of arts and local observances, and gradually in the course of their 
wanderings found their way to Benares. There they took up their abode 
in the royal park and next day entered the city. That very day certain 
men being minded to make an oflfering of food to brahmins provided some 
rice-porridge and arranged seats, and on seeing these youths approach they 
brought them into the house and made them sit upon the seats they had 
prepared. On the seat allotted to the Bodhisatta a white cloth was 
spread, on that assigned to Sonaka a red woollen rug. On seeing this 
omen Sonaka at once understood that this day his dear friend Arindama 
[248] would become king in Benares, and that he would offer him the 
post of commander-in-chief. After they had finished their meal they 
returned together to the park. Now it was the seventh day since the 
king of Benares had died and the royal house was without an heir. So 
the councillors and the rest after washing themselves, head and all, 

1 Compare the story of Darlmukha, No. 378, vol. m. p. 156 (English translation). 



128 The Jataka. Booh XIX. 



assembled together and sajdng, " Thou art to go to the house of the man 
that is worthy to be king," they started the festal car'. On leaving the 
city it gradually approached the park and stopping at the park gate it 
stood there, ready for any one to mount upon it. The Bodhisatta lay, 
with his outer robe wrapped about his head, on the royal slab of stone, 
while the lad Sonaka sat near him. On hearing the sound of musical 
instruments Sonaka thought, "Here comes the festal car for Arindama. 
To-day he will be made king and he will oflfer me the post of commander. 
But verily I have no desire for rule : when he is gone away, I will leave 
the world and become an ascetic," and he stood on one side in concealment. 
The chaplain on entering the park saw the Great Being lying there and 
ordered his trumpets to be sounded. The Great Being woke up and after 
turning over and lying for a while he rose up and sat cross-legged on the 
stone seat. Then the chaplain spreading out his arms in a suppliant 
attitude cried, "The kingdom. Sire, comes to you.'' "Why, is there no 
heir to the throne?" "Even so. Sire." "Then it is well," he said. So 
they sprinkled him to be king then and there. And mounting him on the 
car they brought him with a vast escort into the city. After a solemn 
procession round the city he ascended to his palace and in the greatness of 
his glory he forgot all about young Sonaka. But when the king was gone, 
Sonaka returned and sat on the stone seat, and so it was that a withered 
leaf of a sal tree fell from its stalk in front of him, and on seeing it 
he cried, "Even as this leaf, so will my body fall into decay,'' and acquiring 
supernatural insight by reflecting on the impermanence of all things he 
attained to the state of a paccekabuddha, and at this very instant his 
characteristic as a layman vanished, and the marks of an ascetic became 
visible, and saying, " There is no more re-birth for me," in the utterance 
of this aspiration he set out for the cave of Nandamula. And the Great 
Being after the lapse of forty years remembered Sonaka and said, " Where 
in the world can Sonaka be 1 " And time after time calling him to mind 
[249] he found no one to tell him saying, "I have heard of him or I have 
seen him.'' And sitting cross-legged on a royal throne upon a magnificent 
dais, surrounded by a company of minstrels and mime dancers, in the 
enjoyment of his glory, he said, " Whosoever shall hear from some one 
that Sonaka dwells in such and such a place and shall repeat it to me, 
to him I promise a hundred pieces of money, but whosoever shall see him 
with his own eyes and shall tell me, to him I promise a thousand pieces of 
money," and giving expression to this inspired utterance, in the form of a 
song, he repeated the first stanza : 

A thousand crowns for one that sees my friend and playmate dear, 
A hundred lo ! I give if one of Sonaka should hear. 

1 phmsaratha, Jataka in. 238, iv. 39, and especially Mahdjanaka, vi. No. 539. 



No. 529. 129 

Then a nautch girl, catching it up, as it were, from his very mouth, 
sang the words, and then another and another took it up till the whole 
harem, thinking it was a favourite air of the king's, all sang it. And 
gradually both towns-people and country-folk sang the same song and the 
king too constantly sang it. At the end of fifty years the king had many 
sons and daughters, and the eldest son was called prince Dighavu. At 
this time the paccekabuddha Sonaka thought, "King Arindama is anxious 
to see me. I will go and explain to him the misery of evil desires and the 
blessing of Renunciation, and will show him the way to become an ascetic. 
And by his supernatural power he conveyed himself thither and took a 
seat in the park. At that moment a boy seven years old, wearing his hair 
in five knots, was sent there by his mother, and as he was gathering sticks 
in the park garden he sang over and over again this song. Sonaka called 
the boy to him and asked him saying, "Why, my lad, do you always sing 
the same song and never sing anything else 1 Do you not know any other 
song 1" "I know others, holy Sir, but this is the king's favourite song, 
and so I constantly sing it.'' " Has any one been found to sing a refrain 
to this song?" "No, Sir.'' "I will teach you one and then you can go 
and sing the refrain before the king." " Yes, Sir." So he taught him the 
refrain 'A thousand crowns' and the rest of it, and when the boy had 
mastered it, [250] he sent him off, saying, "Go, my lad, and sing this 
refrain before the king and he will grant you great power. What have 
you to do with gathering sticks 1 Be off with you as quick as you can." 
" It is well," said the boy, and having mastered the refrain and saluted 
Sonaka he said, " Holy Sir, until I bring the king, do you remain here.'' 
With these words he went off as fast as he could to his mother and said to 
her, " Dear mother, give me a bath and dress me in my best clothes : 
to-day will I free you from your poverty." And when be had taken a 
bath and was smartly dressed, he went to the door of the palace and said, 
" Porter, go and tell the king and say, ' A certain lad has come and even 
now stands at the door, prepared to sing a song with you.'" So the 
porter made haste and told the king. The king summoned him to his 
presence and said, "Friend, would you sing a song with me?" "Yes, 
Sire." "Then sing it." "My lord, I will not sing it here, but have a 
drum beaten through the city and bid the people assemble together. 
I will sing before the people." The king ordered this to be done, and, 
taking his seat in the middle of a couch under a magnificent pavilion and 
assigning a suitable seat to the boy, he said, " Now then sing your song." 
"Sire," he said, "you sing first and then I will sing a refrain to it." Then 
the king sang first, repeating this stanza : 

A thousand crowns for one that sees my friend and playmate dear, 
A hundred lo ! I give if one of Sonaka should hear. 



J. V. 



130 The JdtaJca. Booh XIX. 



Then the Master, to make it clear that the boy with his hair dressed in five 
knots sang a refrain to the song begun by the king, in his Perfect Wisdom 
repeated two lines : ' 

Then up and spake that little boy — five tangled locks he wore — 
' The thousand give to me who saw, who heard a hundred more : 
I'll tell thee news of Sonaka, thy playfellow of yore.' 



The verses that follow are to be taken in their obvious connexion. 

[251] Pray in what country, realm, or town hast thou a-wandering been, 
And where was Sonaka, my friend, I prithee tell me, seen? 
Within this realm, in thine own park is many a big sal tree 
With leaves dark green and stems so straight, a pleasant sight to see; 

Their branches densely interlaced, cloud-like, to heaven they rise. 

And at their foot lo ! Sonaka in meditation lies, 

KUed with the Arhat's holy calm, when human passion dies. 

The king then started in fuU force and levelling the road 
He made his way straight to the place of Sonaka's abode. 

There wandering midst an ample grove within his pleasure ground, 
AU passionless, in saintly bHss, his friend at rest he found. 

. Without saluting him he sat on one side and, by reason of his being 
himself given up to evil passion, he fancied he was some poor wretch and 
addressed him in this stanza : 

His parents dead, with shaven head, clad in monk's robe I see 

A wretched Brother in a trance, stretched here beneath this tree. 

* 

On hearing this said Sonaka, 'He is no wretched wight 
Who in his every action. Sire, has aye attained to right. 

[252] Nay rather wretched those who right neglect and practise ill, 
Tor evil doer evil doom is destined to fulfil.' 

Thus did he rebuke the Bodhisatta, and he pretending not to know he 
was being rebuked, talking in a friendly way with him, declared his name 
and family and spoke this stanza : 

As king of Kasi I am known, Arindama my name. 

Since coming here, Sir, hast thou met with aught deserving blame? 

Then the paccekabuddha said, "Not merely while dwelling here but 
nowhere else have I met with any discomfort," and he began to tell in 
verse the blessings of the monk : 

'Mongst blessings of poor homeless monk I ever count it one, 
In jar or maund or granary he stores has hoarded none, 
But only craves what others leave and lives content thereon. 

The next of all his blessings this is one deserving praise, 
He free from blame enjoys his food and no one him gainsays. 

Third blessing of the monk I hold is this, that aU his days 
He eats his food in happiness and no one him gainsays. 

The fourth of all his blessings is that wheresoe'er he goes, 

He wanders free throughout the realm and no Attachment knows. 

Fifth blessing this that should the town, wherever he may be, 
Perish in flames, he suffers not, for nought to burn has he. 



No. 529. ]31 

[253] The sixth of all the blessings he may reckon to his lot, 
That if the realm should be despoiled, he suffers not a jot. 

The seventh of the blessings that to poverty he owes. 

Though robbers should his path beset, and many dangerous foes. 

With bowl and robe the holy man ever in safety goes. 

Last blessing this that wheresoe'er our wanderer may fare, 
Homeless and poor, he journeys on without regret or care. 

[254] Thus did the paccekabuddha Sonaka tell of the eight blessings of 
the monk, and even beyond this he could have told of a hundred, nay a 
thousand immeasurable blessings, but the king being given up to sensual 
desires cut short his speech, saying, "I have no need of monkish blessings," 
and to make it clear how devoted he was to evil passions he said : 

Thy many ■ blessings thou mayst praise but what am I to do 
Who worldly pleasures, Sonaka, so greedily pursue? 

Dear are all human joys to me and heavenly joys as well. 
But how to gain both worlds at once, to me, I prithee, tell. 

Then the paccekabuddha answered him : 

[255] Who greedily on pleasure bent their worldly lusts would sate. 
Work wickedness awhile, to be re-born in woeful state. 

But they who leave desire behind through life all fearless go. 
And reaching concentration i pure are ne'er re-born to woe. 

Here tell I thee a parable ; Arindama, give heed, 

Some that are wise through parable my meaning best may read. 

See ! borne along on Ganges' flooded tide a carcase vast, 
A foolish crow thought to himself as it was floating past, 

'Oh what a carriage I have found and goodly store of food. 
Here will I stay both night and day, enjoying blissful mood.' 

So eats he flesh of elephant and drinks from Ganges' stream. 
And budging not sees grove and sTirine pass by him in a dream. 

Thus heedless and on carrion vile so all intent was he. 
The Ganges swept him headlong to the perils of the sea. 

But when with food exhausted he, poor bird, essayed a flight. 
Nor east nor west nor south nor north was any land in sight. 

Far out at sea, so weak was he,. long ere he reached the shore. 
Midst countless perils of the deep he feU to rise no more. 

For crocodiles and monster fish, where our poor flutterer lay. 
Came ravening all around and quick devoured their quivering prey. 

So thou and all that greedily pleasures of sense pursue 

Are deemed as wise as was this crow, till ye all lusts eschew. 

My parable proclaims the Truth. To it, king, give heed, 
Thy fame for good or ill will grow according to thy deed. 

[257] Thus by means of this parable did he admonish the king and, in 
order to fix it firmly in his mind, he repeated this stanza : 

In pity once, nay even twice, utter the warning word, 
But keep not on repeating it, like slave before his lord. 



' ekodibhava, oonceutration of mind, see E. Morris, P. T. S. J. 1885, p. 32 and 
Academy, March 27, 1886. 

9—2 



132 The Jdtaka. Booh XIX. 

Thus in his wisdom infinite did Sonaka the seer 

Instruct the king, and then in space straightway did disappear. 

This stanza was inspired by Perfect Wisdom. 



And the Bodhisatta stood gazing on him as he passed through the air, 
so long as he remained within the range of his vision, but when he had 
passed out of sight, he was greatly agitated and thought, " This brahmin, 
low-born "^ fellow that he is, after scattering the dust from his feet upon my 
head, though I am sprung from an unbroken line of nobles, [258] has 
disappeared in the sky : I must to-day renounce the world and become a 
religious. So in his desire to join the religious and give up his kingdom 
he repeated a couple of stanzas : 

Where are my charioteers, despatched a worthy king to find ? 
I would not longer reign ; henceforth my crown I have resigned. 

Tomorrow one may die, who knows? I'll be ordained to-day; 
Lest, like the foolish crow, I fall 'neath passion's baneful sway. 

On hearing him thus abdicate his throne his councillors said : 

Thou hast a son, Dighavu named, a goodly prince is he. 

By sprinkling raise Mm to the throne, for he our king shall be. 

Then, beginning with the stanza spoken by the king, the verses in due 
order are to be understood in their obvious connexion : 

Then quickly bring Dighavu here, a goodly prince is he. 

By sprinkling raise him to the throne, for he your king shall be. 

When they had brought Dighavu there, their nursing king to be. 

His sire addressed his darling boy — an only son was he. 

* 
Full sixty thousand villages I once did claim as mine. 
Take them, my son, to thee henceforth my kingdom I resign. 

Tomorrow one may die, who knows? I'll be ordained to-day; 
Lest, like the foolish crow, I fall 'neath passion's baneful sway. 

Lo ! sixty thousand elephants with splendour all bedight. 
With girths of gold, caparisoned with trappings golden-bright. 

Each ridden by his own mahout, with spikM hook in hand. 
Take them, my son, I give them thee as ruler of the land. 

[259] Tomorrow one may die, who knows? I'U be ordained to-day; 
Lest, like the foolish crow, I fall 'neath passion's baneful sway. 

Lo ! sixty thousand horses here, bedecked in bright array 

— Sindh horses, all of noble breed and fleet of foot are they — 

Each ridden by a henchman bold, with sword and bow in hand. 
Take them, my son, I give them thee as ruler of the land. 

Tomorrow one may die, who knows? I'll be ordained to-day; 
Lest, like the foolish crow, I fall 'neath passion's baneful sway. 

Lo ! sixty thousand cars all yoked, with banners flying free. 
With tiger skin and panther hide, a gorgeous sight to see, 

1 On a brahmin being called hina-jacco see Buddhist India by E. Davids, p. 60. 



No. 529. 133 



Each driven by mailed charioteers, all armed with bow in hand, 
Take them, my son, I give them thee, as ruler of the land. 

Tomorrow one may die, who knows? I'll be ordained to-day; 
Lest, like the fooUsh crow, I fall 'neath passion's baneful sway. 

Lo ! sixty thousand kine so red, with bulls on every hand, 
Take them, my son, I give them thee as ruler of the land. 

Tomorrow one may die, who knows ? I'll be ordained to-day ; 
Lest, like the foolish crow, I fall 'neath passion's baneful sway. 

Here twice eight thousand maidens fair in goodly vesture stand. 
With many a jewelled bracelet decked and rings upon each hand, 
Take them, my son, I give them thee, as ruler of the land. 

Tomorrow one may die, who knows? I'll be ordained to-day; 
Lest, like the foolish crow, I fall 'neath passion's baneful sway. 

iThey say to me, 'Thy mother dear, alas! poor boy, is dead,' 
I cannot live without thee too. All joy from life is fled. 

As close behind old elephant a young one oft is found 

Moving through mountain-pass or wood, o'er rough or level ground. 

So bowl in hand I'll follow thee, wherever thou mayst lead, 
Nor shalt thou find me burdensome or difficult to feed. 

*As oft some ship of merchants seeking gain at any cost 

Is swallowed by a whirlpool ^ and both ship and crew are lost, 

So lest I find a stumbling-block in this accursed boy, 
Instal him in my palace there all pleasures to enjoy — 

[260] With maids whose hands caressing him with gleaming gold are bright. 
Like Sakka midst his nymphs divine, he'll ever take delight. 

Then brought they prince Dighavu to the palace, home of joy, 
And seeing him these maidens fair addressed the royal boy. 

'Who art thou? Angel, minstrel-god, o» Sakka known to fame. 
Dispensing alms in every town? We fain would learn thy name.' 

No angel I nor minstrel-god nor Sakka known to fame, 
But heir to king of Kasi, prince Dighavu is my name. 
So cherish me and happy be : each one as wife I claim. 

Then thus imto Dighavu, their hege lord, these maidens said ; 
'Where has the king a refuge gained, and whither is he fled?' 

The king escaped from miry ways is safe upon dry ground. 
From thorns and jungle free at last the high road he has found. 

But I am set upon a path that leads to woeful state, 
Through thorns and jungle on I press to reach an awful fate. 

Welcome to us, as lion is to cubs in mountain lair. 

Bear sway henceforth, our sovereign lord, the true and rightful heir. 

[261] And having so spoken they all sounded their musical instruments 
and all manner of song and dance took place, and so great was his glory 
that the prince intoxicated by it forgot all about his father, but exercising 
his rule with justice he fared according to his deeds. But the Bodhisatta 

' This and the two following stanzas are spoken by the young prince. 
^ This and the two following stanzas are spoken by king Arindama. 
' The commentary explains vohdra as a ' monster fish' or ' whirlpool.' 



134 The Jataka. Book XIX. 

developed the supernatural faculty resulting from Meditation and passed 
away to the Brahma world. 



The Master here ended his lesson and said, " Not now only, • Brethren, but 
also of old the Tathagata verily made the Great Eenunciation," and he identified 
the Birth, saying, " At that time the paccekabuddha obtained Nirvana, the son 
was the young Rahula, and king Arindama was I myself." 



No. 530. 



SAMKICCA-JATAKA. 

"Atsiffht of Brakmadatta," eta. This story the Master, while dwelling in 
the mango grove of Jivaka*, told concerning the murder of his own father by 
Ajatasattu. For owing to Devadatta [262] and at his instigation he had his 
father put to death. But when sickness arose in the schismatic congregation 
following upon the division in the Order, Devadatta rescflved to go and 
ask pardon of the Tathagata, and, as he was journeying in a litter to Savatthi 
he was swallowed up by the earth at the gate of Jetavana. On hearing this 
Ajatasattu thought, " Because Devadatta was an enemy of the supreme Buddha, 
he has disappeared into the earth and is destined to the Avici hell. It was 
owing to him that I murdered my holy father, that king of Righteousness. I 
too shall surely be swallowed up by the earth." And he was so terrified that 
he found no enjoyment in his royal splendour, and thinking he would rest 
awhile, he had no sooner fallen asleep than he seemed to be dropped into a 
world of iron nine leagues thick, and beaten as it were with iron spikes and 
devoured by dogs continually snapping at him, and with a terrible cry he rose 
up. So one day at full moon^ durjng the caturmasya festival, when surrounded 
by a great retinue of coitttiers he reflected on his own glory, he bethought him 
that his father's glory was far greater than this, and that owing to Devadatta he 
had slain so excellent a king of Righteousness, and while he thought on this 
a fever sprang up in his limbs and his whole body was bathed in sweat. And 
considering who could drive away this fear frOm him he concluded that except 
Dasabala there was no one, and thinking, " I have sinned greatly against the 
Tathagata: who verily will take me into his presence?" and concluding there 
was no one but Jivaka, he considered some way of getting him to go with him, 
and uttering a joyous cry, "O sir, what a lovely clear night it is," he said, 
" what if to-day we were to pay our respects to some priest or brahmin ?" And when 
the virtues of Purana^ and other teachers had been sung by their respective 
disciples, without attending to what they said he cross-questioned Jivaka, and on 
his teUing of the virtues of the Tathagata and crying, " Let his Majesty pay his 
respects to the Blessed One," he ordered elephant cars to be got ready and went 
to the mango grove of Jivaka. And approaching the Tathagata with an obeisance 
and being kindly greeted by him, he inquired of the reward of asceticism in 
this present life, and after listening to a sweet disooiu^e on this topic from the 
Tathagata, at the end of the sermon he announced his discipleship, and having 
been reconciled to the Tathagata he went his ways. Thenceforth distributing 
alms and keeping the moral law he associated with the Tathagata, and listening 

1 Hardy's Manual, pp. 244—257, and pp. 333—337. 
^ Komudi, the full moon day in the month Kattika. 

' Instead of puraijxi reading Purana, i.e. Parana Kassapa. Of. Digha Nikaya, n. 2, 
where the name appears as Purana. 



No. 530. 135 



to his sweet discourse on the Law and consorting with a virtuous friend, his 
fears abated and his feeling of horror disappeared, and he recovered his peace of 
mind and happily cultivated the four Ways of Deportment. Then one day they 
started a discussion in the Hall of Truth, saying, " Sirs, Ajatasattu after slaying 
his father was terror-stricken and finding no enjoyment in his regal splendour 
he experienced pain in every posture. Then he went to the Tathagata and 
by associating with a virtuous friend he lost his fears and enjoyed the happiness 
of lordship." The Master came and asked, saying, " What topic, Brethren, are 
you now engaged in discussing in conclave ? " [263] and on their telling him what 
it was, he said, " Not now only, but of old too, this man, after murdering his 
father, through me recovered his peace of mind," and he told a story of the 
past. 



Once upon a time in Benares Brahmadatta begat a son, prince Brahma- 
datta. At the same time the Bodhisatta was conceived in the house of 
the family priest. And at his birth they named him young Saihkicca. 
The two lads grew up together in the palace and were great friends. And 
when they came of age, after acquiring all learning at Takkasila, they 
returned home. Then the king appointed his son to be viceroy and the 
Bodhisatta still lived with him. Now one day the viceroy, when his 
father was gone to disport himself in the pleasure garden, beheld his 
great glory and conceived a longing for it, thinking, " My father is more 
like a brother ; if I shall wait for his death, I shall be an old man before 
I succeed to the crown. What good will it do me to get the kingdom 
thenl I will kill my father and make myself king," and he told the 
Bodhisatta what he thought of doing. The Bodhisatta rejected the idea, 
saying, " Friend, the murder of a father is a serious matter. That way 
lies the road to hell. You must not do this deed. Pray do not kill him." 
But he spoke of it again and again and was opposed by his friend for the 
third time. Then he consulted with his attendants and they fell in 
with the idea and devised a plot to kill the king. But the Bodhisatta 
hearing of it thought, " I will not consort with people like these," and 
without taking leave of his father and mother he escaped by a house- 
door' and hid himself in the Himalaya country. There he embraced the 
ascetic life and entered upon the supernatural powers arising from ecstatic 
meditation, living on roots and wild berries. But the prince, when his 
friend was gone away, put his father to death and enjoyed great glory. 
Hearing it said that young Saihkicca had adopted the ascetic life, many 
youths of good family gave up the world and were ordained by him to 
the ascetic life. And he dwelt there surrounded by a great company of 
ascetics, all of whom had already reached the Attainments. The king, after 
killing his father, for a very short time enjoyed the pleasure of kingship, 

1 Whenever any one wishes to leave the house without being observed, he goes out 
by the aggadvaram, perhaps a side or back-door, as opposed to the main entrance. 
Of. Jataka, vol. i. 114, vol. v. 132, Pali text. 



136 The Jataka. Booh XIX. 



and then, was terror-stricken and lost his peace of mind and was like 
to one who had found his punishment' in hell. Then calling to mind 
the Bodhisatta he thought, " My friend tried to stop me, saying the 
murder of one's father was a grievous thing, but failing to persuade me 
he ran away to keep himself free from guilt. If he had been here, he 
would not have let me slay my father and he would free me from this 
terror. Where in the world can he be living? If I knew where he 
was dwelling, I would send for him. Who can tell me his place of 
abode 1 " Thenceforth both in the harem and in the court he was ever 
singing the praises of the Bodhisatta. A long time afterwards, when 
he had lived fifty years in the Himalayas, the Bodhisatta thought, " The 
king remembers me. I must go to him and teach him the Law and 
remove his fears." So attended by five hundred ascetics he passed through 
the air and alighted in the garden called Dayapassa, and surrounded by 
his band of ascetics he seated himself on the stone slab. The keeper of 
the garden on seeing him asked, saying, " Holy sir, who is the leader of 
this company of ascetics 1 " And hearing it was the sage Saihkicca and 
himself recognising him he said, " Sir, stay here until I bring the king. He 
is anxious to see you." And making an obeisance he went with haste to 
the palace and told the king of his friend's arrival. The king came to 
see him and after offering all due civility he put a question to him. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

At sight of Brahmadatta thus enthroned in royal state, 

He said, '0 king, the friend for whom thou art compassionate, 

Samkicca, lo ! is here — of saints the chief in fame is he — 
Set out in haste and tarry not this holy sage to see.' 

So quickly mounting on the car prepared at his behest. 

The king begirt with courtier friends set forth upon his quest. 

The emblems five of royal pomp straight doflfed the Kasi lord, 
Umbrella, turban, yak-tail tan, with shoes and eke his sword. 

Then stepping from his car the king, stripped of his bright array, 
To Dayapassa park, where sat Sartikicca, took his way. 

The king drew nigh and greeting him with words of courtly phrase. 
Recalled the converse they had held together in old days. 

And as he sat beside him, when occasion fit arose, 
A question as to sinful deeds he hastened to propose. 

' Saihkicca, lord of saintly band, great sage, whom here I see 
Sitting in Dayapassa park, I fain would question thee. 

[265] How fare transgressors after death ? Born to what state are they ? 
I too have erred from righteousness. Thy answer quick, I pray.' 

The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

' Beading kammakirana. Of. Morris on this word in the Pali Text Society 
Journal, 1884, p. 76. 



No. 530. 137 



Samkiooa thus addressed the king who ruled o'er Kasi land, 
Sitting in Dayapassa glades : ' Mark, sire, and understand : 

Shouldst thou point out the road to one gone hopelessly astray. 
And he should follow thy advice, no thorns beset his way. 

But he that walks in evil ways, shouldst thou direct aright. 
And he should follow thy advice, escapes from woeful plight.' 



[266] Thus did he admonish the king, and moreover taught him the 
Faith, saying. 

Right is like the high road. 

Wrong is but a bye-road. 

Eight to heaven aye wins its way. 

Wrong to hell leads men astray. 

Men that transgress the law, sire, and live unrighteously. 

What fate they suffer after death in hell, now hear from me. 

Sanjiva, Kalasutta and Roruva, great and small, 
Sahghata, Great Avici, are names that may well appal. 
With Tapana and Patapana, eight major hells, in aU. 

Escape from hence is hopeless, and of Ussadas they tell, 
'Twice eight times more in number, a kind of minor hell — 

Dread flames here torture sinful men, all cruel deeds abound. 
Horror, amazement, anguish, woe and terror reign around. 

Four square with fourfold doors is each, in due proportion spaced, 
With dome of iron 'twas o'erarched, by iron wall embraced. 

Its base of iron wrought is such no raging flame may melt. 
Though e'en a hundred leagues around its mighty power is felt. 

All that have outrage done to saints or injured holy men 
Fall headlong into hell's abyss, no more to rise again. 

In evil plight their mangled frames, piece-meal like fish on toast, 
For their misdeeds through countless years in hell are doomed to roast. 

Their limbs consumed with burning heat, to torture dread a prey. 
Though eager to escape from hell they never find a way. 

Seeking an outlet to and fro to east or west they fly, 
Or baffled hurry north or south, a hopeless quest to ply. 
For gods are there to bar the way, whichever door they try. 

[267] Poor souls, for many thousand years they dwell in hell's domain. 
With arms outstretched they sore lament their overwhelming pain. 

Like deadly poison-snake whose wrath 'twere fatal to arouse. 
Shun to attack the saints that live bound by ascetic vows. 

Ajjuna^, lord of Kekakas, great archer, who annoyed 
Gotama, was despite his bulk and thousand arms destroyed. 

So Dandaki^ defiling Kisavaccha, sinless one. 

Like palm tree from the roots cut down, was utterly undone. 

' The number of ussada hells is given by the sohohast as 128. Cf. L'Enfer 
Indien par M. L. Feer, Journal Asiatique, 1892 (viii. s4r. 20), pp. 185 sqq. Paiica- 
gati-dvpana, Pali Text Soc. Joum. 1884. Senart's Mahavastu, i. i. 12—27. 1 (summary 
at p. xxii). SikahSsamiiccaya, ed. Bendall, pp. 69—73. 

" Vol. V. No. 522, Sarabhanga Jdtaka, p. 72, English version. 



138 The Jataha. Booh XIX. 

Mejjhai for famed Matanga's sake fell from its place of pride, 
The land became a wilderness and king and people died. 

Assailing black Dlpayana^ the men of Vishnu race 

With Andhakas' sought Yama's realm, each slain by other's mace. 

Cursed by a sage, Oecca' who once could tread the air, they say, 
Was lost and swallowed by the earth on his appointed day. 

The self-willed fool can never gain the approval of the wise, 
But guileless souls, equipped with truth, are slow to utter lies. 

Whoso would lie in wait to catch some wise and holy man. 
Hurled down to hell will quickly learn to rue his wicked plan. 

But who with treacherous cruelty shall aged saints assail. 
Shall like a dying palm tree stump, childless and heirless, fail. 

Whoso some mighty sage, a priest of life austere, shall slay. 
In Kalasutta hell shall suffer torture many a day. 

And if a wicked Maga king his realm should overthrow. 
He shall when dead in ffapana hke sufferings undergo. 

A hundred thousand years, as gods count years, he's doomed to dwell. 
Clad in a robe of living flame, midst agonies of hell. 

[268] Bright jets of fire t)n every side shoot from his tortured frame, 
His very limbs, hair, nails and all, serve but to feed the flame. 

And as his body burns apace, racked through and through with pain, 
Like a goad-stricken elephant, poor wretch, he roars amain. 

Whoso from greed or hatred shall, vile creature, slay his sire. 
In Kalasutta hell long time shall agonize in fire. 

In iron cauldron boiled till he shall peel. 
The parricide is pierced with shafts of steel. 
Then blinded and on filth condemned to feed 
He's plunged in brine, to expiate his deed. 

Then goblins 'twixt his jaws, lest they should close. 
Hot iron ball or ploughshare interpose. 
These fixed with cords his mouth so firmly prop. 
They into it a stream of filth can drop. 

Vultures, both black and brown, and ravens too. 
And birds with iron beaks, a motley crew, 
Rending his tongue to many a fragment small. 
Devour the quivering morsel, blood and all. 

The goblins flitting to and fro 
Assail the wretch with many a blow. 
On his charred breast or broken limb 
With cruel glee they buffet him. 
The joy is theirs, but woes abide 
With all that in such hell reside 
For earthly crime of parricide. 

The son that slays his mother straight to Yama's realm is sent, 
In retribution for his deed to reap due punishment. 

1 Vol. IV. No. 497, Mdtahga Jataka, p. 244, English version. 
" Vol. IV. No. 454, Qhata Jataka, p. 63 — 7, English version. 
' Vol. V. No. 512, Kumbha Jataka, p. 10, English version. 
' Vol. III. No. 422, Cetiya Jataka, p. 275, English version. 



No. 530. 139 

There powerful demons seize upon the guilty matricide, 

And plough with iron shares his back in furrows deep and wide. 

[269] The blood like molten copper from his wounds that flows they take, 
And give it to the guilty wretch, his burning thirst to slake. 

He stands plunged in a crimson lake as 'twere of clotted blood, 
Breathing foul stench of carrion vile or evil smelling mud. 

Enormous worms with iron mouths, piercing their victim's skin, 
Devour his flesh right greedily and suck the blood within. 

In hell one hundred fathoms deep behold the victim sinks. 
While for a hundred leagues around dead carcase like he stinks. 

By reason of the stench, king, such is his sorry plight, 
Though once possessed of vision keen he suffers loss of sight. 

Past out from Khuradhara hell, grim prison house hard to flee, 
Abortion-mongers 'scape not thy dread stream, Vetarani'. 

Silk-cotton trees with thorns foot long of iron wrought, 'tis said. 
On either bank, Vetaranl, o'erhang thy gloomy bed. 

All clothed in flame, one mass of fire, they stand against the sky, 
And all ablaze with brilliant light tower a full league on high. 

Here fixed upon sharp thorns red-hot in hell appear to view 
Unfaithful husbands, guilty wives, the whole adulterous crew. 

Beaten with stripes headlong they fall, revolving in their flight. 
And there with mangled limbs they lie awake the livelong night. 

At dawn they hide themselves in Iron Cauldron^, known to fame, 
Big as a mountain 'tis and full of water like to flame. 

So clad in foUy like a robe these sinners night and day, 
For their ill deeds wrought long ago, fit retribution pay. 

Whoso as wife bought with his gold her husband shall despise. 

Or shall regard his kith and kin with ever scornful eyes. 

Her tongue, wrenched out with hook and line, shall suffer agonies. 

[270] She sees her tongue drawn out aU full of worms, nor may complain, 
Silent perforce, in Tapana enduring awful pain. 

Slayers of sheep and swine and cows, and followers of the .chase, 
Fishermen, robbers, cruel all, glozing as fair things base, 

Assailed with swords and iron clubs, headlong, these men of blood. 
Pursued with spears and arrows fall into a briny flood. 

The forger, harried night and day with club of iron forged, 
Feeds only on the filthy mess by some poor rogue disgorged. 

Crows, ravens, vultures, jackals too, all armed with iron jaw, 
Entomb the struggling wretch alive in their insatiate maw. 

Who shall with beast ^ hunt beast to death, or bird with bird shall slay, 
O'erwhelmed with sin shall sink to hell, to rue the accursM day. 

[276] Thus did the king describe aU these hells, and now making an 
opening in the earth he showed the king the angel-worlds and said : 

' A river in Hell. 

^ Jdtaka, in. p. 29 (English version). 

* This would refer to hunting the deer with dogs or the ehetah, or to the sport 
of hawking. 



140 The Jataha. Booh XIX. 

Through virtue stored on earth of old the good to heaven attain, 
Here Brahmas, Devas, Indra, lo ! ripe fruit of Virtue gain. 

This then I say, bear righteous sway throughout thy realm, my king. 
For justice done is, merit won, nor e'er regret will bring. 

[277] On hearing the religious discourse of the Great Being, the king 
thenceforth was comforted. And the Bodhisatta, after staying some time 
there, returned to his own place of abode. 



The Master here ended his story and said, " Not now only, but of old also 
was he consoled by me," and he identified the Birth : " At that time Ajatasattu 
was the king, the followers of Buddha formed the company of the ascetic, 
and I mysefl was the sage Samkicca." 



BOOK XX. SATTATINIPATA. 
No. 531. 

KUSA-jlTAKA\ 

[278] " This recdm," etc. This was a tale the Master, while dwelling at Jetavana, 
told about a backsliding Brother. The story runs that he was of noble birth 
and lived at Savatthi, and on his heartily embracing the Faith he adopted the 
ascetic life. Now one day as he was going his rounds for alms in Savatthi, he 
met a fair lady and fell in love with her at first sight. Overcome by his passion 
he lived an unhappy life, and letting his nails and hair grow long and wearing 
soiled robes, he pined away and became quite sallow, with all his veins standing 
out on his body. And just as in the angel-world, such as are destined to fall 
from their heavenly existence manifest five weU-known signs, that is to say, 
their garlands wither, their robes soil, their bodies grow ill-favoured, perspiration 
pours from their armpits, and they no longer find pleasure in their angel-home, 
so too in the case of worldly Brethren, who fall from the Faith, the same five 
signs are to be seen : the flowers of faith wither, the robes of righteousness soil, 
through discontent and the effects of an evil name their persons grow ill- 
favoured, the sweat of corruption streams from them and they no longer delight 
in a life of solitude at the foot of forest trees — all these signs were to be found 
in him. So they brought him into the presence of the Master, saying, " Holy 
Sir, this fellow is discontented." The Master asked if it were true, and on his 
confessing that it was, he said, "Brother, be not the slave of sin. This is a 
wicked woman ; overcome your passion for her, take pleasure in the Faith. 
Verily through falling in love with a woman, sages of old, mighty though they 
were, lost their power and came to misery and destruction." And so saying 
he told a story of the past. 



Once upon a time, in the Malla kingdom, in the royal city of 
Kusavati^, king Okkaka ruled his kingdom righteously. Amongst his 
sixteen thousand wives [279] the chief was Silavati, his queen consort. 
Now she had neither son nor daughter, and the men of the city and 
all his subjects assembled at the door of the palace, complaining that 
the realm would utterly perish. The king opened his window and said, 
" Under my rule no man worketh iniquity. Wherefore do ye reproach 

1 The story of Eusa may be linked with the European variants of the tale of 
"Beauty and the Beast." See Tibetan Tales, Introduotion, p. xxxvii. and 21 — 28, and 
Kusa Jdtakaya, a Buddhistic legend, rendered from the Sinhalese into English verse 
by Thomas Steele. 

* A former name for Kusinara. 



142 The Jataha. Booh XX. 

me ? " " True, Sire," they answered, " no one worketh iniquity, but no 
son is born to you, to perpetuate the race : a stranger will seize upon 
the kingdom and destroy it. Therefore pray for a son who can rule 
your kingdom righteously.'' " In my desire for a son, what am I to 
do?" "First of all send out into the streets for a whole week a band' 
of dancing women of low degree — giving the act a religious sanction — and 
if one of them shall give birth to a son, well and good. Otherwise send 
out a company of fairly good standing, and finally a band of the highest 
rank. Surely amongst so many one woman will be found of sufficient 
merit to bear a son." The king did as they bade him, and every seventh 
day he inquired of all such as had returned, after taking their fill of 
pleasure, whether any of them had conceived. And when they all 
answered, " No, Sire," the king was now in despair and cried, " No son 
will be born to me." The men of the city again reproached him as 
before. The king said, "Why do ye reproach me? At your bidding 
companies of women were exposed in the streets, and no one of them 
has conceived. What now am I to do ? " " Sire," they answered, " these 
women must be immoral and void of merit. They have not sufficient 
merit to conceive a son. But because they do not conceive, you are 
not to relax your efforts. The queen consort, Silavati, is a virtuous 
woman. Send her out into the streets. A son will be born to her." 
The king readily assented, and proclaimed by beat of drum that on the 
seventh day from that time the people were to assemble and the king 
would expose Silavati — giving the act a religious character. And on the 
seventh day he had the queen magnificently arrayed and carried down 
from the palace and exposed in the streets. By the power of her virtue 
the abode of Sakka manifested signs of heat. Sakka, considering what 
this might mean, found that the queen was anxious for a son and thought, 
[280] " I must grant her a son," and, while wondering whether there was 
anyone in the angel-world worthy to be her son, he beheld the Bodhisatta. 
At this time, it is said, having passed through his existence in the heaven 
of the Thirty-three, he was longing to be born in a higher world. Sakka, 
coming to the door of his dwelling-place, summoned him forth, saying, 
" Sir, you are to go to the world of men, and to be conceived as the 
child of Okkaka's chief consort," and then he gained the consent of 

' Ndtakam seems to be used in this passage of a band of dancing girls, like the use 
of KiSf),oi of a " band of revellers.'' The epithets culla, majjhima, jettha, cannot well 
apply to the age of the women ; more probably to their degrees of rank, or perhaps 
merit, as in the case of culla-majjhima-mahd-sUam. The women are no doubt in 
some way attached to the king's court or members of his harem : otherwise he could 
scajcely look upon a son born to any of them as his heir. As to the licentious 
observances eonneoted with the desire to remove the sterility of women, the reader 
may consult Coleman's Mythology of the Hindus, p. 378, and Dubois and Beauchamp's 
Hindu Manners and Customs, Pt iii. Ch. iv. p. 600. 



No. 531. 143 

another divine being and said, "And you too shall be her son," and 
that no man might make a breach in her virtue, Sakka went disguised 
as an aged brahmin to the' door of the palace. The people, after washing 
and adorning themselves, each being minded to possess the queen, assembled 
at the royal entrance, but at the sight of Sakka they laughed, asking him 
why he had come. Sakka said, " Why blame me ? If I am old in person, 
my passions are unabated, and I am come with the hope of carrying off 
Silavati with me, should I get her." And with these words, by his 
divine power he got in front of them all, and by reason of the virtue 
that was in him no man could stand before him, and as the queen 
stepped forth from the palace, arrayed in all her glory, he took her by 
the hand and made off with her. Then such as stood there abused him, 
saying, " Fie on him, an old brahmin is gone off with a queen of peerless 
beauty : he knows not what is becoming to him." The queen too thought, 
"An old man is carrying me off." And she was vexed and angry', nay 
disgusted. The king standing at the open window, looking to see who 
might carry off the queen, on seeing who it was, was highly displeased. 
Sakka, escaping with her by the city gate, miraculously caused a house 
to appear close at hand, with its door open and a bundle of sticks laid 
out ready. "Is this your abode?" she asked. "Yes, lady, hitherto 
I have been alon^: now there are two of us. I will go my rounds 
and bring home some husked rice. Do you meanwhile li^ down on 
this heap of sticks. And so saying, he gently [281] stroked her with his 
hand, and causing her to thrill with the divine touch, he then and there 
laid her down, and at his touch she lost consciousness. Then by his 
supernatural power he transported her to the heaven of the Thirty-three 
and set her down on a heavenly couch in a magnificent palace. On 
the seventh day waking up, she beheld this splendour and knew that 
this was no brahmin, but must be Sakka himself. At this moment 
Sakka was seated at the foot of a coral-tree, surrounded by heavenly 
dancers. Rising from her couch, she approached and saluted the god 
and stood respectfully on one side. Then Sakka said, "I give thee 
a boon : choose what it shall be." " Then grant me, sire, a son." 
" Not merely one, lady. I will grant you two. One of them shall be 
wise but ugly, the other shall be handsome but a fool. Which of them 
wiU you have first '? " " The wise one," she answered. " Good," said 
he, and he presented her with a piece of kusa grass, a heavenly robe 
and sandal- wood, the flower of the coral-tree and a Kokanada^ lute. 
Then he transported her into the king's bedchamber and laid her down 

' harayati, of. Mahavagga, i. 63 and 64, Jataka, ii. 143, iv. 171. Vedic hrindyati, 
hrinite. 

2 Perhaps so called from the colour of the red lotus ijiokanada), or from the country 
of that name. In Jataka, iii. 1S7 it occurs as the name of a palace. 



144 The Jdtoka. Book XX. 

on the same couch with the king, and just touched her person with his 
thumb, and at that moment the Bodhisatta was conceived in her womb. 
And Sakka straightway returned to his own abode. The wise queen 
knew that she had conceived. Then the king, on waking and seeing 
her, asked by whom she had been brought there. "By Sakka, sire." 
" Why ! with my own eyes I saw an aged brahmin carry you off. "Why 
do you try to deceive me?" "Believe me, sire, Sakka took me with 
him to the angel-world." "Lady, I do not believe you." Then she 
showed him the kusa grass which Sakka had given her, saying, " Now 
believe me." The king thought, " Kusa grass is to be got anywhere," 
and still disbelieved her. Then she showed him her heavenly robes. 
On seeing these the king believed her and said, "Dear lady, granted 
that Sakka carried you off, but are you with child ? " " Yes, sire, 
I have conceived." The king was delighted and performed the cere- 
mony due to a pregnant woman. In ten months' time she gave birth to 
a son. Giving him no other name, [282] they called him merely after the 
grass, Kusa. About the time that prince Kusa could run alone, a second 
heavenly being was conceived. To him they gave the name of Jayampati. 
The boys were brought up with great state. The Bodhisatta was so wise 
that, without learning aught from his teacher, he by his own ability 
attained to proficiency in all liberal arts. So when h% was sixteen years 
old, the king being anxious to make over the kingdom to him, addressing 
the queen, said, "Lady, in making over the kingdom to your son, we 
would institute dramatic festivities, and in our lifetime we would see 
him established on the throne. If there is any king's daughter in all 
India you would like, on his bringing her here we will make her his 
queen consort. Sound him as to what king's daughter he affects." She 
readily agreed and sent a handmaid to report the matter to the prince 
and to ascertain his views. She went and told the prince the state of 
affairs. On hearing her the Great Being thought, " I am not well-favoured. 
A lovely princess, even if she is brought here as my bride, on seeing 
me, will say, ' What have I to do with this ugly fellow 1 ' and will run 
away, and we shall be put to shame. What have I to do with household 
life? I will foster my parents as long as they live, and at their death 
I will renounce the world and become an ascetic." So he said, " What 
need have I of a kingdom or festivities? When my parents die, I will 
adopt the ascetic life." The maid returned and told the queen what he 
had said. The king was greatly distressed and after a few days again 
sent a message, but he still refused to listen to it. After thrice rejecting 
the proposal, on the fourth occasion he thought, " It is not fitting to be 
in complete opposition to one's parents : I will devise something." So 
he summoned the chief smith, and, giving him a quantity of gold, bade 
him go and make a female image. When he was gone, he took more gold 



No. 531. 145 

and himself fashioned it into the figure of a woman. Verily the purposes 
of Buddhas succeed. This figure was beautiful beyond the power of 
tongue to tell. Then the Great Being had it robed in linen and placed 
in the royal chamber. On seeing the image brought by the chief gold- 
smith, he found fault with it and said, "Go and fetch the figure placed in 
our royal chamber." [283] The man went into the room, and on seeing 
it thought, " This surely must be some heavenly nymph, come to take 
her pleasure with the prince," and he left the room without having 
the courage to stretch forth his hand towards it, and he said, "Sire, 
standing in your royal chamber is a noble daughter of the gods : I dare 
not approach her." "Friend," he saidj "go and fetch the golden image," 
and being charged a second time he brought it. The prince ordered 
the im3,ge that the smith had wrought to be thrown into the golden 
chamber, and that which he himself had made he had adorned and 
placed in a car and sent it to his mothei-, saying, "When I find 
a woman like this, I will take her to wife." His mother summoned 
her councillors and addressed them, saying, "Friends, our son is possessed 
of great merit and is the gift of Sakka ; he must find a princess worthy 
of him. Do you then have this figure placed iu a covered carriage 
and traverse the length and breadth of India, and whatsoever king's 
daughter you see like this image, present it to that king and say, 
'King Okkaka will contract a marriage' with your daughter.' Then 
arrange a day for your return and come home.'' They said, "It is 
well," and took the image and set out with a vast retinue. And in 
their journeyings, to whatever royal city they come, there at eventide 
wheresoever the people gather together, after decking out this image with 
robes, flowers and other adornments, they mount it upon a golden car 
and leave it on the road leading to the ghdt, and themselves step back 
and stand on one side to listen to what all such as pass by had to 
say. The people on seeing it, not dreaming that it was a golden image, 
said, " This, though really only a woman, is very beautiful, like some 
divine nymph. Why in the world is she stationed here, and whence 
does she come? We have no one to compare with her in our city," 
and after thus praising her beauty, they went their ways. The coun- 
cillors said, " If there were any girl like it here, they would say, ' This 
is like so and so, the king's daughter, or like so and so, the minister's 
daughter'; verily there is no such maiden here.'' And they go ofi' with 
it to some other city. So in their wanderings they reach the city of 
Sagala in the kingdom of Madda. Now the king of Madda had seven 
daughters, of extraordinary beauty, like to nymphs of heaven. The 
eldest of them was called Pabhavati. [284] From her person stream 

* dvdha is a eon's marriage as opposed to a daughter's {vivdha) in the 9th rock 
edict of Piyadasi. So Jdtaka, i. 452, 2 ; iv. 316, 8, and vi. 71, 32. 

J. V. 10 



146 The Jataha. Booh XX. 

forth rays of light, as it were of the newly-risen sun. When it is 
dark in her closet, measuring four cubits, there is no need of any lamp. 
The whole chamber is one blaze of light. Now she had a humpbacked 
nurse, who, when she had supplied PabhavatI with food, intending to 
wash her head, at eventide going forth to fetch water with eight slave- 
girls carrying each a waterpot, on the way to the ghdt caught sight of 
this image and, thinking it to be Pabhavati, exclaimed, " The ill-behaved 
girl, pretending she would have her head washed, sent us to fetch water, 
and, stealing a march upon us, is standing there in the road," and being 
in a rage she cried, " Fie, you are a disgrace to the family : there you 
stand, getting here before us. Should the king hear of it, he will be 
the death of us," and with these words she struck the image on the 
cheek, and a space as big as the palm of her hand was brokent Then 
discovering it was a golden image she burst out laughing, and going 
to the slave-girls said, " See what I have done. Thinking it was my 
foster daughter, I struck it. What is this image worth in comparison 
with my child? I have only hurt my hand for my pains." Then the 
king's emissaries took hold of her and said, "What is this story you 
tell us, saying that your daughter is fairer than this image ? " "I mean 
Pabhavati, the Madda king's daughter. This image is not worth a six- 
teenth fraction of her." Glad at heart, they sought the entrance to 
the palace, and had themselves announced^ to the king, sending in word 
that king Okkaka's emissaries were standing at his door. The king arose 
from his seat and, standing up, ordered them to be admitted. On entering 
they saluted the king and. said, "Sire, our king inquires after your health," 
and meeting with a hospitable reception, when asked why they had come, 
they replied, " Our king has a son, the bold prince Kusa ; the king is 
anxious to make over his kingdom to him, and has sent us to ask you 
to give him your daughter Pabhavati in marriage and to accept as 
a present this golden figure," and with these words they offered him ■ 
the image. He gladly agreed, thinking an alliance with so noble a king 
would be an auspicious one. [285] Then the envoys said, " Sire, we 
cannot tarry here : we will go and tell our king that we have secured 
the hand of the princess, and then he will come and fetch her." The 
king agreed to this, and having hospitably entertained them let them 
go. On their return they made their report to the king and queen. 
The king with a great retinue set out from Kusavati and in course of 
time reached the city of Sagala. The Madda king came out to meet 
him, brought him into the city and paid him . great honour. Queen 
Silavati, being a wise woman, thought, " What will be the issue of all 
this ? " At the end of. one or two days she said to the king, " We 

' Skt pratiharcbyati, to have one's-self announced. Cf. Jot. vi. 266, 13 and 
295, 1, 2, and Jataka-MSld, xx. 12, Sreshfhij^ataha. 



■ No. 531. 147 

are anxious to see our dawghter-in-law." He readily assented and sent 
for his daughter. Pabhavati, magnificently dressed and surrounded by 
a band of .her attendants, came and saluted her mother-in-law. On seeing 
her the queen at once thought, "This maiden is very lovely and my son 
is ill-favoured. Should she see him, she will not stay a single day but 
will run away. I must devise some scheme." Addressing the Madda 
king she said, " My daughter-in-law is quite worthy of iny son : howbeit 
we have an hereditary observance in our family. If she will abide by 
this custom, we will take her to be his bride." " Wha;t is this observance 
of yours?" "In our family a wife is not allowed to see her husband by 
daylight until she has conceived. If she will act up to this, we will 
take her." The king asked his daughter, " My dear, will you be able 
to act 'thus?" "Yes, dear father," she replied. Then king Okkaka 
bestowed much gear on the Madda king and departed with her. And 
the Madda king despatched his daughter with avast retinue. Okkaka, 
on reaching Kusavati, gave orders for the city to be decorated, all 
prisoners to be released, and after sprinkling his son as king and 
creating Pabhavati his chief consort, he proclaimed by beat of drum 
the rule of king Kusa. And all the kings throughout India who had 
daughters sent them to the court of king Kusa, [286] and all who had 
sons, desiring' friendship with him, sent their sons to be his pages. 
The Bodhisatta had a Jarge company of dancers and ruled with great 
state. But he is not allowed to see Pabhavati by day, nor may she 
see him, but at night they have free access one to another. At that 
time there is an extraordinary''' effulgence from the i)erson of Pabhavati, 
but the Bodhisatta leaves the royal chamber while it is still dark. After 
a few days he told his mother he longed to see Pabhavati by day. She 
refused his request, saying, " Let not this be thy good pleasure, but wait 
until she has conceived." Again and again he besought her. So she 
said, " Well, go to the elephant-stall and stand there disguised as an 
elephant-keeper. I will bring her there, so that you may have your 
fill of gazing at her, but see that you do not make yourself known to 
her." He agreed to this and went to the elephant-stall. The queen- 
mother proclaimed an elephant-festival and said to Pabhavati, " Come, 
we will go and see yoxir lord's elephants." Taking her there, she pointed 
out this and that elephant by name. Then, as Pabhavati was walking 
behind his mother, the king struck her in the back with a lump of 
elephant-dung. She was enraged and said, " I will get the king to 
cut your hand off," and by her words she vexed the queen-mother, 
who appeased her by rubbing her back. A second time the king 
was anxious to see her, and, disguised as a groom in the horse-stable, 

' Beading akarhkhanta. 

' abbohdHka, Skt avySvahdrika. Cf. Jdt. iii. 309. 

10—3 



148 The Jcltaka. Booh XX. 

just as before, he struck her with a piece of horse-dirt, and then too 
when she was angry her mother-in-law appeased her. Again, one 
day Pabhavati told her mother-in-law she longed to see the Great 
Being, and when her request was refused by her mother, who said, 
"Nay, let not this be your pleasure," she besought her again and 
again, so at last she said, "Well, to-morrow my son will be making 
a solemn procession through the city. You can open your window and 
see him." And after so saying, on the next day she had the city decked 
out, and ordered prince Jayampati, clad in a royal robe and mounted on 
an elephant, to make a triumphal procession through the city. Standing 
at the window with Pabhavati, she said, " Behold the glory of your lord." 
She said, [287] "I have got a husband not unworthy of me," and she 
was highly elated. But that very day the Great Being, disguised as an 
elephant-keeper, was seated behind Jayampati, and gazing at Pabhavati 
as much as he would, in the joy of his heart he disported himself by 
gesticulating' with his hands. When the elephant had passed them, the 
queen-mother asked her if she had seen her husband. "Yes, lady, but 
seated behind liim was an elephant-keeper, a very ill-conducted fellow, 
who gesticulated at me with his hands. Why do they let such an ugly, 
ill-omened creature sit behind the king ? " " It is desirable, my dear, to 
have a guard sit behind the king.'' " This elephant-keeper," she thought, 
"is a bold fellow, and has no proper respect for the king. Can it be 
that he is king Kusa? ISo doubt he is hideous, and that is why they 
do not let me see him." So she whispered to her humpbacked nurse, 
" Go, my dear, at once and make out whether it was the king who sat 
in front or behind." "How am I to find this out?" "If he be the 
king, he will be the first to alight from the elephant : you are to know 
by this token." She went and stood at a distance and saw the Great 
Being alight first, and afterwards prince Jayampati. The Great Being 
looking about him, first on one side and then on the other, seeing the 
humpbacked old woman, knew at once why she must have come, and, 
sending for her, straitly charged her not to reveal his secret, and let 
her go. She came and told her mistress, "The one that sat in front 
was the first to alight,'' and Pabhavati believed her. Once more the 
king longed to see her and begged his mother to arrange it. She could 
not refuse him and said, " Well then, disguise yourself and go to the 
garden." He went and hid himself up to his neck in the lotus-pool, 
standing in the water with his head shaded by a lotus-leaf and his 
face covered by its flower. And his mother brought Pabhavati in the 
evening to the garden, and saying, " Look at these trees, or look at 
these birds or deer,'' thus tempted her on till she came to the bank 

1 hattha-vikdra occurs in MahSvagga iv. 1. 4, but the exact meaning there is not 
clear. 



No. 531. 149 

of the lotus-pond. When she saw the pond covered with five kinds 
of lotus, [288] she longed to bathe and went down to the water's 
edge with her maidens. While disporting herself she saw that lotus 
and stretched forth her hand, eager to pluck it. Then the king, 
putting aside the lotus leaf, Ijook her by the hand, saying, "I am king 
Kusa." On seeing his face she cried, "A goblin is catching hold of 
me," and then and there swooned away. So the king let go her hand. 
On recovering consciousness she thought, " King Kusa, they say, caught 
me by the hand, and he it was that hit me in the elephant-stall with a 
piece, of elephant-dirt, and in the horse-stable with a piece of horse-dirt, 
and he it was that sat behind on the elephant and made game of me. 
What have I to do with such an ugly, hideous husband? If I live, 
I will have another husband." So she summoned the councillors who 
had escorted her hither and said, " Make ready my chariot. This very 
day I will be off." They told this to the king and he thought, "If she 
cannot get away, her heart will break: let her go. By my own power I 
will bring her back again." So he allowed her to depart, and she returned 
straight to her father's city. And the Great Being passed from the park 
into the city and climbed up to his splendid palace. Verily it was in 
consequence of an aspiration in a previous existence that she disapproved 
of the Bodhisatta, and it was owing to a former act of his that he was 
so ugly. Of old, they say, in a suburb of Benares, in the upper and 
lower street, one family had two sons and another had one daughter. 
Of the two sons the Bodhisatta was the younger, and the maiden was 
wedded to the elder son, but the younger, being unmarried^, continued 
to live with his brother. Now one day in this house they baked some 
very dainty cakes, and the Bodhisatta was away in the forest ; so putting 
aside a cake for him they distributed and ate the rest. At that moment 
a paccekabuddha came to the door for alms. The Bodhisatta's sister-in- 
law thought she would bake another cake for young master and took and 
gave his cake to the paccekabuddha, and at that very instant he returned 
from the forest. So she said, " My lord, do not be angry, but I have 
given your portion to the paccekabuddha." [289] He said, "After 
eating your own portion you give mine away, and you will make me 
another cake forsooth ! " And he was angry and went and took the 
cake from the beggar's bowl. She went to her mother's house and 
took some fresh-melted ghee, in colour like the champac fiower, aud 
filled the bowl with it, and it sent forth a blaze of light. On seeing 
this she put up a prayer : " Holy sir, wherever I am born, may my 
body give, forth a light and may I be very lovely, and nevermore may 
I have to dwell in the same place with this lewd fellow." Thus as the 
result of this prayer of old she would have none of him. And the 
' Reading addrabharane. Another reading gives "being quite a boy." 



150 The Jdtalm. Booh XX. 

Bodhisatta, in dropping the cake again into the bowl, put up a prayer : 
"Holy sir, though she should live a hundred leagues away, may I have 
the power to carry her off as my bride." In that he was angry and 
took the cake, as the result of this act of old he was born so ugly. 

Kusa was so overwhelmed with sorrow when Pabhavati left him that 
the other women, though ministering to him with all kinds of service, had 
not the heart to look him in the face, and all his palace, bereft of 
Pabhavati, seemed as it were desolate. Then he thought, " By this time 
she will have reached the city Sagala," and at break of day he sought his 
mother and said, " Dear mother, I will go and fetch Pabhavati. Yoji are 
to rule my kingdom," and he uttered the first stanza : 

This realm with joy and bliss untold. 
Trappings of state and wealth of gold. 
This realm, I say, rule thou for me: 
I go to seek Pabhavati. 

His mother, on hearing what he had to say, replied, "Well, my son, 
you must exercise great vigilance : women, verily, are impure-minded 
creatures," and she filled a golden bowl with all manner of dainty food, 
and saying, [290] "This is for you to eat on the journey," she took leave of 
him. Taking the bowl and having thrice reverentially saluted his mother, 
he cried, " If I live, I will see you again," and so withdrew to the royal 
chamber. Tlien he girded himself with the five sorts of weapons and putting 
a thousand pieces of money in a bag he took his bowl of food and 
a Kokanada lute and leaving the city set out on his journey. Being very 
strong and vigorous by noon-time he had travelled fifty leagues and, after 
eating his food, in the remaining half-day he made up another fifty leagues, 
and so in the course of a single day he accomplished a" journey of 
a hundred leagues. In the evening he bathed and then entered the city 
of Sagala. No sooner did he set foot in the place than Pabhavati by the 
power of his virtue could no longer rest quietly on her couch but got out 
of bed and lay upon the ground. The Bodhisatta was thoroughly exhausted 
with his journey and being seen by a certain woman, as he was wandering 
about the street, was invited by her to rest in her house, and after first 
bathing his feet she ofiered him a bed. While he was asleep, she prepared 
him some food and then waking him up gave it him to eat. He was 
' so pleased with her that he presented her with the thousand pieces of 
money and the golden bowl. Leaving there his five sorts of weapons, he 
said, " There is some place I must go to," and taking his lute he 
repaired to an elephant-stall and cried to the elephant-keepers, " Let me 
stay here and I will make music for you." They allowed him to do so 
and he went apart and lay down. When his fatigue had passed off, he 
rose up and unstrapping his lute he played and sang, thinking that 
all who dwelt in the city should hear the sound of it. Pabhavati, as 



No. 531. 151 

she lay on the ground, heard it and thought, " This sound can come from 
no lute but his," and felt sure that king Kusa had come on her account. 
The king of Madda too on hearing it thought, " He plays very sweetly. 
To-morrow I will send for him and make him my minstrel." The 
Bodhisatta thinking, " It is impossible for me to get sight of Pabhavati, 
if I stay here : this is the wrong place for me,'' sallied forth quite early 
and after taking his morning meal in an eating-house he left his lute and 
went to the king's potter and became his apprentice. One day after he 
had filled the house with potter's clay [291] he asked if he should make 
some vessels and when the potter answered, "Yes, do so,'' he placed 
a lump of clay on the wheel and turned' it. When once it was turned, it 
went on swiftly till mid-day. After moulding all mainer of vessels, great 
and small, he began making one specially for Pabhavati with various 
figures on it. Verily the purposes of Buddhas succeed. He resolved that 
only Pabhavati was to see these figures. When he had dried and baked 
his vessels, the house was full of them. The potter went to the palace 
with various specimens. The king on seeing them asked who had made 
them. "I did, sire." "I am sure you did not make them. Who did?" 
" My apprentice, sire.'' " Not your apprentice, your master rather. 
Learn your trade from him. Henceforth let him make vessels for my 
daughters." And he gave him a thousand pieces of money, saying, " Give 
him this, and present all these small vessels to my daughters." He took 
the vessels to them and said, "These are made for your amusement." 
They all were present to receive them. Then the potter gave Pabhavati 
the vessel which the Great Being had made specially for her. Taking 
it she at once recognised her own likeness and that of the humpbacked 
nurse and knew it could be the handiwork of no one but king Kusa, and 
being angiy she said, " I do not want it : give it to those that wish for it." 
Then her sisters perceiving that she was in a rage laughed and said, "You 
suppose it is the work of king Kusa. It was the potter, not he, that 
made it. Take it." She did not tell them that he had come there and 
had made it. The potter gave the thousand pieces of money to the 
Bodhisatta and said, " My son, the king is pleased with you. Henceforth 
you are to make vessels for his daughters and I am to take them to them." 
He thought, " Although I go on living here, it is impossible for me to see 
Pabhavati," and he gave back the money to him and went to a basket 
maker who served the king, and becoming his apprentice he made a palm- 
leaf fan for Pabhavati, and on it he depicted a white umbrella (as an 
emblem of royalty) [292] and taking as his subject^ a banquet-hall, 
amongst a variety of other forms he represented a standing figure of 
Pabhavati. The basket maker took this and other ware, the workmanship 

' dvijjhi. Compare Jat. i. 313, 8, dvijjhitva, whirling. 
' Beading vatthum. 



152 The Jataha. Booh XX. 

of Kusa, to the palace. The king on seeing them asked who had made 
them and just as before presented a thousand pieces of money to the 
man, saying, " Give these specimens of wicker work to my daughters." 
And he gave the fan that was specially made for her to PabhavaH, and 
in this case also no one recognised the figures, but Pabhavati on seeing 
them knew it was the king's handiwork and said, "Let those that wish 
for it take it,'' and being in a rage she threw it on the ground. So the 
others all laughed at her. The basket maker brought the money and 
gave it to the Bodhisatta. Thinking this was no place for him to stay 
in, he returned the money to the basket maker and went to the king's 
gardener and became his apprentice, and while making all sorts of garlands 
he made a special wreath for Pabhavati, picked out with various figures. 
The gardener took them to the palace. When the king saw them, he 
asked who had fashioned these garlands. "I did, sire.'' "I am sure you 
did not make them. Who did 1 " " My apprentice, sire." " He is not 
your apprentice, rather is he your master. Learn your trade from him. 
Henceforth he is to weave garlands of flowers for my daughters, and give 
him this thousand pieces of money " ; and giving him the money he said, 
" Take these flowers to my daughters." And the gardener ofifered to 
Pabhavati the wreath that the Bodhisatta had made specially for her. 
Here too on seeing amongst the various figures a likeness of herself and 
the king she recognized Kusa's handiwork and in her rage threw the 
wreath on the ground. All her sisters, just as before, laughed at her. 
The gardener too took the thousand pieces of money and gave them to the 
Bodhisatta, telling him what had happened. He thought, " Neither is 
this the place for me," and returning the money to the gardener he went 
and engaged himself as an apprentice to the king's cook. Now one day the 
cook in taking various kinds of victuals to the king gave the Bodhisatta 
a bone of meat to cook for himself. He prepared it in such a way that 
the smell of it pervaded the whole city [293]. The king smelt it and 
asked if he were cooking some more meat in the kitchen. "No, sire, 
but I did give my apprentice a bone of meat to cook. It must be this 
that you smell." The king had it brought to him and placed a morsel on 
the tip of his tongue and it woke up and thrilled the seven thousand nerves 
of taste. The king was so enslaved by his appetite for dainties that he 
gave him a thousand pieces of money and said, " Henceforth you are to 
have food for me and my daughters cooked by your apprentice, and to 
bring mine to me yourself, but your apprentice is to bring theirs to my 
daughters." The cook went and told him. On hearing it he thought, 
"Now is my desire fulfilled : now shall I be able to see Pabhavati." Being 
pleased he returned the thousand pieces of money to the cook and next 
day he prepared and sent dishes of food to the king and himself climbed 
up to the palace where dwelt Pabhavati, taking the food for the king's 



No. 531. 153 

daughters on a carrying-pole. Pabhavati saw him climbing up with his 
load and thought, " He is doing the work of slaves and hirelings, work 
quite unsuitable for him. But if I hold my peace, he will think I approve 
of him and going nowhere else he will remain here, gazing at me. I will 
straightway abuse and revile him and drive him away, not allowing him 
to remain a moment here." So she left the door half open and, holding 
one hand on the panel, with the other pressed up the bolt, and she repeated 
the second stanza : 

Kusa, for thee by day and night 
To bear this burden is not right. 
Haste back, pray, to Kusavati; 
Thy ugly form I'm loth to see. 

[294] He thought, " I have got speech of Pabhavati," and pleased at 
heart he repeated three stanzas : 

Bound by thy beauty's spell, Pabhavati, 
My native land has little charm for me ; 
Madda's fair realm is ever my delight, 
My crown resigned, to live in thy dear sight. 

soft-eyed maiden, fair Pabhavati, 

What is this madness that o'ermasters me? 
Knowing full well the land that gave me birth, 

1 wander half distraught o'er all the earth. 

Clad in bright-coloured bark and girt with golden zone, 
Thy love, fair maid, I crave, and not an earthly throne. 

When he had thus spoken, she thought, "1 revile him, hoping to rouse 
a feeling of resentment in him, but he as it were tries to conciliate me by 
his words. Supposing he were to say, ' I am king Kusa,' and take me by 
the hand, who is there to prevent it ? And somebody might hear what we 
had to say.'' So she closed the door and bolted it inside^. And he took up 
his carrying-pole and brought the other princesses their food. Pabhavati sent 
her humpbacked slave to bring her the food that king Kusa had cooked. She 
brought it and said, " Now eat." Pabhavati said, " I will not eat what he 
has cooked. Do you eat it and go and get your own supply of food and cook 
it and bring it here, but do not tell any one that king Kusa has come." 
The humpback henceforth brought and ate the portion of the princess and 
gave her own portion to Pabhavati. [295] King Kusa from that time 
being unable to see her thought, " I wonder whether Pabhavati has any 
affection for me or not. I will put her to the test." So after he had 
supplied the princesses with their food, he took his load of victuals and 
going out struck the floor with his feet by the door of Pabhavati's closet 
and clashing the dishes together and groaning aloud he fell all of a heap^ 

' Literally, "fixing the pin (suci) In the bolt, she remained inside." Cf. Cullavagga, 
VI. 2. 1. 

^ avakujja. Cf. Jat. i. 13, 28. 



154 The Jataka. Booh XX. 

and swooned away. At the sound of his groans she opened her door and 

seeing him crushed beneath the load he was carrying she thought, "Here 

is a king, the chief ruler in all India, and for my sake he suffers pain 

night and day, and now, being so delicately nurtured, he has fallen under 

the burden of the victuals he carries. I wonder if he is still alive " : and 

stepping from her chamber she stretched forth her neck and looked at his 

mouth, to watch his breathing. He filled his mouth with spittle and let 

it drop on her person. She retired into her closet, reviling him, and 

standing with the door half open she repeated this stanza : 

111 lucki is his that ever craves, to find his wishes spumed. 
As thou, king, dost fondly woo with love still unreturned. 

But because he was madly in love with her, however much he was 

abused and reviled by her, he showed no resentment but repeated this 

stanza : 

Whoso shall gain what he holds dear, may loved or unloved be. 
Success alone is what we praise, to lose is misery. 

While he was still speaking, without at all relenting, she spoke in 

a firm voice, as if minded to drive him away, and repeated this stanza : 

As well to dig through bed of rock with brittle wood^ as spade, 
Or catch the wind within a net, as woo unwilling maid. 

On hearing this the king repeated three stanzas : 

Hard hearted as a stone art thou, so soft to outward view, 
No word of welcome though I've come from far thy love to sue. 

[296] When thou dost frown regarding me, proud dame, with sullen look. 
Then I in royal Madda's halls am nothing but a cook. 

But if, queen, in pity thou shouldst deign to smile on me. 
No longer cook, once more am I lord of Kusavatl. 

On hearing his words she thought, "He is very pertinacious in all that 

he says. I must devise some lie to drive him hence," and she spoke this 

stanza : 

If fortune tellers spoke true words, 'twas this in sooth they said, 
'Mayst thou in pieces seven be hewn, ere thou king Kusa wed.' 

On hearing this the king contradicting her said, "Lady, I too con- 
sulted fortune tellers in my own kingdom and they predicted that there 
was no other husband for you save the lion-voiced lord, king Kusa, and 
through omens furnished by my own knowledge I say the same," and he 
repeated another stanza : 

If I and other prophets here have uttered a true word. 
Save me king Kusa, thou shalt hail none other as thy lord. 

' Reading abbuddhi for Sanskrit avriddhi. Compare abbuta for avrita, 'un- 
disciplined.' The commentary gives abhuH which in Vedio and Epic Sanskrit 
means ' calamity.' 

'■' kanikS/ra, pterospermmn acerifoliwm. 



No. 531. 155 

On hearing his words she said, " One cannot shame him. What is it 
to me whether he runs away or not?" and shutting the door she refused 
to show herself. And he took up his load and went down. From that 
day he could not set eyes on her and he got heartily sick of his cook's 
work. [297] After breakfast he cut firewood, washed dishes and fetched 
water on his carrying-pole, and then lying down he rested on a heap' of 
grain. Rising early he cooked rice gruel and the like, then took and 
served the food and suffered all this mortification by reason of his passionate 
love for Pabhavati. One day he saw the humpback passing by the kitchen 
door and hailed her. For fear of Pabhavati she did not venture to come 
near him, but passed on pretending to be in a great hurry. So he hastily 
ran up to her crying, "Crook-back." She turned and stopped, saying,^ 
" Who is here ? I cannot listen to what you have to say." Then he 
said, " Both you and your mistress are very obstinate. Though living 
near you ever so long, we cannot so much as get a report of her health." 
She said, "Will you give me a present?" He replied, "Supposing I do 
so, will you be able to soften Pabhavati and bring me into her presence ? " 
On her agreeing to do so, he said, " If you can do this, I will put right 
your humpback, and give you an ornament for your neck," and tempting 
her, he spoke five stanzas : 

Necklace of gold I'll give to thee. 
On coming to KusavatI, 
If slender-limbed 2 Pabhavati 
Should only deign to look on me. 

Necklace of gold I'll give to thee. 
On coming to KusavatI, 
If slender-limbed Pabhavati 
Should only deign to speak to me. 

Necklace of gold I'll give to thee. 
On coming to KusavatI, 
If slender-limbed Pabhavati 
Should only deign to smile on me. 

Necklace of gold I'U give to thee, 
On coming to KusavatI, 
If slender-limbed Pabhavati 
Should laugh with joy at sight of me. 

Necklace of gold I'll give to thee. 
On coming to KusavatI, 
If slender-limbed Pabhavati 
Should lay a loving hand on me. 

[298] On hearing his words she said, " Get you gone, my lord : in 
a very few days I will put her in your power. You shall see how energetic 
I can be." So saying she decided on her course of action, and goin" to 
Pabhavati she made as if she would clean her room and not leaving a bit 

' ammana, a measure of about four bushels, Mil. iv. 1, 19. 
^ Literally ' With thighs like an elephant's trunk.' 



156 The Jataka. Book XX. 

of dirt big enough to hit one with, and removing even her shoes, she swept 
out the whole chamber. Then she arranged a high seat for herself in the 
doorway (keeping well outside the threshold) and, spreading a coverlet on 
a low stool for Pabhavati, she said, " Come, my dear, and I will search in 
your head for vermin,'' and making her sit there and place her head upon 
her lap, after scratching her a little and saying, "Ho ! what a lot of lice 
we have here," she took some from her own head and put them on the head 
of the princess, and speaking in terms of endearment of the Great Being 
she sang his praises in this stanza : 

This royal dame no pleasure feels Kusa once more to see, 
Though, wanting nought, he serves as cook for simple hireling's fee. 

Pabhavati was enraged with the humpback. So the old woman took 
her by the neck and pushed her inside the room, and being herself outside 
she closed the door and stood clinging to the cord which pulled the door 
to-*. Pabhavati, being unable to get at her, stood by the door, abusing her, 
and spoke another stanza : 

[299] This humpbacked slave without a doubt. 
For speaking such a word. 
Deserves to have her tongue cut out 
With keenest sharpened sword. 

So the humpback stood holding on to the rope that hung down and 

said, " You worthless, ill-behaved creature, what good will your fair looks 

do anyone ? Can we live by feeding on your beauty ? " and so saying she 

proclaimed the virtues of the Bodhisatta, shouting them aloud with the 

harsh voice of a humpback, in thirteen stanzas : 

Esteem him not, Pabhavati, by outward form or height. 
Great glory his, so do whate'er is pleasing in his sight. 

Esteem him not, Pabhavati, by outward form or height. 
Great wealth is his, so do whate'er is pleasing in his sight. 

Esteem him not, Pabhavati, by outward form or height, 
Great power is his, so do whate'er is pleasing in his sight. 

Esteem him not, Pabhavati, by outward form or height. 
Wide rule is his, so do whate'er is pleasing in his sight. 

Esteem him not, Pabhavati, by outward form or height, 
Great king is he, so do whate'er is pleasing in his sight. 

Esteem him not, Pabhavati, by outward form or height. 
Lion-voiced is he, so do whate'er is pleasing in his sight. 

Esteem him not, Pabhavati, by outward form or height. 
Clear-voiced is he, so do whate'er is pleasing in his sight. 

Esteem him not, Pabhavati, by outward form or height, 
Deep voiced is he, so do whate'er is pleasing in his sight. 

Esteem him not, Pabhavati, by outward form or height. 
Sweet-voiced is he, so do whate'er is pleasing in his sight. 

1 For the mechanism of the Indian door of. Cullavagga, vi. 2. 1; dvinchanarajju is 
read there instead of avinjanaraoju as here. 



No. 531. 157 

Esteem him not, PabhavatI, by outward form or height, 
Honey-voiced is he, so do whate'er is pleasing in his sight. 

Esteem him not, PabhavatI, by outward form or height, 
A hundred arts are his, so do what's pleasing in his sight. 

Esteem him not, PabhavatI, by outward form or height, 
A warrior king is he, so do what's pleasing in his sight. 

Esteem him not, PabhavatI, by outward form or height. 
King Kusa 'tis, so do whate'er is pleasing in his sight. 

[300] Hearing what she said, PabhavatI threatened the humpback, 
saying, " Crook-back, you roar too loud. If I catch hold of you, I will let 
you know you have a mistress." She replied, " In my consideration for 
you, I did not let your father know of king Kusa's arrival. Well, to-day 
I will tell the king," and speaking in a loxid voice she cowed her. And 
fearing anyone should hear this. PabhavatI pacified the hunchback. 
And the Bodhisatta not being able to get a sight of her, after seven 
months being sick of his hard bed and sorry food, thought, " What need 
have I of her ? After living here seven months I cannot so much as get 
a sight of her. She is very harsh and cruel. I will go and see my father 
and mother." At this moment Sakka considering the matter found out 
how discontented Kusa was, and he thought, ''After seven months he is 
unable even to see PabhavatI. I will find some way of letting him see 
her." So he sent messengers to seven kings as if they came from king 
Madda, to say, " PabhavatI has thrown over king Kusa and has i-eturned 
home. You are to come and take her to wife." And he sent the same 
message to each of the seven separately. They all arrived in the city with 
a great following, not knowing one another's reasons for coming. They 
asked one the other, "Why have you come here?" And on discovering 
how matters stood, they were angry and said, " Will he give his daughter 
in marriage to seven of us 1 See how ill he behaves. He mocks us, saying, 
' Take her to wife.' Let him either give PabhavatI in marriage to all 
seven or let him fight us." And they sent a message to him to this effect 
and invested the city. On hearing the message, king Madda was alarmed 
and took counsel with his ministers, saying, " What are we to do ? " Then 
his ministers made answer, [301] "Sire, these seven kings have come for 
PabhavatI. If you refuse to give her, they will break down the wall and 
enter the city, and after destroying us they will seize your kingdom. 
While the wall still stands unbroken, let us send PabhavatI to them "; and 
they repeated this stanza : 

Like to proud elephants they stand in coats of mail arrayed. 
Ere yet they trample down our walls, send off in haste the maid. 

The king on hearing this said, " If I should send PabhavatI to any one 
of them, the rest will join battle with me. It is out of the question to 
give her to any one of them. After casting oflF the chief king in all India, 



158 The Jataka. Booh XX. 

let her receive the reward due to her return home. I will slay her and 
cutting her body into seven pieces send one to each of the seven kings," 
and so saying he repeated another stanza : 

In pieces seven PabhavatI to hack, it is my willj* 

One piece for each of these seven kings, who came her sire to kill. 

This saying of his was noised abroad throughout the palace. Her 
attendants came and told PabhavatI, " The king, they say, will cut you in 
seven pieces and send them to the seven kings." She was terrified to 
death and rising from her seat she went, accompanied by her sisters, 
to her mother's state chamber. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

Comely though swart of hue uprose the queen and moved before 
Her train of handmaids, clad in silk attire and weeping sore. 



She came into her mother's presence and saluting her broke into these 
lamentations : 

[302] This face with powder beautified, here mirrored in a glass 
To ivory handle deftly fixed, so winsome now alas! 
With innocence and purity in every line expressed, 
By warrior princes spurned in some lone forest soon will rest. 

These locks of hair so black of hue, bound up in stately coil, 
Soft to the touch and fragrant with the finest sandal oil, 
In oharnel ground though covered up the vultures soon will find 
And with their talons rend and tear and scatter to the wind. 

These arms whose finger tips are dyed, like copper, crimson red. 
In richest sandal oil oft bathed and with soft down o'erspread. 
Cut off and by proud kings in some lone forest flung aside, 
A wolf wiU seize and carry off where'er he's fain to hide. 

My teats are like the dates that on the palms with ripeness swell. 
Fragrant with scent of sandalwood that men of Kasi fell; 
Hanging thereon a jackal soon at them, methinks, will tug. 
Just as a little baby boy his mother's breast may hug. 

These hips of mine, well-knit and broad, cast in an ample mould, 
Encircled with a cincture gay, wrought of the purest gold, 
Cut off and by proud kings in some lone forest flimg aside, 
A wolf will seize and carry off where'er he's fain to hide. 

Dogs, wolves, jackals and whatsoe'er are known as beasts of prey. 
If once they eat PabhavatI, can suffer no decay. 

Should warrior kings that come from far thy daughter's body flay. 
Begging my bones, burn them with fire in some sequestered way. 

Then make a garden near and plant a kanikara tree. 

And when at winter's close it blooms, mother, recaUing me, 

Point to the flower and say, 'Just such was dear PabhavatI.' 



No. 531. 159 

[303] Thus did she, alarmed with fear of death, idly lament before her 
mother. And the Madda king issued an order that the executioner should 
come with his axe and block'. His coming was noised abroad throughout 
the palace. The queen-mother, on hearing of his arrival, arose from her 
throne and overwhelmed -with sorrow came into the presence of the king. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

Seeing the sword and block set out within the fatal ring. 
All goddess-like the royal dame rose up and sought the king. 



[304] Then the queen spoke this stanza : 

With this sword will the Madda king his graceful daughter slay, 
And piecemeal send her mangled limbs to rival chiefs a prey. 

The king tried to pacify her and said, " Lady, what is this you say ? 
Your daughter rejected the chief king of all India on the plea of his 
ugliness, and, accepting death as her fate, returned home before the prints 
of her feet were well wiped out on the road by which she had gone there. 
Now therefore let her reap the consequences of the jealousy excited by her 
beauty." The queen, after hearing what he had to say, went to her 
daughter and lamenting spoke thus : 

Thou didst not hearken to my voice, when counselling thy good. 
To-day thou sink'st to Yama's realm, thy body stained with blood. 

Such fate doth every man incur, or even a worse end, 
Who deaf to good advice neglects the warnings of a friend. 

If thou to-day a gallant . prince for thy good lord shouldst wed, 

Bedight with zone of gold and gems, in land of Kusa bred. 

Thou wouldst not, served with hosts of friends, to Yama's realms have sped. 

When drums are beat and elephants' loud trumpetings resound. 
In royal halls, where in this world can greater bliss be found? 

When horses neigh ^ and minstrels play to kings some plaintive air, 
With bliss like this in royal halls, what is there to compare? 

When too courts with the peacock's and the heron's cries resound. 
And cuckoo's call, where else, I pray, can bliss hke this be found? 

[305] After thus talking with her in all these stanzas she thought, 
" If only king Kusa were here to-day, he would put to flight these seven 
kings and after freeing my daughter from her misery he would carry her 
away with him,'' and she repeated this stanza : 

Where's he that crushes hostile realms and vanquishes his foes? 
Kusa, the noble and the wise, would free us from our woes. 

' Dhammaganthikd or dhammagandika occurs in Jdtalca, vol. i. 150, ii. 124, m. 41, 
IV. 176. Of. Cullavagga, English translation by B. Davids and H. Oldenberg, Vinaya 
Texts, pt. iii, pp. 144 and 213. In Bengali gandi is a 'circle round a criminal,' and this 
meaning suits the context in some of the passages quoted above. 

' Beading himsati, apparently equivalent to hesati. 



160 The Jataka. Booh XX. 

Then Pabhavati thought, " My mother's tongue is not equal to pro- 
claiming the praises of Kusa. I will let her know that he has been living 
here, occupied with the work of a cook," and she repeated this stanza : 

The conqueror who crushes all his foes, lo ! here is he ; 
Kusa, so noble and so wise, all foes will slay for me. 

Then her mother thinking, " She is terrified with the fear of death and 
rambles in her talk," spoke this stanza : 

Art thou gone mad, or like a fool dost speak at random thus? 
If Kusa has returned, why, pray, didst thou not tell it us? 

[306] Hearing this Pabhavati thought, " My mother does not believe 
me. She does not know he has returned and been living here seven 
months. I will prove it to her " ; and taking her mother by the hand she 
opened the window and stretching forth her hand and pointing to him 
she repeated this stanza : 

Good mother, look at yonder cook, with loins girt up right well. 
He stoops to wash his pots and pans, where royal maidens dwell. 

Then Kusa, they say, thought, " To-day my' heart's desire will be 
fulfilled. Of a truth Pabhavati is terrified with the fear of death and 
will tell of my coming here. I will wash my dishes and put them away ": 
and he fetched water and began to wash his dishes. Then her mother 
upbraiding her spoke this stanza : 

Art thou base-born or wouldst thou deign, a maid of royal race, 
To take a slave for thy tnie love, to Madda's deep disgrace? 

Then Pabhavati thought, " My mother, methinks, does not know that 
it is for my sake he has been living here after this manner," and she 
spoke another stanza : 

No low caste I, nor would I shame my royal name, I swear. 
Good luck to thee, no slave is he but king Okkaka's heir. 

And now in praise of his fame she said : 

He twenty thousand brahmins ever feeds, no slave, I swear, 
It is Okkaka's royal son whom thou seest standing there. 

[307] He twenty thousand elephants aye yokes, no slave, I swear, 
It is Okkaka's royal son whom thou seest standing there. 

He twenty thousand horses ever yokes, no slave, I swear. 
It is Okkaka's royal son whom thou seest standing there. 

He twenty thousand chariots ever yokes, no slave, I swear, 
It is Okkaka's royal son whom thou seest standing there. 

He twenty thousand royal bulls aye yokes, no slave, I swear. 
It is Okkaka's royal son whom thou seest standing there. 

He twenty thousand royal kine aye milks, no slave, I swear, 
It is Okkaka's royal son whom thou seest standing there. 



No. 531. 161 

Thus was the glory of the Great Being praised by her in six stanzas. 
Then her mother thought, " She speaks very confidently. It must be 
so," and believing her she went and told the king the whole story. He 
came in great haste to Pabhavati and asked, " Is it true, what they say, 
that king Kusa has come 1 " " Yes, dear father. It is seven months 
to-day that he has been acting as cook to your daughters." Not believing 
her he questioned the hunchback and on hearing the facts of the case from 
her he reproached his daughter and spoke this stanza : 

Like elephant as frog disguised. 

When this almighty prince came here, 
'Twas wrong of thee and ill-advised 

To hide it from thy parents dear. 

Thus did he reproach his daughter and then went in haste to Kusa and 

after the usual greetings and formal salutation, acknowledging his offence, 

he repeated this stanza : 

In that we failed to recognise 
Your majesty in this disguise. 
If, Sire, to thee offence we gave. 
We would forgiveness humbly crave. 

On hearing this the Great Being thought, " If I should speak harshly 

to him, his heart would straightway break. I will speak words of comfort 

to him " ; and standing amongst his dishes he spoke this stanza : 

For me to play the scullion's part was very wrong I own. 
Be comforted, it was no fault of thine I was unknown. 

The king, after being thus addressed in kindly words, climbed up to 

the palace and summoned Pabhavati, to send her to ask the king's pardon, 

[308] and he spoke this stanza : 

Go, silly girl, thy pardon from the great king Kusa crave, 

His wrath appeased he may be pleased perhaps thy life to save. 

On hearing the words of her father, she went to him, accompanied by 
her sistei'S and her handmaids. Standing just as he was in his workman's 
dress, he saw her coming towards him and thought, " To-day I will break 
down Pabhavati's pride and lay her low at my feet in the mud," and, 
pouring on the ground all the water he had brought there, he trampled on 
a space as big as a threshing-floor, making it one mass of mud. She drew 
nigh and fell at his feet and grovelling in the mud asked his forgiveness. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, spoke this stanza : 
The goddess-like Pabhavati obeyed her father's word: 
With lowly head she clasped the feet of Kusa, mighty lord. 



Then she spoke these stanzas : 

My days and nights ^ apart from thee, king, have passed away : 
Behold I stoop to kiss thy feet. From anger cease, I pray. 

1 For ratya perhaps we should read ratyo as equivalent to rattiyo in the commen- 
tary. Cf. Mailer's Pali Gram. p. 72. 

J. V. 11 



162 The Jataha. Booh XX. 

I promise thee, if thou to me a gracious ear shouldst lend, 
Never again in aught I do will I my lord offend. 

But if thou shouldst my prayer refuse, my father then will slay 
And send his daughter, limb by limb, to warrior kings a prey. 

On hearing this the king thought, " If I were to tell her, ' This is for 
you to see to,' her heart would be broken. I will speak words of comfort 
to her," and he said : 

I'll do thy bidding, lady fair, as far as lies in me; 
No anger feel I in my heart. Fear not, Pabhavatl. 

[309] Hearken, royal maid, to me, I too make promise true ; 
Never again will I offend in aught that I may do. 

Full many a sorrow I would bear, fair maid, for love of thee, 
And slay a host of Madda chiefs to wed Pabhavatl. 

Eusa, swelling with princely pride at seeing as it were a handmaid of 

Sakka, king of heaven, in attendance upon him, thought, " While I am 

still alive, shall others come and carry off my bride?" and rousing himself, 

lion-like, in the palace yard, he said, " Let all who dwell in this city hear 

of my coming," and dancing about, shouting and clapping his hands, he 

cried, " Now will I take them alive, go bid them put horses to my 

chariots," and he repeated the following stanza : 

Go, quickly yoke my well-trained steeds to many a painted car. 
And watch me boldly sally forth, to scatter foes afar. 

He now bade good-bye to Pabhavati, saying, " The capture of thy 
enemies is my charge. Go thou and bathe and' adorn thyself and climb up 
to thy palace." And the king of Madda sent his councillors to act as 
a guard of honour to him. And they drew a screen Tound about him 
at the door of the kitchen and provided barbers for him. And when his 
beard had been trimmed and his head shampooed and he was arrayed in 
all his splendour and surrounded by his escort, he said, " I wiU ascend to 
the palace," and looking about him thence in every direction he clapped 
his hands, and wheresoever he looked the earth trembled, and he cried 
out, "Now mark how great is my power." 



The Master, to make the matter clear, uttered the following stanza : 

The ladies of king Madda's court beheld him standing there, 
Like rampant lion, as he smites with both his arms the air. 



[310] Then the Madda king sent him an elephant that had been trained 
to stand impassive under attack ', richly caparisoned. Kusa mounted on the' 
back of the elephant with a white umbrella held over him and ordered 
Pabhavatl to be conducted there, and seating her behind him he left the 
city by the east gate, escorted by a complete host of the four arms", and as 

^ For ananjakdranam of. Jat. i. 416. 15, ii. 325. 10, iv. 308. 3. 
' Elephants, oavahy, chariots and infantry. 



No. 531. 163 

soon as he saw the forces of the enemy, he cried, " I am king Kusa : let 
all who value their lives lie down on their bellies," and he roared thrice 
with the roar of a lion and utterly crushed his foes. 



The Master, explaining the matter, said : 

Mounted on back of elephant, the queen behind her lord, 
Kusa descending to the fray with voice of lion roared. 

All beasts, when Kusa's lion-voice thus roaring loud they hear, 
And warrior kings flee from the field, smitten with panic fear. 

Life-guardsmen, soldiers, horse and foot, with many a charioteer. 
At Kusa's voice break up^ and flee, all paralysed with fear. 

Sakka right glad at heart looked on in forefront of the fight, 
And to king Kusa gave a gem, Verocana 'twas hight. 

The battle won, king Kusa took the magic gem and then 
Mounted on back of elephant sought Madda's town again. 

The kings he takes alive and bound in chains with them he goes. 
And to his royal father cries, 'Behold, my lord, thy foes. 

Lo at thy mercy now they lie, in battle smitten sore, 

At thy good pleasure slay them all or set them free once more.' 



[311] The king said: 

These foes are rather thine than mine. They all belong to thee. 
Thou only art our sovereign lord, to slay or to set free. 

Being thus spoken to, the Great Being thought, " What can I do with 
these men when once dead ? Let not their coming here be without good 
result. Pabhavati has seven younger sisters, daughters of king Madda. 
I will bestow them in marriage on these seven princes," and he repeated 
this stanza: 

These daughters seven, like heavenly nymphs, are very fair to see, 
Give them, one each, to these seven kings, thy sons-ia-law to be. 

Then the king said : 

O'er us and them thou art supreme, thy purpose to fulfil. 
Give them — thou art our sovereign lord — according to thy wiU. 

So he had them all beautifully attired and gave them in marriage, one 
to each king. 

The Master, to make the matter clear, spoke five stanzas : 

So Kusa of the lion-voioe king Madda's daughters gave, 

One maid to each of princes seven, fair maids to warriors brave. 

Delighted with the boon received from lordly Kusa's hand. 
These princes seven returned again each one to his own land. 

Taking his magic jewel bright, back to Kusavati, 
King Kusa, mighty hero, brought the fair Pabhavati. 

^ khundanti, an unique ocourrenoe of the Pali equivalent of the Skt root kshud, 
allowed by the Skt grammarians to be optionally of the nasalized (7th) conjugation. 
Muller'a Pali Gram. p. 103. This note is due to Professor Bendall. 

11—2 



164 The Jatdka. Book XX. 

Riding together in one oar, home came the royal pair, 
Neither outshone the other, for they both alike were fair. 

Mother came forth to meet her son. Husband henceforth and wife 
In realms of peace and plenty dwelt and led a happy Ufe. 

[312] The Master, ending his lesson, revealed the Truths and identified the 
Birth : — At the end of the Truths the backsliding Brother was established in the 
fruition of the First Path :— "At that time the father and mother were members 
of the royal household, the younger brother was Ananda, the humpback was 
Khujjuttara, PabhavatI was the mother of Eahula, the retinue were Buddha's 
followers, king Kusa was I myself" 



No. 532. 

SONA-NANDA-JATAKA. 

"Angel or mimtrel-god," etc. This was a story told by the Master, while 
living at Jetavana, about a Brother who supported his mother. The circumstance 
which led up to it was the same as that related in the Sama' Birth. But on this 
occasion the Master said, " Brethren, do not take offence at this Brother. Sages 
of old, though they were offered rule over all India, refused to accept it and 
supported their parents " : and so saying he told a story of the past. 



Once upon a time the city of Benares was known as Brahmavaddhana. 
At that time a king named Manoja^ reigned there, and a certain Brahmin 
magnate, possessed of eighty crores, had no heir, and his Brahmin wife at 
the bidding of her lord prayed for a son. Then the Bodhisatta passing 
from the Brahma world was conceived in her womb, and at his birth they 
called him young Sona. By the time that he could run alone, another 
Being left the Brahma world and he too was conceived by her, and when 
he was born they called him young Nanda. As soon as they had been 
taught the Vedas and had attained proficiency in the liberal arts, the 
Brahmin, observing how handsome the boys were, addressing his wife said, 
" Lady, we will unite our son, the youthful Sona, in the bonds of wedlock." 
She readily assented and reported the matter to her son. [313] He said, 
" I have quite enough of the household life as it is. So long as you live, 
I will watch over you, and on your death I will withdraw to the Himalayas 
and become an ascetic." She repeated this to the Brahmin, and when they 
had spoken to him again and again but had failed to persuade him, they 
addressed themselves to the young Nanda, saying, " Dear son, do you set 
up an establishment." He answered, " I will not pick up what my brother 
has rejected, as if it were a lump of phlegm'. I too on your death will 
together with my brother join the ascetics." The parents thought, " If they, 
though they are quite young, thus give up the lusts of the flesh, how much 
more should all of us adopt the ascetic life," and they said, " Dear son, 

1 Vol. VI. No. 540. = Mcmoja Jdtaka, vol. iii. No. 397. 

' Beading khelam. 



No. 532. 165 

why talk of becoming ascetics when we are dead 1 We will all take the 
vows." And telling their purpose to the king they disposed of all their 
wealth in the way of charity, making freedmen of their slaves and dis- 
tributing what was right and proper amongst their kinsfolk, and then 
all four of them setting forth from the city of Brahmavaddhana, they built 
them a hermitage in the Himalaya region in a pleasant grove, near a lake 
covered by the five kinds of lotus, and there they dwelt as ascetics. The 
two brothers watched over their parents. And early in the morning they 
bring them pieces of stick to brush their teeth and water to rinse their 
mouth. They sweep out the hut, cell and all, supply them with water to 
drink, bring them sweet berries from the wood to eat, provide them with 
hot or cold water for the bath, dress their matted locks, shampooing their 
feet and rendering them all similar services. As time thus passed on, the 
sage Nanda thought, " I shall have to provide all kinds of fruit as food for 
my father and mother,'' so whatever ordinary fruit he had gathered on the 
spot either yesterday or even the day before that', he would bring in the 
early morning and give to his parents to eat. They ate it and after rinsing 
their mouth they observed a fast. But the wise Sona went a long distance 
and gathered sweet and ripe fruit and offered it to them. Then they 
said, " Dear son, we ate early this morning what your younger brother 
brought us and we are now fasting. We have no need of this fruit now." 
So his fruit was not eaten but was all wasted, and the next day and so on 
it was just the same. [314] And thus through his possession of the five 
Supernatural Faculties he travelled a great distance to fetch fruit, but they 
refused to eat it. Then the Great Being thought, " My father and mother 
are very delicate, and Nanda brings all sorts of unripe or half-ripe fruit 
for them to eat, and this being so, they will not live long. I will stop 
him from doing this." So addressing him he said, "Nanda, henceforth when 
you bring them fruit, you are to wait" till I come, and we will both of us at 
the same time supply them with food." Though he was thus spoken 
to, desiring merit for himself only, Nauda paid no heed to his brother's 
words. The Great Being thought, " Nanda acts improperly in disobeying 
me : I will send him away'." Then thinking he would watch over his 
parents by himself, he said, " Nanda, you are past teaching and pay no heed 
to the words of the wise. I am the elder. My father and mother are my 
charge ; I alone will watch over them. You cannot stay on here : get you 

' The text is probably corrupt ; perhaps paraha is concealed in para{m)aho. Cf. 
pare, Jdt. ii. 279. 2, in. 423. 18, 'the day before yesterday,' but in Jat. iv. 481. 25 it 
seems to mean 'the day after to-morrow,' peren-die. Cognate words bearing this double 
meaning are found both in Hindi and Bengali. 

" patimdneti, to wait for. Cf. Morris, P. T. S. J. 1884, Jat. i. 258. 17, n. 288. 14, 
IV. 203. 27, Mil. i. 14 (S. B. E.). 

' pandmeti to dismiss. Cf. Morris, P. T. S. J. for 1884, Mil. i. 258, Cullavagga, 
xn. 2. 3, Jdt. II. 28. 15. 



166 The Jdtaka. Booh XX. 

gone elsewhere," and he snapped his fingers at him. After being thus 
dismissed, Nanda could no longer remain in his brother's presence, and 
bidding him farewell he drew nigh to his parents and told them what had 
happened. Then retiring into his hut of leaves, he fixed his gaze on the 
mystic circle and that very day he developed the five Supernatural Faculties 
and the eight Attainments, and he thought, " I can fetch precious sand 
from the foot of Mount Sineru and sprinkling it in the cell of my brother's 
hut I can ask his forgiveness, and should he not even so be mollified, 
I will fetch water from lake Anotatta and ask him to forgive me, and 
should he not even thus be mollified, supposing my brother should not 
pardon hie for the sake of ang'elic beings, I would bring the four Great 
Kings and Sakka and ask his forgiveness, and should he still not be 
mollified, I would bring the chief king in all India, Manoja, and the rest of 
the kings and beg him to pardon me. And this being so, the fame of my 
brother's virtue would be spread throughout India and would be blazed 
abroad as the sun and moon." Meanwhile by his magic power he alighted 
in the city of Brahmavaddhana at the door of the king's palace, [315] and 
sent a message to the king, saying, "A certain ascetic wishes to see 
you." The king said, "What has an ascetic to do with seeing me? 
He must have come for some food." He sent him rice, but he would 
have none of it. Then he sent husked rice and garments and roots, 
but he would have none of them. At last he sent a messenger to ask 
why he had come, and in answer to the messenger he said, " I am come to 
serve the king." The king, on hearing this, sent back word, " I have plenty 
of servitors, bid him do his duty as an ascetic." On hearing this he said, 
" By my own power I will get the sovereignty over all India, and bestow 
it on your king." The king when he heard this thought, " Ascetics, verily, 
are wise : they certainly know some clever tricks." Then he summoned 
him to his presence, assigned him a seat and saluting him asked, "Holy 
sir, will, you, as they tell us, gain the rule over all Iiidia and grant it to 
me?" "Yes, sire." " How will you manage it ?" " Sire, without shed- 
ding the blood of any one, no, not even so much as a tiny fly would drink, 
and without wasting your treasure, by my own magic power will I gain 
the sovereignty and make it over to you. Only, without a moment's delay, 
you must sally forth this very day." The king believed his words and set 
out, escorted by an army corps. If it was hot for the army, the sage 
Nanda by his magic created a shade and made it cool. If it rained, he did 
not allow the rain to fall upon the army. He kept ofi" a hot wind. He 
did away with stumps and thorns in the road and every kind of danger. 
He made the road as level as the circle used in the Kasina rite, and 
spreading a skin he sat cross-legged upon it in the air, and so moved in 
front of the army. Thus first of all he came with his army to the Kosala 
kingdom, and, pitching his camp near the city, he sent a message to the king 



No. 532. 167 

of Kosala, bidding him either give battle or yield himself to his power. 
The king was enraged and said, " What then, am I not a king 1 I will 
fight you "; and he sallied forth at the head of his forces, [316] and the two 
armies engaged in battle. The sage Nanda, spreadLag out wide the ante- 
lope skin on which he sat between the two armies, caught up with it 
all the arrows shot by the combatants on both sides, and in neither army 
was there a single soldier wounded by a shaft, and, when all the arrows in 
their possession were spent, both armies stood helpless. And sage Nanda 
went to the Kosala king and reassured him, saying, " Great king, be not 
dismayed. There is no danger threatening you : the kingdom shall still 
be yours. Only submit to king Manoja.'' He believed what Nanda said 
and agreed to do so. Then conducting him into the presence of Manoja, 
Nanda said, " The king of Kosala submits to you, sire : let the kingdom 
still remain his.'' Manoja readily assented and receiving his submission, 
he marched with the two armies to the kingdom of Aiga and took Anga, 
and then he took Magadha in the kingdom of that name, and by these 
means he made himself master of the kings of all India, and accompanied 
by them he marched straight back to the city of Brahmavaddhana. Now 
he was seven years, seven months, and seven days in taking the kingdoms 
of all these kings, and from each royal city he caused to be brought all 
manner of food, both hard and soft, and taking the kings, one hundred 
and one in number, for seven days he held a great carouse with them. 
The sage Nanda thought, " I will not show myself to the king until he 
has enjoyed the pleasures of sovereignty for seven days." And going his 
rounds for alms in the country of the Northern Kurus, he abode for the 
space of seven days in the Himalayas, at the entrance of the Golden Cave. 
And Manoja on the seventh day, after contemplating his great majesty and 
might, bethought him, " This glory was not given me by my father and 
mother nor by any one else. It originated through the ascetic Nanda and 
surely it is now seven days since I set eyes on him. Where in the world 
can be the friend that bestowed on me this glory 1 " and he called to mind 
sage Nanda. And he, knowing that he was remernbered, came and stood 
before him in the air. The king thought, "I do not know whether this 
ascetic is a man or a deity. [317] If he be a man, I will give him the 
sovereignty over all India, but if he be a divinity, I will pay him the 
honour due to a god," and to prove him he spoke the first stanza : 

Angel or minstrel-god art thou, or do we haply see 

Sakka, to cities bountiful, or mortal-born may be. 

With magic powers endued? Thy name we fain would learn from thee. 

On hearing his words Nanda in declaring his nature repeated a second 
stanza : 

No angel I, no minstrel-god, nor Sakka dost thou see : 
A mortal 1 with magic powers. The truth I tell to thee. 



168 The Jataha. Booh XX. 

The king, on hearing this, thought, "He says he is a human being; 

even so he has been useful to me. I will satisfy him with the great honour 

I pay him," and he said : 

Great service thou hast wrought for us, beyond all words to tell. 
Midst floods of rain no single drop upon us ever fell. 

Cool shade thou didst create for us, when parching winds arose. 
From deadly shaft' thou didst us shield, amidst our countless foes. 

Next many a happy realm thou mad'st own me as sovereign lord, 
Over a hundred kings became obedient to our word. 

What from our treasures thou shalt choose, we cheerfully resign. 
Cars yoked to steeds or elephants, or nymphs attired so fine. 
Or if a lovely palace be thy choice, it shall be thine. 

In Anga realms or Magadha if thou art fain to live, 
Wouldst rule Avanti, Assaka — this too we gladly give. 

Yea e'en the half of all our realm we cheerfully resign. 

Say but the word, what thou wouldst have, at once it shall be thine. 

[318] Hearing this, sage Nanda, explaining his wishes, said : 

No kingdom do I crave, nor any town or land. 
Nor do I seek to win great riches at thy hand. 

"But if thou hast any affection for me," he said, "do my bidding in 

this one thing." 

Beneath thy sovereign sway my aged parents dwell. 
Enjoying holy calm in some lone woodland cell. 

With these old sages I'm allowed no merit to acquire. 

If thou and thine would plead my cause, Sona would cease his ire. 

Then the king said to him : 

Gladly in this will I perform, brahmin, thy behest. 

But who are they that I should take to further thy request ? 

[319] The sage Nanda said : 

More than a hundred householders, rich brahmins too I name. 
And all these mighty warrior chiefs of noble birth and fame, 
With king Manoja, are enough to satisfy my claim. 

Then the king said : 

Go, harness steeds and elephants and yoke them to the car, 
Go, fling my banners to the wind, from carriage-pole and bar, 
I go to seek where Kosiya", the hermit, dwells afar. 



Equipped then with his fourfold host the king marched out to seek 
Where he did dwell in charming cell, a hermit mild and meek. 

These verses were inspired by Perfect Wisdom. 



Now on the day on which the king reached the hermitage, the sage 
Sona reflected : " It is now more than seven years, seven months [320] 



' Beading sarattdnam. 

" The famUy name of Sona and his father. 



No. 532. 169 

and seven days since my young brother went forth from us. Where can 
he possibly be now-? " and looking with the divine eye he saw him and said 
to himself, " He is coming with a hundred and one kings and an escort of 
twenty-four legions to beg my pardon. These kings and their retinues have 
witnessed many marvellous things done by my young brother, and being 
ignorant of my supernatural power they say of me, 'This false ascetic over- 
estimates his power and measures himself with our lord.' By such boasting' 
they will become destined to hell. I will give them a specimen of 
my magic- working powers," and placing a carrying-pole in the air, not 
touching his shoulder by an interval of four inches, he thus travelled in 
space, passing close by the king, to fetch water from lake Anotatta. But 
the sage Nanda, when he saw him coming, had not the courage to show 
himself, but, disappearing on the spot where he was sitting, he escaped and 
hid himself in the Himalayas. Howbeit king Manoja, when he saw Sona 
approaching in the comely guise of an ascetic, spoke this stanza : 

Who goes to fetch him water through the air at such a pace, 
With wooden pole not touching him by quite four inches space? 

The Great Being, being thus addressed, spoke a couple of stanzas : 

I'm Sona ; from ascetic rule I never go astray : 

My parents I unweariedly support by night and day. 

Berries and roots as food for them I gather in the wood, 
Ever recalling to my mind how they once wrought me good. 

Hearing this, the king wishing to make friends with him, spoke another 
stanza : 

[321] We fain would reach the hermitage where Kosiya doth dwell. 
Show us the road, good Sona, which will lead us to his cell. 

Then the Great Being by his supernatural power created a footpath 
leading to the hermitage and spoke this stanza : 

This is the path : mark well, king, yon clump of sombre green ; 
There midst a grove of ebon trees the hermitage is seen. 



Thus did the mighty sage instruct these warrior kings, and then 
Once more he travelled through the air and hurried home again. 

Next having swept the hermitage he sought his sire's retreat. 
And waking up the aged saint he offered him a seat. 

' Come forth,' he cried, ' holy sage, be seated here, I pray. 
For high-born kings of mighty fame will pass along this way.' 

The old man having heard his son his presence thus implore, 
Came forth in haste from out his hut and sat him by the door. 

These verses were inspired by Perfect Wisdom. 



And the sage Nanda came to the king at the very moment when the 
Bodhisatta reached the hermitage, bringing with him water from Anotatta, 
' vambheti, see Morris, P. T. S. J. for 1884, p. 95. 



170 The Jataha. Booh XX. 

and Nanda pitched their camp not far from the hermitage. Then the king 
bathed and arrayed himself in all his splendour, and, escorted by one 
hundred and one kings, he came with the sage Nanda in great state and 
glory and entered the hermitage, to beg the Bodhisatta to forgive his 
brother. Then the father of the Bodhisatta, on seeing the king approach 
them, inquired of the Bodhisatta and he explained the matter to him. 



[322] The Master, in making this clear, said : 

On seeing him all in a blaze of glory standing near, 
Surrounded by a band of kings, thus spoke the aged seer : 

Who marches here with tabour, conch, and beat of sounding drums. 
Music to cheer the heart of kings ? Who here in triumph comes ? 

Who in this blaze of glory comes, with turban-cloth of gold. 
As lightning bright, and quiver-armed, a hero young and bold? 

Who comes all bright and glorious, with face of golden sheen. 
Like embers of acacia wood, aglow in furnace seen? 

Who comes with his umbrella held aloft in such a way, 

That it with ribs so clearly marked wards off the sun's fierce ray ? 

Who is it, with a yak-tail fan stretched forth to guard his side. 
Is seen, like some wise sage, on back of elephant to ride ? 

Who comes in pomp and majesty of parachutes all white. 
And mail-clad steeds of noble strain, encircling left and right ? 

Who hither comes, surrounded by a hundred kings or more. 
An escort of right noble kings, behind him and before ? 

With elephants, with chariots and with horse and foot brigade, 
Who comes with all the pomp of war, in fourfold i host arrayed? 

Who comes with all the legions vast that follow in his train. 
Unbroken, limitless as are the billows of the main 1 

It is Maijoja, king of kings, with Nanda here has come, 

As though 'twere Indra, lord of heaven, to this our hermit home. 

His is the mighty host that comes, obedient in his train. 
Unbroken, limitless as are the biUows of the main. 

[323] The Master said ; 

In robe of finest silk arrayed, with sandal oil bedewed, 
These kings approach the saintly men in suppliant attitude. 



Then king Manoja with a salutation took his seat apart, and, exchanging 
friendly greetings, spoke a couple of stanzas : 

holy men, we trust that you are prosperous and well. 

With grain to glean and 'roots and fruit abundant where you dwell. 

Have you been much by flies and gnats and creeping things annoyed, 
Or from wild beasts of prey have you immunity enjoyed ? 

' Elephants, cavalry, chariots and infantry. 



No. 532. 171 



Then these stanzas were spoken by them as question and answer : 

We thank thee, king, and answer thus ; We prosper and are well. 
With grain to glean and roots and fruit abundant where we dwell. 

From flies and gnats and creeping things we suffer not annoy. 
And from wild beasts of prey we here immunity enjoy. 

Areoa nuts for such as live as hermits here abound, 

No harmful sickness that I know has ever here been found. 

Welcome*, king, a happy chance directed thee this way. 
Mighty thou art and glorious : what errand brings thee, pray ? 

[324] The tindook and the piyal leaves, and kasumart sweet. 
And fruits like honey, take the best we have, king, and eat. 

And this cool water from a cave high hidden on a hill, 
mighty monarch, take of it, drink if it be thy will. 

Accepted is thy ofiering by me and all, but pray 

Give ear to what wise Nanda here, our friend, has got to say. 

For all of us in Nanda's train as suppliants come to thee, 
To beg a gracious hearing for poor Nanda's humble plea. 

The sage Nanda, thus addressed, rose from his seat and saluted his 
father and mother and brother, and, conversing with his followers, said : 

Let country folk, a hundred odd, and brahmins of great fame. 
And all these noble warrior chiefs, illustrious in name. 
With king Manoja, our great lord, all sanction this my claim. 

Ye Yakkhas in this hermitage that are assembled here. 

And woodland spirits, old and young 2, to what I say give ear. 

My homage paid to these, I next this holy 'sage address, 
In me a brother thou didst erst as thy right hand possess. 

To serve my aged parents is the boon from thee I ask : 
Cease, mighty saint, to hinder me in this my holy task. 

[325] Kind service to our parents has long time been paid by thee ; 
The good approve such deeds — why not yield it in turn to me ? 
And to the merit I thus win the way to heaven is free. 

Others there are that know in this the path of duty lies, 
It is the way to heaven, as thou, sage, dost recognise. 

And yet a holy man bars me from merit such as this. 
When I by service fain would bring my parents perfect bliss. 

[326] Thus addressed by Nanda, the Great Being said, "You have 
heard what he had to say : now hear me," and he spoke these stanzas : 

All ye that swell my brother's train, my words now hear in turn; 
Whoso shall ancient precedent of his forefathers spurn. 
Sinning against his elders, he, reborn in hell, shall burn. 

But they who skilled in holy lore the Way of Truth may know. 
Keeping the moral law, shall ne'er to World of Suffering go. 

Brother and sister, parents, aU by kindred tie allied, 
A charge upon the eldest son will evermore abide. 

1 These lines ooour in No. 503, Sattigumba Jdtaka, vol. iv. p. 270, English version. 

2 hhutabhavyani, fully developed and embryo deities: for bkavya, » class of gods, 
cf. Vishnu Purdna, in. 12. 



172 The Jataka. Booh XX. 

As eldest son this heavy charge I gladly undertake, 

And as a pilot guards his ship, the Right I'll ne'er forsake. 

On hearing this all the kings were highly delighted and said, " To-day 
we learn that all the rest of a family are a charge laid upon the eldest," 
and they forsook the sage Nanda and became devoted to the Great Being 
and, singing his praises, recited two stanzas : 

We have found knowledge like a flame that shines at dead of night, 
E'en so has holy Kosiya revealed to us the Eight. 

Just as the sun-god by his rays illumines all the sea. 
Showing the form of living things, as good or bad they be, 
So holy Kosiya reveals the Right to me and thee. 

[327] Thus was it that although these kings had so long a time 
believed in the sage Nanda, from witnessing his wonderful works, yet did 
the Great Being by the power of knowledge destroy their faith in him, and, 
causing them to accept his words, thus make them all his most obedient 
servants. Then the sage Nanda thinking, " My brother is a wise and 
clever fellow and mighty in the scriptures. He has got the better of these 
kings and won them over to his side. Except him I have no other 
refuge. To him only will I make my supplication ; and he spoke this 
stanza : 

Since thou my suppliant attitude heed'st not, nor outstretched hand. 
Thy humble bond-slave will I be, to wait at thy command. 

The Great Being naturally entertained no angry or hostile feeling 
towards Nanda, but he had acted as he did by way of rebuking him, in 
order to bring down his high stomach, when he spoke so exceeding proudly. 
But now on hearing what he had to say he was mightily pleased, and 
conceived a favour towards him, and saying, " Now I forgive you and will 
allow you to watch over your father and mother," and making known his 
virtues he said : 

Nanda, thou know'st the true faith well, as saints have taught it thee, 
"Tis only noble to be good' — thou greatly pleasest me. 

My worthy parents I salute : list ye to what I say, 
The charge of you as burden was ne'er felt in any way. 

My parents I have tended long, their happiness to earn. 
Now Nanda comes and humbly begs to serve you in his turn. 

[328] Whiche'er of you two saintly ones would Nanda's service own. 
Speak but the word and he shall come to wait on thee alone. 

Then his mother, rising from her seat, said, " Dear Sona, your young 
brother has been long absent from his home. Now that he has at length 
returned, I do not venture to ask him myself, for we are altogether 
dependent upon you, but with your sanction I might now be allowed to 
take this holy youth to my arms and kiss him on the forehead," and, to 
make her meaning clear, she spoke this stanza : 



No. 532. 173 

Sona, dear son, on whom we lean, if thou allowest this, 
Embracing him once more I will the holy Nanda kiss. 

Then the Great Being said to her, " Well, dear mother, I give you 

permission : go and embrace your son Nanda and smell and kiss his head, 

and soothe the sorrow in your heart. So she went to the sage Nanda and 

embracing him before all the assembly she smelled and kissed his head, 

putting an end to the sorrow in her heart, and conversing with the Great 

Being she spoke this verse : 

Just as the tender bo-tree shoot is shaken by the blast, 

So throbs my heart with joy at sight of Nanda come at last. 

Nanda, methinks, as in a dream returned I seem to see, 
Half mad and jubilant I cry, 'Nanda comes back to me.' 

But if on waking I should find my Nanda gone away, 
To greater sorrow than before my soul would be a prey. 

[329] Back to his parents dear to-day Nanda at last has come, 
Dear to my lord and me alike, with us he makes his home. 

Though Nanda to his sire is dear, let him stay where he will, 
— Thou to thy father's wants attend — Nanda shall mine fulfil. 

The Great Being assented to his mother's words, saying, " So be it," and 
he admonished his brother, saying, "Nanda, you have received the portion 
of the eldest son ; verily a mother is a great benefactress. Be careful in 
watching over her," and celebrating a mother's virtues he spoke two stanzas : 

Kind, pitiful, our refuge she that fed us at her breast, 

A mother is the way to heaven, and thee she loveth best. 

She nursed and fostered us with care ; graced with good gifts is she, 
A mother is the way to heaven, and best she loveth thee. 

Thus did the Great Being in two stanzas tell of a mother's vii-tues, and 

when his mother had once more taken her seat, he said, " You, Nanda, 

have got a mother who has suflFered things hard to be borne. Both of 

us have been painfully reared by our mother. Now you are carefully to 

watch over her and not to give her sour berries to eat,'' and to make it 

clear in the midst of the assembled people that deeds of great difficulty fell 

to a mother's lot, he said : 

[330] Craving a child in prayer she kneels each holy shrine before, 
The changing seasons closely scans and studies astral lore. 

Pregnant in course of time she feels her tender longings grow. 
And soon the unconscious babe begins a loving friend to know. 

Her treasure for a year or less she guards with utmost care, 
Then brings it forth and from that day a mother's name will bear. 

With milky breast and lullaby she soothes the fretting child. 
Wrapped in his comforter's warm arms his woes are soon beguiled. 

Watching o'er him, poor innocent, lest wind or heat annoy, 
His fostering niirse she may be called, to cherish thus her boy. 

What gear his sire and mother have she hoards for him, 'May be,' 
She thinks, ' some day, my dearest child, it all may come to thee.' 



174 The Jataha. Booh XX. 

' Do this or that, my darling boy,' the worried mother cries. 
And when he's grown to man's estate, she still laments and sighs. 
He goes in reckless mood to see a neighbour's wife at night, 
She fumes and frets, 'Why will he not return while it is light?' 

If one thus reared with anxious pains his mother should neglect, 
Playing her false, what doom, I pray, but hell can he expect? 

If one thus reared with anxious pains his father should neglect. 
Playing him false, what doom, I pray, but heU can he expect? 

Those that love wealth o'ermuch, 'tis said, their wealth will soon have lost. 
One that neglects a mother soon will rue it to his cost. 

Those that love wealth o'ermuch, 'tis said, their wealth will soon have lost, 
One that neglects a father soon will rue it to his cost. 

Joy, careless ease, laughter and sport, are the sure heritage 
Of him that studiously shall tend a mother in old age. 

Joy, careless ease, laughter and sport, are the sure heritage 
Of him that studiously shall tend a father in old age. 

Gifts 1, loving speech, kind offices, together with the grace 
Of calm indifference of mind shown in due time and place— 

These virtues to the world are as linch-pin to chariot wheel, 
These lacking, still a mother's name to children would appeal. 

[331] A mother like the sire should be with reverent honour crowned. 
Sages approve the man in whom these virtues may be found. 

Thus parents, worthy of all praise, a high position own. 
By ancient sages Brahma called. So great was their renown. 

Kind parents from their children should receive all reverence due. 
He that is wise will honour them with service good and true. 

He should provide them food and drink, bedding and raiment meet. 
Should bathe them and anoint with oil and duly wash their feet. 

For filial services like these sages his praises sound 

Here in this world, and after death in heaven his joys abound. 

[332] Thus, as though he should set Mount Sineru rolling, did the 
Great Being bring his lesson to an end. On hearing him all these kings 
with their hosts became believers. So then establishing them in the five 
moral laws and exhorting them to be diligent in almsgiving and the like 
virtues, he dismissed them, and they all, after ruling their kingdoms 
righteously, at the end of their days went to swell the host of heaven. 
The sages, Sona and Nanda, as long as they lived, ministered to their 
parents and became destined to the Brahma world. 



The Master here ended his lesson and revealing the Truths identified the 
Birth : — At the end of the Truths the Brother who cherished his mother was 
established in the fruition of the First Path : — " At that time the parents were 
members of the Great King's Court, the sage Nanda was Ananda, king Manoja 
was Sariputta, the hundred and one kings were eighty chief elders and certain 
others, the twenty-four complete armies were Buddha's disciples, but the sage 
Sona was I myself." 

' Childers gives the four Saugahavatthus, appertaining to kings, as largesse, afia- 
bility, beneficent rule, and impartiality. 



BOOK XXI. ASITINIPATA. 
No. 533. 

CULLAHAMSA- JATAKA '. 

[333] ^^All other birds, etc." This was a story told by the Master, while 
dwelling in the Bamboo Grove, as to how the venerable Ananda renounced his 
life. For when archers were suborned to slay the Tathagata, and the first one 
that was sent by Devadatta^ on this errand returned and said, " Holy sir, I can- 
not deprive the Blessed One of life : he is possessed of great supernatural powers," 
Devadatta replied, "Well, sir, you need not slay the ascetic Gotama. I myself 
will deprive him of life." And as the Tathagata was walking in the shadow cast 
westward 2 by the Vulture's Peak, Devadatta climbed to the top of the mountain 
and hurled a mighty stone as if shot from a catapult, thinking, " With this stone 
will I slay the ascetic Gotama," but two mountain peaks meeting together inter- 
cepted the stone, and a splinter from it flew up and struck the Blessed One on 
the foot and drew blood, and severe pains set in. Jivaka, cutting open the 
Tathagata's foot with a knife, let out the bad blood and removed the proud flesh, 
and anointing the wound with a medicament healed it. The Master moved 
about just as he was wont aforetime, surrounded by his attendants, with all the 
great charm of a Buddha. So on seeing him Devadatta thought, "Verily no 
mortal beholding the excellent beauty of Gotama's person dare approach him, 
but the king's elephant Nalagiri is a fierce and [334] savage animal and knows 
nothing of the virtues of the Buddha, the Law, and the Assembly. He will 
bring about the destruction of the ascetic." So he went and told the matter to 
the king. The king readily fell in with the suggestion, and, summoning his 
elephant-keeper, thus addressed him ; "Sir, to-morrow you are to make Nalagiri 
mad with drink, and at break of day to let him loose in the street where the 
ascetic Gotama walks." And Devadatta asked the keeper how much arrack the 
elephant was wont to drink on ordinary days, and when he answered, "Eight 
pots," he said, " To-morrow give him sixteen pots to drink, and send him in the 
direction of the street frequented by the ascetic Gotama." " Very good," said 
the keeper. The king had a drum beaten throughout the city and proclaimed, 
" To-morrow Nalagiri will be maddened with strong drink and let loose in the 
city. The men of the city are to do all that they have to do in the early morning 
and after that no one is to venture out into the street." And Devadatta came down 

^ Compare with this Haihsa-Jdtaka, vol. iv. No. 502, and Jdtaka-Mdld, xxii. The 
Story of the Holy Swans. 

* For the story of Devadatta, of. GuUavagga, vii. 

'^ In the corresponding passage in GuUavagga, vii. 3. 8, pacchaydyam (Skt 
pra-cchaya) Is read instead of pacchdchdydya. 



176 The Jataka. Booh XXL 

from the palace and went to the elephant-stall and, addressing the keepers, said, 
" We are able, I tell you, from a high position to degrade a man to a lowly one 
and to raise a man from a low position to a high one. If you are eager for 
honour, early to-morrow morning give Najagiri sixteen pots of fiery liquor, and 
at the time when the ascetic Gotama comes that way, wound the elephant with 
spiked goads, and when in his fury he has broken down his stall, drive him in 
the direction of the street where Gotama is wont to walk, and so hring about the 
destruction of the ascetic." They readily agreed to do so. This rumour was 
noised abroad throughout the whole city. The lay disciples attached to the 
Buddha, the Law, and the Priesthood, on hearing it, drew nigh to the Master 
and said, " Holy sir, Devadatta has been closeted with the king and to-morrow 
he will have Nalagiri let loose in the street where you walk. Do not go into the 
city to-morrow for alms but remain here. We will provide food in the monastery 
for the priests, with Buddha at their head." The Master without directly say- 
ing, "I will not enter the city to-morrow for alms," answered and said, "To- 
morrow I will work a miracle and tame Nalagiri and crush the heretics. And 
without going my round for alms in Rajagaha I will leave the city, attended by a 
company of the Brethren, and go straight to the Bamboo Grove, and the people 
of Eajagaha shall repair thither with many a bowl of food and to-morrow there 
shall be a meal provided in the refectory of the monastery." In this way did the 
Master grant their request. And on learning that the Tathagata had acceded 
to their wishes, they set out from the city, carrying bowls of food, and saying, 
" We will distribute our gifts in the monastery itself" And the Master in the 
first watch taught the Law, in the middle watch he solved hard questions, in 
the first part of the last watch he lay down lion-like on his right side, and 
the second part [335] he spent in the Attainment of Fruition, in the third part, 
entering into a trance of deep pity for the sufferings of humanity, he contemplated 
all his kinsfolk that were ripe for conversion ' and seeing that as the result 
of his conquest of Nalagiri eighty-four thousand beings would be brought to 
a clear understanding of the Law, at daybreak, after attending to his bodily 
necessities, he addressed Ananda and said, " Ananda, to-day bid all the Brethren 
that are in the eighteen monasteries that are round about Eajagaha to accompany 
me into that city." The elder did so, and all the Brethren assembled at the 
Bamboo Grove. The Master attended by a great company of Brethren entered 
Eajagaha and the elephant-keepers proceeded according to their instructions 
and there was a great gathering of people. The believers thought, "To-day 
there will be a mighty battle between the lord elephant Buddha and this 
elephant of the brute world. We shall witness the defeat of Najagiri by the 
incomparable skill of the Buddha," and they climbed up and stood upon the 
upper storeys and roofs and house-tops. But the unbelieving heretics thought, 
" Nalagiri is a fierce, savage creature, and knows nothing of the merits of Buddhas 
and the like. To-day he will crush the glorious form of the ascetic Gotama and 
bring about his death. To-day we shall look upon the back of our enemy." And 
they took their stand on upper storeys and other high places. And the elephant, 
on seeing the Blessed One approach him, terrified the people by demolishing the 
houses and raising his trunk he crushed the waggons into powder, and, with 
his ears and tail erect with excitement, he ran like some towering mountain 
in the direction of the Blessed One. On seeing him the Brethren thus addressed 
the Blessed One, "This Nalagiri, holy sir, a fierce and savage creature, and 
a slayer of men, is coming along this road 2. Of a truth he knows nothing of the 
merit of Buddhas and the like. Let the Blessed One, the Auspicious One, with- 
draw." " Fear not. Brethren," he said, " I am able to overcome Nalagiri." Then 
the venerable Sariputta prayed the Master, saying, " Holy sir, when any service 
has to be rendered to a father, it is a burden laid on his eldest son. I will 
vanquish this creature." Then the Master said, "Sariputta, the power of a 
Buddha is one thing, that of his disciples is another," and he rejected his offer, 

1 With bodhaneyya one may perhaps compare the oi au^iiievot of the N.T. 
" racchd, Skt rathyd, a carriage road or street. Jat. 1. 346. 18. 



No. 533. 177 

saying, " You are to remain here." This too was the prayer of the eighty chief 
elders for the most part, but he refused them all. Then the venerable Ananda 
by reason of his strong affection for the Master was unable to acquiesce in this 
and cried, "Let this elephant kill nje first," and he stood before the Master, 
ready to sacrifice his life for the Tathagata. So the Master said to him, " Gq 
away, Ananda, do not stand in front of me." The elder said, " Holy sir, this 
elephant [336] is fierce and savage, a slayer of men, like the flame at the 
beginning of a cycle. Let him first slay me and afterwards let him approach 
you." And though he was spoken to for the third time, the elder remained 
in the same spot and did not retire. Then the Blessed One by the exercise of 
his supernatural power made him fall back and placed him in the midst of the 
Brethren. At this moment a certain woman, catching sight of Nalagiri, was 
terrified with the fear of death, and as she fled she dropped the child, which she 
was carrying on her hip, between the Tathagata and the elephant and made her 
escape. The elephant, pursuing the woman, came up with the child, who uttered 
a loud cry. The Master thrilling with the charity that is expressly commanded', 
and, uttering the honeyed accents of a voice hke that of Brahma, called to Nalagiri, 
saying, " Ho ! Nalagiri, those that maddened you with sixteen pots of arrack 
did not do this that you might attack someone else, but acted thus thinking 
you would attack me. Do not tire out your strength by rushing about aimlessly 
but come hither." On hearing the voice of the Master he opened his eyes and 
beheld the glorious form of the Blessed One, and he became greatly agitated and 
by the power of Buddha the intoxicating effects of the strong drink passed 
off. Dropping his trunk and shaking his ears he came and fell down at the feet 
of the Tathagata. Then the Master addressing him said, Nalagiri, you are 
a brute elephant, I am the Buddha elephant. Henceforth be not fierce and 
savage, nor a slayer of men, but cultivate thoughts of charity." So saying he 
stretched forth his right hand and coaxed the elephant's forehead and taught the 
Law to him in these words : 

'This elephant shouldst thou presume to assail. 
An awful doom thou wouldst erelong bewail. 
To strike this elephant would destine thee 
To state of suffering in worlds to be. 

Prom mad and foolish recklessness abstain, 

The reckless fool to heaven will ne'er attain. 

If in the next world thou wouldst win heaven's bliss. 

See that thou doest what is right in this. 

The whole body of the elephant constantly thrilled with joy, and had he not 
been a mere quadruped, he would have entered on the fruition of the First 
Path. The people, on beholding this miracle, shouted and snapped their fingers. 
In their joy they cast upon him all manner of ornaments and covered therewith 
all the body of the elephant. [337] Thenceforth Nalagiri was known as 
Dhanapalaka (keeper of treasure). — Now on the occasion of this encounter with 
Dhanapalaka eighty-four thousand beings drank the nectar of immortality. — 
And the Master established Dhanapalaka in the five moral laws. With his 
trunk taking up dust from the feet of the Blessed One the elephant sprinkled it 
on his head, and retiring with bent body he stood bowing to the Dasabala as 
long as he was in sight, and then he turned and entered the elephant-stall. 
Thenceforth he was quite tame and harmed no man. The Master, now that hLs 
desire was fulfilled, decided that the treasure should remain the property of 
those by whom it had been thrown upon the elephant and thinking, " "To-day I 
have wrought a great miracle. It is not seemly that I should go my rounds for 
alms in this city," and after crushing the heretics, surrounded by a band of the 
Brethren, he sallied forth from the city like a victorious warrior chief and made 

1 odissakamettd. Of. Jat. ii. 61. 9, ii. 146. 13. 
^ These verses ocour in Cullavagga, vii. 3. 12. 

J. V. 12 



178 The Jataka. Booh XXI. 

straight for the Bamboo Grove. The citizens, taking with them a quantity ef 
boiled rice, drink, and some solid food, went to the monastery and set on foot 
almsgiving on a grand scale. That day at eventide, as they sat filling the Hall 
of Truth, the Brethren started a topic, saying, " The venerable Ananda achieved 
a marvellous thing in being ready to sacrifice his life for the sake of the Tathagata. 
On seeing Nalagiri, though he was thrice forbidden by the Master to remain, he 
refused to go away. sirs, of a truth the elder was the doer of a marvellous 
deed." The Master, thinking, "The conversation turns on the merits of Ananda, 
I must be present at it," went forth from his Perfumed Chamber and came and 
asked them, saying, " On what subject are ye discoursing, Brethren, as ye sit 
here ? " And when they answered, " On such and such a topic," he said, " Not 
now only, but formerly too, Ananda, even when he was born in an animal form, 
renounced his life for my sake," and so saying he told a story of the past. 



Once upon a time in the kingdom of Mahiihsaka in the city of Sakula 
a king named Sakula ruled his kingdom righteously. At that time not 
far from the city a certain fowler in a village of fowlers got his living by 
snaring birds and selling them in the city. Near that city was a lotus- 
lake called Manusiya, twelve leagues in circumference, covered with five 
varieties of lotus. Thither repaired a flock of all manner of birds and the 
fowler set his snares there freely. At this time the king of the Dhatarattha 
geese, with a following of ninety-six thousand geese, dwelt in Golden Cave 
on mount Cittakuta and his commander-in-chief was named Sumukha. 
Now one day a flock [338] composed of some golden geese came to the 
lake Manusiya, and, after browsing to their heart's content in this abundant 
feeding ground, they flew up to the beautiful Cittakuta and thus addressed 
the Dhatarattha king ; " Sire, there is a lotus-lake called Manusiya, a rich 
feeding ground lying midst the haunts of men. Thither we will go to feed." 
He answered, "The haunts of men are dangerous: let not this approve 
itself to you." And though he declined to go, yet being importuned he 
said, "If it be your good pleasure, we will go," and with his following he 
repaired to that lake. Alighting from the air he set his foot in a noose at 
the very moment he touched the ground. So the noose seized his foot as 
it were with an iron vice and caught and held him fast. Then thinking to 
sever the snare he tugged at it, and first the skin was broken, next the 
flesh was torn, and lastly the tendon, till the snare touched the bone and 
the blood flowed and severe pains set in. He thought, " If I should utter 
a cry of capture, my kinsfolk would be alarmed and without feeding would 
fly away famished and through weakness they would fall into the water." 
So he bore with the pain and when his kinsfolk had eaten their fill and 
were disporting themselves after the manner of geese, he uttered the loud 
cry of a captured bird. On hearing it these geese were frightened with 
the fear of death and flew ofi" in the direction of Cittakuta. As soon 
as they were gone, Sumukha, the captain of the geese, thought, " Can it be 
that this means something -terrible has happened to the Great King? 



No. 533. 179 

I will find out what it is," and flying at full speed, and not seeing the Great 
Being amongst those in the van of the retreating army of geese, he sought 
him in the main body of the birds and there too failing to find him he said, 
" Without all doubt something terrible has occurred," [339] and he turned 
back and found the Great Being caught in a snare, stained with blood and 
suffering great pain, lying on the muddy ground. And he alighted and 
sat on the ground and trying to comfort the Great Being he said, "Fear 
not, sire : I will release you from the snare at the sacrifice of my own life." 
Then to test him the Great Being spoke the first stanza : 

All other birds, heedless of me, have fled in haste away ; 
What friendship can a captive know? Be off, make no delay. 

Here moreover followed these stanzas ' : 

Whether I go or stay with thee, I still some day must die : 
I've courted thee in weal, in woe from thee I may not fly. 

I either then must die with thee, or live a life forlorn. 

Far better 'twere to die at once than live thy loss to mourn. 

It is not right to leave thee, sire, in such a sorry state; 
Nay, I am well content to share whate'er may be thy fate. 
What fate for one caught in a snare except the cruel spit? 
How in thy senses and still free couldst thou to this submit? 

What good for thee or me, bird, herein dost thou descry. 
Or for the kin surviving us, if both of us should die? 

Wrapt, golden-wingfed one, in night will be thy deed of worth; 
What moral would such sacrifice, if brought to light, show forth? 

That blessings follow Eight, king of birds, dost thou not see? 
Eight duly honoured shows to men what their true good may be. 

[340] Seeing the Right and all the Good that- still from Eight may spring. 
For love of thee I cheerfully my life away would fling. 

If mindful of the Eight one ne'er forsakes a suffering- friend, 
Not e'en to save one's life, such act as Eight the wise commend. 

Thy duty nobly done, the while I recognise thy love. 
Depart at once, if thou wouldst do the thing I most approve. 

Perhaps in time the ties that bound my kin beneath my sway. 
With fuller knowledge and control may pass to thee some day. 

As thus these noble birds exchanged high thoughts, to them, behold. 
Like Death to some bedridden wretch appeared this fowler bold. 

The friends in him discerning well the enemy they fear. 
Long silent sat and motionless, as he to them drew near. 

Seeing the geese rise here and there and vanish into space. 

Their foe, where sat these noble birds, in haste approached the place. 

And as he ran with utmost speed and reached the fated spot, 

The fowler, trembling at the thought, cried, 'Are they caught or not?' 

The one he saw caught in the snare, the other bird he found 
Watching his captive friend, himself unfettered and unboimd. 

^ In the form of a dialogue between the captive goose-king and his faithful friend 
Sumukha. Afterwards the fowler intervenes. 

12—2 



180 The JatQka. Booh XXI. 

Perplexed and doubting in his mind he viewed the noble pair, 

— Full grown were they, two comely birds — and thus he spake them fair. 

Granted that one oaiight in a snare may never fly away*, 

Why, mighty bird, dost thou, still free, resolve with him to stay? 

What is this fowl to thee, that when the rest are fled and gone. 
Though free, beside the captive bird thou sittest here alone ? 

2 foe of birds, my friend and king, dear as my life is he ; 
Forsake him — no, I never will, until Death calls for me. 

[341] How was it that this bird ne'er spied the fowler's secret snare? 
Of mighty chiefs the function is of danger to be ware. 
^ When ruin comes upon a man and Death's hour draweth nigh, 
Though you may close upon it come, nor trap nor snare you spy. 

Snares of all kinds, O holy ones, are ofttimes set in vain r 
In fatal hour at last one's caught in hidden snare and slain. 

[342] Thus did he by discoursing with him soften the fowler's heart, and 
begging for the life of the Great Being he spoke this stanza : 

[343] Is this the happy issue'', say, of friendly talk with thee. 

And wilt thou, prithee, spare our lives and let us both go free? 

The fowler, charmed by Sumukha's sweet discourse, spoke this stanza : 

No prisoner of mine art thou ; begone, quick, hence away ; 

I would not shed thy blood; unscathed, live on for many a day. 

Then Sumukha repeated four stanzas : 

I should not care to live myself, if this my friend were dead. 
Content with one, let him go free, and eat my flesh instead. 

We two are much the same in age, in length and breadth of limb ; 
No loss for thee, if thou shouldst take me in exchange for him. 

Eegard it in this light and glut thy appetite on me; 

First bind me in the snare, then let this king of birds go free. 

Thus thou wouldst gain thy wish and I my heart's desire secure, 
And peace would be 'twixt geese and thee, long as life should endure. 

Thus by the preaching of the Law was this fowler's heart softened, 
even as cotton dipped in oil, and in yielding up the Great Being to him, as 
a slave to his owner, he said : 

Be witness all your sages, friends, servants, and kith and kin, 
Through thee alone this king, of birds his liberty did win. 

To few 'tis given to own a friend like thee prepared to share 
A common fate, as when thy king was caught in deadly snare. 

So I release thy friend the king, to follow thee afar, 
Quick, hence away, amidst thy kin to shine fair as a star. 

' kurute disam, to fly away. Text desam, scholiast disam, as required by the metre. 

' This couplet occurs in iv. p. 265, English version. 

' This couplet occurs three times before. See note on vol. iv. p. 265, English 
version. 

* suJchudraya, Jdt. iv. 451. 17, v. 389. B, dukhhudraya iv. 398. 9, katukudraya v. 
241. 14. 



No. 533. 181 



[344] And so saying, the fowler with kindness in his heart drew nigh 
to the Great Being, and cutting his bonds took him up in his arms and 
lifting him out of the water laid him on the bank of the lake upon the 
fresh grass, and with great tenderness gently loosing the snare that bound 
his foot threw it to a distance. Then conceiving a strong affection for the 
Great Being, with a heart full of love he took some water and washed 
away the blood from his wound, and once and again wiped it. Through 
the power of his charity the wound in the Bodhisatta's foot grew together, 
tendon uniting with tendon, flesh with flesh, skin with skin. Fresh skin 
formed and fresh down grew over it. The Bodhisatta was just as if his 
foot had never been trapped and sat rejoicing in his ordinary form. Then 
Sumukha, beholding how happy the Great Being was all owing to his 
action, in his gladness sang the praises of the fowler. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

The goose glad at the king's release, in honour of his lord. 
Thus charmed his benefactor's ear with this most pleasant word: 

'Fowler, with all thy kith and kin, right happy mayst thou be. 
As I am happy to behold the king of birds set free.' 



After thus singing the fowler's praises, Sumukha said to the Bodhisatta, 
" Sire, this man has wrought us a great service: had he not hearkened to 
our words, he might have won great wealth, either by making us tame 
birds to be kept for pleasure and offering us to some great lords, or 
by killing and selling us for food. But utterly regardless of his own liveli- 
hood he hearkened to our words. [345] Let us conduct him into the 
king's presence and make him happy for life." The Great Being agreed 
to this. Then Sumukha, after conversing with the Great Being in their 
own language, addressed the fowler in human speech and asked him, 
saying, "Friend, why did you set snares?" and on his replying, "For 
gain," "This being the case," said Sumukha, "take us with you into the 
city and present us to your king, and I will persuade him to bestow on you 
great riches," and he spoke these stanzas: 

Come, I will teach thee how thou mayst win for thyself great gain, 
Seeing the honour of this goose brooks not the slightest stain. 

Quick, take us to the royal court, in body sound and whole. 
Standing, unbound, at either end of this thy carrying-pole. 

And say, ' sire, lo ! here to thee two ruddy geese we bring. 
The one is captain of the host, the other is their king.' 

This lord of men beholding then this royal goose will be 
So glad and overjoyed, he will great wealth bestow on thee. 



182 The Jataka. Booh XXI. 

When he had so spoken, the fowler replied, "Let it not be your 
pleasure to see the king. Verily kings are fickle-minded : they would 
either keep you captive for their amusement or would put you to death." 
Sumukha said, " Fear not, my friend. By my preaching of the Law 
I have softened the heart of a fierce creature like you and have brought 
you to my feet, a fowler whose hand is red with blood. Kings, verily, 
are full of goodness and wisdom, and are such as can discern between 
good and evil words. So make haste and bring us into the presence of 
your king." The fowler said, "Well, be not angry with me. As it is 
your good pleasure, [346] I will take you to him." So he mounted the 
pair of birds on his pole and went to the court and introduced them to the 
king, and on being questioned by him the fowler declared all the facts of 
the case. 



The "Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

On hearing this he wrought the thing they craved in heart and soul, 
And quickly took the geese to court, in body sound and whole. 
Standing, unbound, one at each end of his long carrying-pole. 

' Lo ! here,' he said, ' two ruddy geese, O sire, to thee we bring. 
One is the captain of the host, the other is their king.' 

How did these wingfed mighty ones, fowler, become thy prey, 
How didst thou creep close up to them, nor frighten them away? 

O lord of men, in every pool behold a gin or net. 

In every ^ haunt of birds, methinks, a deadly snare was set. 

'Twas in some hidden trap like this I caught the king of geese. 
His friend, still free, sat by his side and sought his lord's release. 

This bird essayed a task beyond what vulgar souls achieve. 
Resolved his every nerve to strain, his master to relieve. 

There sat he, worthy to survive, content his life to give. 

If but his lord, whose praise he sang, might be allowed to live. 

Hearing his words I all at once attained to state of grace. 
Gladly set free the captive bird and bade them leave the place. 

The goose, rejoiced at his release, in honour of his lord. 

Thus charmed his benefactor's ear with this most pleasant word: 

'Fowler, with all thy kith and kin, right happy mayst thou be, 
As I am happy to behold the king of birds set free. 

Come, I will teach thee how thou mayst win for thyself great gain. 
Seeing the honour of this goose brooks not the slightest stain. 

Quick, take us to the royal court, in body sound and whole. 
Standing, unbound, at either end of this thy carrying-pole. 

And say, " sire, lo ! here to thee two ruddy geese we bring. 
The one is captain of the host, the other is their king." 

This lord of men, beholding then this royal goose will be 
So glad and overjoyed, he wUl great wealth bestow on thee.' 

> Beading yam yad ayatanam. 



No. 533. 183 

[347] Thus at his bidding hither led by me the pair have come, 

Although for me they both were free to seek their mountain home. 

Such was the fate of this poor bird, though very righteous he. 
So much that he with pity moved a fowler fierce like me. 

This goose, lord of men, to thee an offering bring I here. 
Amidst the haunts of fowling men one scarce could find his peer. 



[348] Thus did he standing there proclaim the virtues of Sumukha. 
Then the king Sakula offered to the goose-king a costly throne and to 
Sumukha a precious golden chair, and when they had taken their seats he 
served them with parched corn, honey, molasses, and the like, in golden 
vessels, and, when they had finished their meal, with outstretched hands 
he prayed the Great Being to preach the Law and took his seat upon 
a golden chair. And at his request the goose-king held pleasant converse 
with him. 



The Master, to make everything clear, said: 

Seeing the king now seated on a lovely golden chair. 

The goose in tones to charm the ear thus did bespeak him fair. 

Dost thou, my lord, enjoy good health and is all well with thee ? 
I trust thy realm is floiuishing and ruled in equity. 

king of geese, my health is good and all is well with me ; 
My realm is very flourishing and ruled in equity. 

Hast thou true men to counsel thee, free from all stain or blame. 
Ready to die, if need there be, for thy good cause and name? 

1 have true men to counsel me, free from all stain or blame. 
Ready to die, if need there be, for my good cause and name. 

Hast thou a wife of equal birth, obedient, kind in word. 

With children blest, good looks, fair name, compliant with her lord? 

I have a wife of equal birth, obedient, kind in word. 

With children blest, good looks, fair name, comphant with her lord. 



[349] When the Bodhisatta had ended his words of friendly greeting, 
the king again conversing with him said: 

When some mischance delivered thee to thy most deadly foe. 
Didst thou then at his hands, bird, great suffering undergo? 

Did he run up and with his stick belabour thee, I pray? 
Of such vUe creatures, as I hear, this ever is the way. 

I never was in danger, as I gratefully recall. 

Nor did he deal with us as foes in any way at all. 

The fowler, trembling and amazed, to question us was fain, 
And Sumukha, wisest of birds, made answer back again. 

Hearing his words he all at once attained to state of grace, 
Gladly released me from the snare, and bade us leave the place. 



184 The Jataha. Book XXI. 

To come and visit thee, king, was Sumukha's desire, 
Thinking our friend the fowler thus great riches might acquire. 

You are right welcome, sirs, be sure, I'm glad to see you here. 
And let your fowler friend receive his fill of earthly gear. 

[350] And so saying the king fixed his gaze upon a certain councillor 
and when he asked, "What is your pleasure, sire,'' he said, "See that 
this fowler has his hair and beard trimmed and that after being washed 
and anointed he is sumptuously arrayed and then bring him here." And 
when this was done and the fowler was brought back, the king presented 
him with a village producing annually a hundred thousand pieces of money, 
and moreover a house standing in a position abutting on two streets, and 
a splendid chariot, and much store of yellow gold. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

The king with riches manifold the fowler amply blest. 

And then in tones that charmed the ear the ruddy goose addressed. 



Then the Great Being instructed the king in the Law, and hearing his 
exposition he was glad at heart, and, being minded to pay some mark 
of respect to the preacher of the Law, he presented him with the white 
umbrella and made over his kingdom to him and he spoke these stanzas : 

Whate'er I lawfully possess, whate'er I duly claim. 

Shall pass beneath your sway, if ye your heart's desire will name. 

Whether for alms or to enjoy and use it for your own. 
To you I yield my gear and all, to you resign my throne. 

Then the Great Being returned the white umbrella which the king had 
given to him. And the king thought, "I have heard the Law preached by 
the goose-king, but this Sumukha has been highly praised by the fowler, 
as speaking words sweet as honey, [351] I shall have to hear him- also 
preach the Law." So holding converse with him he spake yet another 
stanza : 

If wise and learned Sumukha would speak of his iree will 
A word or two, my happiness would then be greater still. 

Then Sumukha said : 

I could not in your presence, with propriety, my lord, 
As though I were some Naga prince, utter a single word. 

For this the chief of ruddy geese, and thou, mighty king, 
On many grounds may rightiy claim the homage that I bring. 

I a mere underling, my lord, may scarcely intervene. 
When high debate is being held your Majesties between. 



No. 533. 185 

The king, hearing what he said, was glad at heart and said, "The 
fowler praised you, and surely there cannot be any other like you, so 
sweet a preacher of the Law," and he repeated these stanzas : 

The fowler rightly praised this bird as wise beyond its kind: 
Such prudence is not found in one undisciplined* in mind. 

Of noble creatures I have seen, with highest nature blest. 
Surely this matchless bird amongst them all is far the best^. 

Your noble form and sweet discourse cast o'er me such a spell. 
My only wish is that you both long time with me may dwell. 

[352] Then the Great Being in praise of the king said : 

Thou hast dealt with us as a man deals with his dearest friend: 
Such was the kindness, Sir, thou didst to us poor birds extend. 

Yet a great void the circle of our kin has to deplore. 

And many a bird is sorely grieved to see our face no more. 

To drive away their sorrow thou, king, hast set us free. 
So humbly taking leave we fly our friends once more to see. 

I'm very glad acquaintance with your Highness to have made. 
Henceforth, I trust, my friends may have less cause to be afraid. 

When he had thus spoken the king suffered them to depart. And 
the Great Being declared to the king the misery attending the five kinds 
of vice and the blessing that followed virtue, and exhorted him, saying, 
"Keep the moral law and rule your kingdom righteously, and win the hearts 
of your people with the four modes of conciliation V' and forthwith he set 
out for Cittakuta. 



[353] The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

Thus to the lord of mortals spake the Dhatarattha king. 

Then sought these geese their kith and kin with utmost speed of wing. 

Seeing their chiefs all safe and sound returned from haunts of men. 
The wingM flock with noisy cries welcomed them back again. 

Thus circling round their lord in whom they trust, these ruddy geese 
Paid all due honour to their king, rejoiced at his release. 



While thus escorting their king these geese asked him, saying, "How, 
sire, did you escape?" The Great Being told them of his escape by the 
help of Sumukha, and of the action of the Sakula king and the fowler. 
On hearing this the flock of geese in their joy sang their praises, saying, 
" Long live Sumukha, captain of our host, and the Sakula king and the 
fowler. May they be happy and free from sorrow." 



' akatatta, Skt akritdtman, of. vi. 296. 1. 

' uttamasattava, 'best of beings,' sattava= satta, i.e. sattva. 

' eangahavatthu, see p. 174. 



186 The Jdtaka. Book XXL 

The Master, to make the matter clear, repeated a final stanza : 

Thus all whose hearts are full of love succeed in what they do. 
E'en as these geese back to their friends once more in safety flew. 

[354] The Master here ended his story, saying, " Brethren, not now only, but 
of old also, Ananda for my sake renounced his life," and he identified the Birth : 
" At that time Channa was the fowler, Sariputta the king, Ananda Sumukba, 
the followers of Buddha the ninety thousand geese, and I myself was the goose- 
king." 



No. 534. 



MAHAHAMSA-JATAKA>. 



" There go the birds," etc. This story the Master, while residing in the 
Bamboo Grove, told concerning the elder Ananda's renunciation of life. The 
introductory story is exactly like one already given, but on this occasion the 
Master in telling a story of the past related the following tale. 



Once upon a time at Benares a king named Samyama had a chief 
consort named Khema. At that time the Bodhisatta with a following of 
ninety thousand geese dwelt on mount Cittakiita. Now one day at day- 
break queen Khema saw a vision. Some gold-coloured geese came and 
perching upon the royal throne with a sweet voice preached the Law. 
While the queen was glistening and applauding and had not yet had her 
fill of the exposition of the Law, it became broad daylight, and the geese 
finished their discourse and departed by the open window. The queen, 
rising in haste, cried, " Catch them, catch the geese, before they escape," 
and in the act of stretching forth her hand she awoke. Hearing her words 
her handmaids said, " Where are the geese ? " and softly laughed. At this 
moment the queen knew that it was a dream, and thought, " I do not see 
the thing that is not : surely there must be golden geese in this world, but 
if I should say to the king, ' I am anxious to hear the preaching of the 
Law by golden geese,' he will say, ' We have never yet seen any golden 
geese ; there is no such thing as preaching by geese,' and he will take no 
pains in the matter : but if I say, ' It is a pregnant longing on my part,' 
he will search for them in every possible way and so will the desire of my 

' For other versions of this story see note on GuUahamsa-Jdtaka, p. 175 of this 
volume. 



No. 534. 187 

heart be fulfilled." So pretending to be sick [355] she gave instructions 
to her servants and lay down. The king, when he had taken his seat 
upon his throne, not seeing her at the usual time of her appearance, 
inquired where queen Khema was, and, hearing she was sick, he went to 
her and sittiug on one side of the bed he chafed her back and inquired if 
she were ill. " My lord," she said, " I am not ill but the longings of a 
pregnant woman have come upon me." " Say, lady, what you would have, 
and I will soon fetch it you." " Sire, I long to listen to the preaching of 
the Law by a golden goose, while it sits upon the royal throne, with a 
white umbrella spread over it, and to pay homage to it with scented 
wreaths and such like marks of honour, and to express my approval of it. 
If I should attain to this, it is well : otherwise there is no life in me." 
Then the king comforted her and said, "If there is such a thing in the 
world of men, you shall have it : do not vex yourself." And going forth 
from the queen's chamber he took counsel with his ministers, saying, 
" Mark you, queen Khema says, ' If I can hear a golden goose preach the 
Law, I shall live, but otherwise I shall die ' ; pray, are there any golden 
geese?" " Sire," they answered, "we have never either seen or heard of 
them." " Who would know about it ? " " The brahmins, sire." The king 
summoned the brahmins and asked them, saying, "Are there such things 
as golden geese who teach the Law' ?" "Yes, sire, it has come down by 
tradition to us that fish, crabs, tortoises, deer, peacocks, geese, all these 
are found of a golden colour. Amongst them, they say, the family of 
Dhatarattha geese are wise and learned. Including men there are seven 
creatures that are gold-coloured." The king was greatly pleased and 
asked, " Where dwell these scholarly ruddy geese 1 " " We do not know, 
sire." " Then who will know 1 " And when they answered, " The tribe 
of fowlers," he gathered together all the fowlers in his dominion and asked 
them, saying, "My friends, where dwell gold-coloured geese of the Dhata- 
rattha family?" Then a certain fowler said, "People tell us, sire, by 
tradition from one generation to another, that they dwell in the Himalayas, 
on mount Cittakuta." " Do you know how to catch them ? " "I do not 
know, sire." He summoned his wise brahmins [356] and after telling 
them that there were golden geese on Cittakuta, he asked if they knew any 
way to catch them. They Said, " Sire, what need for us to go and catch 
them 1 By a stratagem we will bring them down close to the city and 
catch them." " What is this stratagem ? " " On the north of the city, 
sire, you are to have a lake dug, three leagues in extent, a safe and peace- 
ful spot, and filling it with water, plant all manner of grain and cover the 
lake with the five kinds of lotus. Then hand it over to the care of a 
skilful fowler and suflfer no one to approach it, and by means of men 
stationed at the four corners have it proclaimed as a sanctuary lake, 
' One reading gives Icariya, " My masters, are there any golden geese ? " 



188 The Jataka. Book XXI. 

and on hearing this all manner of birds will alight there. And these 
geese, hearing one from another how safe this lake is, will visit it and then 
you can have them caught, trapping them with hair nooses." The king, 
on hearing this, had a lake such as they described formed in the place they 
mentioned, and summoning a skilled fowler he presented him with a 
thousand pieces of money and said, " Henceforth give up your occupation : 
I will support your wife and family. Carefully guarding this peaceful 
lake and driving everyone away from it, have it proclaimed at the 
four corners as a sanctuary, and say that all the birds that come and 
go are mine, and when the golden geese arrive you shall receive great 
honour." With these words of encouragement the king put him in charge 
of the sanctuary lake. From that day the fowler acted just as the king 
bade him and watched over the place, and as one that kept the lake in 
peace he came to be known as the fowler Khema (Peace). Thenceforth 
all manner of birds alighted there, and from its being proclaimed from one 
to another that the lake was peaceful and secure, different kinds of geese 
arrived. First of all came the grass-geese, then owing to their report 
came the yellow geese, followed in like manner by the scarlet geese, 
the white geese and the paka geese. On their arrival Khemaka thus 
reported to the king : " Five kinds of geese, sire, have come, and they are 
continually feeding in the lake. Now that the paka geese have arrived, 
in a few days the golden geese will be coming : [357] cease to be anxious, 
sire." The king on hearing this made proclamation in the city by beat of 
drum that no one was to go there, and whosoever should do so should 
suffer mutilation of hands and feet and spoliation of his household goods ; 
and from that time no one went there. Now the paka geese dwell not far 
from Cittakuta in Golden Cave. They are very powerful birds and as 
with the Dhatarattha family of geese the colour of their body is distinc- 
tive, but the daughter of the king of the paka geese is gold-coloured. So 
her father, thinking she was a fitting match for the Dhatarattha king, 
sent her to be his wife. She was dear and precious in her lord's eyes, and 
owing to this the two families of geese became very friendly. Now one 
day the geese that were in attendance on the Bodhisatta inquired of the 
paka geese, "Where are you getting your food just now?" "We are 
feeding near Benares, on a safe piece of water ; but where are you roam- 
ing T' "To such and such a place," they answered. " Why do you not 
come to our sanctuary ? It is a charming lake, teeming with all manner 
of birds, covered over with five kinds of lotus, and abounding with 
various grains and fruits, and buzzing with swarms of many different bees. 
At its four corners is a man to proclaim perpetual immunity from danger. 
No one is allowed to come near : much less to injure another." After this 
manner did they sing the praises of the peaceful lake. On hearing what 
the paka geese said, they told Sumukha, saying, "They tell us, near 



No. 534. 189 

Benares is a peaceful lake of such and such a kind : thither the paka 
geese go and feed. Do you tell the Dhatarattha king, and, if he allows us, 
we too will go and feed there." Sumukha told the king, who thought, 
" Men, verily, are full of wiles and skilled iu expedients : there must be 
some reason for this. All this long time past there was no such lake : it 
must have been made now to catch us." And he said to Sumukha, " Let 
not this going there meet with your approval. This lake was not con- 
structed by them in good faith ; it was made to catch us. Men surely are 
cruelly minded and versed in expedients : keep still in your own feeding 
grounds.'' [358] The golden geese a second time told Sumukha they were 
anxious to visit the Lake of Peace and he reported their wishes to the 
king. The Great Being thought, "My kinsfolk must not be vexed by 
reason of me : we will go there." So accompanied by ninety thousand 
geese he went and browsed, there, disporting himself after the manner of 
geese and then returned to Cittakuta. Khemaka, after they had fed and 
taken their departure, went and reported their arrival to the king of 
• Benares. The king was highly pleased and said, " Friend Khemaka, try 
and catch one or two geese and I will confer great honour on you.'' With 
these words he paid his expenses and sent him away. Returning there 
the fowler seated himself in a skeleton pot and watched the movements of 
the geese. Bodhisattas verily are free from all greed. Therefore the 
Great Being, starting from the spot where he alighted, went on eating the 
paddy in due order. All the others wandered about, eating here and 
there. So the fowler thought, " This goose is free from greed : this is the 
one I must catch." The next day before the geese had alighted on the 
lake, he went to the place hard by and concealing himself in the framework 
of his pot he remained there sitting in it and looking through a chink in 
the frame. At that moment the Great Being escorted by ninety thousand 
geese came down on the same spot where he had alighted the day before, 
and sitting down at the limit of yesterday's feeding ground he went on 
browsing. The fowler, looking through a chink in his cage and marking 
the extraordinary beauty of the bird, thought, "This goose is as big as a 
waggon, gold-coloured and with its neck encircled with three stripes of 
red. Three lines running down the throat pass along the middle of the 
belly, while other three stripes run down and mark off the back, and its 
body shines like a mass of gold poised on a string made of the thread of 
red wool. This must be their king, and this is the one I will seize." 
And the goose-king, after feeding over a wide field, disported himself in 
the water and then surrounded by his flock returned to Cittakuta. For 
six days he fed after this manner. On the seventh day Khemaka twisted 
a big stout cord of black horse-hair and fixed a noose upon a stick, and, 
knowing for certain the goose-king would alight to-morrow on the same 
spot, [359] he set the stick on which the snare was mounted in the water. 



190 7%e Jdtaha. Booh XXL 

The next day the goose-king coming down stuck its foot, as it alighted, 
into the snare, which grasping the bird's foot as it were with a band of 
iron held it fast in its grip. The bird, thinking to sever the snare, dragged 
at it and struck it with all its force. First its gold-coloured skin was 
bruised, next its flesh of the colour of red wool was cut, then the sinew 
was severed and last of all its foot' would have been broken, but thinking a 
maimed body was unbefitting a king, it ceased to struggle. As severe pains 
set in, it thought, " If I should utter a cry of capture, my kinsfolk would 
be alarmed and without feeding properly they would fly away, and being 
half-starved they would drop into the water." So putting up with the 
pain it remained in the power of the snare, pretending to be feeding on 
the paddy,' but when the flock had eaten their fill, and were now disporting 
themselves after the manner of geese, it uttered a loud cry of capture. 
The geese on hearing it flew away, just as previously described. Sumukha, 
too, considering the matter, just as related before, searched about and not 
finding the Great Being in the three main divisions of the geese, thought, 
"Verily this must be something terrible that has come upon the king," 
and he turned back, saying, "Fear not, sire, I will release you at the 
sacrifice of my own life," and sitting down on the mud he comforted the 
Great Being. The Great Being thought, " The ninety thousand geese 
have forsaken me and fled and this one alone has returned. I wonder, 
when the fowler comes iip, whether or not Sumukha too will forsake me 
and flee." And by way of testing him, stained with blood as he was, and 
resting against the stick fastened to the snare, he repeated three stanzas : 

There go the birds, the ruddy geese, all overcome with fear, 

golden-yeUow Sumukha, depart ! What wouldst thou here ? 

My kith and kin deserted me, away they all have flown ; 
Without a thought they fly away. Why art thou left alone? 

Fly, noble bird, with prisoners what fellowship can be? 
Sumukha, fly! nor lose the chance 2, while thou mayst yet be free. 

[360] On hearing this, Sumukha thought, " This goose-king is ignorant 
of my real nature ; he fancies I am a friend that speaks words of flattery. 
I will show him how loving I am," and he repeated four stanzas : 

No, I'll not leave thee, royal goose, when trouble draweth nigh. 
But stay I wUl, and by thy side will either live or die. 

1 will not leave thee, royal bird, when trouble draweth nigh. 
Nor join in such ignoble act with others, no, not I. 

I'm one in heart and soul with thee, playmate and friend of old. 
Of all thy host, O noble king, famed as the leader bold. 

' Taking the v. 1. pado chijjeyya. The plural pddd in the text must be wrong, as 
the royal goose had only one foot snared. 

^ md amghdya hdpesi, el. Jdt. iv. 424. 21. Iidpeti is here constructed with a dative 
instead of the more usual accusative. 



No. 534. 191 

Returning to thy kith and kin what could I have to say, 
If I shall leave thee to thy fate and heedless fly away ? 
Nay, I would rather die than live, so base a part to play. 

When Sumukha had thus in four stanzas uttered as it were a lion's 
note, the Great Being, making known his merits, said : 

Thy nature 'tis, Sumukha, abiding in the Right, 

Ne'er to forsake thy lord and friend or safety seek in flight. 

[361] Looking on thee no thought of fear arises in my mind, 

E'en in this sorry plight some way to save me thou wilt find. 

While they were thu.s conversing, the fowler standing on the edge of 
the lake saw the geese flying off in three divisions and wondering what this 
could possibly mean he looked at the spot where he had set the snare and 
beheld the Bodhisatta leaning on the stick to which the noose was fastened. 
Overjoyed he girt up his loins and taking a club he hastily drew nigh and 
stood before the birds, like the fire at the beginning of a cycle, with head 
towering above them and his heel planted in the mud. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said: 

As thus these noble birds exchanged high thoughts, to them, behold! 
All in hot haste, with stafi' in hand drew nigh this fowler bold. 

Seeing him trusty Sumukha stood up before the king. 
His anxious lord in his distress stoutly encouraging i. 

Fear not, noble bird, for fears become not one like thee. 
An effort I will duly make with justice as my plea. 
And soon by my heroic act once more thou shalt be free. 



Thus did Sumukha comfort the Great Being, and going up to the 
fo-wler and speaking with a sweet human voice he asked, " What is thy 
name, friend?" [362] Then he answered, "0 king of the gold-coloured 
geese, I am called Khemaka." Sumukha said, " Do not imagine, friend, a 
mere ordinary^ goose has been caught in the horse-hair noose you set. The 
chief of ninety thousand geese, the Dhatarattha king, is caught in your 
snare. Wise is he and virtuous and he is ranged on the side of conciliation^ 
He ought not to be put to. death. I will do whatever he was to have 
done for you. I too am gold-coloured and for his sake will lay down my 
life. If you are anxious to take his feathers, take mine ; or, if you would 
have anything else of his, skin, flesh, sinew or bone, take it from my body. 
Again, supposing you wish to make a tame bird of him, make a tame bird 
of me, selling me while still alive, or if you would make money, make it 

1 aparibruhayi. For the form of the word of. Whitney's Skt Grammar § 1087, for 
the meaning of. Jdt. iii. 31. 14 and 191. 5. 

^ For this use of yo vd so vd of. Jdt. iv. 38. 9, v. 313. 23, vi. 81. 25. 

' sangdhaha, Jdt. iii. 262. 21, iv. 110. 20, is explained as 'oonoiliating by means of 
the four kingly virtues called the sangahavatthus.' 



192 The Jataka. Booh XXL 

by selling me : do not slay him, endowed as he is with wisdom and such 
like virtues. If you shall kill him, you will never escape from hell and 
similar states of suffering." After thus terrifying the fowler with the 
fear of hell and making him give ear to his sweet discourse, Sumukha 
once more drew near and took his stand by the Bodhisatta, comforting 
him. The fowler, hearing his words, thought, "Being a mere bird, as he 
is, he can do what for men is impossible. For they cannot remain 
constant in friendship. Oh ! what a wise, eloquent, and holy creature is 
this ! " His whole body thrilling with joy and ecstasy, and his hair 
standing erect with wonder, he dropped his stick and raising his joined 
hands to his forehead, like one worshipping the sun, he stood proclaiming 
the virtues of Sumukha. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

The fowler hearing what the bird so eloquently said. 
With hair erect and folded hands his homage duly paid. 

Ne'er was it heard or seen before that, using human speech, 

To man in his own tongue a goose sublimest truth shoiild preach. 

'What is this bird to thee, that when the rest are fled and gone. 
Though free, beside the captive bird thou here art left alone? 



[363] Sumukha, on being asked this question by the evil-minded 
fowler, thought, " He is relenting : to soften his heart still more I will 
now show him my quality," and he said : 

He is my king, foe to birds, _his captain chief am I ; 
I cannot leave him to his fate, while I to safety fly. 

Let not this lord of mighty hosts here perish all alone; 
Near him my happiness I find: him as my lord I own. 

On hearing this sweet discourse of his treating of duty, the fowler, 
overjoyed and with hair erect in wonder, thought, " If I should kill this 
royal goose endowed with virtue and the like good qualities, I shall never 
escape from the four states of suffering : let the king of Benares do what 
he will with me ; I shall make over this captive as a free gift to Sumukha 
and let him go," and he spake this stanza : 

Noble art thou, to honour one through whom thou still dost live; 
Fly where ye list: to thy good lord his freedom now I give. 

[364] So saying, the fowler with kindly purpose drew nigh to the 
Great Being and bending the stick he laid the bird on the mud, and 
pulling up the stick he set it free from the noose. Then he drew forth the 
bird from the lake and laying him on some young kuSa grass he gently 
loosed the snare that bound his foot. Conceiving a strong affection for the 
' This line occurs in the previous story, p. 180. 



No. 534. 193 

Great Being, with kiudly thought he took some water and washed oS the 
blood, repeatedly wiping it. Then by the power of his charity nerve was 
united to nerve, flesh to flesh, and skin to skin, and the foot became just 
as before, not to be distinguished from the other one, and the Bodhisatta 
sat rejoicing in his original state.- Sumukha, seeing how happy the king 
was all owing to his action, was highly delighted and thought, " This man 
has rendered us a great service, but we have done nothing for him. If he 
caught lis for the king's ministers of state and took us to them, he would 
receive a large sum of money, and if he caught us for himself, he could 
sell us and still make great gain : I will question him somewhat." So in 
his desire to render him a service he put this question and said : 

If thou for thine own purposes didst set for us this snare. 
Our freedom we accept from thee without a thought or care. 

But otherwise, fowler bold, in letting us go free, 

Without the king's permission, sure, 'twere nought but robbery. 

The fowler on hearing this said, " I did not catch you for myseK, I 
was employed by Saiiiyama, king of Benares," and he then told them the 
whole story, beginning from the time of the queen's seeing a vision down 
to the time when the king heard of the arrival of the geese, and said, 
"Friend Khemaka, try and catch one or two geese, and I will confer 
great honour on you," and despatched him with a provision for his 
journey. 

On hearing -this Sumukha thought, " This fowler, taking no account of 
his own livelihood, [365] in setting us free has wrought a difficult thing. 
But if we shall return hence to Oittakuta, neither the supernatural wisdom 
of the Dhatarattha king nor my act of friendship will be revealed, the 
fowler will not receive great honour, the king will not be established in the 
five moral laws, nor will the queen's desire be fulfilled." And he answered, 
" Friend, it being so, you cannot let us go : present us to the king and he 
shall deal with us according to his pleasure." 

To make this clear, he spoke this stanza : 

Thou art the servant of the king; his wishes then fulfil; 
King Samyama' shall deal with us according to his will. 

On hearing this the fowler said, " O sirs, let it not be your pleasure to 
see the king. Kings verily are dangerous beings. They will either make 
tame geese of you or put you to death." Then Sumukha said, "Friend 
fowler, do not trouble yourself about us. By my preaching of the Law I 
made a cruel fellow like you soft-hearted. Why should I not do the same 
in the case of the king ? Kings are wise and understand goodly words : 
quick and take us to the king. And in taking us do not carry us as 
captives, but put us in a cage of flowers and take us thus. For the 

^ Beading Samyama no. 
J. V. 13 



194 The Jataka. Book XXL 

Dhatarattha-king make a big cage shaded with white lotus, and for me a 
small cage covered with red lotus, and put him in front and me behind, 
somewhat lower, and take us with all speed and present us to the king." 
The fowler, hearing the words of Sumukha, thought, " Sumukha, in seeing 
the king, must be desirous of conferring great honour on me," and being 
highly delighted he fashioned cages of soft osiers and covering them with 
lotuses set out with the birds in the way already described. 



To make the matter clear, the Master said : 

The fowler grasping them with both his hands, as he was told, 
Placed in their cage these ruddy geese with skin of yellow gold. 

[366] The goose-king now and Sumukha with plumage bright to see. 

Safe in their cage the fowler took and off with them marched he. 



As soon as the fowler had set off with them the Dhatarattha goose 
called to mind his wife, the daughter of the paka goose-king, and address- 
ing Sumukha under the influence of his passion he thus lamented. 



To make the matter clear, the Master said : 

The king on being carried off to Sumukha thus spake ; 

'My fair and gracious' spouse, methiuks, now grieving for my sake, 

If she should hear that I am dead, her life, I fear, might take. 

Like heron mourning for its mate by lonely ocean's shore, 
Suhema — bright as gold her skin — her lord will stiU deplore^.' 



On hearing this Sumukha thought, "This goose, though ready to 
admonish others, all for a female's sake, under the sway of passion babbles 
just as when water is heated', or as when (birds) rise up from a bank and 
devour a field of grain. What if I were by my own wisdom to make 
clear to him the vices of the female sex and to bring him to his senses?" 
and he said : 

That one so great and peerless thought, a leader of his kind. 
Should grieve for bird of female sex shows little strength of mind. 

As wind will carry any scent, be it or bad or good. 

Or greedy child, as if 'twere blind, eats raw or well-oooked food, 

1 Literally "with auspicious marks upon the thigh." 

" rucchiti for rodiasati, of. Jdt. vi. 80. 15. 

' Foolish talk is here compared to the sound of boiling water or perhaps to the 
crackling of thorns beneath the pot, and also to the noise of birds swooping down 
upon a field of grain. 



. No. 534. 195 

[367] Without true judgment in affairs, poor fool, thou canst not see, 
What to avoid or what to do in each emergency. 

Half mad thou apeakst of womankind as blest with every grace, 
Yet most as common are to men as toper's drinking place. 

1 Sorrow, disease, calamity, like harshest chains to bind, 
Mirage, and fraud, the snare of death deep-seated in the mind — 
Such women are : who trusts in them is vilest of his kind. 

[368] Then the Dhatarattha goose, in his infatuation for the female 

sex, said, "You know not the virtues of womankind, but the sages 

know : they are not deserving of censure." And by way of explanation 

he said : 

Truth that sages ascertained, who is there that dares to blame ? 
Women in this world are born, destined to great power and fame. 

They for dalliance are formed, joys of love for them ordained. 
Seeds within them germinate, source from whence all life's sustained. 
They from whom man draws his breath scarce by man may be disdained. 

Art thou, Sumukha, alone versed in ways of womankind ? 
Didst thou only, moved by fear, this belated wisdom find? 

Meeting danger every man bears up bravely 'midst alarm. 
In a crisis sages all strive to shelter us from harm. 

Princes then to counsel them fain would have a hero brave, 
'Gainst the shook of adverse fate, apt to counsel, strong to save. 

Let not royal cooks, I pray, roast our mangled limbs to-day. 
As its fruit the bamboo kills, us too golden plumes might slay. 

Free thou wouldst not fly from me, captive of thy own free will. 
Cease from words in danger's hour, up, a manly part fulfil. 

[369] The Great Being by singing the praises of womankind reduced 
Sumukha to silence^, but on seeing how distressed he was, he now, to 
conciliate him, repeated this stanza : 

An effort make such as is due, with justice as thy plea. 
And by heroic act, dear friend, restore my life to me. 

[370] Then Sumukha thought, " He is greatly terrified by fear of 
death; he does not know my powers. After seeing the king of Benares 
and having a little talk with him, I shall know what to do : meanwhile I 
will comfort my king," and he spoke this stanza : 

Fear not, noble bird, for fears become not one Kke thee, 
An effort I will duly make, with justice as my plea. 
And soon by my heroic act thou shalt once more be free. 

While they were thus conversing in the language of birds, the fowler 
did not understand a single word they said, but carrying them on his pole 
he entered Benares, followed by a multitude of people, who, filled with 

' These lines occur in Jdt. ii. p. 228, English version. 

° For appafibhana in the sense of ' not ready with a reply ' of- Jdt. iv. 304. 16, vi. 
246. 15. 

13—2 



196 The Jdtaha. Booh XXI. 

wonder and amazement, stretched forth their hands in suppliant attitude. 
On reaching the door of the palace, the fowler had his arrival made known 
to the king. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

The fowler with his burden to the palace gate drew near; 
'Announce me to the king,' he cried, 'the ruddy goose is here.' 



The doorkeeper went and announced his arrival. The king was highly 
delighted and said, "Let him come hither at once," and attended by a 
crowd of courtiers and seated upon the throne with a white umbrella held 
over him he saw Khemaka ascend to the dais with his burden, and looking 
at the gold-coloured geese, he said, "My heart's desire is fulfilled," and he 
gave an order to his courtiers that all due service should be rendered to 
the fowler. 



To make the matter clear, the Master said : 

Seeing these birds with holy looks and marks auspicious blest, 
King Samyama with words like these his councillors addressed: 

'Give to the fowler meat and drink, soft food, apparel brave. 
And store of ruddy gold as much as heart of man can crave.' 



[371] Being highly elated with joy, he in this way showed his pleasure and 
said, "Go and array the fowler and bring him back to me." So the courtiers, 
taking him down from the palace, had his hair and beard trimmed, and 
when he had taken a bath and had been anointed and was sumptuously 
arrayed they brought him into the presence of the king. Then the king 
conferred on him twelve hamlets, yielding annually a hundred thousand 
pieces of money, a chariot yoked with thoroughbreds, a large well-equipped 
house and very great honour. On receiving so great honour, the fowler, 
to explain what he had done, said, " This, sire, is no ordinary goose that 
I have brought you ; this is the king of ninety thousand geese, Dhata- 
rattha by name, and this is the chief captain, Sumukha." Then the 
king asked, "How, friend, did you catch them?" 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

Seeing the fowler highly pleased, the king of Kasi said, 
'If, Khemaka, on yonder lake geese in their thousands fed. 

Amidst the throng of kindred fowl, pray, how didst thou contrive 
To single out this lovely bird and capture him alive?' 



ISFo. 534. 197 

The fowler answering him said : 

1 Through seven long days with anxious care in vain I marked the spot, 
Searching for that fair goose's track, concealed within a pot^. 

To-day I found the feeding-ground to which the goose repaired, 
And there straightway I set a trap and lo ! he soon was snared. 

[372] On hearing this the king thought, "This fellow standing at 
the door and telling his story spoke only of the arrival of the Dhata- 
rattha king and now too he speaks of this one only. What can be the 
meaning of this ? " and he spoke this stanza : 

Fowler, thou speakst of only one, yet here two birds I see ; 

'Tis some mistake, why wouldst thou bring this second bird to me? 

Then the fowler said, "There was no change of purpose on my part, 
nor am I anxious to present the second goose to some one else : moreover 
only one was caught in the snare I set,'' and in explanation he said : 

The goose with lines like ruddy gold all running down his breast. 
Caught in my snare I hither bring, king, at thy behest. 

This splendid bird himself still free sat by the captive's side. 
The while with kindly human speech his friend to cheer he tried. 

And he then after this manner proclaimed the virtues of Sumukha. 
"As soon as he knew that the Dhatarattha goose was caught, he 
stayed and consoled his friend and on my approach he came to meet 
me and remained poised in the air, conversing pleasantly with me in. 
human language and telling of the virtues of the Dhatarattha, and after 
thus softening my heart [373] he once more took his stand in front of 
his friend. Then I, sire, on hearing the eloquence of Sumukha was 
converted and let the Dhatarattha loose. Thus was the release of 
Dhatarattha from tlie snare and my coming here with these geese all 
owing to Sumukha." On being told this the king was anxious to hear a 
sermon from Sumukha, and while the fowler was still paying honour to 
him, the sun set, lamps were lighted, and a crowd of warrior chiefs and 
others gathered together and queen Khema with an escort of divers 
bands of dancers took her seat on the right of the king, and at this 
moment the king, desiring to persuade Sumukha to speak, uttered this 
stanza ; 

Why, Sumukha, dost hold thy tongue? Is it from awe, I pray, 
That in my royal presence thou hast not a word to say? 

Hearing this, Sumukha, to show he was not afraid, said : 

I fear not, Kasi lord, to speak amidst thy royal train. 
Nor, should occasion fit arrive, would I from words refrain. 

' The text here is unsatisfactory, giving ddanani, while the commentator's gloss 
gives ' feeding-ground,' as if it were adanani, so ddanesanam perhaps should be 
adnnesanam, of. Jat. iv. 223. 4, ghasesanam care. 

^ Taking the v.l. ghatassito. 



198 The Jataka. Booh XXI. 

Hearing this, the king, desirous to make him speak at greater 
length, reviling him, said : 

No archers clad in mail, no helm', no leather shield I see. 
No escort bold of horse or foot, no cars, no infantry. 

1 see no yellow gold, no town with goodly buildings crowned, 
No watch tower made impregnable with moat encircling round. 
Entrenched wherein by Sumukha will nought to fear be found. 

[374] When the king had in this wise asked why he was not teiTified, 
Sumukha replied in this stanza : 

No escort for a guard I want, no town or wealth need I, 
'Midst pathless air we find a way and travel through the sky. 

If thou wert stablished in the truth, we fain to thee would teach 
Some useful lesson for thy good in wise and subtle speech. 

But if thou art a liar, false, one of ignoble strain. 
This fowler's words of eloquence appeal to thee in vain. 

On hearing this the king said, " Why speakest thou of me as lying and 
ignoble? What have I done?" Then Sumukha said, "Well, listen to 
me," and he spoke as follows : 

At brahmins' bidding thou didst make this Khema, lake of fame. 
And didst to birds at twice five points immunity proclaim. 

Within this peaceful pool thus fed with streams serene and pure, 
Birds ever found abundant food and lived a life secure. 

Hearing this noised abroad we came to visit that fair scene. 
And snared by thee we found alas ! thy promise false had been. 

But under cover of a lie each act of sinful greed 

Forfeits rebirth as man or god, and straight to hell must lead. 

[375] Thus did he even in the midst of his retinue put the king to 
shame. Then the king said to him, "I did not have you caught, Sumukha, 
to kill you and eat your flesh, but hearing how wise you were I was 
anxious to listen to your eloquence," and, making the matter clear, he 
said : 

No sin was mine, O Sumukha, nor seized I you through greed. 

Your fame for wisdom and deep thought, 'twas this that caused the deed. 

'Haply if here they may declare some true and helpful word,' 
'Twas so I bade the fowler seize and bring thee here, bird. 

On hearing this Sumukha said, " You have acted wrongly, sire," and 

he spoke as follows : 

We could not speak the word of truth, awed by approaching death. 
Nor when in death's last agony we draw our parting breath. 

2 Who would a bird with bird decoy, or beast with beast pursue, 
Or with a text a preacl^r trap, nought base would he eschew. 

' I do not find either hita or the commentator's gloss cdtipala : it is probably some 
■weapon or a piece of defensive armour. ^ 

2 Thia line occurs supra, p. 139, where see note 



No. 534. 199 

And whoso utters noble words, intent on action base, 

Both here and in the next world sinks from bliss to woeful place. 

Be not o'erjoyed in glory's hour, in danger not distrest. 
Make good defects, in trouble strive to do thy very best. 

[376] Sages arrived at life's last stage, the goal of death in view, 

After a righteous course on earth, to heaven their way pursue. 

Hearing this cleave to righteousness, sire, and straight release 
This royal Dhatarattha bird, the paragon of geese. 

Hearing this the king said : 

Go, fetch ye water for their feet, and throne of solid worth, 
Lo ! from his cage I have set free the noblest bird on earth, 

Together with his captain bold, so able and so wise, 
Taught with his king in weal and woe ever to sympathise. 

Sure such an one right well deserves e'en as his lord to fare. 
Just as he was prepared with him both life and death to share. 

Hearing the king's words they fetched seats for them and as they 
sat there they washed their feet with scented water and anointed them 
with oil an hundredfold refined. 



[377] The Master, in explaining the matter, said : 

The royal bird sat on a throne, eight-footed, burnished bright, 
All solid gold, with Kasi cloth o'erspread, a splendid sight. 

And next his king sat Sumukha, his trusty captain bold, 
Upon a couch with tiger-skin o'erspread, and all of gold. 

To them full many a Kasi lord in golden bowls did bring. 
Choice gifts of dainty food to eat, the offerings of their ,king. 



"When this food had been thus served to them, the Kasi king, to 
welcome them, himself took a golden bowl and ofiered it to them, and they 
from it ate honey and parched grain and drank sugar-water. Then the 
Great Being, taking note of the king's ofiering and the grace with which it 
was made, entered into friendly converse with him. 



The Master, to clear up the matter, said : 

Thinking, 'How choice the gifts this lord of Kasi offered us,' 
The bird, skilled in the ways of kings, made his inquiries thus : 

'Dost thou, my lord, enjoy good health and is all well with thee^ 
I trust thy realm is flourishing and ruled in equity. 

king of geese, my health is good and all is well with me ; 
My realm is very flourishing and ruled in equity. 

' The following twelve lines occur supra, p. 183. 



200 The Jataka. Booh XXI. 

Hast thou true men to counsel thee, free from all stain and blame, 
Eeady to die, if need there be, for thy good cause and name ? 

I have true Inen to counsel me, free from all stain and blame, 
Eeady to die, if need there be, for my good cause and name. 

Hast thou a wife of equal birth, obedient, kind in word. 

With children blest, good looks, fair name, compliant with her lord? 

I have a wife of equal birth, obedient, kind in word. 

With children blest, good looks, fair name, compliant with her lord. 

[378] And is thy realm in happy case, from all oppression free. 
Held by no arbitrary sway, but ruled with equity? 

My kingdom is in happy case, from all oppression free, 
Held by no arbitrary sway, but ruled with equity. 

Dost drive bad men out from the land, good men to honour raise, 
Or dost thou righteousness eschew, to follow evil ways? 

I drive bad men out from the land, good men to honour raise. 
All wickedness I do eschew and follow righteous ways. 

Dost mark the span of life, O king, how quickly it is sped. 

Or drunk with madness dost regard the next world free from dread ? 

I mark the span of life, bird, how quickly it is sped. 
And, standing fast in virtues ten, the next world never dread. 

Almsgiving, justice, penitence, meek spirit, temper mild. 
Peace, mercy, patience, charity, with morals undefiled — 

These graces firmly planted in my soul are clear to see. 
Whence springs rich harvest of great joy and happiness for me. 

But Sumukha though knowing nought of evil we had done, 
Eight heedlessly gave vent to words in harsh and angry tone. 

Things I knew not were to my charge by this bird wrongly laid. 
In language harsh. Herein, methinks, scant wisdom was displayed. 



[379] On hearing this Sumukha thought, "This virtuous king is angry, 
because I upbraided him : I will win his forgiveness," and he said : 

I sinned against thee, lord of men, and words of rashness spake. 
But when this royal goose was caught my heart was like to break. 

As earth bears with all living things, as father with his son, 
Do thou, mighty king, forgive the wrong that we have done. 

Then the king took the bird up and embraced him and seating him 
on a golden stool he accepted his confession of error, and said : 

I thank thee, bird, that thou shouldst ne'er thy nature true conceal, 
iThou breakest down my stubborn will ; upright art thou, I feel. 

And with these words the king, being highly pleased with the exposi- 
tion of the Law by the Great Being, and with the straightforward speech 
of Sumukha, thought, " When one is pleased, one ought to act so as to 
show one's pleasure,'' and yielding his royal splendour to the birds, he said : 

' For the phrase khilam pabhindati, of. PausboU's edition of the Sutta Nipdta, 
973, and the Glossary, Pt. II. p. 92. 



No. 534. 201 

Whate'er of silver, gold, and pearls, rich gems and precious gear 
In Kasi's royal town is stored within my palace here, 

[380] Copper and iron, shells and pearls, and jewels numberless. 
Ivory, yellow sandal wood, deer skins and costly dress. 
This wealth and lordship over all, 1 give you to possess. 

And with such-like words honouring both birds with the white 
umbrella he handed over to them his kingdom. Then the Great Being, 
conversing with the king, said : 

Since thou art fain to honour us, be pleased, O lord of men. 
To be our Master, teaching us those royal virtues ten. 

And then if thy approval and consent we haply win. 

We would take formal leave of thee, and go to see our kin. 

He gave them leave to go, and, while the Bodhisatta was still preaching 
the Law, the sun arose. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

The livelong night in deepest thought the king of Kasi spent. 
Then to that noble bird's request straight yielded his consent. 



When he had thus got his permission to depart, the Bodhisatta, saying, 
" Be vigilant and rule your kingdom in righteousness," established the 
king in the five moral laws. [381] And the king offered them parched 
corn with honey and sugar-water in golden dishes, and when they had 
finished their meal, after doing them homage with scented wreaths and 
similar offerings, the king himself lifted the Bodhisatta on high in a 
golden cage, and queen Khema lifted Sumukha on high. Then at sunrise 
they opened the window and saying, " Sirs, begone," they let them loose. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

Then as the sun began to rise and break of day was nigh*. 
Soon from their sight they vanished quite in depths of azure sky. 



One of them, the Great Being, flying up from the golden cage, 
remained poised in the air, and saying, " O sire, be not troubled, but be 
vigilant and abide in our admonition," he thus comforted the king, and 
taking Sumukha with him he made straight for Cittakuta. And those 
ninety thousand geese issuing forth from the Golden Cave settled on the 

ratyd vivasane. Note ratya for rattiyd. The line occurs in Jdt. iv, 24X. 17, 



202 The Jataha. Booh XXI. 

high table-land, and on seeing the two birds coming they set out to meet 
them and escorted them home. And thus accompanied by a flock of their 
kinsfolk they reached the plateau of Cittakuta. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

Seeing their chiefs all safe and sound returned from haunts of men. 
The wingfed flock with noisy cries welcomed them back again. 

Thus circling round their lord in whom they trust, these ruddy geese 
Paid all due honour to their king, rejoiced at his release. 



While thus escorting their king, these geese asked him, saying, " How, 
sire, did you escape ? " The Great Being told them of his escape by the 
help of Sumukha, and of the action of king Sailiyama and his courtiers. 
On hearing this, the flock of geese in their joy sang their praises, saying, 
"Long' live Sumukha, captain of our host, and long live the king and the 
fowler. May they be happy and free from sorrow." 



[382] The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

Thus all whose hearts are full of love succeed in what they do. 
E'en as these geese back to their friends once more in safety flew. 

This has been fully related in the OuUahamsa Birth. 

The Master here ended his story and identified the Birth : " At that time the 
fowler was Channa, queen Khema was the nun Khema, the king was Sariputta, 
the king's retinue the followers of Buddha, Sumukha was Auanda, and the goose- 
king was I myself." 



No. 535. 

SUDHABHOJANA-JATAKA^ 

" No huckster J," etc. This was a story told by the Master, while dwelliug at 
Jetavana, concerning a liberally minded Brother. He was said to be a man of 
gentle birth,- living at Savatthi, who after hearing the Law preached by the 
Master was converted and adopted the religious Hfe. Being perfected in the 
moral virtues and furnished with the dhuta precepts' and with a heart full of love 
for his fellow priests he thrice every day zealously ministered to the service of 
the Buddha, the Law, and the Assembly, and showed himself exemplary in con- 

1 Beading ciram jivantu for naciram jlvantu, as in the previous story, p. 185, supra. 
^ Compare vol. i. No. 78, IllUa-Jataka. 
'3 Hardy's Eastern Monaehism, p. 9, Jdt. in. 483. 13. 



No. 535. 203 

duct and devoted to charity. Fulfilling the obligations of kindly civility i, what- 
ever he received, so long as there were any recipients, he would give away till he 
was himself without food. And his liberality and charitable disposition were 
noised abroad in the Assembly of the Brethren. So one day the topic was started 
in the Hall of Truth, how that a certain Brother was so liberally minded and 
devoted to charity that if he received only sufficient drink to flU the hollow of 
the hand, free from all greed, he would give it to his fellow priests — his will 
being even as that of a Bodhisatta. The Master by his divine sense of hearing 
caught what they were saying, and issuing forth from his Perfumed Chamber 
drew nigh and asked what was the nature of their discussion. And when they 
answered, " It was so and so," he said, " This Brother of old. Brethren, was far 
from liberal, nay, so stingy that he would not give so much as a drop of oil on 
the tip of a blade of grass. So I converted and made him self-denying and by 
praising the fruits of charity I firmly established him in almsgiving ; so that on 
receiving water just enough to fill the hollow of the hand he would say, 'I will 
not drink a drop without giving some away,' and he received a boon at my hands, 
and as a result of his almsgiving he became liberally minded and devoted to 
charity," and with these words he told a story of the past. 



Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was king of Benares there lived 
a wealthy householder possessed of eighty crores and the king conferred 
on him the oflSce of Treasurer. Being thus honoured by the king and 
highly esteemed by citizens and country folk alike, he was one day dwelling 
upon his worldly prosperity, and he thought, "This glory was not won by 
me by slothfulness and sinful acts in a former existence [383] but was 
attained by accomplishing deeds of virtue ; it behoves me to make my 
salvation sure in the future." So he sought the king's presence and 
addressed him thus, "In my house, sire, is treasure amounting to eighty 
crores : accept it from me." And when the king said, " I have no need of 
your riches ; I have abundant wealth : henceforth take and do whatever 
you like with it," he said, "Can I, sire, bestow my money in charity?" 
The king said, " Do as you please " : and he had six alms-halls built, one at 
each of the four city gates, one in the heart of the city and one at the door 
of his dwelling-house, and by a daily expenditure of six hundred thousand 
pieces of money he set on foot almsgiving on a grand scale, and so long as 
he lived he dispensed alms and instructed his sons, saying, " See that you 
do not break away from this tradition of mine, of giving alms,'' and at the 
close of his life he was reborn as Sakka. His son, in like manner giving 
iilms, was reborn as Oanda, Canda's son as Suriya, Suriya's son as Matali, 
Matali's son as Paficasikha. Now PaJicasikha's son, the sixth in descent, 
was the Treasurer named Maccharikosiya (the Millionaire Miser) and 
he still owned eighty crores. But he thought, " My forefathers were 
fools. They flung away the wealth that was so sorely scraped together, 
but I will guard my treasure. I will not give a penny to a soul." And 
he demolished and burned down the alms-hall and became a confirmed 
miser. So the beggars assembled at his gate and stretching forth their 
arms cried with a loud voice, " Lord High Treasurer, do not away with 
' saraniya, see Senart's Mahavastu, vol. i. p. 599, Jat. n, 224. 8. 



204 The Jataha. Booh XXI. 

the tradition of your forefathers, but give alms." On hearing this the 
people blamed him, saying, " Maccharikosiya has done away with the 
tradition of his family." Being ashamed he set a watch to prevent the 
beggars from standing at his gate, and being -thus left utterly destitute 
they never again set eyes upon his door. Thenceforth he continued to 
roll money together ', but he neither enjoyed it himself nor shared it with 
his wife and children. He lived on rice with its red powder, served with 
sour gruel, and wore coarse garments, being merely the filaments of roots 
and stalks of berries, shading his head with a parasol of leaves, and he 
rode upon a crazy old chariot, yoked to worn-out oxen. Thus all this 
wicked fellow's money [384] was as it were a cocoa-nut found by a dog^. 
Now one day when he was going to wait upon the king he thought he would 
take the sub-treasurer' with him, and at the moment when he reached his 
house he found the sub-treasurer seated in the midst of his wife and children, 
and eating some rice porridge prepared with powdered sugar to sweeten if 
and cooked with fresh ghee. On seeing Maccharikosiya he rose from his 
seat and said, " Come and sit on this couch, Lord High Treasurer, and have 
some rice porridge with me." When he saw the rice porridge, his mouth 
watered and he longed to partake of it, but the thought occurred to him, 
"If I should take some porridge, when the sub-treasurer comes to my house 
I shall have to make him some return of hospitality and in this way my 
money will be wasted. I will not eat it." Then on being pressed again 
and again he refused, saying, "I have already dined; I am sated." But 
while the sub-treasurer was enjoying his food, he sat looking on with his 
mouth watering, and when the meal was ended he repaired with him to the 
palace. On returning home he was overwhelmed with a craving for rice 
porridge, but thought, ", If I should say I wanted to eat rice porridge, a lot 
of people would also want to eat it and a quantity of husked rice and the 
like would be wasted. I will not say a word to a creature." So night 
and day he passed his time thinking of nothing but porridge, but from 
fear of spending his money he told no one and kept his craving to himself. 
But being unable to bear with it he gradually grew paler and paler, and 
so through fear of wasting his substance he spoke of his craving to no one, 
and by and bye becoming very weak he lay down, hugging his bed. Then 
his wife came to see him and stroking his back with her hand she inquired, 
"Is my lord ill?" "Ill yourself!" he cried, "I am quite well." "My 

' samgharati, Jdt. ii. 413. 24, iv. 36. 16, and samghara, Jdt. v. 222. 16. 

' Evidently a proverb to denote a useless possession. 

3 anusetthi here clearly denotes some official subordinate to the Lord High 
Treasurer. See Pick's Die Sociale Gliederung im nordSstlichen Indien zu Buddha's 
Zeit, note on pp. 167, 168. 

* For madhura we should perhaps read madhu, honey, which occurs as one of the 
ingredients of the porridge on the next page of the text. 



No. 535. 205 

lord, you have grown pale. Have you anything on your mind ? Is the 
king displeased or have you been treated with disrespect by your children ? 
Or have you conceived a -craving for something ? " " Yes, I have a crav- 
ing." " Tell me what it is, my lord." " Can you keep a secret ] " " Yes, 
I will be silent about any cravings that ought to be kept secret." [385] 
But even so, through fear of wasting his substance he had not the courage 
to tell her, but being repeatedly pressed by her he said, " My dear, one day 
I saw the sub-treasurer eating rice porridge prepared with ghee, honey, and 
powdered sugar, and from that day I have had a craving to eat the same 
kind of porridge." "Poor wretch, are you so badly off? I wUl cook 
porridge enough for all the inhabitants of Benares." Then he felt just as 
if he had been struck on the head with a stick. Being angry with her he 
said, " I am well aware that you are very rich. If it comes from your 
family, you may cook and give rice porridge to the whole city." " Well 
then I -will make and cook enough for the dwellers in a single street." 
" What have you to do with them? Let them eat what belongs to them." 
" Then I will make enough for seven households taken at random here and 
there.'' "What are they to you ? " " Then I will cook it for the attend- 
ants in this house." " What are they to you? " " Well, then, I will cook 
for our kinsfolk only." "What are they to you?" "Then I will cook, my 
lord, for you ajid me." " And pray who are you ? It is not allowable in 
your case." " I will cook it for you only, my lord." " Pray do not cook 
it for me : if you cook it in the house, a lot of people will look for it. But 
just give me a measure of husked rice, a quartern of mUk, a pound ^ of 
sugar, a pot of honey and a cooking vessel, and going into the forest I will 
there cook and eat my porridge." She did so, and bidding a slave take it 
all he ordered him to go and stand in such and such a place. Then sending 
the slave forward, all alone he made himself a veil and in this disguise he 
went there and by the river side at the foot of a shrub he had an oven 
made and firewood and water brought to him and he said to the slave, 
" Go and stand in yonder road and, if you see anyone, make a sign to me, 
and when I call you come back to me. " Sending off the slave he made a 
fire and cooked his porridge. At that moment Sakka, king of heaven, 
contemplating the splendid city of the gods, ten thousand leagues in 
extent, [386] and the golden street sixty leagues long, and Vejayanta^ 
reared a thousand leagues high, and Sudhamma^ compassing five hundred 
leagues, and his throne of yellow marble, sixty leagues in extent, 
and his white umbrella with its golden wreath, five leagues in cir- 
cumference, and his own person accompanied with a glorious array of 

' oceTiara must be a weight or measure of capacity. Can it be akin to acchera 
(Marathi) a half-sher? 

2 Saltka's palace. 

3 Sakka's hall of justice. 



206 The Jataha. Book XXI. 

twenty-five millions of heavenly nymphs — contemplating, I say, all this 
glory of his he thought, " What can I have done to have attained to such 
honour as this?" And he saw in his mind's eye the almsgiving he had 
established when he was Lord High Treasurer at Benares, and then he 
thought, " Where are my descendants born ? " and considering the matter 
he said, " My son Cauda was born in an angel-form, and his son was Suriya." 
And marking the birth of all of them, "What," he cried, "has been the 
fate of the son of Paiicasikha ? " And on reflection he saw that the tra- 
dition of the race had been done away with, and the thought occurred to 
him, " This wicked fellow being niggardly neither enjoys his wealth him- 
self nor gives aught to others : the tradition of the race has been destroyed 
by him. When he dies he will be reborn in hell. By admonishing him 
and by re-establishing my tradition I will show him how to be reborn in 
the city of the gods." So he summoned Cauda and the rest and saying, 
" Come, we will visit the haunts of men: the tradition of our family has 
been abolished by Maccharikosiya, the alms-halls have been burned down 
and he neither enjoys wealth himself nor gives aught to others, but now 
being desirous of eating porridge and thinking, ' If it is cooked in the 
house, the porridge will have to be given to someone else as well,' he has 
gone into the forest and is cooking it all alone. We will go and convert 
him and teach him the fruits of almsgiving. If however he were asked by 
all of us at once to give us some food, he would fall dead on the spot. I 
will go first and when I have asked him for porridge and have taken my 
seat, then do you come, one after another, disguised as brahmins, and beg 
of him." So saying he himself in the likeness of a brahmin approached 
him and cried, " Ho ! which is the road to Benares ? " Then Macchari- 
kosiya said, "Have you lost your wits? Do you not even know the way 
to Benares? Why are you coming this way ? Get you gone from hence." 
Sakka,'pretending not to hear wh-at he said, came close up to him, asking 
him what he said. [387] Then he bawled, " I say, you deaf old brahmin, 
why are you coming this way ? Go yonder.'' Then Sakka said, " Why do 
you bawl so loud ? Here I see smoke and a fire, and rice porridge is cook- 
ing. It must be some occasion for entertaining brahmins. I too when 
the brahmins are being fed will take somewhat. Why are you driving me 
away'? " " There is no entertainment of brahmins here. Be off with you.'' 
" Then why are you so angry ? When you eat your meal, I will take a 
little." He said, " I will not give you even a single lump of boiled rice. 
This scanty food is only just enough to keep me alive, and even this was 
got by begging. You go and look for your food elsewhere " — and this he 
said in reference to the fact of his having asked his wife for the rice — and 
he spoke this stanza : 

1 For nicchubhati see Pisohel's Grammatik der Praknt-Sprachen, p. 61, and 
Trenokner's Milinda^anho, p. 423. The participle chuddlia occurs, Jdt. v. 302. 4. 



No. 535. 207 

No huckster I to buy or vend, 
No stores are mine to give or lend : 
This dole of rice 'twas hard to gain, 
'Tis scarce enough to serve us twain. 

On hearing this Sakka said, " I too with honey-sweet voice will repeat 
a stanza for you ; hearken to me," and though he tried to stop him, saying, 
"I do not want to hear your stanza," Sakka repeated a couple of stanzas: 

From little one should little give, from moderate means likewise. 
From much give much : of giving nought no question can arise. 

This then I tell thee, Kosiya, give alms of that is thine : 
Eat not alone, no bliss is his that by himself shall dine. 
By charity thou mayst ascend the noble path divine. 

[388] On hearing his words he said, " This is a gracious saying of 
thine, brahmin ; when the porridge is cooked, thou shalt receive a little. 
Pray, take a seat." Sakka sat down on one side. When he was seated, 
Canda in like manner drew nigh and starting a conversation in the same 
way, though Maccharikosiya kept ti-ying to stop him, he spoke a couple of 
stanzas : 

Vain is thy sacrifice and vain the craving of thy heart, 

Shouldst thou eat food and grudge to give thy guest some little part. 

This then I tell thee, Kosiya, give alms of that is thine, etc. 

On hearing his words, the miser very reluctantly said, " Well, sit 
down, and you shall have a little porridge." So he went and sat down 
near Sakka. Then Suriya in like manner drew nigh and starting a con- 
versation in the same way, though the miser tried to stop him, he spoke a 
couple of stanzas : 

Real thy sacrifice nor vain the craving of thy heart, 

Shouldst thou not eat thy food alone, but give thy guest a part. 

This then I tell thee, Kosiya, etc. 

On hearing his words the miser with great reluctance said, " Well, sit 
down, and you shall have a little." So Suriya went and sat by Canda. 
Then Matali in like manner drew nigh and starting a conversation, though 
the miser tried to stop him, spoke these stanzas : 

Who offers gifts to lake or flood of Gaya's stream that laves 
Or Timbaru or Dona shrine with rapid-flowing waves. 
Herein gains fruit of sacrifice and craving of his heart, 
If with a guest he shares his food nor aits and eats apart. 

This then I tell thee, Kosiya, etc. 

[389] On hearing his words also, overwhelmed as it were with a moun- 
tain peak, he reluctantly said, " Well, sit down, and you shall have a 
little." Matali came and sat by Suriya. Then Fancasikha in like manner 
drew nigh and starting a conversation, though the miser tried to stop him, 
spoke a couple of stanzas : 



208 The Jataha. Book XXI. 

Like fish that swallows greedily hook fastened to a line 
Is he who with a guest at hand all by himself shall dine. 

This then I tell thee, Kosiya, etc. 
Maccharikosiya on hearing this, with a painful effort and groaning 
aloud, said, "Well, sit down, and you shall have a little." So Faficasikha 
went and sat by Matali. And when these five brahmins had just taken 
their seats, the ])orridge was cooked. Then Kosiya taking it from the 
oven told the , brahmins to bring their leaves. Remaining seated as 
they were they stretched forth their hands and brought leaves of a 
creeper from the Himalayas. Kosiya on seeing them said, " I cannot 
give you any porridge in these large leaves of yours : get some leaves of 
the acacia and similar trees." They gathered such leaves and each one was 
as big as a warrior's shield. So he helped all of them to some porridge 
with a spoon. By the time he had helped the last of all, there was still 
plenty left in the pot. After serving the five brahmins he himself sat 
down, holding the pot. At that moment Pancasikha rose up and putting 
off his natural form was changed into a dog and came and stood in front 
of them and made water. Each of the brahmins covered up his porridge 
with a leaf. A drop of the dog's water fell on the back of Kosiya's hand. 
[390] The brahmins fetched water in their jars and mixing it with the 
porridge pretended to eat it. Kosiya said, " Give me too some water and 
after washing my hand I will take some food." "Fetch water for your- 
self," they said, " and wash your hand." " I gave you porridge ; give me 
a little water." "We do not make a business of exchanging alms'." 
" Well then guard this cooking pot and, after I have washed my hand, I 
will come back,'' and he descended to the river side. At that moment 
the dog filled the pot with urine. Kosiya on seeing him make water took 
a big stick and drew nigh, threatening him. The dog was now transformed 
into a spirited blood horse and, as it pursued him, it assumed various 
colours. Now it was black, now white, now gold-coloured, now dappled. 
At one time high, at another time low of stature. Thus in many different 
appearances it pursued Maccharikosiya, who frightened with the fear of 
death drew nigh to the brahmins, while they flew up and stood fixed in 
the air." On seeing their supernatural power he said : 

Ye noble brahmins, standing in mid air, 
Why does this hound of yours thus strangely wear 
A thousand varied forms, though one he be. 
And tell me truly, brahmins, who are ye? 

On hearing this, Sakka, the king of heaven, said : 

Canda and Suriya lo ! both are here. 
And Matali the heavenly charioteer, 
I Sakka am, chief god of Thirty-Three, 
And Pancasikha there is chasing thee. 

1 Any arrangement for the exchange of alms was forbidden. Cf. Jataka n. notes 
on pp. 57 and 214, English version. 



No. 535. 209 

And celebrating Paficasikha's fame Sakka spoke this stanza ; 

With tabour, drum, and tambourine they rouse him from his sleep, 
And as he waljes, glad music makes his heart with joy to leap. 

On hearing his words Kosiya asked, " By what acts do men attain 
to heavenly glory such as this?" "They that do not practise charity, 
evil doers and misers reach not the angel-world, but are reborn in hell." 
And by way of showing this Sakka said : 

[391] Whoe'er are miserly niggards born. 
Or priests and holy brahmins scorn, 
Their earthly frame now laid aside, 
In hell, dissolved by death, abide. 

And spe&king the following stanza, to show how those that are stead- 
fast in righteousness attain to the angel-world, he said : 

Steadfast in right who heaven would win 
Give alms and keep themselves from sin. 
And, with their body laid aside 
By death's decay, in heaven abide. 

After these words Sakka said, "Kosiya, we have not come to you for 

the sake of the porridge, but from a feeling of pity and compassion for 

you are we come," and to make it clear to him he said : 

Thou, though to us in former births akin, 
A miser art, a man of wrath and sin; 
'Tis for thy sake we have come down to earth. 
To avert from thee sin's doom — in hell rebirth. 

Hearing this Kosiya thought, " They ifcell me they are my well-wishers ; 

plucking me out of hell they would fain establish me in heaven." And 

being highly pleased he said : 

In that ye thus admonish me, ye doubtless seek my good, 
I too will follow your advice, so far as understood. 

Henceforth I'll cease from stingy ways, from sinful deed abstain, 
[392] Give alms of all, nor e'en a cup, unshared', of water drain. 

Thus ever giving, Sakka, soon my wealth will minished be. 
Then will I orders take, and lusts of every kind^ will flee. 

Sakka after converting Maccharikosiya taught him the fruits of alms- 
giving and made him self-denying, and when by preaching the law he had 
established him in the five moral virtues, together with his attendant gods 
he returned to the angel-city. Maccharikosiya too went into the city of 
Benares and having asked the king's permission he bade them take and fill 
all the vessels they could lay hands on with his treasure and gave it to 
the beggars. And now he started from the Himavat upon the right-hand 
side and on a spot between the Ganges and a natural lake he built a hut 
of leaves and becoming an ascetic he lived on roots and wild berries. 

' For datvd reading 'datva, i.e. adatvd. 

" yathodhika, each in its own place. Cf. Jdtaka in. 381. 22 and iv. 437. 17. 

J. V. U 



210 The Jataha. Booh XXL 

There he dwelt a long time till he reached old age. At that time Sakka 
had four daughters, Hope, Faith, Glory, and Honour, who taking with 
them many a heavenly scented garland came to lake Anotatta, to disport 
themselves in the water, and after amusing themselves there seated them- 
selves on mount Manosila. Just at that moment Narada, a brahmin 
ascetic, went to the palace of the Thirty-Three to rest during the heat of 
the day and constructed a dwelling-place for the day in the bowers of 
Cittakuta in the Nanda grove. And holdiag in his hand the flower of 
the coral tree, to serve as a sunshade, he repaired to Golden Cave, the 
place where he dwelt on the top of Manosila. The nymphs on seeing this 
flower in his hand begged it from him. 

[393] The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

In Gandhamadana's lordly height. 
These nymphs, great Sakka's care, delight : 
To them a saint of world-wide fame 
With goodly bough in hand there came. 

This bough with flowers so pure and sweet 
Is deemed for gods and angels meet : 
No demon, none of mortal birth 
Can claim this flower of priceless worth. 

Then Faith, Hope, Glory, Honour, those 
Four maids with skins like gold, arose. 
And, peerless 'midst all nymphs confessed, 
The brahmin Narada addressed, 
'Give us, sage, this coral flower. 
If still to give is in thy power, 
As Sakka's self wS'll honour thee. 
And. thou in all things blest shalt be.' 

When Narada their prayer had heard. 
He straight a mighty quarrel stirred : 
' I need it not ; whom ye allow 
To be your qu^en shall claim the bough.' 

[394] The four nymphs on hearing what he said spoke this stanza : 

O Narada, supreme art thou. 
On whom thou wilt the boon bestow : 
Whom thou shalt with such gift invest, 
Amongst us shall be counted best. 

Narada, on hearing their words, addressing them said : 

Fair one', such counsel is not right; 
What brahmin strife would dare excite? 
Take to the lord of sprites your quest, 
If ye would know who's worst or best. 



Then the Master spoke this stanza : 

With pride of beauty mad and rage 
Excited by the cunning sage, 

1 sugatte. Though addressing the four, Narada singles out one nymph. Compare 
the analogous usage in the chorus of a Greek play. 



No. 535. . 211 

To Sakka, lord of sprites, they go, 
Who 'mongst them all is best to know. 

[395] As they stood asking this question, 

These nymphs so earnest in their quest 

Sakka with due respect addressed, 

Ye all in beauty equal are. 

Who thus with strife your peace would mar?' 

Being thus addressed by him they said : 

Narada, world-traversing, a sage of might. 
Truth-piercing, steadfast ever in the right. 
Thus spake to us on Gandhamadana's height ; 
'To Sakka, lord of spirits, straightway go, - 
If who is first or last ye fain would know.' 

Hearing this Sakka thought, "If I shall say that one of these four 
daughters of mine is virtuous beyond the others, the rest will be angry. 
This is a case impossible for me to decide ; I will send them to Kosiya, 
the ascetic in the Himalayas : he shall decide the question for them." So 
he said, " I cannot decide your case. In the Himalayas is an ascetic called 
Kosiya: to him I will send a cup of my ambrosia. He eats nothing without 
sharing it with another, and in giving he shows discrimination by bestow- 
ing it upon the virtuous. Whichsoever of you shall receive food at his 
hand, she must be the best amongst you." And so saying he repeated 
this stanza : 

The sage that dwells in yon vast wood 
Will not unshared touch any food ; 
Kosiya with judgment gifts confers. 
To whom- he gives, first place is hers. 

[396] So he summoned Matali and sent him to the ascetic, and in 
sending him he repeated the following stanza : 

On Himavat slopes where Ganges glides 
Towards the south a saint resides : 
Ambrosia, Matali, take to the saint. 
For food and drink he's waxing faint. 



Then the Master said ; 



At the god's behest went Matali, 
On a car with a thousand steeds rode he; 
Unseen he soon by the hermitage stood 
And offered the sage ambrosial food. 



Kosiya took it and even as he stood spoke a couple of stanzas : 

A flame of sacrifice while I did raise^. 
The sun that drives away all gloom to praise, 
Sakka supreme o'er spirit-world that stands — 
Who else? — ambrosia placed within my hands. 

^ With udaggihutta compare udayudha, with uplifted weapon. 

14—2 



212 The Jataka. Booh XXI. 

White like a pearl was it, beyond compare, 
Fragrant and pure, and marvellously fair. 
Never before seen by these eyes of mine ; 
What god puts in my hands this food divine ? 

Then Matali said : 

[397] I come, mighty sage, by Sakka sent, 

In haste to bring thee heavenly nutriment : 
This best of food, pray, eat without all fear. 
Thou seest here Matali, heaven's charioteer. 

By eating this twelve evil things are slain. 
Thirst, hunger, discontent, fatigue, and pain, 
Cold, heat, rage, enmity, strife, slander, sloth — 
This heavenly essence eat thou, nothing loth. 

Hearing this Kosiya, to make it clear that he had taken a vow upon 
him, spoke this stanza : 

'Twas wrong to eat alone I thought, so took a vow one day 
To touch no food, unless I gave some part of it away. 
To eat alone is ne'er approved by men of noble mind. 
Whoso with others does not share no happiness may find. 

And when Matali questioned him, saying, " Holy sir, what did you 
discover was wrong in eating without giving a portion to others that you 
took this vow upon you ? " he answered : 

All who commit adultery or womenkind do slay. 

Who holy men curse and revile or friendly souls betray. 

And misers, worst of all — that I may ne'er be ranked with such. 

Not e'en a drop of water I unshared will ever touch. 

[398] On men and women both alike my gifts shall ever flow. 

Sages will praise all such as shall their goods in alms bestow; 
All that are generous in this world and niggard ways eschew, 
Approved by all, will ever be esteemed good men and true. 

On hearing this Matali stood before him in a visible form. At that 
moment these four heavenly nymphs stood at the four points of the com- 
pass. Glory at the east, Hope at the south, Faith at the west. Honour 
at the north. 



The Master, to clear up the matter, said : 

Four nymphs with golden forms so bright, 
Hope, Glory, Faith, and Honour hight, 
At Sakka's bidding earthward sent, 
To Kosiya's cell their footsteps bent. 

The maids with forms that glowed like flame 
To each of earth's four quarters came; 
'Fore Matali {now god confest) 
The sage o'erjoyed one thus addressed, 

' Who art thou, nymph, like morning star, 
lUuming Eastern skies afar? 



No. 535. 213 



Thy form in robe' of gold arrayed 
Tell me thy name, heavenly maid.' 

[399] ' I Glory am, man's honoured friend, • 
The sinless soul prompt to defend: 
To claim this food, lo ! here am I ; 
With this my prayer, great sage, comply. 

I bliss confer on whom I will 
And all his heart's desire fulfil ; 
High priest, my name is Glory, know, 
On me thy heavenly food bestow.' 



On hearing this Kosiya said : 

Men may be skilful, virtuous, wise, 
.Excel in all their wits devise. 
Yet without thee they ne'er succeed; 
In this I blame thy evil deed. 

Another slothful, greedy, see. 
Low-born and ugly as may be: 
Blest by thy care and rich withal 
He makes one nobly borli his thrall. 

Thee then as false and dull, Glory, I recognise, 
Reckless in courting fools and laying low the wise ; 
No claim hast thou in sooth to seat or water-pot. 
Much less ambrosial food. Begone, I like thee not. 

[400] So did she straightway vanish from, sight. Then holding con- 
verse with Hope he said : 

Who art thou, maiden fair, with teeth so pure and white. 
With rings of burnished gold and spangled bracelets dight, 
In robe of watered sheen and wearing on thy head 
A sprig like ruddy flame by tufts of kusa fed ? 

Like a wild doe all but by hunter's arrow grazed. 
Thou lookst dull-eyed around as 'twere some creature dazed, 
softly-glancing maid, what comrade hast thou here. 
That through lone forest glade thou stray st without a fear? 

Then she spoke this stanza : 

No comrade have I here ; from Sakka's heavenly home 
Masakkasara called, angelic-born I come: 
To claim ambrosial food Hope now appears to thee; 
hearken, noble sage, and grant this boon to me. 

[401] On hearing this Kosiya said, " They tell me that whosoever 
pleases you, to him by accomplishing the fruition of hope you grant hope, 
and whosoever pleases you not, to him you grant it not. Success does not 
come to him through you in this case, but you bring about his destruction," 
and by way of illustration he said : 

' vein, which oocurs also Jat. v. 402. 10, and 405. 2, is probably some part of dress. 
Compare sarhvelli, v. 306. 6, explained by the scholiast as kacclia. Cf. Cullavagga, 
X. 16, Vinaya Texts Translation, in. p. 348 (S. B. E.). 



214 The Jataka. Book XXL 

Merchants through hope seek treasure far and wide, 
And taking ship on ocean's billows ride: 
There sometimes do they sink to rise no more, 
Or else escaping their lost wealth deplore. 

In hope their fields the farmers plough and till. 
Sow seeds and labour with their utmost skill; 
But should some plague, or drought afflict the soil 
No harvest will they reap for all their toil. 

Ease-loving men, led on by hope, take heart 
And for their lord's sake play a manly part, 
Oppressed by foes on every side they fall 
And fighting for their lord lose life and all. 

Grain-stores and wealth reuouncing for their kin. 
Through hope aspiring heavenly bliss to win, 
Long time harsh penances they undergo. 
And by bad ways attain to state of woe. 

Deceiver of mankind, thy suit is vain, 

Thy idle craving for this boon restrain. 

No claim hast thou to seat or water-pot: 

Much less to heavenly food. Begone, I like thee not. 

[402] She too on being rejected straightway vanished from sight. 
Then holding converse with Faith he spoke this stanza : 

Famed nymph in blaze of glory drest. 
Standing towards the ill-omened West, 
Thy form in robe of gold arrayed, 
Tell me thy name, illustrious maid. 

Then she repeated a stanza ; 

My name is Faith, man's honoured friend. 
The sinless soul prompt to defend : 
To claim this food, lo ! here am I ; 
With this my prayer, great sage, comply. 

Then Kosiya said, " Those mortals that in believing the woi-ds of first 
one and then another do this or that, do that which they ought not to do 
more often than that which they ought to do, and verily it is all done 
through you," and he repeated these stanzas : 

Through faith at times men freely alms dispense. 
Show self-control, restraint and abstinence: 
[403] At times again through thee from grace they fall, 
Slander and lie and cheat and steal withal. 

With wives, chaste, faithful, and of high degree, 
A man may circumspect and prudent be. 
May curb his passions well in such a case, 
Yet in some harlot his whole trust may place. 

Through thee, Faith, adultery is rife, 

Forsaking 1 good thou lead'st a sinful life. 

No claim hast thou to seat or water-pot : 

Much less ambrosial food. Begone, I like thee not. 

' rincati, Jataka v. 146. 19. 



No. 535. 215 

She too straightway vanished from sight. But Kosiya holding converse 
with Honour, as she stood on the north side, repeated these two stanzas : 

Like Dawn that gilds the skirts of hateful Night, 
So doth thy beauty burst upon my sight; 
[404] heavenly nymph in form so passing fair, 
Tell me thy name and who thou art declare. 

Like to a tender plant' whose roots are fed 

On soil o'er which devouring flames^ have spread. 

Its wealth of scarlet leaves by summer breezes shed. 

Why dost thou look at me with bashful air. 

Fain as it were to speak, yet standing silent there? 

Then she uttered this stanza : 

Honour am I, man's cherished friend. 
Who aid to righteoiis mortals lend; 
Lo here am I this food to claim, 
Yet scarcely dare my wish to frame; 
To woman suing counts as shame. 

On hearing this the ascetic repeated two stanzas : 

No need for thee to beg and sue, 
Eeceive what is thy right and due: 
I grant the boon thou durst not crave, 
Accept the food thou fain wouldst have. 

[405] Deign, nymph, aU golden clad, I pray. 
To feast within my cell this day: 
First honouring thee with dainties rare, 
I too this heavenly food would share. 

Then follow some stanzas inspired by divine wisdom : 

Thus Honour, glorious nymph, at his behest 
In Kosiya's home was welcomed as a guest : 
Fruits and perennial streams therein abound. 
And thronging saints are in its precincts found. 

Here flowering shrubs^ in a dense mass we see, 
The mango, piyal, bread-fruit, Judas-tree; 
Here sd,l and bright rose-apple deck the glade. 
There fig and banyan cast their holy shade. 
Here many a flower with fragrance scents the wind. 
Here peas and beans, panic and rice we find: 
Bananas everywhere rich clusters show. 
And bamboo reeds in thickest tangle grow. 

On the north side, hemmed in by smooth and level bank. 
And fed by purest streams, behold a sacred tank. 
There happy fish* in peace disport themselves at will. 
And 'midst abundant food enjoy to take their fiU. 

[406] There happy birds in peace enjoy abundant fare, 
Swans, herons, ospreys too, peacocks with plumage rare, 
Cuckoos and pheasants eke with ruddy geese are there. 

' ipomoea. 

' Virgil, Georgics i. 84. 

' Many trees and plants only known by botanical names have been omitted. 

* The names of many fish, for the most part unknown, are omitted. 



216 The Jataha. Book XXI. 

Hither do lions, tigers, boars resort their thirst to slake. 

This bears, hyenas, wolves are wont their drinking-place to make. 

The bufifalo, rhinoceros and gayal too are here. 

With antelope, elk, herds of swine, and red and other deer, 

And cats with ears like to a hare's in numbers vast appear. 

The mountain slopes are gaily pranked with flowers of varied shade 

And echo to the song of birds that haunt each forest glade. 

Thus did the Blessed One sing the praises of Kosiya's hermitage. And 

now to show forth the manner of the goddess Honour's entrance therein he 

said : 

[407] The fair one leaning on a branch, all clothed with foliage green. 
Like lightning from a thunder-cloud straight flashed upon the scene. 
For her was set a dainty couch ', rich drapings at its head, 
All wrought of fragrant kusa grass, with deer-skin overspread. 
And thus to Honour, heavenly nymph, the holy hermit spake: 
'For thy delight the couch is set; be pleased a seat to take.' 

The ascetic then pure water from the spring 
In freshly gathered leaves with haste did bring. 
And knowing what her inmost soul would crave 
The ambrosial food to her he gladly gave. 

As in her hands the welcome gift she pressed. 
The nymph thus overjoyed the saint addressed: 
'Worship to me and victory thou hast given, 
Lo ! now once more I'll seek my native heaven.' 

The maid intoxicate with pride of fame, 
With Kosiya's blessing, back to Indra came, 
'And see,' she cried, 'god of the thousand eyes, 
The amlDrosia's here — to me award the prize.' 

Then Sakka and his host of angels paid 
Due honour to the peerless heavenly maid, 
And as she sat on her new seat enthroned, 
Her presence gods and men adoring owned. 

[408] While thus honouring her this thought occurred to Sakka, 
" What can be the reason why Kosiya refusing it to the others gave the 
ambrosia to this one alone ? " To ascertain the reason of this he again- 
sent Matali. 



The Master, in making the matter clear, repeated this stanza : 

So Sakka, lord of the Thirty-Three, 
Once more addressing Matali, 
Said, 'Go and bid the saint explain 
Why Honour should the ambrosia gain.' 



In obedience to his word Matali, mounting the car called Vejayanta", 
departed thither. 

1 For koccha see Vinaya Texts, translated by Davids and Oldenberg, i. 34, and 
m. 165. 

2 Sakka's chariot. Of. Jat. i. 202. 23, ii. 254. 13, iv. 355. 17, vi. 103. 6. Else- 
where it is the name of Snkka's palace, as in v. 386. 1. 



No. 535. 217 

The Master, to explain the matter, said : 

So Matali then launched a oar to voyage through the air, 
With fittings all to match itself, in splendour wondrous fair. 
Its pole of gold, gold well refined, and all its framework built 
With ornament elaborate and overlaid with gilt. 

Peacocks in gold depicted were in numbers not a few, 

Horses and cows and elephants, tigers and panthers too. 

Here antelopes and deer- are seen as if prepared for fight, 

Here wrought in precious stones are jays and other birds in flight. 

To it they yoked a thousand royal steeds of golden hue, 

Each strong as youthful elephant, a splendid sight to view; 

[409] Their breasts in golden network clad, with wreaths begarlanded, 

With loosened trace i, at a mere word, swift as the wind they sped. 

As Matali this lordly car ascended with a bound 

The firmament in all ten points re-echoed to the sound : 

And as he journeyed through the air, he made the world to quake, 

And sky and sea and earth with all its rocks and woods did shake. 

Eight soon he gained the hermitage and wishing to declare 
Due reverence for the holy man he left one shoulder bare, 
And speaking to this brahmin sage, a wise and learned man. 
Well trained in holy lore, 'twas thus that Matali began : 

Hear now, Kosiya, the words of Indra, heavenly king, 
As to what he is fain to learn, this message, lo! I bring, 
' While Hope and Faith and Glory's claims thou wilt not recognise. 
Pray, why should Honour at thy hands alone receive the prize?' 



[410] On hearing his words the ascetic spoke this stanza : 

Glory to me, Matali, appears a "partial jade. 

While Faith, thou charioteer of gods, proves an inconstant maid, 

Hope ever a deceiver loves its promise to betray, 

Honour alone is stablished firm in holy virtue's way. 

And now in praise of her virtue he said : 

Maidens that still within their homes live, ever guarded well, 
Women now past their prime, and such as still with husbands dwell. 
In one and all should fleshly lust within their heart arise. 
At Honour's voice they check the thought and sinful passion dies. 

Where shafts and spears in battle's van are hurtling fast and free. 
And in the rout when comrades fall or turn them round and flee, 
At Honour's voice they check their flight e'en at the cost of life, 
^And panic-stricken as they were once more renew the strife. 

Just as the shore will stem the rush of billows from the main. 

So Honour too will oft the course of wicked folk restrain. 

Then, Matali, to Indra quick return and make it clear. 

That saints throughout the whole wide world all Honour's name revere. 

' asamgita, i.e. nUsanga, perhaps the Greek <reipa(p6pos, 

^ The scholiast would take it thus : ' And rallying round tlieir rescued lord once 
more renew the strife.' 



218 The Jataha. Book XXI. 

[411] On hearing this Matali repeated this stanza : 

Who was it, Kosiya, that did suggest this view to thee, 
Was it great Indra, Brahma, or Pajapatii may he? 
This Honour, mighty sage, he sure, to Indra owes her birth, 
And in the angel-world she ranks foremost of all in worth. 

While he was still speaking, at that very instant Kosiya became subject 
to re-birth. Then Matali said to him, " Kosiya, thy aggregate of life" is 
passing from thee : thy practice of charity' is ended. What hast thou to 
do with the world of men? We will now go to the angel-world," and 
being minded to conduct him thither he spoke this stanza : 

Come now, saint, and straightway mount the car so dear to me, 
And let me lead thee to the heaven where reign the Thirty-Three. 
Indra is longing sore for thee, to Indra's self akin. 
To-day thy way to fellowship with Indra thou shalt win. 

While Matali was yet still speaking, Kosiya passing away came into 
existence in the ranks of the gods without the intervention of parents* and 
mounting up took his stand upon the celestial car. Then Matali con- 
ducted liim into the presence of Sakka. Sakka on seeing him was glad at 
heart and gave him his own daughter Honour to wife, as his chief consort, 
and conferred on him a boundless sovereignty. 



On perceiving the state of things the Master said, " It is the merit of some 
illustrious beings that is thus purified," and he repeated the final stanza : 

'Tis thus the acts of holy men to happy issue lead. 
And evermore abides the fruit of meritorious deed. 
[412] Whoso beheld the ambrosial food to Honour that was given. 

Straight passed away to fellowship with Indra, lord of heaven. 

The Master here ended his discourse with these words, "Not now only, 
Brethren, but of old also I converted this niggardly fellow who was a confirmed 
miser," and so saying he identified the Birth thus : "At that time ITppalavanna 
was the nymph Honour, a Brother of lordly generosity was Kosiya, Ajiuruddha 
was Pancasikha, Ananda Matali, Kassapa Suriya, Moggallana Cauda, Sariputta 
Narada, and I myself was Sakka. 

1 The same three gods occur in Jdt. vi. 568. Pajapati here is clearly distinct from 
Brahma. 

^ Jataha I.-106, English version. 

' With danadhamma compare deyyadhamma, the usual term in Buddhist inscriptions 
for a pious gift or votive offering. 

* opapdtika is a being who springs into existence without the intervention of 
parents and, as it were, uncaused and seeming to appear by chance, but really due to 
the karma of a being who has passed away elsewhere. Buddhist Suttas, p. 213 (S.B.E. 

XI.). 



No. 536. 219 



No. 536. 

Kunala-jataka'. 

" This is the report and the fame thereof." This was a story told by the Master, 
while dwelling beside lake Kunala, concerning five hundred Brethren who were 
overwhelmed with discontent. Here follows the story in due order. The Sakiya 
and Koliya tribes had the river EohinI which flows between the cities of 
Kapilavatthu and Koliya confined by a single dam and by means of it 
cultivated their crops. In the month Jetthamflla^ when the crops began to 
flag and droop, the labourers from amongst the dwellers of both cities 
assembled together. Then the people of Koliya said, "Should this water 
be drawn off on both sides, it will not prove sufficient for both us and you. 
But our crops will thrive with a single watering ; give us then the water." The 
people of Kapilavatthu said, "When you have filled your garners with com, we 
shall hardly have the courage to come with ruddy gold, emeralds and copper coins, 
and with baskets and sacks in our hands, to hang about your doors. Our crops 
too will thrive with a single watering; give us the water." "We will not give it," 
they said. "Neither will we," said the others. As words thus ran high, one of 
them rose up and struck another a blow, and he in turn struck a third and thus 
it was that what with interchanging blows and spitefully touching on the origin 
of their princely families they increased the tumult. .The Koliya labourers said, 
"Be off with your people of Kapilavatthu [413], men who like dogs, jackals, and 
such like beasts, cohabited with their own sisters. What will their elephants and 
horses, their shields and spears avail against us?" The Sakiya labourers replied, 
"Nay, do you, wretched lepers', be off with your children, destitute and ill- 
conditioned fellows, who like brute beasts had their dwelhng in a hollow jujube 
tree {koll). What shall their elephants and horses, their spears and shields avail 
against us?" So they went and told the councillors appointed to such services 
and they reported it to the princes of their tribes. Then the Sakiyas said, "We 
will show them how strong and mighty are the men who cohabited with their 
sisters," and they sallied forth, ready for the fray. And the Koliyas said, "We will 
show them how strong and mighty are they who dwelt in the hollow of a jujube 
tree," and they too sallied forth ready for the fight. But other teachers tell the story 
thus, "When the female slaves of the Sakiyas and Koliyas came to the river to 
fetch water, and throwing the coils of cloth that they can'ied on their heads upon 
the ground were seated and pleasantly conversing, a certain woman took another's 
cloth, thinking it was her own; and when owing to this a quarrel arose, each 
claiming the coil of cloth as hers, gradually the people of the two cities, the serfs 
and the labourers, the attendants, headmen, councillors and viceroys, all of them 
sallied forth ready for battle." But the former version being found in many com- 
mentaries and being plausible is to be accepted rather than the other. Now it 
w3s at eventide that they would be sallying forth, ready for the fray. At that 
time the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi, and at dawnof day while contem- 
plating the world he beheld them setting out to the fight, and on seeing them he 
wondered whether if he were to go there the quarrel would cease, and he made 

1 The text of this Birth Story is not very satisfactory, aud in many places it is 
almost impossible to distinguish the words of the story itself from the explanations of 
the commentary. Compare Jdt. i. No. 74, Bukkhadhamma-Jdtalca and Dhammapada, 
p. 351 ; also Hardy's Manual, pp. 134 — 140. 

^ May and June. 

' Compare Eogers' translation of BuddliagJiosha's Parables, Ch. xxvi., for an account 
of Gotama's family. 



220 The Jataka. Booh XXI. 

up his mind and thought, " I will go there and, to queU this feud, I will relate 
three Birth Stories, and after that the quarrelling will cease. Then after telling 
two Birth Stories, to illustrate the blessings of union, I will teach them the 
Attadanda^ Sutta and after hearing my sermon the people of the two cities will 
each of them bring into my presence two hundred- and fifty youths, and I shall 
admit them to holy orders and there will be a huge gathering." Thus after 
performing his toilet, he went his rounds in Savatthi for alms, and on his return, 
after taking his meal, at eventide he issued forth from his Perfumed Chamber 
and without saying a word to apy man he took his bowl and robe and went by 
himself and sat cross-legged in the air between the two hosts. And seeing it 
was an occasion to startle them, to create darkness he sat there emitting (dark- 
blue) ^ rays from his hair. Then when their hearts were troubled he revealed 
himself and emitted the six-coloured rays. The people of Kapilavatthu on seeing 
the Blessed One thought, "The Master, our noble kinsman, is come. Can he 
have seen the obligation laid upon us to fight?" Now that the Master has come, 
it is impossible for us to discharge a weapon against the person of an enemy," 
[414] and they threw down their arms, saying, "Let the Koliyas slay us or roast 
us alive." The Koliyas acted in exactly the same way. Then the Blessed One 
alighted and seated himself on a magnificent Buddha throne, set in a charming 
spot on a bed of sand, and he shone with the incomparable glory of a Buddha. 
The kings too saluting the Blessed One took their seats. Then the Master, though 
he knew it right well, asked, "Why are ye come here, mighty kings?" "Holy 
Sir," they answered, "we are come, neither to see this river, nor to disport our- 
selves, but to get up a fight." "What is the quarrel about, sires?" "About the 
water." "What is the water worth?" "Very little. Holy Sir." "What is the 
earth worth?" "It is of priceless value." "What are warrior chiefs worth?" 
"They too are of priceless' value." "Why on account of some worthless water 
are you for destroying chiefs t)f high worth ?" "Verily, there is no satisfaction in 
this quarrel, but owing to a feud, sire, between a certain tree-sprite and a black 
lion a grudge was set up, which has reached down to this present aeon," and 
with these words he told them the Phandana' Birth. Then he said, "There 
ought not to be this blind following* of one another. A host of quadrupeds in a 
region of the Himalayas, extending to three thousand leagues, following one 
another at the word of a hare, all rushed headlong into the great sea. Therefore 
this following one of another ought not to be," and so saying he related the 
Daddabha^ Birth. Moreover he said, "Sometimes the feeble see the weak 
points of the mighty, at other times the powerful see the weak points of the 
feeble, and a quail, a hen-bird, once killed a royal elephant," and he related the 
Latukika' Birth. Thus to appease the quarrel he told three Birth Stories, and 
to illustrate the effects of unity he told two Birth Stories. "In the case of such 
as dwell together in unity, no one finds any opening for attack," and so saying he 
told the Rukkhadhamma' Birth. He also said, "Against such as were at unity, 
no one could find a loophole for attack, but when they quarrelled one with 
another, a certain hunter brought about their destruction and went off with 
them : verily there is no satisfaction in a quarrel," and with these words he 
related the Vattaka Birth 8. After he had thus related these five Birth Stories, 
he finished up by reciting the Attadanda Sutta. Becoming believers the 
kings said, "Had not the Master come, we should have slain one another and 
set flowing rivers of blood. It is owing to the Master that we are alive. But 
if the Master had adopted the lay life, the realm of the four great island- 
continents, together with two thousand lesser islands, would have passed into 

1 Sutta-Nipata, iv. 15, p. 173. 

'■' Jdt. 1. p. 327, nllararhsim vissajjetva. 

■* Jat. IV. No. 475. * parapatti, of. Jdt. ui. 77. 27. 

i> Jat. III. No. 822. « Jdt. iii. No. 357. 

' Jat. 1. No. 74. 

' Vol. I. No. 33, Sammodamdna-Jdtaka, is what is called Vat{aka-Jdtaka in the text. 



No. 536. 221 

his hands and he would have had more than a thousand sons. Moreover he 
would have had an escort of warrior lords. But foregoing this glory he gave 
up the world [415] and attained to Perfect Wisdom. Now too let him wander 
forth with a followmg of warrior lords." So the two peoples each of them offered 
him two hundred and fifty princes. The Blessed One after ordaining them 
retired to a great forest. From the next day onward, escorted by them, he goes 
his rounds for alms in the two cities, sometimes in Kapilavatthu, at other times 
in Koliya, and the people of both cities paid him great honour. Amongst these 
men, who were ordained not so much for their own pleasure as out of respect to 
the Teacher, spiritual discontent sprang up. And their former wives to stir up 
their discontent sent such and such messages to them, and they grew yet more 
dissatisfied. The Blessed One on reflection discovered how discontented they 
were and thought, "These Brethren, though living with a Buddha like me, are 
discontented. I wonder what kind of preaching would be profitable to them" ;. 
and he bethought him of the religious discourse of Kunala. Then this notion 
struck him, "I will conduct these Brethren to the Himalayas and after illus- 
trating the sins connected with womankind by the Kunala story and removing 
their discontent, I will bestow upon them the first stage of Sanctification." So 
in the morning putting on his under garment and taking his alms bowl and robes 
he went his rounds in Kapilavatthu, and having returned and taken his noonday 
meal, when the repast was finished, he addressed these five hundred Brethren 
and asked, "Was the delightful region of the Himalayas ever seen by you before?" 
They said, "Nay, holy sir?" "Will you go on pilgrimage to the Himalayas?" 
"Holy sir, we have no supernatural powers; how should we go?" "But 
supposing some one were to take you with him, would you go?" "Yes, sire." 
The Master by his miraculous power caught them all up with him in the air and 
transported them to the Himalayas and standing in the sky he pointed out to 
them in a pleasant tract of the Himalayas various mountains. Golden Mount, 
Jewel Mount, Vermilion Mount, OoUyrium Mount, Table-land Mount, Crystal 
Mount, and five great rivers, and the lakes, Kannamundaka, Eathakara, Sihap- 
papata, Chaddanta, Tiyaggala, Anotatta and Kunala, seven lakes in all. The 
Himalaya is a vast region, five hundred leagues in height, three thousand 
leagues in breadth. This charming part of it by his mighty power did he 
show them, and the dwelling places that were built there, the quadrupeds 
too, troops of lions, tigers, elephants and so forth did he show from this place 
— sacred closes and other pleasances, flowering and fruit-bearing trees, flocks 
of all manner of birds, water and land plants, — on the east side of Himalaya 
a golden table land, on the west side a vermilion one. From the first sight of 
these charming regions, the passionate longing of these Brethren for their former 
wives passed o&. Then the Master with these Brethren [416] alighting from 
the air on the west side of Himalaya on a rocky plateau sixty leagues in extent, 
in Eed Valley three leagues long, beneath a sal tree covering seven leagues and 
lasting a whole aeon, the Master, I say, escorted by these Brethren, emitting 
the six-coloured rays and stirring up the depths of Ocean and blazing like the 
sun took his seat, and speaking with a voice sweet as honey he thus addressed 
these Brethren: "Brethren, inquire of me about some marvel ye have never 
seen before in this Himalaya." At that moment two spotted cuckoos, seizing a 
stick at both enSs in their mouths, in the centre of it had placed their lord. 
Eight cuckoos in front and eight behind, eight on the right and eight on the left, 
eight below and eight above, thus casting a shadow over their lord as they 
escorted him, were flying through the air. These Brethren on seeing this flock 
of birds asked the Master, "What, sir, is the meaning of these birds?" "Brethren," 
he said, "this is an ancient custom of our family, a tradition set up by me ; in a 
former age they thus escorted me. Now at that time there was a vast gathering 
of these birds. Three thousand five hundred young hen-birds escorted me. 
Gradually wasting away the flock has become such as you see." "In what kind 
of forest did they escort you, sir?" Then the Master said, "Well, hearken. 
Brethren," and recalling it to mind he told a story of the past and thus taught 
them. 



222 The Jataka. Booh XXI. 

This is the report and the fame thereof : a region yielding from its soil 
all manner of herbs, overspread with many a tangle of flowers, ranged 
over by the elephant, gayal, buffalo, deer, yak, spotted antelope, rhinoceros, 
elk, lion, tiger, panther, bear, wolf, hyena, ottgr^, kadall antelope, wild 
cat, long-eared hare, inhabited by numberless herds of different kinds of 
elephants^, and frequented by various kinds of deer^, and haunted by 
horse-faced yakkhas, sprites, goblins and ogres, overspread with a thicket 
of trees blooming at the top with flowers, stalked and high-standing, and 
pithless^, re-echoing to the' cries of hundreds of birds, all mad with joy, 
ospreys, partridges, elephant-birds, peacocks, pheasants, Indian cuckoos*, 
adorned and covered with hundreds of mineral substances, coUyrium, 
arsenic, yellow orpiment, vermilion, gold and silver — it was in such a 
delightful forest lived the bird Kunala [417] : very bright was it and 
covered with gay feathers. This Kunala bird had three thousand five 
hundred hen-birds in attendance on him. Then two birds seizing a stick 
in their mouths seated, the Kunala bird between them and flew up, fearing 
lest fatigue in the course of the long distance should cause him to move 
from his position and he should fall. Five hundred young birds fly below, 
for they thought, " If this Kunala bird should fall from his perch, we will 
catch him in our wings." Other five hundred birds fly above him, for 
fear lest the heat should scorch Kunala. Five hundred birds fly on either 
side of him, to prevent cold or heat, grass or dust, wind or dew from 
coming nigh him. Five hundred fly in front of him, lest cowherds or 
neat-herds, grass-cutters, or stick-gatherers or foresters should strike 
Kunala with stick or potsherd, with .fist or clod, with staff or knife or 
gravel, or lest Kunala should come into collision with shrub or creeper or 
tree, with post or rock, or with some powerful bird. Five hundred fly 
behind, addressing him with gentle, kindly words, in charming, sweet 
tones, lest Kunala should grow weary, sitting there. Five hundred birds 
fly hither and thither, bringing a variety of fruits from different kinds of 
trees, lest Kunala should be distressed with hunger. Then the birds 
swiftly transport Kunala for his satisfaction from pleasance to pleasance, 
from garden to garden, from one river's bank to another, from mountain 
peak to mountain peak, from one mango grove to another, from rose-apple 
orchard to rose-apple orchard, from one bread-fruit grove'to another, from 
one cocoa-nut plantation to another. So Kunala day by day escorted by 
these birds thus upbraids them : [418] " Perish, ye vile creatures, yea, 
perish utterly, ye thievish, knavish creatures, heedless, flighty and un- 
grateful as ye are, like the wind going wheresoever ye list." 



1 uddaraka. For the form compare marjaraka, a oat. ' Specified in the text. 

' amajja. For this word compare Taittirlya Sarhhitd, vn. 5. 12, 2. 
* I have omitted the names of three birds, parabhuta, celavaka, bhimkdra, which 
are not found in the dictionaries. 



No. 536. ■ 223 

[419] After these words the Master said, "Surely, Brethren, even when I was 
in an animal form, I knew well the ingratitude, the wiles, the wickedness and 
immorality of women-folk, and at that time so far from being in their power 
I kept them under my control," and when by these words he had removed the 
spiritual discontent of these Brethren, the Master held his peace. At this 
moment two black cuckoos came to this spot, raising their lord aloft on the stick, 
.while others in fours flew below and on every side of him. On seeing them, the 
Brethren asked the Master of them and he said, "Of old, Brethren, I had a 
friend, a royal cuckoo, named Punnamukha, and such was the tradition in his 
family," and in answer to the Brethren's question, just as before, he said ; 



On the eastern side of this same Himalaya, the king of mountains, are 
green-flowing streams, having their source in slight and gentle mountain 
slopes ; in a fragrant, charming, bright spot, blooming with the beauty of 
lotuses, blue, white, and the hundred-leafed, the white lily and the tree 
of paradise, [420] in a region overrun and beautified with all manner of 
trees' and flowering shrubs and creepers, resounding with the cries of 
swans, ducks and geese, inhabited by troops of monks and ascetics, and 
such as are possessed of magical or supernatural powers, and haunted by 
high angelic beings, demons, goblins, ogres, heavenly minstrels, fairies and 
mighty serpents — verily it was in such a charming forest-thicket that the 
royal cuckoo Punnamukha dwelt. Very sweet was his voice, and his 
laughing eyes were as the eyes of one intoxicated with joy. Three thousand 
five hundred hen-birds followed in the train of this cuckoo Punnamukha. 
So two birds seizing a stick in their mouths and seating Punnamukha in 
the middle of it fly up into the air, fearing lest fatigue, &c.' [421] Then 
did Punnamukha, escorted by these birds by day, thus sing their praises, 
saying, "Bravo, my sisters, this act of yours well becomes high-born 
ladies, in that ye do service to your lord.'' Then in truth the cuckoo 
Punnamukha drew nigh to the place where sat the bird Kunala, and the 
birds in attendance upon Kunala saw him, and while he was yet afar off 
they drew nigh to Punnamukha and thus accosted him: "Friend Punna- 
mukha, Kunala here is a fierce bird and has a rovigh tongue. Haply by 
your help we may win kindly speech from him." "Haply we may, 
ladies," he said. And so saying, he drew nigh to Kunala, and after a 
kindly greeting he sat respectfully on one side and thus addressed Kunala : 
"Wherefore dost thou, friend Kunala, behave so ill to these high-born 
ladies of rank, though they themselves are well-conducted. One ought, 
friend Kunala, to speak pleasantly even to ladies who are themselves 
ungracious in speech : much more to such as are gracious." When he had 
so spoken, Kunala abused Punnamukha after this manner, saying, "Perish, 
vile wretch, yea, perish utterly. Who is to be found like you, won over 

' The translation here omits a long list of trees, etc., known for the most part, if 
at all, by their botanical equivalents in Latin. 

' Here follows a long passage already given supra, p. 222. 



224 The Jataka. Booh XXI. 

by the prayers of womenfolk'?" On being thus reproached the cuckoo 
Punnamukha [422] turned back. Then surely in no long time afterwards 
severe sickness attacked Punnamukha, and extreme suffering from a 
bloody flux set in, bringing him nigh unto death. Then this thought 
occurred to the birds in attendance upon the cuckoo Punnamukha : " This 
cuckoQ is ill ; peradventure he may be raised up from his sickness.'' So 
leaving him quite alone they drew nigh to where the bird Kunala was. 
Kunala spied these birds coming from afar, and on seeing them thus 
addressed them, " Where, wretches, is your lord ? " Friend Kunala, they 
said, " Punnamukha is sick : perhaps he may be raised up from his sick- 
ness." When they had so spoken, the bird Kunala cursed them thus : 
" Perish, ye wretches, yea, perish utterly, ye thievish, knavish, heedless, 
flighty creatures, ungrateful for kindness done to you, going like the wind 
whithersoever ye list." So saying, he drew nigh to where the cuckoo 
Punnamukha was and thus addressed him : " Ho ! friend Punnamukha." 
"Ho! friend Kunala," he replied. Then the bird Kunala seized the 
cuckoo Punnamukha with his wings and beak and raising him up gave 
him all manner of medicines to drink. So the sickness of the cuckoo was 
relieved. [423] And when Punnamukha was well, the birds returned 
and Kunala for a few days gave Punnamukha wild fruits to eat, and when 
he had recovered his strength, he said, " Now friend, you are well again ; 
continue to dwell with your attendant birds, and I will return to my own 
place of abode." Then Punnamukha said to him, " They left me when I 
was extremely ill and flew away. I have no need of these rogues." On 
hearing this the Great Being said, " Well then, friend, I will tell you of 
the wickedness of womenfolk,'' and he took Punnamukha and brought him 
to the Red Valley on a slope of the Himalayas and sat down on a rock of 
red arsenic at the foot of a sal tree, seven leagues in extent, while Punna- 
mukha with his following sat on one side. Throughout all the Himalayas 
went a heavenly proclamation, " To-day Kunala, king of birds, seated on 
a rook of red arsenic in the Himalayas, with all the charm of a Buddha 
will preach the Law : hearken to hira." [424] By proclaiming it, one to 
another, the gods of the six Kamavacara worlds heard of it and for the most 
part assembled together : many deities too in the forest, serpents, garudas, 
and vultures proclaimed the fact. At that time Ananda, king of the 
vultures, with a following of ten thousand vultures dwelt upon Vulture 
Peak. And on hearing the commotion he thought, " I will listen to the 
preaching of the Law," and came with his followers and sat apart. 
Narada too the ascetic with the five Supernatural Faculties, dwelling in 
the Himalaya region, with his following of ten thousand ascetics, on 
hearing this heavenly proclamation, thought, "My friend Kunala, they 

' The scholiast seems to take the passage thus. Perhaps it may be rendered, 
" Who is this (paragon) thus described by you, a henpecked creature that you are ? " 



No. 536. 225 

say, will apeak of the faults of womenkind : I too must listen to his 
exposition," and accompanied by a thousand ascetics he travelled thither 
by his supernatural power and sat on one side apart. There was a great 
gathering like that which assembles to hear the teaching of Buddhas. 
Then the Great Being, with the knowledge of one who remembers his 
former births, making Punnamuk'ha a personal witness, related a circum- 
stance seen in a former existence, connected with the faults of women. 
The Master, making the matter clear, said : Then the bird Kunala thus 
addressed the cuckoo Punnamukha, who had recently been raised up from 
a bed of sickness ; " Friend Punnamukha, I have seen Kanha, her that 
had a double parentage' and five husbands", and whose affection was set 
upon a sixth man, a headless', crippled dwarf." Here too we have a 
further verse : 

In ancient story Kanha, it is said, 

A single maid to princes five was wed, 

Insatiate still she lusted for yet more 

And with a hump-backed dwarf she played the whore. 

" I have seen, friend Punnamukha, the case of a female ascetic named 

Saccatapavi, who dwelt in a cemetery and gave away even a fourth meal. 

She sinned with a goldsmith. I witnessed too, friend Punnamukha, the 

case of Kakati*, the wife of Yenateyya, who dwelt in the midst of the sea 

and yet sinned with Natakuvera. I have seen, friend Punnamukha, the 

fairhaired Kurangavl* [425], who though in love with Elakamara sinned 

with Chalangakumara and Dhanantevasi. This too was known to me, 

how the mother* of Brahmadatta, forsaking the king of Kosala, sinned 

with Paficalacanda. These and other women went wrong, and one should 

not put trust in women nor praise them. As the earth is impartially 

affected towards all the world, bearing wealth for all, a home for all sorts 

and conditions of men (good and bad alike), all-enduring, unshaken, 

immovable, so also is it with women (in a bad sense). A man should not 

trust them. 

As lion fed upon raw flesh and blood; 
With his five' paws fierce ravening for food. 
In others' hurt will his chief pleasure find — 
Such like are women. Man, beware their kind. 

Verily, friend Punnamukha, these creatures are not mere harlots, 
wenches or street-walkers, they are not so much strumpets as murderesses 

' i.e. the kings of Kosala and Kasi, the real and the putative father. 
^ The names of the five husbands are given : Ajjuna, Nakula, Bhimasena, 
Tudhitthila, Sahadeva. 

' Meaning, ' with head crushed down into hia body.' 

* Jdt. m. No. 327. 

^ Compare Tawney's Kathd Sarit Sdgara, n. 491 — 492. 

' Beading mdtd otidya Kosalardjanam. 

' The lion's mouth is the fifth paw. 

J. V, 15 



226 The Jataha. Booh XXI. 

— I mean these harlots, wenches, and street-walkers'. They are like 
unto robbers with braided looks, like a poisoned drink, like merchants 
that sing their own praises, crooked like a deer's horn, evil-tongued like 
snakes, like a pit that is covered over, insatiate as hell, as hard to satisfy 
as a she-ogre, like the all-rapacious Yama, all-devouring like a flame, 
sweeping all before it as a river, like the wind going where it lists, 
undiscriminating like mount Neru", fruiting perennially like a poison 
tree." Here too occurs a further verse : 

Like poisoned draught or robber fell, crooked as horn of stag, 
Like serpent evil-tongued' are they, as merchant apt to brag. 

Murderous as covered pit, like Hell's insatiate maw are they, 
As goblin greedy or like Death that carries all away. 

Devouring like a flame are they, mighty as wind or flood. 
Like Neru's golden peak that aye confuses* bad and good. 
Pernicious as a poison-tree they fivefold ruin bring 
On household gear, wasters of wealth and every precious thing. 

Once upon a time, they say, Brahmadatta, king of Kasi, owing to his 
having an army, seized on the kingdom of Kosala, slew its king and 
carried off his chief queen, who was then pregnant [426], to Benares and 
there made her his consort. By and bye she gave birth to a daughter, 
and as the king had neither son nor daughter of his own begetting, he was 
greatly pleased and said, " Fair lady, choose some boon at my hands." 
She accepted the boon but reserved her choice. Now they named the 
young princess Kanha. So when she was grown up, her mother said, 
" Dear child, your father offered me a boon, which I accepted but put off 
my choice: do you now choose whatever you like." From the excess of 
her passion breaking through maidenly shame she said to her mother, 
" Nothing else is lacking to me; get him to hold an assembly' to choose me 
a husband." The mother repeated this to the king. The king said, " Let 
her have whatever she wishes," and he had an assembly for choosing a 
husband proclaimed. In the palace yard a host of men assembled, 
arrayed in all their splendour. Kanha, who with a basket of flowers in 
her hand stood looking out of an upper lattice window, approved of no 
single one of them. Then Ajjuna, Nakula, Bhimasena, Yudhitthila, 
Sahadeva, of the family of king Pandu, these five sons of king Pandu, 

' The scholiast takes gamaniyo as equivalent to vesiyo. 

" Jdt. vol. III. No. 379, Neru-jdtaka. Like Mt Neru, reflecting a golden hue on all 
objects alike. 

' One MS. for dujjivha reads dvjivha 'double-tongued.' 

* Ndvasamdkatd can scarcely be right. The commentary gives as the epithet to 
Neru nibbisesakdra. One reading gives ndvasamdgatd, speeding like a ship. 

' Svayamvara was the public choice of a husband by a princess from a number of 
suitors assembled for the purpose. In the Mahdbhdrata we have an account of the 
Svayamvara of Draupadi, daughter of the king of Panoala, afterwards the common 
wife of the five Pandu princes. 



No. 536. 227 

I say, after receiving instruction in arts at Takkasila from a world- 
famed teacher, travelling about with the idea of mastering local customs, 
arrived at Benares, and hearing a commotion in the city and learning in 
answer to their inquiry what it was all about, they came and stood all five 
of them in a row, in appearance like so many golden statues. Kanha on 
seeing them fell in love with all five, as they stood before her, and threw 
a wreathed coil of flowers on the head of all the five and said, " Dear 
mother, I choose these five men." The queen told this to the king. The 
king, because he had given her the choice, did not say, " You cannot do 
this," but was greatly vexed. On asking however what was their origin 
and whose sons they were, when he learned that they were sons of 
king Pandu, he paid them great honour and gave them his daughter to 
wife, and by the force of her passion she won the afi'ection of these five 
princes in her seven-storied palace. Now she had as an attendant a hump- 
backed cripple, and when by the force of passion she had won the hearts of 
the five princes, as soon as they had gone forth from the palace, finding - 
her opportunity and fired by lust she sinned with the hump-backed slave, 
and conversing with him she said, " There is no one dear to me like you ; 
I will slay these princes and have your feet smeared in the blood from 
their throats." And when she was in the company of the eldest of the 
foyal brothers, she would say, "You are dearer to me than those other four. 
For your sake I would even sacrifice my life. At my father's death I will 
bestow the kingdom on you alone." But when she was in the company of 
the others, she acted in just the same way. They were greatly pleased 
with her, thinking, " She is fond of us and owing to this the sovereignty 
will be ours." One day she was sick, and gathering about her, one sat 
chafing her head, and the rest each of them a hand or foot, while the 
hump-back sat at her feet. To the eldest brother, prince Ajjuna, who was 
chafing her head, she made a sign with her head, implying, " No one is 
dearer to me than you are : so long as I live I shall live for you and at my 
father's death I will bestow the kingdom on you,'' and so she won his 
heart. To the others too she made signs with hand or foot to the same 
effect. But to the hump-back she made a sign with her tongue which said, 
" You only are dear to me : for your sake shall I live." All of them, owing 
to what had been said by her before, knew what was meant by this sign. 
But while the rest of them each recognised the sign given to himself, 
prince Ajjuna [427] when he saw the motions of hand, foot or tongue, 
thought, " As in my case, so also with the others, by this sign some token 
must be given, and there must be some intimacy with this hump-backed 
fellow " ; so going outside with his brothers he asked, " Did you see the 
lady with five husbands making a sign with her head to me?" "Yes, we 
did." "Do you know the meaning of it? " " We do not." "The meaning 
of it was so and so ; do you know what was meant by the sign given you 

15—2 



228 The Jataha. Booh XXI. 

with hand or foot?" "Yes, we know." "In the same way she gave me 
too a sign. Do you know the meaning of the sign given to the hump- 
back by a motion of her tongue ?" "We do not know." Then he told 
them, "With him too she has sinned." And when they did not believe 
him, he sent for the hump-back and asked him, and he told him all about 
it. When they heard what he had to say, they all lost their passionate 
love for her. " Ah ! surely," they said, " womankind is evil and vicious. 
Leaving men like us, nobly born and blest by fortune, she goes wrong with 
a disgusting, loathsome, hump-backed fellow like this. Who that is wise 
will find any pleasure in consorting with women so shameless and wicked 
as this?" Thus censuring womenfolk in many a turn the five princes 
thought, "We have had enough of married life," and retired into the 
Himalayas, and after going through the Kasina rite, at the end of their life 
they fared according to their deeds. Kunala the bird-king was prince 
Ajjuna, and it was for this reason that in setting forth anything that he 
• himself had seen, he began his story with the words " I saw." In relating 
other things that he had seen of old he used the same words, and here 
follows an explanation of an incident given in the first introductory story. 
Once upon a time, they say, a white' nun named Saccatapavi had a hut 
of leaves built in a cemetery near Benares, and living there she abstained 
from four out of five meals, and throughout the city her fame was blazed 
abroad like as it were that of the Moon or Sun, and natives of Benares, if 
they sneezed or stumbled, said, " Praise be to Saccatapavii" Now on the 
first day of a festival some goldsmiths had a tent erected in a certain 
spot where a crowd was gathered, and bringing fish, meat, strong drink, 
pei'fumes, wreaths and the like, they started a drinking bout. Then a 
certain goldsmith, who was addicted to drink, in vomiting said, " Praise 
be to Saccatapavi." On a certain wise man amongst them saying, "Alas! 
blind fool, you are paying honour to a fickle-minded woman — Oh! you 
are a fool," he replied, " Friend, speak not thus, nor be guilty of a deed 
that leads to hell." Then the wise man said, " You fool, hold your tongue. 
Lay a wager with me for a thousand crowns and on the seventh day from 
this, seated in this very spot, I will deliver into your hands Saccatapavi 
in splendid apparel and made merry with strong drink [428] and I too 
will have a good drink myself with her: so unstable are womenkind." 
He said, "You will not be able to do so," and took his wager for a 
thousand crowns. So he told the other goldsmiths, and early next 
morning, disguised as an ascetic, our wise man made his way into the 
cemetery, and not far from her place of abode stood worshipping the 
Sun. She saw him as she was setting out to collect alms, and thought, 
"Surely this must be an ascetic with miraculous powers. I dwell on one 

1 aetasamanl. Amongst the Jains is an order of white-robed ascetics called Svetdm- 
haras. Compare our White Friars. 



No. 536. 229 

side of the cemetery, but he in the centre of it : his heart must be full of a 
holy calm. I will pay my respects to him." So she drew nigh to him and 
saluted him, but he ijeither looked nor spoke. On the next day he acted in 
the same way. But on the third day when she saluted him, he looked down 
and said, " Depart.'' On the fourth day he spoke kindly to her and said, 
" Are you not tired begging for alms ? " She thought, " I have had a kind 
greeting," and departed well pleased. On the fifth day she received a still 
kinder greeting and after sitting awhile she saluted him and went her ways. 
But on the sixth day she came and saluted him as he sat there. He said, 
" Sister, what in the world is this great noise of song and music in Benares 
to-dayl " She answered, " Holy Sir, do you not know that a festival is 
proclaimed in the city and this is the sound of those that make merry 
there?" Pretending not to know he said, " Yes, this doubtless is the noise 
I hear." Then he asked, " How many meals, Sister, do you omit to take? " 
"Four, Sir," she said, "and how many do you omit?" "Seven, Sister," 
but in this he spoke falsely, for he used to eat all day and night. Then he 
asked, " How many years is it since you took religious vows ? " And when 
she said, " Twelve, and how many since you took orders ? " he answered, 
"This is the sixth year.'' Then he asked, "Sister, have you attained to a 
holy calm?" " I have not. Sir. Have you?" " Neither have we,'' he said. 
" We get. Sister, neither the joy of sensual pleasure, nor the bliss of 
renunciation. What is it to us that hell is hot? Let us follow in the way 
of the multitude : I will become a house-holder, and as I own the treasure 
which belonged to my mother, I shall come to no harm." On hearing 
what he said, through her want of stability she conceived a passion for 
him and said, " I too, sir, feel spiritual discontent : if you do not reject me, 
I too will keep house with you." So he said lb her, " I will not reject 
you : you shall be my wife." Then he brought her into the city and 
cohabited with her. And going to the drinking booth with her he himself 
took strong drink and handed her over to his friends the worse for liquor. 
So that other fellow lost his wager of a thousand crowns, and she was blest 
with numerous sons and daughters by the goldsmith. At that time Kunala 
was the goldsmith' and in telling the story he began with the words "I saw.'' 
In the second tale is a story of the past which is told at length in the 
Fourth Book in the Kakati" Birth Story. Now at this time Kunala was 
the Garuda, and this is the reason why in illustrating what he had seen 
with his own eyes he began with the words " I saw." In the third story 
once upon a time Brahmadatta slew the king of Kosala and seized on his 
kingdom. Carrying off his chief queen, who was big with child, he returned 
to Benares, and, though he knew her condition, he made her his queen 
consort. When her time was fully come she gave birth to a son like an 
image of gold. And the queen thought, " When he is grown up, the king 
' Beading tuldputto. '-' Vol. in. No. 327, E. V. p. 60. 



230 The Jataka. Booh XXI. 

of Benares will say [429], ' He is a son of my enemy : what is he to me ? ' 
and will put him to death. Nay, let not my boy perish by an enemy's 
hand." So she said to his nurse, " Cover this child, my dear, with a coarse 
cloth and go and lay him in the charnel ground." The nurse did so and 
after bathing returned home. The king of Kosala too after death was 
born in the forrii of a guardian angel of the boy, and by his divine power 
a she-goat belonging to a goat-herd, who was keeping his flock in this spot, 
on seeing the child conceived an affection for him and after giving him 
milk to suck wandered off for a bit, and then came back twice, thrice or 
even four times, and gave him suck. The goat-herd, on seeing what the 
goat was about, came to the spot, and when he saw the child conceived an 
affection for it and brought it to his wife. Now she was childless and 
therefore had no milk to give him. So the she-goat continued to give it 
suck. From that day two or three goats died every day. The goat-herd 
thought, " If this boy goes on being tended by us, all our goats will perish. 
What is he to us 1 " Then he laid him in an earthenware vessel, covering 
him up with another, and smeared his face all over, without leaving any 
chink, with the flour of beans, and dropped him into the river. The child 
was carried down by the stream and was found ori the lower bank near 
the king's palace by a low-caste mender of old rubbish, who was there with 
his wife, washing his face. He ran up in haste pulled the vessel out of the 
water and laid it on the bank. " What have we here ? " he thought, and 
uncovering the vessel found the child. His wife too was childless and she 
also conceived an affection for him. So she took him home and watched 
over him. When he was seven or eight years old, his father and mother 
would take him with them when they went to the palace. When he was 
sixteen years old, the lad often went to the palace to mend old things. 
And the king and queen consort had a daughter named Kurangavi, a girl 
of extraordinary beauty. From the moment she set eyes upon him she fell 
in love with the youth, and not caring for any one else she constantly 
repaired to the place where he worked. From their repeatedly seeing one 
another they were mutually enamoured, and secretly within the royal 
precincts guilty relations were established. In course of time the servants 
told the king. In his rage he called his councillors together and said, 
" Such and such acts have been committed by this low-caste fellow : con- 
sider what must be done with him." His councillors made answer : 
" Great is his offence; after exacting all manner of punishment we must 
put him to death." At this moment the lad's father (the king of Kosala), 
who had become his guardian angel, took possession of the body of the 
youth's mother, and under the influence of the divine being she drew nigh 
to the king and said, " Sire, this youth is no low-caste fellow. He is the 
son born to me by the king of Kosala. In saying that my boy was dead, 
I lied to you. ]£,nowing him to be the child of your enemy I gave him to 



No. 536. 231 

a nurse and had him exposed in a oharnel ground. Then a goat-herd 
watched over him, but when his goats all began to die, he had him cast 
into the river, and being transported hither by the stream, he was found 
by the low-caste man who repairs old rubbish in our palace and fostered 
by him, and if you do not believe me, call for all these people and inquire 
of them." The king summoned all of them, beginning with the nurse, and 
learning on inquiry that the facta were as she stated, he was delighted to 
find that the youth was nobly born, and giving directions that he should take 
a bath and put on splendid apparel, he gave him his daughter in marriage. 
Now from his having brought about the death of the goats [430] they 
named him Elakamara (Goat's Bane). Then the king assigned him a 
transport and an army and sent him ofif, saying, " Go and take possession 
of the kingdom that was your father's." So he set off with Kurangavi and 
was established on the throne. Then the king of Benares thought, " He is 
quite unediicated," and to instruct him in arts he sent Chalangakumara to 
be his teacher. Accepting him as his teacher he conferred on him the 
. post of commander-in-chief. By and bye Kurangavi misconducted herself 
with him. And the commander-in-chief had an attendant named Dha- 
hantevasT, and he sent by his hand robes and other adornments to Kuran- 
gavi, and she went wrong with him too. So vicious and immoral are 
wicked women, and therefore I praise them not. This the Great Being 
taught in telling a story of the past, for at that time he was Chalangakumara, 
and therefore the incident he related was one he saw with his own eyes. 

In the fifth story once upon a time a king of Kosala seized the kingdom 
of Benares and made the king's chief queen, who at that time was preg- 
nant, his queen consort, and then returned to his own city. By and bye 
she gave birth to a son. The king, because he had no children of his own, 
fondly cliei"ished the boy and had him instructed in all learning, and when 
he was of age he sent him away, bidding him take possession of the king- 
dom which had belonged to his father. He went and reigned there. Then 
his mother saying she longed to see her boy took leave of the king of 
Kosala, and setting out for Benares with a large escort took up her abode 
in a town lying between the two kingdoms. In this place dwelt a certain 
handsome brahmin youth named Pancalacanda. He brought her a present. 
On seeing him she fell in love and misconducted herself with him. After 
spending a few days there, she went to Benares and saw her son. On 
returning she took up her abode in the same town and, after spending 
several days in guilty intercourse with her lover, she departed to Kosala 
city. Very soon after this, giving this or that reason for visiting her son, 
she took leave of the king and in going and returning stayed a fortnight 
in the same town, misconducting herself with her lover. So wicked and 
false, Sampunnamukha, are women. And in telling this story of the past 
he began with the words, "To the same effect also is this tale." [432] Here- 



232 The Jataha. Book XXL 

after, in a variety of ways exhibiting the charm with which he preached 
the Law, he said, "Friend Punnamukha, there are four things which, if 
certain circumstances arise, prove injurious — these, I say, are not to be 
lodged in a neighbour's household — an ox, a cow, a chariot, a wife. From 
these four things a wise man would keep his house clear : 

[433] Ox, cow, nor car to neighbours lend, 
Nor trust a wife to house of friend : 
The car they break through want of skill. 
The ox by over-driving kill. 

The cow is over-milked ere long, 

The wife in kinsman's house goes wrong. 

There are six things, friend Punnamukha, which under certain circum- 
stances prove injurious — a bow lacking its string, a wife living in a 
kinsman's family, a ship', a car with broken axle, an absent friend, a 
wicked comrade, under certain circumstances, prove injurious. Verily on 
eight grounds, friend Punnamukha, a woman despises her husband : for 
poverty, for sickness, for old age, for drunkenness, for stupidity, for care- 
lessness, for attending to every kind of business, for neglecting every duty ' 
towards her — verily, on these eight grounds a woman despises her lord. 
Here moreover occurs this verse : 

If poor or sick or old, a sot, or reckless thought. 

If duU or by his cares of business overwrought, 

Or disobliging found — such lord a wife esteems as nought. 

Verily on nine grounds does a woman incur blame : if she is fond of 
frequenting parks, gardens, and river banks, fond of visiting the houses of 
kinsfolk or of strangers, given to wearing the adornment of cloth worn by 
gentlemen, if she is a drinker of strong drink, given to staring about her, 
or of standing before her door — on these nine grounds, I say, a woman 
incurs blame. Here moreover occurs the following verse : 

A woman drest in smart cloth vest, dram-drinking, apt to roam 
In pleasance, park, by river side, to friend's or stranger's home. 

Standing before her door, to stare about with idle gaze. 

In nine such ways corrupted soon from path of virtue strays. 

Verily, friend Punnamukha, in forty dififerent ways a woman makes up 
to a man^. She draws herself up, she bends down, she frisks about, she 
looks coy, she presses together her finger tips, she plants one foot on the 
other, she scratches the ground with a stick, she dances her boy up and 
down, [434] she plays and makes the boy play, she kisses and makes him 
kiss her, she eats and gives him to eat, she either gives or begs something, 
whatever is done she mimics, she speaks in a high or low tone, she speaks 

' This seems to require like the other nouns some qualifying epithet. 
* accdvadati. Morris in P. T. S. Journal for '86, p. 100, quotes a passage from 
Suttavibhangu ii. p. 263, 



No. 536. 233 

now indistinctly, now distinctly, she appeals to him with dance, song and 
music, with tears or coquetry, or with her finery, she laughs or stares, she 
shakes her dress or shifts her loin-cloth, exposes or covers up her leg, 
exposes her bosom, her armpit, her navel, she closes her eye, she elevates 
her eyebrow, she pinches her lip, makes her tongue loll out, looses or 
tightens her cloth dress, looses or tightens her head-gear. Verily in these 
forty ways she makes up to a man. Verily, friend Punnamukha, a wicked 
woman is to be known in twenty-five different ways : she praises her lord's 
absence from home, she rejoices not in his return, she speaks in his dis- 
praise, she is silent in his praise, she acts to his injury, and not to his 
advantage, she does whatever is harmful to him and refrains from what is 
serviceable, she goes to bed with her clothes on and lies with her face 
averted from him, she tosses about from side to side, she makes a great 
ado, she heaves a long-drawn sigh, she feels a pain, she frequently has to 
solicit nature, she acts perversely, on hearing a stranger's voice she opens 
her ear and listens attentively, she is a waster of her lord's goods, she is 
intimate with her neighbours, she gads abroad, she walks the streets, she 
is guilty of adultery, disregarding her husband she has wicked thoughts 
in her heart. Verily in these twenty-five ways, friend Punnamukha, is a 
wicked woman to be known. Here moreover occurs this utterance : 

Her husband's absence she approves nor grieves should he depart, 
Nor at the sight of his return rejoices in her heart. 
She ne'er at any time will say aught in her husband's praise. 
Such are the signs that surely mark the wicked woman's ways. 

Undisciplined, against her lord some mischief she will plot. 
His interest neglects and does the thing that she ought not. 
With face averted lies she down beside him, fully dressed. 
By such hke signs her wickedness is surely thus confessed. 

[435] Eestless she turns from side to side nor lies one moment still ', 
Or heaves a long drawn sigh and groans, pretending she is iU, 
As if at nature's call from bed she oftentimes will rise. 
By such like signs her wickedness a man may recognise. 

Perverse in all her acts she does the thing she should eschew. 
And hearkens to the stranger's voice, her favours should he sue. 
Her husband's wealth is freely spent some other love to gain. 
By signs like these her wickedness to aU is rendered plain. 

The wealth that by her lord with toil was carefully amassed. 
The gear so painfully heaped up, behold, she squanders fast. 
With neighbours far too intimate the lady soon will grow. 
And by such signs the wickedness of women one may know. 

Stepping abroad behold her how she walks about the streets. 
And with the grossest disrespect her lord and master treats: 
Nor of adultery stops short, corrupt in heart and mind — 
By such like signs how wicked are all womenfolk we find. 

Often she will at her own door all decency defy, 
And shamelessly expose herself to any passing by, 

' kumkumi, kumkumiyajdtd is not found. The soholiast says kolahalam karoti. 



234 me Jdtaka. Book XXI. 

The while with troubled heart she looks around on every side — 
By such like signs the wickedness of women is descried. 

As groves are made of wood, as streams in curves and windings flow, 
So, give them opportunity, all women wrong will go. 

Yea give them opportunity and secrecy withal. 

And every single woman will from paths of virtue fall : 

Thus will all women wantons prove, should time and place avail, 

And e'en with humpback dwarf will sin, should other lovers fail. 

Women that serve for man's delight let every one distrust. 
Fickle in heart they ever are and unrestrained in lust. 
Ladies of pleasure fitly called, the basest of the base, 
To all men such as common are as any bathing place. 

[437] Moreover he said : Once upon a time at Benares was a king 
named Kandari who was a very handsome man, and to him daily his 
counsellors would bring a thousand boxes of perfume, and with this per- 
fume they would make the house trim and neat, and then splitting up the 
boxes they would make scented firewood and cook the food therewith. 
Now his wife was a lovely woman named Kinnara, and his chaplain Pafi- 
oalacanda was the same age as himself and full of wisdom. And in the 
wall near the king's palace grew a rose-apple tree and its branches hung 
down upon the wall, and in the shade of it dwelt a loathsome, misshapen 
cripple. Now one day queen Kinnara looking out of her window saw him 
and conceived a passion for him. [438] And at night after winning the 
king's favour by her charms, as soon as he had fallen asleep, she would get 
up softly and putting all manner of dainty food in a golden vessel and 
taking it on her hips, she would let herself down through the window by 
means of a rope of cloth, and climbing up the rose-apple tree drop down by a 
branch of it and give her dainty food to the cripple and take her pleasure 
with him, and then ascend to the palace the same way that she had come 
down, and after shampooing herself all over with perfumes lie down by the 
king's side. In this way she would constantly misconduct herself with this 
cripple and the king knew nothing of it. One day the king after a solemn 
procession round the city was entering his palace when he saw this cripple, 
a pitiable object, lying in the shade of the rose-apple, and he said to his 
chaplain, "Just look at this ghost of a man." "Yes, sire? " "Is it possible, 
my friend, that any woman moved by lust would come nigh such a loath- 
some creature ? " Hearing what he said the cripple, swelling with pride, 
thought, " What is it this king said 1 Methinks he knows nothing of his 
queen's coming to visit me." And stretching out his folded hands towards 
the rose-apple tree he cried, "0 my lord, thou guardian spirit of this tree, 
excepting thee no one knows about this." The chaplain noticing his action 
thought, " Of a truth the king's chief consort by the help of this tree comes 
q,nd misconducts herself with him." So he said to the king, " Sire, at 
night what is it like when you come into contact with the queen's person? " 



No. 536. 235 

" I notice nothing else," he said, " but that at the middle watch her body 
is cold." " Well, sire, whatever may be the case with other women, your 
queen Kinnara misconducts herself with him." "What is this you say, 
my friend! Would such a charming lady take her pleasure with this 
disgusting creature!" "Well then, sire, put it to the proof." "Agreed," 
said the king, and after supper he lay down with her, to put it to the test. 
At the usual time for falling asleep, he pretended to drop off, and she acted 
as before. The king following in her steps took his stand in the shade of 
the rose-apple tree. The cripple was in a rage with the queen and said, 
" You are very late in coming," and struck with his hand the chain in her 
ear. So she said, " Be not angry, my lord ; I was watching for the king 
to fall asleep," and so saying she acted as it were a wife's part in his house. 
But when he struck her, the ear-ornament, which was like a lion's head, 
falling from her ear dropped at the king's feet. The king thought, " Just 
this will be the best thing for me,'' and he took it away with him. And 
after misconducting herself with her lover she returned just as before and 
proceeded to lie down by the side of the king. The king rejected her 
advances and next day he gave an order, saying, "Let queen Kinnara 
come, wearing every ornament I have given her." She said, " My lion's 
head jewel is with the goldsmith," and refused to come. When a second 
message was sent, she came with only a single ear-ornament. [439] The 
king asked, " Where is your ear-ring!" "With the goldsmith." He sent 
for the goldsmith and said, " Why do you not let the lady have her ear- 
ring]" "I have it not, sire." The king was enraged and said, "You 
wicked, vile woman, your goldsmith must be a man just like me," and so 
saying he threw the ear-ring down before her and said to the chaplain, 
" Friend, you spoke the truth ; go and have her head chopped off." So he 
secured her in a certain quarter of the palace and came and said to the 
king, " Sire, be not angry with the queen Kinnara : all women are just 
the same. If you are anxious to see how immoral women are, I will show 
you their wickedness and deceitfulness. Come, let us disguise ourselves 
and go into the country." The king readily agreed and, handing over his 
kingdom to his mother, he set out on his travels with his chaplain. When 
they had gone a league's journey and were seated by the high road, a 
certain gentleman of property, who was holding a marriage festival for his 
son, had seated the bride in a close carriage and was accompanying her 
with a large escort. On seeing this the chaplain said, "If you like, you 
can make this girl misconduct herself with you." " What say you, my 
friend ? with this great escort the thing is impossible." " Well then see 
this, my lord!" And going forward he set up a tent-shaped screen not far 
from the high road and, placing the king inside the screen, himself sat 
down by the side of the road, weeping. Then the gentleman on seeing it 
asked, " Why, friend, are you weeping ! " " My wife," he said, " was heavy 



236 The Jataha. Booh XXI. 

with child and I set out on a journey to take her to her own home, and 
while still on the way her pangs overtook her and she is in trouble within 
the screen, and she has no woman with her and I cannot go to her there. 
I do not know what will happen." " She ought to have a woman with her: 
do not weep, there are numbers of women here; one of them shall go to 
her.'' " Well then let this maiden come; it will be a happy omen for the 
girl." He thought, " What he says is true: it will be an auspicious thing 
for my daughter-in-law. She will be blest with numerous sons and daugh- 
ters," and he brought her there. Passing inside the screen she fell in love 
at first sight with the king and misconducted herself with him, and the king 
gave her his signet ring. So when the deed was done and she came out of 
the tent they asked her, "What has she given birth to?" "A boy the 
colour of gold ? " So the gentleman took her and went off. The chaplain 
came to the king and said, "You have seen, sire, even a young girl is 
thus wicked. How much more will other women be so? Pray, sir, did 
you give her anything ? " " Yes, I gave her my signet ring." " I will 
not allow her to keep it." And he followed in haste and caught up the 
carriage, and when they said, " What is the meaning of this ? " he said, 
"This girl has gone off with a ring my brahmin wife had laid on her 
pillow : give up the ring, lady." [440] In giving it she scratched the 
brahmin's hand, saying, " Take it, you rogue." Thus did the brahmin in 
a variety of ways show the king that many other women are guilty of 
misconduct, and said, " Let this suffice here ; we will now go elsewhere. 
Sire.'' The king traversed all India, and they said, " All women will be 
just the same. What are they to us ? let us turn back." So they went 
straight home to Benares. The chaplain said, " It is thus. Sire, with all 
women; so wicked is their nature. Forgive queen Kinnara." At the 
prayer of his chaplain he pardoned her, but had her thrust out from the 
palace. And when he had ejected her from the place, he chose another 
queen-consort, and he had the cripple driven forth and ordered the rose- 
apple branch to be lopped off. At that time Kunala was Pancalacanda. 
So in telling the story of what he had seen with his own eyes, in illustra- 
tion he spoke this stanza : 

This much from tale of Kandari and Kinnara is shown; 
All women fail to find delight in homes that are their own. 
Thus does a wife forsake her lord, though lusty he and strong. 
And will with any other man, e'en cripple vile, go wrong. 

Another story is this : Once upon a time a king of Benares, Baka by 
name, ruled his kingdom righteously. At that time a certain poor man, 
who dwelt by the eastern gate of Benares, had a daughter named 
Pancapapa'. It is said that in a former birth as a poor man's daughter 
she was kneading clay and plastering a wall. Then a paccekabuddha 
1 Compare Buddhaghosha's Parables, Ch. xix. The Story of the Sense of Touch. 



No. 536. 237 

thought, " Where am I to get clay to make this mountain cave neat and 
trim'! I can get it in Benares." So putting on his cloak, and bowl in 
hand, he went into the city and took his stand not far from this woman. 
She was angry, and, looking at him, thought, " In his wicked heart he is 
begging for clay as well as alms." The paocekabuddha stood without 
moving. So, when she saw that he remained motionless, she was converted, 
and, looking at him once more, she said, " Priest,- you have got no clay," 
and she took a big lump and put it in his bowl, and with this clay he 
made things neat in his cave. [441] And as a reward for this lump of 
clay, her person became soft to the touch, but in consequence of her angry 
look her hands, feet, mouth, eyes and nose became hideously ugly, and so 
men knew her by the name of PaScapapa (The Five Defects). Now the 
king of Benares was once wandering about the city by night and came to 
this spot, and she was playing with the village girls, and not recognising 
the king she seized him by the hand. As the result of her touch he lost all 
control over himself, and was as it were thrilled by a heavenly touch, and 
inflamed by passion he caught her by the hand, though she was so hideous 
to look upon, and asked whose daughter she was. When she answered, 
" Daughter of a dweller by the gate," ' and he heard she was unmarried, he 
said, " I will be your husband : go and ask your parents' consent.'' She 
went to her father and mother and said, "A certain man wishes to marry 
me." On their assenting, and spying, " He too must be a poor, sorry 
creature, if he desires one like you," she came and told him that her parents 
consented. So he cohabited with her in that very house, and quite early 
in the morning sought his palace. Prom that day the king constantly 
came there in disguise, and did not care to look at any other woman. 
Now one day her father was attacked with a bloody flux. The remedy 
for his sickness was a constant supply of rice gruel prepared with milk, 
ghee, honey, and sugar, and this, owing to their poverty, they could not 
procure. Then the mother said to the daughter, " My dear, would your 
husband be able to procure us some rice gruel 1 " " Dear mother," she 
said, "my husband must be even poorer than we are; but even if this is 
so, I will ask him : do not be worried." So saying, about the time when 
he should return, she sat down as if in a disconsolate state. When the 
king came he asked why she was so sad, and on hearing what was the 
matter, he said, " My dear, whence shall I get this very powerful remedy ? " 
And he thought, " I cannot continually keep coming here in this way ; 
one must consider the risk one runs in the journey to and fro; but if I 
were to take her to the court, being ignorant of her possession of a soft 
touch, they will make a mock of me and say, ' Our king has returned 
with a female goblin.' But if I make all the city acquainted with her 

' dvdravdsi, meaning perhaps an inhabitant of a poor quarter. Of. dvaragdma, a. 
village outside the city gate, a suburb. 



238 The Jataka. Book XXI. 

touch, I shall do away with all reproach against myself." So he said to 
her, "My dear, do not vex yourself: I will bring your father some rice 
gruel," and so saying, after taking his pleasure with her he returned to 
his palace. The next day he had some rice gruel such as she described 
boiled for her, and, taking some leaves, made two baskets with them, and 
in one he put the rice gruel, and in the other he placed a jewelled diadem 
and fastened them up. And at night he came and said, " My dear, we 
are poor : I got this with great difficulty. You are to say to your father, 
'To-day eat the rice gruel from this basket, and to-morrow from that.'" 
She did accordingly. So her father, after eating a very little of it, from 
its invigorating qualities was soon satisfied, and the rest she gave to her 
mother, and herself [442] partook of it, and all three of them felt very 
happy, and the basket containing the jewelled diadem they reserved for 
the needs of the next day. The king on reaching his palace washed his 
face and said, "Bring me my diadem." On their saying, "We cannot 
find it,'' he said, "Search through the whole city." They searched, but 
still did not find it. "Well then," he said, " search in the houses of the 
poor outside the city, beginning with the baskets of leaves for food." 
They searched and found the jewel diadem in this house, and crying out, 
" This woman's father and mother are thieves," they bound them and 
brought them to the king. Then her father said, " My lord, we are no 
thieves; a certain man brought us this jewel." "Who was it?" he said. 
" My son-in-law," he answered. When asked where he was, he said, 
"My daughter knows." Then he had a word with her. " My dear," he. 
said, "you know who your husband is." "I do not know." "If this is 
so, we are undone." " Dear father, he comes when it is dark, and departs 
before it is light, so I do not know his appearance,, but I can recognise him 
by the touch of his hand." Her father told this to the king's officers, and 
they told the king. The king, pretending ignorance of the whole matter, 
said, " Well, place the woman in a tent screen in the palace yard and cut 
a hole in the curtain as big as a man's hand and call the citizens together, 
and detect the thief by the touch of his hand." The officers did as he 
bade them. On going to her and seeing what she was like they were filled 
with loathing, and said, " She is a goblin," and in their disgust they did 
not dare to touch her. But they brought and placed her within a screen 
in the palace yard and gathered together all the citizens. Seizing hold of 
the hand of every one that came, as it was stretched out through the hole, 
she said, " This is not the man." The people were so captivated by the 
heavenly touch of her they could not tear themselves away. They thought, 
" If she be worthy of punishment, though we should have to inflict blows 
upon her with a stick, yet we should be ready to undergo any servile tasks 
for her, and to take her home as our wedded wife.'' Then the king's men 
beat them and drove them away, and all of them, beginning with the 



No. 536. 239 

viceroy, behaved like madmen. Then the king said, " Could I possibly be 
the man ? " and stretched forth his hand. The woman, seizing his hand, 
cried aloud, " I have got the thief." The king inquired of his men, 
"When your hand was seized by her what did you think of it? " They 
told him exactly how it was with them. So the king said, " This is why 
I made them bring her to my house. Had they known nothing of her 
touch, they would have despised me. And now that all of you have 
learned the facts from me, say in whose house ought she to dwell as wife." 
They said, " In your house. Sire.'' So, with the ceremonious sprinkling, 
he recognised her as his chief consort, [443] and bestowed great power on 
her father and mother. Thenceforth in his infatuation he neither set on 
foot any inquiries about her, nor so much as looked at any other woman. 
The other queens sought to discover the mystery respecting her. One day 
she saw in a dream some indication of her being the chief queen of two 
kings, and she told her dream to the king. The king summoned the inter- 
preters of dreams and asked, " What is the meaning of such and such a 
dream being seen by her i " Now they had received a bribe from the 
other women, and said, " The fact of the queen's sitting on the back of a 
perfectly white elephant is a token of your death, and that she touches 
the moon as she rides upon the elephant's back is a sign of her bringing 
some hostile king against you." " What then is to be done 1 " said he. 
" You cannot put her to death. Sire, but you must place her on board a 
ship and let her drift down the stream." The king in the night put her 
on board, with food, garments, and adornments and sent her adrift on the 
river. As she was carried down in the vessel by the stream she came face 
to face with king Pavariya, as he was disporting himself in the river. His 
commander-in-chief on seeing it said, " This ship belongs to me." The 
king said, " Its cargo is mine," and when the ship reached them and they 
saw the woman he said, " Who are you, so like a goblin as you are ? " 
She, smiling, said she was the chief cousort of king Baka, and told him 
all her story, and that she was renowned throughout India as Paflca- 
papa. Then the king, taking her by the hand, lifted her out of the 
vessel, and no sooner had he taken her hand than he was inflamed with 
passion at her touch, and in the case of his other wives ceased to regard 
them as worthy the name of women, and he raised her to the position of 
chief queen, and she was as dear as his own life to him. Baka, on hearing 
what had happened, said, " I will not allow him to make her his queen 
consort," and getting together an army, he took up his quarters in a port 
on the opposite side of the river, and sent a message to this effect, that 
Pavariya was either to surrender his wife or give battle. His rival was 
ready for battle, but the councillors of the' two kings said, " For the sake 
of a woman there is no need to die. From his being her first husband 
she belongs to Baka, but from his having rescued her from the ship she 



240 The Jataha. Book XXI. 

belongs to Pavariya. Therefore let her be for the space of seven days at 

a time in the house of each of them." After ^^ue deliberation they gained 

over the two kings to this view, and they botK were highly pleased, and 

built cities on opposite banks of the river and took up their abode there, 

and the woman accepted the position of chief consort to the pair of kings, 

and they were both infatuated with her. Now she dwelt seven days in the 

house of one of them, and then crossed over in a ship to the abode of the 

other, and when in mid-stream she misconducted herself with the pilot 

who steered the vessel, a lame and bald old man. At that time Kunala 

[444], the king of birds, was Baka, and so he spoke of this as something 

he had seen with his own eyes, and to illustrate it he repeated this 

stanza : 

Wife of Pavarika and Baka too, 
(Two kings whose lust no pause or limit knew) 
Yet sins with her devoted husband's slave; 
With what vile wretch would she not misbehave? 

Yet another story : Once upon a time the wife of Brahmadatta, 
Pingiyani by name, opening her window looked out and saw a royal groom, 
and, when the king had fallen asleep, she got down through the window 
and misconducted herself with him, and then again climbed back to the 
palace and shampooed her person with perfumes and lay down with the 
king. Now one day the king thought, " I wonder why at midnight the 
person of the queen is always cool : I will examine into the matter.'' So 
one day he pretended to be asleep and got up and followed her and saw 
her committing folly with a groom. He returned and climbed up to his 
chamber, and she too after she had been guilty of adultery came and 
lay down on a truckle bed. Next day the king, in the presence of his 
ministers, summoned her and made known her misconduct, saying, "All 
women alike are sinners." And he forgave her offence, though it deserved 
death, imprisonment, mutilation, or cleaving asunder, but he deposed her 
from her high rank and made some one else his queen consort. At that 
time king Kunala was Brahmadatta, and so it was that he told this story 
as of something he had seen with his own eyes, and by way of illustration 
he repeated this stanza : 

Fair Pingiyani was as wife adored 
By Brahmadatta, earth's all conquering lord. 
Yet sinned with her devoted husband's slave. 
And lost by lechery both king and knave. 

[445] After telling of the sins of women in old-world stories, in yet 
another way, still speaking of their misdeeds, he said : 

Poor fickle creatures women are, ungrateful, treacherous they. 
No man if not possessed would deign to credit aught they say. 
Little reck they of duty's call or plea of gratitude. 
Insensible to parents' love and ties of brotherhood. 
Transgressing every law of right, they play a shameless part, 
In all their acts obedient to the wish of their own heart. 



No. 536. 241 

-\ : 

• However long they dwell with him, though kind and loving he, 
' Tender of heart and dear to them as life itself may be. 

In times of trouble and distress, leave him they will and must, 

I for my part in womenfolk can never put my trust. 

How often is a woman's mind like shifty monkey's found, 
OjV like the shade cast by a tree on height i or depth around. 
How changeful too the purpose lodged within a woman's breast, 
Like tire of wheel revolving swift without a pause or rest. 

Whene'er with due reflection they look round and see their way 
To captivate some man of wealth and make of him their prey. 
Such simpletons with words so soft and smooth they captive lead. 
E'en as Cambodian groom with herbs will catch the fiercest steed. 

But if when looking round with care they fail to see their way 
To get possession of his wealth and make of him a prey. 
They drive him off, as one that now has reached the furthest shore 
And cuts adrift the feiTy boat he needeth nevermore. 

Like fierce devouring flame they hold him fast in their embrace. 
Or sweep him off like stream in flood that hurries on apace ; 
They court the man they hate as much as one that they adore, 
E'en as a ship that hugs alike the near and farther shore. 

They not to one or two belong, like open stall are they, 

One might as soon catch wind with net as women hold in sway. 

[446] Like river, road, or drinking shed^, assembly hall or inn, 
So free to all are womenfolk, no limits check their sin. 

Fell as black serpent's head are they, as ravenous as a fire. 
As kine the choicest herbage pick, they lovers rich desire. 

From elephant, black serpent, and from flame that's fed on ghee. 
From man besprinkled to be king, and women we should flee. 
All these whoso is on his guard will treat as deadly foe. 
Indeed their very nature it is very hard to know. 

Women who very clever are or very fair to view, 
And such as many men admire — all these one should eschew : 
A neighbour's wife and one that seeks a man of wealth for mate. 
Such kind of women, five in all, no man should cultivate. 

[447] When he had thus spoken the people applauded the Great Being, 
crying, " Bravo, well said ! " and after telling of the faults of women in 
these instances he held his peace. On hearing him Ananda, the vulture 
king, said, " My friend, Kunala, I too by my own powers of knowledge 
will tell of women's faults," and he began to speak of them. The Blessed 
One by way of illustration said : "Then, verily, Ananda, the vulture king, 
marking the beginning, middle and end of what the bird Kunala had to 
say, at this time uttered these stanzas : 

[448] Although a man with all this world contains of golden gear 
Should her endow of womenkind his heart may count most dear, 
Yet, if occasion serves, she will dishonour him withal — 
Beware lest thou into the hands of such vile wretches fall. 

' karma, apparently Skt shanna, but one would have expected the compound to be 
pakkanna. Cf. Pischel, Gramm. der Praknt-Sprachen, § 206. 

'' papa, a roadside shed where travellers are supplied with water. Cf. Jat. i. 302. 3. 

J. V. 16 



242 The Jataha. Booh XXI. 

A manly vigour^ he may show, from worldly taint be free, 
Her maiden wooer may perhaps winsome and loving be, 
In times of trouble and distress leave him she will and must, 
I for my part in womankind can never put my" trust. 

Let him not trust because he thinks 'she fancies me, I trow,' 
Nor let him trust because her tears oft in his presence flow; i 

They court the man they hate as much as one that they adore. 
Just as a ship that hugs alike the near and farther shore. 

Trust not a litter strewn with leaves and branches long ago 2, 
Trust not thy whilom friend, perchance now grown into a foe, 
Trust not a king because thou thinkst, 'My comrade once was he. 
Trust not a woman though she has borne children ten to thee. 

Women are pleasure-seekers all and unrestrained in lust, 
Transgressors of the moral law : in such put not your trust. 
A wife may feign unbounded love before her husband's face ; 
Distrust her : women common are as any landing place. 

Eeady to mutilate or slay, from nothing do they shrink, 
And after having cut his throat they e^n his blood would drink: 
Let no man fix his love on them, creatures of passions base. 
Licentious and as common as some Ganges landing place. 

In speech they no distinction make betwixt the false and true, 
As kine the choicest herbage pick, rich lovers they pursue. 

One man they tempt with looks and smiles, another by their walk, 
Some they attract by strange disguise^, others by honeyed talk. 

Dishonest, fierce and hard of heart, as sugar sweet their words, 
Nothing there is they do not know to cheat their wedded lords. 

Surely all womenfolk are vile, no limit bounds their shame, 
Impassioned and audacious they, devouring as a flame. 

Women are not so formed, this man to love and that abhor. 
They court the man they hate as much as one that they adore, 
E'en as a ship that hugs alike the near and farther shore. 

' [449] 'Tis not a case of love or hate with womenfolk we see. 
It is for gold they hug a man, as parasites a tree. 

A man may corpses burn or e'en dead flowers from temples rake*. 

Be groom of horse or elephant, or care of oxen take. 

Yet women after such low castes will run for money's sake. 

One nobly born they leave if poor, as 'twere a low outcast, 
To such an one, like carrion vile, if rich, they hie them fast." 

[450] Thus did Ananda, the vulture king, keeping to facts -within 
his own knowledge, tell of the bad qualities of women, and then held his 
peace. Narada, too, after hearing what he had to say, keeping to what 

' utthahaka. See Dhammapada 280, anuttliahdno, and its archaic form in the 
Journal Asiatique, ix™° S6r., tome xii. p. 215, where from the verbal base utthah we 
find an a,nalogous form anutliahatu. 

" For fear it may harbour a snake. 

^ The commentator refers to the story of Nalinika, No. 526, as an instance of 
this. \ 

* pupphachaddaka, a low-caste man who removes dead flowers from temples, Thera- 
Qutha, v. 620, Questions of Milinda, v. 4, vol. 11. p. 211 (S. B. E. xxxvi.). 



No. 536. 243 

he himself knew, spoke of their bad qualities. In illustrating this the 
Master said : " Then verily Narada, hearing the beginning, middle and 
end of what Ananda, the vulture king, had to say, at this point repeated 
these stanzas : 

Four things can never sated be — list well to these my words — 
Ocean, kings, brahmins, womenkind, these four, king of birds. 

All streams in earth that find their home will not the ocean fill, 
Though all may with its waters mix, something is lacking still. 

A brahmin cons' his Vedas and his legendary lore. 

Yet still he sacred knowledge lacks and craves for more and more. 

A king by conquest holds the world, its moiintains, seas and all. 

The endless treasures it contains his very own may call. 

Yet sighs for worlds beyond the sea, for this he counts too small. 

One woman may have husbands eight, compliant to her will, 

All heroes bold, well competent love's duties to fulfil, 

Yet on a ninth her love she sets, for something lacks she still. 

Women like flames devour their prey. 
Women like floods sweep all away. 
Women are pests, like thorns are they, 
Women for gold oft go astray. 

That man with net might catch the breeze, 
Or single-handed bale out seas. 
Clap with one hand, who once should dare 
His thoughts let range on woman fair. 

With women, clever jades. Truth aye is found a rarity, 
Their ways as much perplex as those of fishes in the sea^. 

[451] Soft-speaking, ill to satisfy, as rivers hard to fill, 

Down— down they sink: who women know should flee far from them still '. 

Seducing traitresses, they tempt the holiest to his fall, 

Down — down they sink: who women know should flee afar from all. 

And whomsoever they may serve for gold or for desire, 
They burn him up as fuel burns cast in a blazing fire." 

When Narada had thus set forth the vices of women, the Great Being 
once more by special instances illustrated their bad qualities. 



[452] To show this the Master said, " So verily the bird Kunala, after learning 
the beginning, middle and conclusion of what Narada had to say, repeated at 
this time these stanzas : 

E'en a wise man may dare to exchange a word 
With goblin foe armed with sharp whetted sword, 
Fierce snake he may assail, but ne'er too bold 
Alone with woman should he converse hold. 

^ For the form adhiydnam compare v. 24. 4, khadiyanam, v. 143. 9, anunwdiyanam, 
V. 505. 28, paribhunjiydna. Compare Pischel, Grammatik der Prdkrit-Sprachen, § 592. 
^ These lines occur on p. 62, supra. 
' Vol. n. p. 226, vol. iv. p. 292, English yersion. 

16—2 



244 The Jataka. Booh XXL 

Man's reason is o'eroome by woman's charms, 
Speech, smiles, with dance and song, their only arms: 
Unstable souls they harass, as erewhile 
Fell demons merchants slew in goblin isle. 

Given to strong drink and meat, one tries in vain 

To curb their appetite or lust restrain, 

Like to some fawed monster of the deep. 

Into their maw a man's whole wealth they sweep. 

Lust's five-fold realm they own as their domain, 
Their swelling pride uncurbed none may restrain : 
As rivers all to ocean find their way. 
So careless souls to women fall a prey. 

The man in whom these women take delight. 
Moved by their greed or carnal appetite. 
Yea such an one inflamed by strong desire. 
They clean consume as fuel in the fire. 

If one they know is rich, on him they fall 

And ofi" they carry him, his wealth and all, 

Bound him thus fired with lust their arms they fling, 

As creepers to some forest sal tree cling. 

Like vimbai fruit red-lipped 2, so bright and gay, 

'Gainst man they many a stratagem essay, 

With laughter now assailing, now with smiles, 

Like Saiiivara', that lord of many wiles. 

Women with gold and jewels rich bedecked. 
By husband's kin received with due respect, 
[453] Though strictly guarded 'gainst their lords will sin. 
Like her the demon's maw conveyed within*. 

A man may very famous be and wise, 

Bevered and honoured in all people's eyes. 

Yet fall'n 'neath woman's sway no more will shine 

Than moon eclipsed by Bahu's' power malign. 

The vengeance wreaked by angry foe on foe. 

Or such as tyrants to their victims show. 

Yea a worse fate than this o'ershadows all 

That through their lust 'neath woman's sway shall fall. 

Threatened with person scratched or hair pulled out. 
Scourged, cudgelled, buffeted or kicked about, 
Yet woman to some low-born lover hies 
Delighting in him as in carrion flies. 

Shun women in highways and lordly hall. 
In royal city or in township small, 
A man of insight, would he happy be, 
Avoids the snare thus laid by Namuci^. 

He who relaxes good ascetic rule. 
To practise what is mean and base, poor fool, 
Will barter heaven for hell, like unto them 
Who change a flawless for a blemished' gem. 

' Momordica monadelplm. ^ vimboshtha. 

' Samvara, the name of a demon. 
* Vol. III. No. 436, Samugga-Jataka. 

" Bahu, a Titan supposed to Bwallpw the moon and cause an eclipse. 
° A name of Mara. See Windiscb) Mara und Bvddha, p. 185. 
' chedagamimani. ! 

i 

i 



No. 536. 245 



Despised is he in this world and the next 
And, willingly by evil women vext, 
Goes stumbling recklessly, fall upon fall. 
As vicious ass runs wild with car and all. 

Now in silk-cotton grove of iron spears'. 
Now in Patapana he disappears. 
Now lodged in some brute form is seen to flit 
In ghostly realms that he may never quit. 

In Nandana^ love's heavenly sport and play. 
On earth the monarch's imiversal sway. 
Is lost through woman, and through her alas! 
All careless souls to state of suffering pass. 

[454] Not hard to attain are heavenly sport and play, 
Nor upon earth the world-wide monarch's sway, 
Nymphs too in golden homes by these are won 
Who with concupiscence long since have done. 

To pass from Realm of Sense with life renewed 
To World of Form, with higher powers , endued. 
Is by rebirth in sphere of Arhats won 
By these who with concupiscence have done. 

The bliss that doth all sense of pain transcend. 
Unwavering, unconditioned, without end, 
Is by pure souls, now in Nirvana, won 
Who with concupiscence long since have done." 



[456] Thus did the Great Being, after bringing about their attainment 
of the Eternal Great Nirvana, end his lesson. And the elves and mighty 
serpents and the like in the Himalayas, and the angels standing in the air, 
all applauded, saying, " Bravo ! spoken with all the charm of a Buddha." 
Ananda, the vulture king, Narada, the brahmin angel, Punnamukha, the 
royal cuckoo, each with his own following, retired to their respective 
places, and the Great Being too departed to his own abode. But the 
others from time to time returned and received instruction at the hands 
of the Great Being, and abiding by his admonition became destined to 
Heaven. 



The Master here ended his lesson and identifying the Birth repeated the final 
stanza : 

Udayi royal cuckoo was, Ananda vulture king. 
Good Sariputta Narada, Kunala I that sing. 

Thus are ye to understand this Birth. 

Now these Brethren, when they came, came by the supernatural power of 
the Master, and on returning returned by their own power. And the Master 
revealed to them in the Great Forest the means by which ecstasy may be 
induced, and that very day they attained to Arhatship. There was a mighty 
gathering of angelic beings, so the Blessed One declared to them the Mahasamaya- 
sutta (the discom-se preached to a great company). 

' Compare Sariikicca-Jdtaka, p. 139, supra. 
^ Naodana, a garden in Indra's heaven. 



2^6 The Jatalca. Booh XXI. 



No. 537. 

MAHA-SUTASOMA-JATAKA\ 

"Master of dainty Jlavows," etc. This story the Master while dwelling at 
Jetavana told concerning the Elder, Augulimala^. The manner of his birth and 
admission to the priesthood is to be understood as fully described in the 
Angulimala-sutta. Now from the time when by an Act of Truth he saved the 
life of a woman having a difficult delivery he easily obtained offerings of food 
and by cultivating retirement he afterwards attained to Arhatship and became 
recognised as one of the eighty Great Elders. At that time they started this 
subject in the Hall of Truth, saying, " Oh ! what a miracle, sirs, was wrought 
by the Blessed One in that he thus peacefully and without using any violence 
converted and humbled such a cruel and blood-stained robber as Angulimala: 
Oh! Buddhas verily do mighty works!" The Master seated in the Perfumed 
Chamber by his divine sense of hearing caught what was said and, knowing that 
to-day his coming would be very helpful and that there would be an exposition of 
a great doctrine, wi^h the incomparable grace of a Buddha he went to the Hall 
of Truth and there sitting on the seat reserved for him he asked what theme 
they were discussing in conclave ; and when they told him what it was he said, 
" There is no marvel. Brethren, in my converting him now [457], when I have 
attained to the highest enlightenment. I also tamed him when I was living in 
a previous stage of existence and in a condition of only limited' knowledge," and 
with these words he told a story of the past. 



Once upon a time a king named Koravya exercised a righteous rule in 
the city of Indapatta, in the kingdom of Kuru. The Bodhisatta came to 
life as the child of his chief queen, and from his fondness for pressed soma 
juice they called him Sutaaoma. When he was come of age Ms father 
sent him to Takkasila to be educated by a teacher of world-wide fame. So 
taking his teacher's fee he started on his way there. At Benares, too, 
prince Brahmadatta, son of the king of Kasi, was sent by his father for a 
like purpose and set out upon the same road. In the course of his journey 
Sutasoma to rest himself sat down on a bench in a hall by the city gate. 
Prince Brahmadatta, too, came and sat down with him on the same bench. 
After a friendly greeting Sutasoma asked him, saying, "Friend, you are 
tired with your journey. Whence have you come?" On his saying " From 
Benares," he asked whose son he was. " The son of Brahmadatta." " And 
what is your name ] " "Prince Brahmadatta." " With what object are 
you come?" "To be instructed in arts," he replied. Then prince 

1 Compare Jataka-Mdld, xxxi. The Story of Sutasoma, Jat. vol. v. No. 513, Jayad- 
disa-Jatalca, and Cariyd-Pitaka, iii. 12. p. 100 (ed. by B. Morris). 

' For the story of Angulimala see AnguliviCilamttam {Majjhima Nikdya, No. 86, 
vol. II. pt. I. p. 97) and Hardy's Manual, pp. 257—261. 

2 padesandnam. See Sikskdsamuccaya, Index, p. 385, s.v. prddeSika, 1. local, 
provincial, 2. limited, as in prddeHkaydnam, Mahdvyutpatti, § 59, 



No, 537. 247 

Brahmadatta said, " You too are tired with your journey," and questioned 
him in like manner. And Sutasoma told him all about himself. And 
they both thought, " We are two princes going to receive instruction in 
arts at the hands of the same teacher,'' and struck up a friendship one 
with another. Then entering the city they repaired to the teacher's house 
and saluted him, and after declaring their origin they said they had come 
to be instructed in arts. He readily agreed with their proposals. Offering 
him the fee for instruction they entered upon their studies, and not merely 
they, but other princes who were at that time in India, to the number of 
one hundred and one, received instruction from the teacher. Sutasoma 
being the senior pupil soon attained to proficiency in teaching, and without 
visiting the others [458] he thought, "This is my friend," and went to 
prince Brahmadatta only, and becoming his private teacher' he soon 
educated him, while the others only gradually acquired their learning. 
They, too, after zealous application to their studies bade farewell to their 
teacher, and forming an escort to Sutasoma set out on their return journey. 
Then Sutasoma standing in front of them dismissed them, saying, " After 
you have given a proof of your learning to your respective fathers you will 
be established each in your own kingdom. When so established see that 
you obey my instructions." " What are they, Master?" "On the days of 
the new and full moon^ to keep Uposatha vows and to abstain from taking 
the life of anything." They readily agreed to this. The Bodhisatta, from 
his power of prognosticating from personal appearance, knew that great 
danger would arise with regard to the prince of Benares in the future, and 
thus after due admonition he dismissed them. And they all returned to their 
own countries, and after an exhibition of their learning to their fathers 
succeeded to their respective kingdoms. And to make known this fact 
and that they were continuing in his admonition, together with a present, 
they sent letters to Sutasoma. The Great Being on learning the state of 
affairs answered their letters, bidding them be earnest in the faith. 
One of them, the king of Benares, never ate his rice meal without meat, 
and to observe a holy day they would take his meat and put it on one side. 
Now one day when the meat was thus reserved, by the carelessness of the 
cook the well-bred dogs in the king's palace ate it. The cook not finding 
it took a handful of coins and going a round failed to procure any meat 
and said, " If I should serve a meal without meat, 1 am a dead man. 
What am I to do?" 'But thinking, "There is still a way," late in the 
evening he went to a cemetery where dead bodies are exposed and taking 
some flesh fror^i the thigh of a man who had just died, he roasted it 

1 pitthiai,ariya. This word occurs in Jat. vol. ii. 100. 13, and in both passages 
seems to mean an assistant teacher, supplementing the master's teaching. 

2 Po'i pakkhadivasd, the two chief fortnightly fast-days, see Jat. in. 292. 19, 342. 5 
and VI. 97. 3. 



248 The Jataka. Book XXI. 

thoroughly and served it up as a meal. No sooner was a bit of the meat 
placed ou the tip of the king's tongue than it sent a thrill through the 
seven thousand nerves of taste and continued to create a disturbance 
throughout his whole body. Why was this ? From his having previously 
resorted to this food. For it is said that as a Yakkha, in the birth 
immediately preceding this, he had eaten quantities of human flesh, and so 
it was agreeable to his taste'. [459] The king thought, " If I shall eat this 
m silence, he will not tell me what this meat is," so in spitting he let a 
piece fall to the ground. When the cook said, " You may eat it, sire ; 
there is nothing wrong with it," he ordered all his attendants to retire and 
said, " I know it is all right, but what meat is it ?" " What your Majesty 
has enjoyed on previous days.'' " Surely the meat had not this flavour at 
any other time?" " It was well cooked to-day, sire." " Surely you cooked 
it exactly like this before ? " Then seeing him reduced to silence he said, 
" Either tell me the truth or you are a dead man." So he prayed for an 
assurance of indemnity and told the exact truth. The king said, " Do not 
say a word about it. You are to eat the usual roast meat and cook human 
flesh only for me." " Surely this is a diflScuIt matter, sire." " Do not be 
afraid : there is no difficulty." " Whence shall I be able to get it con- 
tinually ? " " Are there not numbers of men in prison ? " Thenceforth he 
acted on this suggestion. By and bye, when prisoners failed him, he said, 
" What am I to do now? " The kmg said, " Throw down in the high road 
a parcel of a thousand pieces of money and seize as a thief any one that 
picks it up and put him to death." He did so. By and bye, not finding 
a creature so much as looking at the packet of money, he said, " Now 
what am I to do ? " " At the time when a drum sounds the night watches, 
the city is crowded with people. Then, taking your stand in the cleft^ of 
a house wall or at a cross-ways, strike down a man and carry ofi" some 
of his flesh." From that day he used to come with some fat flesh, and in 
various places dead bodies were found. A sound of lamentation was 
heard, " I have lost my father, I have lost my mother, or brother or sister.'' 
The men of the city were panic-stricken and said, "Surely some lion or 
tiger or demon has devoured these people." On examining the bodies they 
saw what looked like a gaping wound and said, "Why it must be a man 
that eats their flesh ! " The people gathered together in the palace-yard 
and made a complaint, The king asked, "What is it, my friends?" 
" Sire," they said, " in this city is some man-eating robber : have him 

• Throughout the Jatakaa demons called yakkhas are frequently mentioned as 
eating human flesh. The only oases of cannibalism are those of men who have either 
been reared by a yakkha or such as have been yakkhas in a previous birth, as in this 
story. Compare an interesting paper, " Pisaca=Qixo<li&ym," contributed >y Dr Grier- 
son to the B. A. S. J. 1905, on legends connected with cannibalism in tile modern 
Pifeca country. > 

^ With gharasandhi, a hole in the wall of a house, compare Manu, ix. 276. > 



No. 537. 249 

seized." " How am I to know who it is ? Am I to walk round and 
guard the city 1 " The people said [460], "The king has not a care for the 
city : we will report it to the commander-in-chief, Kalahatthi." They told 
him and said, " You must search for this robber." He answered, " Wait 
for seven days and I will seek out the robber and hand him over to you." 
And dismissing the people he gave orders to his officers, saying, " My 
friends, they say there is a man-eating robber in this city. You are to 
lay an ambuscade in various places and capture him." They said, " All 
right," and from that day they surround the whole city. Now the cook 
was concealed in a hole in the wall of a house and he killed a woman and 
began to fill his basket with pieces of solid flesh. So the officers seized and 
buffeted him, and tying his arms behind him they raised a loud cry, " We 
have caught the man-eating robber." A crowd of people gathered around 
them. Then beating him soundly and fastening the basket of flesh upon 
his neck they brought him before the commander-in-chief. On seeing him 
he thought, " Can it be that this fellow eats this flesh or does he mix it 
with other meat and sell it, or does he kill people at the bidding of some- 
body else 1 " And inquiring into the matter he spoke the first stanza : 

Master of dainty flavours, what dire need 
Has urged thee on to do this dreadful deed ? 
Hast thou for food to eat or wealth to gain, 
Misguided wretch, these men and women slain? 

The verses that follow are of obvious connexion and are to be under- 
stood as uttered by alternate speakers in accordance with the scripture 
context : 

Neither for wife or child, friends, kin or pelf, 
Nor did I slay this woman for myself; 
My gracious lord, the sovereign of this land, 
Eats human flesh ; I sinned at his command. 

If thus suborned to sate thy master's greed 
Thou hast been guilty of this awful deed, 
[461] Let us at early dawn seek out the king 
And in his face the accusation fling. 

O Kalahatthi, worshipful good lord. 
So will I do according to thy word. 
At early dawn will I seek out the king 
And in his face this accusation fling. 

So the commander had him laid down, flrmly bound, and at dawn he 
took counsel with his officers, and as they were unanimous he stationed 
guards in every direction, and having got the city well in hand he bound 
the basket of flesh on the cook's neck and went off with him to the palace, 
and the whole city was in an uproar. The king had breakfasted the day 
before, but had gone without his supper and had spent the whole night in a 
sitting posture, expecting the cook to come every moment. " To-day, too,'' 
he thought, " no cook comes, and I hear a great uproar in the city. W hat 



250 The Jataha. Book XXI. 

can it all be about? " and looking out of the window he saw the man being 
dragged thither as described, and thinking everything was discovered he 
plucked up his courage and took his seat on his throne. And Kalahatthi 
drew nigh and questioned him, and the king answered him. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said: 

'Twas now sunrise and day had scarce begun to break, 

As Kala to the court with cook his way did take. 

And drawing nigh the king words such as these he spake. 

'Sire, is it true this cook was sent into the street. 
And men and women slew to furnish thee with meat?' 

[462] ' Kala, 'tis even so ; 'twas done at my request : 

Why blame him then for what he did at my behest?' 

On hearing this the commander-in-chief thought, " With his own mouth 
he confesses it ; Oh, the ruffian ! all this long time he has been eating men : 
I will stop^him from this," and he said, " Sire, do not this thing ; eat not 
the flesh of men." " Kajahatthi, what is it yon say ? 1 cannot cease 
from it." " Sire, if you do not cease from it, you will destroy both your- 
self and your realm." "Even though my realm be destroyed, I cannot 
possibly cease from it.'' Then the commander, to bring him to a better 
mind, told him a story by way of illustration. 

Once upon a time there were six monster fishes in the ocean. Amongst 
them were Ananda, Timanda, Ajjhohara — these three were five hundred 
leagues in extent — Titimiti, Mingala, Timirapingala — these were a 
thousand leagues long — and all of them fed upon the rock-sevala^ weed. Of 
them Ananda dwelt on one side of the ocean and many fish came to see 
him. One day they thought, " Amongst all bipeds and quadrupeds kings 
are to be found, but we have no king : we will make this fish our king.'' 
And being all of one mind they made Ananda their king, and from that 
day the fish evening and morning came to pay their respects to him. Now 
one day Ananda on a certain mountain was feeding on rock-sevala and 
unwittingly ate a fish, thinking it to be sevala. [463] Its flesh was 
pleasing to his taste, and wondering what it could be that was so very 
sweet, he took it out of his mouth and looking at it found it was a piece of 
fish. He thought, " All this long time in my ignorance I never ate this : 
evening and morning when the fish come to pay their respects to me, I will 
devour one or two of them, for if when they are being eaten I make the 
fact too clear to them, not a single one will come near me, but they will 
all scurry ofi"." So lying in concealment he struck at any that were 
retreating from behind and devoui-ed them. The fish as their numbers 
gradually diminished thought, "Prom what quarter will this peril to our 

' The aquatio plant valUsneria. 



No. 537. 251 

kind be threatening us?" Then a sage amongst them thought, " 1 am not 
satisfied with what Ananda is doing : I will investigate what he is about," 
and when the fish came to pay homage to Ananda, the sage hid himself in 
the lobe of Ananda's ear. Ananda on dismissing the fish devoured those 
that were straggling behind. The wise fish seeing it reported it to the 
others and they all were panic-stricken and fled. From that day Ananda 
in his greedy longing for the flavour of fish refused every other kind of 
food. Growing sick from hunger he thought, " Where in the world can 
they be gone? " Sipd in searching for them he espied a certain mountain and 
thought, " From fear of me the fish, methinks, are dwelling near this 
mountain. I will encircle it and keep a watch over it." So encircling it 
with his head and tail he compassed it on both sides, thinking, " If they 
live here, they will be for escaping," and catching sight of his own tail as it 
coiled round the mountain he thought, " This fish lives near the mountain 
and is trying to elude me," and in his rage he seized his own tail, which 
was fifty leagues long, and believing he had got hold of a fish, he devoured 
it with a crunching sound, suffering thereby excruciating pain. At the 
smell of the blood the fish gathered together, and pulling bit after bit out 
of Ananda's tail ate it up till they reached his head. [464] Having such 
a big carcase he could not turn round 'but then and there came to his 
end. And there was a heap' of bones as big as a mountain. Holy ascetics, 
male and female, travelling through space, saw it and told men of it. 
And the inhabitants of all India knew of it. Kalahatthi, by way of illus- 
tration, told this story and said : 

Ananda ate of every fish and when his suite had fled. 
He his own tail right greedily devoured till he was dead. 

The slave to appetite no other pleasure knows. 

Poor careless fool, so blind is he to coming woes : 

He children, kith and kin in ruin low will lay. 

Then turns and rend.s himself, to monstrous greed a prey. 

To these my words, king, I pray thee, hearken well. 
Eat not the flesh of men ; forego thy purpose fell : 
Lest thou perchance shouldst share that fish's awful fate 
And leave, lord of men, thy kingdom desolate. 

[465] On hearing this the king said, "Kalahatthi, I too know an 

example as well as you," and as an instance he told an old story in 

illustration of his greed for human flesh and said : 

Sujata's son and heir for some rose-apples loudly cried. 

For loss of them the lad so grieved, he laid him down and died. 

So, Eala, I who now long time have fed on daintiest fare. 
Failing this human flesh, methinks, for life would cease to care. 

Once upon a time, they say, a landed gentleman named Sujata at 
Benares lodged in his park and ministered to five hundred ascetics who 
had come down from the Himalayas to procure salt and vinegar. Food 



252 The Jataha. Book XXI. 

was constantly set out in his house for them, but these ascetics sometimes 
went on a pilgrimage for alms in the country and brought back pieces of 
big rose-apples to eat. When they were feeding on the rose-apples they had 
brought, Sujata thought, " To-day it is the third or fourth day that these 
holy men have not come to me here. Where in the world can they have 
gone 1 " So making his little boy take hold of his hand he went there while 
they were taking their repast. At that moment a novice was giving the 
elders water to rinse their mouths and was eating a bit of rose-apple. Sujata 
saluted the ascetics and when he was seated he asked, saying, " Holy sirs, 
what are you eating ] " " Pieces of large rose-apples, sir." The boy on 
hearing this felt thirsty, so the leader of the company of ascetics had a 
small piece given to him. The boy ate it and was so charmed with the 
delicate flavour that he kept on continually begging them to give him another 
piece. The gentleman, who was listening to the preaching of the Law, 
said, " Do not cry ; when you get home, you shall have a piece to eat," 
thus deceiving the boy for fear lest the holy Brethren might be worn out 
by his cries. So comforting the boy he took his leave of the band of 
ascetics and returned home. From the moment they arrived there the 
boy kept up a cry of "Give me a piece." The ascetics too said, "We 
have stayed here a long time," and departed for the Himalayas. Not 
finding the boy in the park the ascetics sent him a present of pieces of 
mangoes, rose-apples, bread-fruit, bananas and other fruits, all mixed with 
powdered sugar. This mixture was no sooner placed on the tip of his 
tongue than it acted like a deadly poison. For seven days he took no 
food and then died. [466] This story the king told by way of illustration. 
Then Kalahatthi thought, "This king is a great glutton: I will tell him 
further instances," and he said, "Great king, desist from this." "It is 
impossible," he said. " Should you not desist, you will gradually be 
dropped by your family circle and deprived of your kingly glory." Once 
upon a time too in this very Benares there was a brahmin family 
which kept the five Moral Precepts. An only son was bom to this 
family, the darling and delight of his parents, a wise lad and well seen 
in the Three Vedas. He used to go about in the company of a band of 
youths of the same age as himself. The other members of the company 
ate fish, meat and similar foo'd and took strong drink. The young boy 
neither ate meat nor drank strong drink. The thought struck them, 
" This boy because he takes no strong drink does not pay his reckoning : 
let us devise a plan to make him drink." So when they were gathered 
together, they said, " My friend, let us hold a festival." He said, " You 
drink strong drink but I do not. You go without me." "Friend, we 
will take some milk for you to drink." He consented, saying, " All right." 
The rogues went to the garden and tied up some fiery spirit in a leaf cup 
and put it amongst some lotus leaves. So when they began to drink they 



No. 537. 253 

offered the lad some milk. One of the rogues cried, " Bring us some 
lotus nectar," and having had it brought to him, he cut a hole in the 
bottom of the leaf cup placed in the lotus, and putting it to his mouth 
sucked it. The others too had some brought to them and drank it. The 
lad asked what it was and took some strong drink, believing it to be lotus 
nectar. Then they offered him some broiled meat and this too he ate. 
And when from repeated draughts of liquor he was intoxicated, they told 
him, "This is no lotus nectar: it is spirit." "All this long while,'' he 
said, " I never knew what a sweet taste was. Bring me more strong 
drink, I say !" They brought it and once more gave it him, for he was 
very thirsty. [467] Then when he asked for more, they told him it was 
all finished. He said, " Come, I say ! fetch me some more,'' and gave 
them his signet ring. After drinking with them all the day, being now 
quite drunk and his eyes bloodshot, trembling and babbling, he went home 
and lay down. Then his father finding out he had been drinking, when 
the effects of it had passed off, said to him, " My son, you have done very 
wrong, being a member of a brahmin family, to drink strong drink ; never 
do so again.'' "Dear father, what is my offence?" "Drinking strong 
drink." " How say you, father ? in all my life I never before tasted 
anything so sweet." The brahmin repeatedly besought him to give it up. 
" I cannot do it," he said. Then the brahmin thought, " If this is so, our 
family tradition will be destroyed and our wealth will perish," and he 
repeated this stanza : 

A scion of a brahmin house, withal a comely boy, 

Thou must not drink the aocursM thing no brahmin may enjoy. 

And after these words he said, " My dear son, abstain from it, otherwise 
I shall put you out of my house and have you banished from my kingdom." 
The lad said, " Even so, I cannot give up strong drink,'' and he repeated 
two stanzas ; 

Since, father, from this best of tastes thou fain wouldst me debar. 
To get it, where it may be found I'll go however far. 

Depart will I in haste and ne'er dwell with thee any more. 
For now the very sight of me, methinks, thou dost abhor. 

Moreover he said, " I will not abstain from dram drinking : do what 
you please." Then the brahmin, saying, "Well, as you give us up, we 
too wUl give you up," repeated this stanza: 

[468] Surely some other sons we'll find as heirs our wealth to claim. 
Go, rascal, where we never more may hear thy cursfed name. 

Then taking his son into court he disinherited him and had him driven 
out of his house. This youth later on, being a poor destitute wretch, put 
on a coarse garment, and taking a beggar's bowl in his hand he went round 
begging for alms, and resting against a wall so died. Kalahatthi relating 



254 .The Jataha. Book XXI. 

this incident by way of a lesson to the king, said, " If, sire, you refuse to 
hearken to our words, they will have you banished from the kingdom," 
and so saying he spoke this stanza : 

So hearken well, king of men, obeying my command. 

Or like that drunken youth wilt thou be banished from the land. 

Even after the instance thus adduced by Kalahatthi, the king could 
not desist from his habit, and to illustrate yet another story he said : 

Disciple of the Perfect Saints i, Sujata, it is said, 

Abstained from food and drink through love felt for a heavenly maid. 

As dewdrop on a blade of grass to waters of the sea. 
Is human love compared with love for some divinity. 

So, Kala, I who now long time have fed on daintiest fare, 
Failing this human flesh, methinks, for life would cease to care. 

The story is just like the one already related. 

This Sujata, they say, on seeing that the ascetics, at the time when 
they ate pieces of big rose-apple did not return, thought, " I wonder why * 
they do not come back. If they are gone anywhere, I will find it out : 
otherwise I will listen to their preaching." So he went to the park and 
heard the Law preached by the leader of the company, and when the sun set, 
though he was dismissed he said, "I will remain here to-day," and saluting 
the company of saints he went into his hut of leaves and'lay down. At night 
Sakka, king of heaven, accompanied by a troop of angelic beings, together 
with his handmaids, came to pay his respects to the band of ascetics, and 
the whole hermitage was one blaze of light. Sujata, wondering" what this 
might be, rose up and looking through a chink in his hut of leaves, saw 
Sakka come to salute the company [469], attended by a troop of heavenly 
Apsarasas, and no sooner did he see them than he was fired with passion. 
Sakka took a seat and after listening to a sermon on the Faith departed 
to his own abode. The landed proprietor next day saluted the ascetics 
and asked, saying, " Who was it, reverend sirs, came in the night to pay 
his respects to you ? " " Sakka, sir." " And who were those that sat 
round about him?" "They are called heavenly Apsarasas." Saluting 
the band of ascetics he went home and from the moment he got there he 
kept up a foolish cry of " Give me an Apsaras." His kinsmen, standing ' 
about him, wondered if he were possessed of an evil spirit, and snapped 
their fingers. He said, " It is not this snapping of the fingers I speak of, 
but of the heavenly Apsaras^." And when they dressed up and brought 
to him a wife or even a courtesan and said, " Here ia an Apsaras," he 
said, " This is no Apsaras, it is a female ghoul," and went on with his 

' For bliavitatta compare Dhamma Sangani, English translation, p. 138. 
2 The Pali here has a play upon the two meanings of the word acehara, a heavenly 
nymph, and a snapping of the fingers. 



No. 537. 255 

foolish cry, "Give me an Apsaras," and taking no food he died. On 
hearing this Kalahatthi said, " This king is a great glutton : I will bring 
him to a better mind." And he said, " The golden geese too that travel 
through the air perished from eating the flesh of their kin," and to 
illustrate this lie repeated two stanzas : 

Just as these dhatarattha geese that travel through the air 
All died because they lived upon a most unnatural fare, 

So too do thou, O king of men; list well to what I say, 
For eating this unlawful food, thee too they'll drive away. 

Once upon a time, they say, ninety thousand geese dwelt in Golden 
Cave on mount Cittakuta. For four months in the rainy season they do 
not stir out. If they should do so, their wings being full of water, they 
would be unable to take a long flight and would fall into the sea, and 
therefore they do not stir out, but when the rainy season is drawing near, 
they gather wild paddy from a' natural lake, and filling their cave with it 
live upon rice. But no sooner had they entered the cave than an unnanabhi 
spider as big as a chariot wheel at the entrance of the cave used to spin 
a web every month, and each thread of it was as thick as a cow's halter. 
The geese give two portions of food to a young goose,- thinking he will 
then be able to break through the web. [470] When the sky clears, this 
young goose being in front of them severs the web and the rest all escape 
by the same way. Now once the rainy season lasted five months, and the 
food of the geese grew short. They consulted as to what was to be done 
and said, " If we are to live, we must take the eggs." First they ate the 
eggs, then the goslings and after that the old geese. At the end of five 
months the rain left ofi", the spider had spun five webs, and the geese 
from eating the flesh of their kin had grown feeble. The young goose 
that had received a double portion of food, striking at the webs broke four 
of them but could not break the fifth, and stuck there. So the spider 
cut off his head and drank his blood. First one and then another came 
and struck the web, and the spider said, " Here's another of them stuck 
in the same place," and sucked the blood of all of them, and at that time 
the family of the dhatarattha geese became extinct, they say. The king 
was anxious to give yet another illustration, but the citizens rising 
up said, " My lord commander, what do you propose to do ? How will 
you proceed now you have caught the man-eating rogue 1 If he does not 
give it up, have him expelled from his kingdom," and they would not 
sufier the king to say a word. Hearing the common talk of the people, 
the king was terrified and could say nothing more, and once again the 
commander said to him, " Sire, will it be possible for you to give it up?" 
" Impossible," he said. So the commander placed on one side all his 
harem, his sons and his daughters, arrayed in all their splendour, and 
said, " Sire, behold this circle of your kinsfolk, this band of councillors 



256 The Jatala. Book XXI. 

and your royal pomp : be not undone, but cease from eating man's flesh.'' 
The king said, "All this is not dearer to me than man's flesh." "Then 
depart, sire, from this city and kingdom.'' " Kalahatthi," he said, " I do 
not want my kingdom; I am ready to depart, but grant me one favour; let 
me have my sword and my cook." So they let him take a sword, a vessel 
for cooking pian's flesh and a basket, and giving him his cook they carried 
out his expulsion from the kingdom. [471] Taking his cook he set out 
from the city and entered a forest and made his dwelling at the foot of a 
banyan tree. Living there he would take his stand on the road which 
led through the forest, and killing men he would bring their bodies and 
give them to the cook, and he cooked the flesh and served it up and both 
of them lived after this manner. And when he sallied forth, crying, "Here 
am I, the man-eating robber ! " no one could hold his own, and they 
all fell to the ground and any one of them that he fancied, he seized, heels 
upwards or not as it might happen, and gave him to his cook. One day, he 
did not find any man in the forest, and when on his return the cook said, 
"How is this, sire?" he told him to put the pot on the brasier. "But where 
is the meat, sire?" "Oh ! I will find some meat," he said. Thought the 
cook, " I am a dea,d man," and all of a tremble he made a fire and put 
the pot on the brasier. Then the man-eater killed him with a stroke of 
his sword and cooked and ate his flesh. Thenceforth he was quite alone 
and had to cook his food himself. The rumour spread throughout all 
India, "The man-eater murders wayfaring men." At that time a certain 
wealthy brahmin who traded with five hundred waggons was travelling 
from the east in a westerly direction and he thought, " This man-eating 
robber, they say, murders men on the road. By a payment of money 
I will make my way through the forest." So he paid a thousand pieces 
of money to the people who lived at the entrance of the forest, bidding 
them convoy him safely through it and set out on the road with them. 
He placed all his caravan in front of him, and having bathed and anointed 
himself and put on sumptuous apparel he seated himself in an easy 
carriage drawn by white oxen, and escorted by his convoy he travelled last 
of all. The man-eater climbing up a tree was on the look out for men, 
but though he felt no appetite for any of the rest of the convoy, no sooner 
did he catch sight of the brahmin than his mouth watered through desire to 
eat him. When the brahmin came up to him, [472] he proclaimed his name, 
crying, " Here am I, the man-eating robber," and brandishing his sword, 
like to one filling men's eyes with sand, he leaped upon them and no man 
was able to stand up against him, but they all fell prone upon the ground. 
Seizing the brahmin as he sat in his easy carriage by the foot he slung 
him on his back, head downwards, and striking his head against his heels 
so carried him off. The men rising up cried one to another, " Ho ! my 
man, bestir yourself. We received a thousand pieces of money from the 



*No. 537. 257 

brahmin's hands. Who amongst us wears the semblance of a man ? Let 
us, one and all, strong man or weakling, pursue him for a short space." 
They pursued him and the man-eater stopped and looked back, and not 
seeing anyone went slowly on. At that moment a bold fellow running 
at full speed came up with him. On seeing him, the robber leaping over 
a fence trod upon an acacia splinter^ which, wounding him, came out at 
the top of his foot, and the robber went limping along with the blood 
trickling from the wound. Then his pursuer on seeing it said, " Surely 
I have wounded him : you just follow on behind and I will catch him." 
They saw how feeble he was and joined in the pursuit. When the robber 
saw that he was pursued he dropped the brahmin and secured his own 
safety. The brahmin's escort as soon as they had recovered him- thought, 
"What have we got to do with this robber 1" and turned back. But the 
man-eater, going to the foot of his banyan tree, lay down amongst the 
shoots and offered up a prayer to the spirit of the tree, saying, " My 
lady, nymph of the tree, if within seven days thou canst heal my 
wound, I will bathe thy tri\nk with blood from the throats of one 
hundred find one princes from all India, and will hang the tree all 
round with their inwards and offer up a sacrifice of the five sweet 
kinds of flesh." Now, in consequence of having nothing to eat or 
drink, his bgdy wasted away, and within the seven days his wound 
healed. He recognised that Tiis cure was due to the tree-nymph, and in 
a few days he recovered his strength by eating man's flesh and thought, 
" The spirit has been very helpful to me. I will discharge my vow." 
Taking his swoi-d he sallied forth from the foot of the tree [473] and set 
out, purposing to bring the kings. Now, a Yakkha which had gone about 
as his comrade, eating man's flesh with him, when in a former existence 
he himself had been a Yakkha, caught sight of him and knowing that he 
had in a former existence been his friend he asked him, saying, " Do you 
not recognise me, friend?" " I do not," he said. Then he told him about 
something they had done in a former state and the man-eater recognised 
him and gave him a kind greeting. When asked where he had been 
reborn, he told him of his place of birth and how he had been banished 
from his kingdom and where he was now living. He told him moreover 
how he was wounded by a splinter and that he was now going on an expe- . 
dition to redeem his promise to the tree-nymph. " I must get over this 
difficulty of mine by your help : we will go together, my friend," he said. 
" I cannot go, but there is one service I can render you. I certainly know a 
spell characterised by words of priceless value. It ensures strength, speed of 
foot, and an increase of prestige. Learn this spell." He readily agreed to 

' The couBtruction of this passage is not very clear, even if one takes khdnum to 
be a nominative as dhanwm, Jat. ii. 88. 14. Perhaps khSnum pitthipddena nikkhami 
means, he got rid of the splinter by rubbing the top of the other foot against it. 

J. V. ' ' 17 



258 The Jdtaka. Book XXI. 

this, and the goblin gave it to him and went off. The man-eater got the 
spell by heart, and from that time became swift as the wind and very 
bold. Within seven days he found a hundred and one kings on their 
ways to parks and other places and leaped upon them with the swiftness 
of the wind, proclaiming his name, and by jumping about and shouting he 
greatly terrified them. Then he seized them by the feet and held them 
head downwards, and striking their heads with his heels carried them oflf 
with the swiftness of the wind. Next he drilled holes in the palms of their 
hands and hung them up by a cord on the banyan tree, and the wind striking 
them as they just touched the ground with the tips of their toes, they 
hung on the tree, revolving like withered wreaths of flowers in baskets. 
But he thought, " Sutasoma was my private teacher : let not India be 
altogether desolate," and did not bring him. Being minded to make an 
offering to the tree he lighted a fire and sat down, sharpening a stake. 
The tree-nymph on seeing this thought, " He is preparing to offer sacrifice 
to me, but it was not I that healed his wound : [474] he will now make 
a great slaughter. What is to be done ? I shall not be able to stop him." 
So she went and told the Four Great Kings of it and bade them stop him. 
When they said they could not do it, she approached Sakka and told him the 
whole story and asked him to stop him. He said, "I cannot do it, but I will 
tell you some one who can." She said, " Who is that ? " " In the world 
of men and gods," he answered, " there is no one else, but in the city of 
Indapatta in the Kuru kingdom is Sutasoma, prince of Kuru. He will 
tame and humble this man and will save the lives of these kings, and cure 
him of eating human flesh and will shower nectar over all India. If you 
are anxious to save the lives of the kings, bid him first bring Sutasoma and. 
then offer his sacrifice to the tree.'' " All right,'' said the tree-spirit and 
went quickly, disguised as an ascetic, and approached close to the man- 
eater. At the sound of footsteps he thought, " Can one of the kings have 
escaped?" Looking up and seeing him he thought, "Ascetics surely ai-e 
kshatriyas. If I capture him, I shall make up the full number of one 
hundred and one kings and offer my sacrifice'." He rose up and sword in 
hand pursued the ascetic, but though he chased him for three leagues he 
could not overtake him, and streams of sweat poured from his limbs. He 
thought, "I once could pursue and catch an elephant, or horse, or chariot 
going at full speed, but to-day though I am running with all my might 
I cannot catch this ascetic who is going just his natural pace. What can 
be the reason for this ? " Then thinking, " Ascetics are accustomed to 
obey : if I bid him stand and he does so, I shall catch him," he cried, 
" Stand, holy sir.'' " I am standing," he answered, " do you too try and 

' As Sutasoma was left behind, one more victim was still wanting to complete the 
number. 



No. 537. 259 

stand." Then he said, " Ho there ! ascetics even to save their life do not 
tell a lie, but you speak falsely," and he repeated this stanza : 

[475] Although I bid thee stand, thou still dost forward fly. 
And crying ' Lo ! I stand,' methinks thou dost but lie : 
Unseemly 'tis ; this sword, priest, thou must assume 
To be a harmless shaft equipped with heron's plume^. 

Then the nymph spoke a couple of stanzas : 

Steadfast in righteousness am I, 
Nor change ray name or family. 
Here robbers but brief moment dwell. 
Soon doomed to pass to woes of hell. 

Be bold and captive here great Sutasoma bring 
And by his sacrifice shalt thou win heaven, king. 

With such words the nymph put off her disguise as an ascetic and stood 
revealed in her own form, blazing in the sky like the sun. The man-eater 
hearing what she had to say and beholding her form asked who she was, 
and on her replying that she had come to life as the spirit of this tree, he 
was delighted and thinking, " I have looked upon my tutelary divinity," 
he said, " O heavenly sovereign, be not troubled by reason of Sutasoma, 
[476] but enter once more into thine own tree.'' The spirit entered into 
the tree before his very eyes. At that moment the sun set and the moon 
arose. The man-eater being versed in the Vedas and their auxiliaries and 
acquainted with the movements of the astral bodies, looking at the sky, 
thought, " To-morrow it will be the Phussa asterism ; Sutasoma will come 
to the park to bathe and then will I lay hands upon him. But as he will 
have a strong guard and the dwellers throughout all India will come to 
guard him for three leagues around, at the first watch, before the guard is 
posted, I will go to the Migacira park and descend into the royal tank 
and there take my stand." So he went down into the tank and stood 
there, covering his head with a lotus leaf. By reason of his great glory 
the fish, tortoises and the like fell back and swam about in large bodies 
at the water's edge. Whence, it may be asked, came this glory of his ? 
From his devotion in a former existence. For at the time when 
Kassapa was Buddha, he started a distribution of milk by ticket. Owing 
to this he became very mighty, and having got the Assembly of the 
Brethren to erect a hall for a fire to dispel the cold, he provided fire, fire- 
wood and an axe to cleave the wood. As the result of this he became 
famous. — So now when he had gone into the garden,. while it was still 
early dawn, they picked a guard for three leagues round about, and king 
Sutasoma quite early in the morning after breakfast, mounted on a richly 
caparisoned elephant, with a complete force of four arms, sallied from the 
city. At that very moment a brahmin named Nanda from Takkasila, 

' A heron's feather was fixed on an arrow. 

17—2 



260 The Jataha. Booh XXI. 

bringing with him four stanzas, each worth a hundred pieces of money, 

reached the city after a journey of one hundred and twenty leagues, and 

took up his abode in a suburb. At sunrise on entering the city he saw 

the king issuing forth by the eastern gate, and raising his hand he cried, 

" Victory to the king." Now the king being far-sighted, as he was riding 

along, saw the outstretched hand of the brahmin as he stood on some 

rising ground, and drawing nigh to him on his elephant he spoke after this 

manner : 

Born in what realm and why, I pray, 
Dost hither come, brahmin, say; 
[477] This said, to-day I grant to thee 
Thy prayer, whatever it may be. 

Then the brahmin answered him : 

Four verses, mighty king, to thee 
Of import deep as is the sea 
I hither bring ; list to them well, 
Secrets of highest worth they tell. 

" Great king," he said, " these four verses taught me by the Buddha 
Kassapa are worth a hundred pieces of money each, and having heard that 
you take pleasure in libations' of soma juice, I am come to teach you." 
The king was greatly pleased and said, " Master, in this you have done 
well, but it is impossible for me to turn back. To-day, because it is the 
Phussa conjunction, it is the day for bathing my head : when I return I 
will listen to you. Be not dissatisfied with me." And with these words 
he bade his councillors, saying, " Go ye and in a certain house of a brahmin 
prepare a couch and arrange a dining place under cover," and he retired 
into his park. This was girt about by a wall eighteen cubits high and 
guarded all round by elephants within touch of one another. Then came 
horses, then chariots, and finally archers and other foot-soldiers — like a 
mighty troubled ocean was the army that had been transported thither. 
The king, when he had put ofi" his heavy adornments and had been shaved 
and shampooed, bathed in all his royal majesty in the lotus tank, and coming 
up out of the water he stood there clad in bathing garments, and they 
brought him scented garlands to adorn him. The man-eater thought, 
" When he is fully dressed, the king must be a heavy weight. I will seize 
him just when he is light to carry." [478] So shouting and jumping about 
and whirling a sword above his head as quick as lightning he proclaimed 
his name, crying, " Ho ! here am I, the man-eating robber," and he laid his 
finger on his forehead^ and stepped out of the water. As soon as they 
heard his cry, the elephant-riders with their elephants, the horsemen 
with their horses, and the charioteers with their chariots fell to the 
ground, and all the host of them dropping the weapons they held lay 

' suta. A play upon the double meaning of the word, juice and sacred literature. 
2 As a mark of reverence for the Bodhisatta. 



No. 537. 261 

prone upon their bellies. The man-eater seized Sutasoma, holding him 

erect. The rest of the kings he had caught by the foot- and held head 

downwards and had gone off with them, knocking their heads against his 

heels, but in coming up to the Bodhisatta he stooped down and lifting him 

up placed him on his shoulders. Thinking it would be a roundabout way 

by the gate he leaped over the wall, eighteen cubits high, at the point where 

it faced him, and going forward he tramj)led on the temples of elephants 

exuding the juice of rut, overthrowing them as it were mountain peaks. 

Next he trod on the backs of the horses — swift as the wind were they and 

of priceless worth — laying them also low. Then as he stepped on the 

fronts of the splendid chariots, he was like to one whirling a humming top ' 

or as it were one crushing the dark green phalaka'' plant or banyan leaves, 

and at a single burst he ran a distance of three leagues. Then wondering 

if anyone were following to rescue Sutasoma, he looked and seeing no one 

he went on slowly. Noticing the drops that fell upon him from Sutasoma's 

hair he thought, " There is no man living free from the fear of death : 

Sutasoma, too, methinks, is weeping from this fear," and he said : 

Men versed in lore, in whom high thoughts arise, 
Such never weep, the learned and the wise; 
All find herein ti refuge and a stay. 
That sages thus can sorrow drive away. 

Is it thy kin, wife, child, perchance thyself. 
Thy stores of grain, thy gold and silvet pelf — 
[479] What, Sutasoma, caused thy tears to flow? 

Great Kuru lord, thy answer we would know. 

Sutasoma said : 

Nay, I no tears am shedding for myself. 
Nor for my wife or child, my realm or pelf. 
The practice of the saints of old I keep, 
And for a promise unfulfilled I weep. 

Once to a brahmin I my word did plight. 
What time in mine own realm I ruled with might; 
That plighted word I fain would keep and then, 
My honour saved, return to thee again. 

Then the man-eater said : 

I'll not believe if any one should be 

By happy chance from jaws of death set free, 

He would return to yield him to his foe; 

No more wouldst thou, if I should let thee go. 

[480] Escaped from fierce man-eater shouldst thou come, 
Full of sweet longings, to thy royal home. 
Dear life with all its charms restored to thee. 
Why in the world shouldst thou come back to me? 

' Compare Balardmdyana, Act ix. Stanza 51, bhraviarakabhramam bhrSmyate 
rathal}. 

' phalaka, the plant Mesua Roxburghii, or it might be the seed-pods of the lotus. 
In Jdt. vol. I. 304. 26, 28, and Jdt. vol. ii. 68. 17, we find pMlaJcattharasayana, a bed 
of phalaka leaves. 



262 The Jdtaka. Book' XXL 

On hearing this the Great Being, like a lion still fearless, said : 

If innocent, a man would death prefer 
To life o'erclouded with some odious slur; 
Should he, to save his life, a falsehood tell, 
It may not shield him from the woes of hell. 

iThe wind may sooner move some mountain high. 
Or sun and moon to earth, fall from the sky, 
Yea, rivers all up stream may flow, my lord, 
Ere I be guilty of one lying word. 

Though he spoke thus, the man-eater still did not believe him. So the 
Bodhisatta, thinking, "He does not believe mej by means of an oath I will 
make him believe," said, " Good Mister Man-eater, let me down from your 
back and I will take an oath and make you believe me." After these 
words he was let down by the man-eater and placed upon the ground, and 
in taking an oath he said : 

[481] Lo ! as I touch this spear and sword 
To thee I pledge my solemn word, 
Release me and I will debt-free. 
My honour saved, return to thee. 

Then the man-eater thought, " This Sutasoma swears under penalty of 
violating kshatriya rules. What do I want with him ! Well, I too am a 
kshatriya king. I will take blood from my own arm and make an 
offering to the spirit of the tree. This is a very faint-hearted fellow." And 
he said : 

The word thou once didst to a brahmin plight. 
What time in thine own realm thou ruledst with might. 
That plighted word I bid thee keep and then. 
Thy honour saved, return to me again. 

Then the Great Being said, " My friend, do not vex yourself. After I 
have heard the four verses, each worth a hundred pieces of money, and 
have made an offering to the preacher of the Law, I will return at daybreak." 
. And he spoke this stanza : 

The word I once did to a brahmin plight. 
What time in mine own realm I ruled with might, 
That plighted word I first will keep and then, 
My honour saved, return to thee again. 

Then the man-eater said : " You have taken an oath under penalty of 
violating the custom of kshatriyas. See that you act accordingly." "My 
man-eating friend," he said, " you have known me from a boy : never even 
in jest have I aforetime told a lie, and now that I am established on the 
throne and know right and wrong, why should I lie ? Trust me, [482] I 
will provide an offering for you." Being induced to believe him he said, 
" Well, sire, depart, and, if you do not return, there can be no offering and 

' These verses have occurred in vol. iv. p. 286, English version. 



No. 537. 263 

the spirit does not agree to it without you : do not place any obstacle in 
the way of my oflfering," and he let the Great Being go. Like the moon 
escaped from the jaws of Kahu and with the strength of a young elephant 
he speedily reached the city. And his soldiers thought, " King Sutasoma 
is wise and a sweet preacher of the Law. If he can have a word or two 
with him he will convert the man-eater and will return, like a furious 
elephant escaping from the lion's mouth." And thinking, "The people will 
chide us and say, 'After giving up your king to the man-eater are ye come 
back to us?' " they remained encamped outside the city walls, and when they 
saw him coming from afar oflF they went out to meet him and saluting him 
with a friendly greeting they asked, " Were you not, sire, heartily sick of 
the man-eate??" "The man-eater," he said, "did something far harder 
than anything my parents ever did. For being such a fierce and violent 
creature, after listening to my preaching of the Law, he let me go." Then 
they decked out the king and mounting him on an elephant escorted him 
into the city. On seeing him the inhabitants rejoiced, and owing to his 
zeal for the Law, he did not visit his parents but thinking, " I will see 
them by and bye," he entered his palace and took his seat upon his throne. 
Then he summoned the brahmin and gave orders for him to be shaved, and 
when his hair and beard had been trimmed and he was washed and anointed 
and decked out with brave apparel, they brought him to the king. And 
when the brahmin was presented, Sutasoma himself afterwards took a bath 
and ordered his own food to be given to the brahmin, and when he had 
eaten he himself partook of the food. Then he seated the brahmin on a 
costly throne and to mark his reverence for him he made offerings of 
scented garlands and the like to him, and seating himself on a low seat he 
prayed him, saying, " Master, we would hear the verses which you have 
brought to us." 



To throw light upon this the Master said : 

Released from fierce man-eater's hand he flies 
To brahmin friend and 'Fain would we,' he cries, 
[483] 'Hear stanzas worth a hundred pieces each. 

Us for our good if thou wouldst deign to teach.' 



The brahmin, when the Bodhisatta made his request, after shampooing 
his hands with perfumes, pulling a beautiful book out of a bag took it in 
both hands and said : " Well, sire, listen to my four stanzas, each worth a 
hundred pieces of money ; they were taught me by Kassapa Buddha, and 
are destructive of passion, pride and similar vices, and procure for man the 
removal of desire, the cessation of the faculties, even the eternal mighty 
Nirvana, to the decay of lust, the cutting of the circle of transmigration 



264 The Jdtaka. Book XXI. 



and the rooting out of attachment," and with these words, looking at his 
book, he repeated these stanzas : 

In union with the saints just once, Sutasoma, be, 

And ne'er consort with evil men and peace shall compass thee. 

With holy men consorting aye, as friends such only know, 
From holy men true doctrine learn and daily better grow. 

As painted cars of royalty wax dim and fade away, 
So too our bodies frail wear out and suflfer swift decay. 
But Faith of holy men abides and never waxes old. 
Good men proclaim it to the good through ages yet untold. 

The sky above us stretches far, far stretches earth below, 
And lands beyond the boundless sea far distant are we know. 
But greater stiU than all of these and wider in its reach 
Is doctrine whether good or bad that saints or sinners preach. 

[484] Thus did the brahmin teach him the four stanzas, each worth a 
hundred pieces, just as he had been taught them by Kassapa Buddha, and 
then remained silent. The Great Being was delighted at hearing them and 
said, " My journey here is not without its reward," and thinking, " These 
verses are not merely the words of a disciple or a saint nor the_work of a 
poet, but were spoken by the Omniscient One j I wonder what -they are 
worth. Though one were to give a whole world that extends to the Brahma 
heaven, after filling it with the seven precious things, one could not make 
an adequate return for these stanzas. Surely I can give him sovereignty 
in the city of Indapatta covering seven leagues in the realm of Kuru, which 
extends over three hundred leagues. Doubtless it is his merited fate to be 
king." But regarding him with the power he possessed of divining a man's 
future from his personal appearance, he found no such signs. Then he 
bethought him of the office of commander-in-chief and similar posts, but 
did not find that he was destined even to the headship of a single village. 
Next, considering the case of acquisition of wealth and starting from a crore 
of money he found he was destined to receive four thousand pieces, and 
thinking to honour him with just this sum he bestowe'd on him four purses 
containing a thousand pieces each and he asked him, saying, " Master, 
when you teach other princes these verses, how much do you receive?" 
" A hundred for each one, sire," he said, " so they are worth just a hundred 
pieces." The Great Being said, " Master, you are ignorant of the priceless 
value of the goods you hawk about. Henceforth let them be considered 
worth a thousand pieces,'' and so saying he repeated this stanza : 

Not hundreds merely are they worth, nay thousands rather say, 
So brahmin here four thousand take and, quick, with them away. 

Then he presented him with an easy carriage [485] and gave orders to 
his men, saying, " Convey this brahmin safely to his home," and so dismissed 
him. At this moment loud sounds of applause were heard and cries of 
" Bravo, bravo ! king Sutasoma has highly honoured these verses, deeming 



No. 537. . 265 

worth a bhou»aad pieces what was valued at a hundred." The king's 
parents hearing the noise asked what it meant, and on learning the true 
state of things, by reason of their covetousness were angry with the Great 
Being, but after dismissing the brahmin he went to them and stood saluting 
them. Then his father said, " My son, you have escaped from the hands of 
one described as a fierce robber," and instead of expressing pleasure at 
seeing him, through his greed of money he asked, " Is it true what they say, 
that you gave four thousand pieces of money for hearing four stanzas," and 
on his confessing it was so, his father repeated this verse : 

Verses may be worth eighty pieces each, 
Or e'en a hundred may in value reach. 
But, Sutasoma, thou thyself must own 
A stanza worth a thousand is unknown. 

Then the Great Being, to induce him to see things in a different light, 

said, " Dear father, it is not increase in wealth I desire, but inci-ease in 

learning," and he uttered these stanzas : 

Increase in holy lore I most desire 
And to the friendship of the saints aspire ; 
No rivers can the void of ocean till. 
So I good words imbibe, insatiate still. 

As flames for wood and grass insatiate roar. 

And seas aye fed with streams crave more and more. 

E'en so do sages, mighty lord of lords, 

Insatiate hearken to well-spoken words. 

If from the mouth of my own slave I e'er 
Should verses full of deepest import hear, 
[486] His words I would accept with honour due, 
Unsated still with doctrines good and true. 

After having thus spoken he said, " Do not just for the sake of money 

blame me. I have come here, after swearing an oath that when I had 

heard the Truth I would return. Now then I will go back to this monster ; 

do you then accept this sovereignty,'' and handing it over to him he spoke 

this stanza : 

This realm is thine with all its wealth of gold. 
Trappings of state and joy and bUss untold. 
Why blame, should I from sensual pleasures fly 
And at man-eater's hand go forth to die ? 

At this moment the heart of the king's father grew hot within him and 

he said, " What, my dear Sutasoma, is this you say ? I will come with a 

complete host of all four arms ^ and will seize the robber," and he repeated 

this stanza : 

For our defence lo ! valiant soldiers come. 
Some riding elephants, on chariots some. 
Foot-soldiers these, these horsemen armed with bow — 
Marshal our host and let us slay our foe. 

' Elephants, cavalry, chariots, and infantry. 



266 . The Jataka. Book XXI. 

Theu his father and mother, their eyes swimming with tears, besought 
him, saying, " Go not, my son, nay, you cannot go," and sixteen thousand 
dancing girls and the rest of his suite lamented and said, " Leaving us 
helpless, whither wouldst thou go, sire ? " and no one throughout the city 
could restrain his feelings and they said, " He has come, they tell us, after 
giving a promise to the man-eater, and now [487] that he has heard four 
stanzas worth a liundred pieces each and has paid due honour to the 
preacher of the Law and bidden farewell to his parents, he will return once 
more to the robber,',' and the whole city was greatly stirred. And on 
hearing what his father and mother said, he repeated this stanza : 

Wondrous this deed of our man-eating foe, 
To capture me alive and let me go. 
Calling to mind his friendly acts of yore 
How can I violate the oath I swore? 

Comforting his parents he said, " Dear father and mother, be not 
anxious about me: I have wrought a virtuous action, and mastery over the 
desires of the six senses' is no hard matter,'' and bidding farewell to his 
parents he admonished the rest of the people and so departed. 



The Master, to make the matter clear, said : 

Farewell to parents said, with counsel wise 
Townsmen and soldiers he did straight advise. 
Then true to plighted word refused to lie 
And to man-eater back again did hie. 



Then the man-eater thought, " If my friend Sutasoma wishes to return, 
let him return, otherwise not, and let my tree-spirit [488] do whatsoever 
she pleases, and I will put these princes to death and make an offering of 
their flesh with the five sweet things.'' So he reared a funeral pile and 
kindled a fire, thinking he would wait till the coal was red hot, and while 
he sat and sharpened his spit Sutasoma returned. Then the man-eater at 
the sight of him was glad at heart and asked, saying, " My friend, have you 
gone aiid done what you wanted to do?" The Great Being said, "Yes, 
your majesty, I have heard the stanzas that were taught the brahmin by 
the Kassapa Buddha, and I paid due honour to the preacher of the Truth, 
and so I have come back, having done the thing I had to do." To illustrate 
this, he repeated this stanza : 

My word I once did to a brahmin plight, 
What time in mine own realm I ruled with might, 
And now that I have kept my plighted word 
And saved my honour, have returned, my lord. 
So slay and offer me to thy tree-sprite 
Or for man's flesh sate thy fell appetite. 

1 See Jataka, iii. 234. 18. 



No. 537. 267 

On hearing this the man-eater thought, " This king has no fear ; he 
speaks with all the terrors of death dispelled. I wonder from whence 
comes this power. It can be nothing else. He says, ' I have heard the 
verses that the Kassapa Buddha taught.' This supernatural power must 
come from them. I will make him utter these verses in my hearing, and so 
will I too be free from all fear." And being so resolved he repeated this 
stanza : 

The fire still smokes: though I somewhat delay, 
I forfeit not the right to eat my prey. 
Meat roast o'er embers clear is roasted well ; 
These strains a hundred pieces worth, come, tell. 

[489] The Great Being on hearing this thought, " This man-eater is a 
sinner : I will rebuke him somewhat and by my words I will put him to 
shame," and he said : 

Thou, man-eater, art a wicked wight, 
Fall'n from thy throne- through carnal appetite; 
These verses do proclaim the Right to me. 
But how, I pray, can Right and Wrong agree? 

To wicked robber, one whose hands are steeped iu gore. 
Whence cometh Truth or Right ? What profits holy lore I 

Even when addressed in these words the man-eater was not angry. 
Why was this? It was owing to the mighty power of charity in the Great 
Being. So he said, "Am I only, friend Sutasoma, unrighteous?" and he 
repeated this stanza : 

The man that hunts a beast to make him savoury meat. 
And one that slays a man, his fellow's flesh to eat, 
Both after death in guilt are counted much the same : 
Then why am I alone for wickedness to blame? 

On hearing this the Great Being, in refuting his heresy, repeated this 
stanza : 

Of five-clawed things a warrior prince all witting five may eat, 
Wicked art thou, king, in. that thou eat'st forbidden meat. 

[490] On receiving this rebuke, as he saw no other means of escape, he 
tried to conceal his own wrong-doing and repeated this stanza : 

Escaped from fierce man-eatef didst thou come 
Full of sweet longings to thy royal home, 
And then to foe entrust thy life once more ? 
Well versed art thou, forsooth, in astral lore ! 

Then the Great Being said, " Friend, one like me must be well versed 
in the lore of kshatriyas. I know it well, but I do not regulate my actions 
accordingly," and he spoke this stanza ; 



268 The Jataka. Book XXI. 

All such as are in kshatriya doctrine ' versed 
In hell are mostly doomed to life accursed. 
Therefore I have all kshatriya lore abhorred 
And here returned, true to my plighted word : 
Make then thy sacrifice and eat me up, dread lord. 

The man-eater said : 

Palatial halls, broad acres, steeds and kine. 
Perfumes, rich robes and many a concubine, 
All these as mighty lord thou holdst in fee — 
In Truth what blessing, prithee, dost thou see? 

[491] The Bodhisatta said : 

Of all the sweets this world can yield to me 
None sweeter than the joys of Truth I see : 
Brahmins and priests that in the Truth abide, 
Birth, death, escaping, reach the further side. 

Thus did the Great Being discourse to him of the blessing of Truth. 
Then the man-eater, regarding his face, glorious as a lotus in bloom or 
as the full moon, thought, " This Sutasoma sees me preparing a pile of 
embers and sharpening a spit and yet does not show an atom of fear. Can 
this be the magic power in these verses that are worth a hundred pieces or 
does it arise from some other truth ? I will ask him." And in the form of a 
question he repeated this stanza : 

Escaped from fierce man-eater didst thou come 
Full of sweet longings to thy royal home, 
And then once more return to meet thy foe? 
Thou, surely, prince, no fear of death canst know, 
To keep thy plighted word and worldly lusts forego. 

The Great Being in answer to him said : 

As mine I countless acts of virtue claim. 
My bounteous offerings are known to fame, 
To the next world a path I have kept clear : 
Who that abides in Faith holds death in fear? 

As mine I countless acts of virtue claim. 
My bounteous offerings are known to fame, 
[492] With no regrets to heaven I'll take my way, 
So sacrifice and then devour thy prey. 

My parents have I cherished with fond care, 
My rule wins praise as eminently fair. 
To the next world a path I have kept clear: 
Who that abides in Faith holds death in fear? 

My parents have I cherished with fond care, 
My rule wins praise as eminently fair. 
With no regrete to heaven I'll take my way, 
So sacrifice and then devour thy prey. 

1 See mpra, p. 123, where by kshatriya doctrine it is maintained that a man is 
justified iu doing evil to serve his own interests. 



No. 537. 269 

To friends and kin due service I have done, 
My rule was just and praise from all has won, 
With no regrets to heaven I'll take my way, 
So sacrifice and then devour thy prey. 

Gifts manifold to many I supplied, 
Yea, priests and brahmins fully satisfied, 
To the next world a path I have kept clear: 
Who that abides in Faith holds death in fear? 

Gifts manifold to many I supplied, 
Yea, priests and brahmins fully satisfied. 
With no regrets to heaven I'll take my way, 
So sacrifice and then devour thy prey. 

[493] On hearing this the man-eater thought, " This king Sutasoma is 
a good and wise man : supposing I were to eat him, my skull would split 
into seven pieces, or the earth would open her mouth and swallow me up,'' 
and being terrified he said, " My friend, you are not the sort of man that 
I ought to eat,'' and he repeated this stanza : 

He knowingly would quaff a poison cup 
Or fiery snake, so fell and fierce, take up. 
Yea into fragments seven his head would fly 
That dares to eat a man that cannot lie. 

Thus did he address the Great Being, saying, " You are, as it were, a 
deadly poison, methinks ; who will eat you t " and being anxious to hear 
those verses he besought him to tell him them, and when in order to 
produce a due reverence for holy things his prayer was rejected by the 
Great Being, on the ground that he was no proper recipient of verse of such 
unexceptionable morality, he said, " In all India there is no sage like this, 
for when he was released from my hand he went and heard these verses, 
and after paying due honour to the preacher of the Law he came back 
again with death written on his forehead. These verses must be of 
transcendent excellence," and being still more filled with a reverent desire 
to hear them, he besought the Great Being and repeated this stanza : 

Hearing the Truth men soon discern betwixt the good and ill ; 
Perchance if heard these strains my heart with joy in Truth may fill. 

Then the Great Being thought, " The man-eater is now eager to hear : I 
will reveal them to him," and he said, " Well then, my friend, listen care- 
fully," and having gained his .attention he sang the praises of these verses 
exactly as he was taught them by the brahmin Nanda, while the gods in 
the six worlds of sense all broke into one loud cry [494], and the angels in 
heaven shouted applause, and the Great Being thus proclaimed the Truth 
to the man-eater : 

In union with the saints just once, O Sutasoma, be'. 
' Here follow the four stanzas already given supra, p. 264. 



270 The Jdtaka. Book XXI. 

Owing to these verses being so well delivered by the Great Being and 
to the fact that he himself was wise, the man-eater thought, " These 
stanzas are, as it were, the words of an Omniscient Buddha," and his whole 
body thrilled with the five kinds of joy, and he felt a tender pity for the 
Bodhisatta and regarded him in the light of a father that was ready to 
confer on him the white umbrella of royalty. And he thought, " I see no 
offerings of yellow gold to give to Sutasoma, but for each stanza I will grant 
him a boon," and he spoke this verse : 

Pregnant with meaning and in accents clear 
Thy goodly words, prince, fall on mine ear, 
So glad am I at heart, that I rejoice 
Four boons, good friend, to offer thee for choice. 

Then the Great Being upbraided him and said, " What boon, forsooth, 
will you oflfer me ? " and he repeated this stanza : 

[495] One his own mortal state that fails to learn, 
Or good from evil, heaven from hell discern, 
The slave of carnal appetite, how can 
A wretch like thee know any boon for man? 

Suppose I say 'Grant me this boon' and then 
Thou shouldst thy promised word take back again, 
Who that is wise would knowingly incur 
So clear a risk of quarrelling, good sir? 

Then the man-eater said, " He does not believe me ; I will make him 
believe," and he repeated this stanza ; 

No one should claim to grant a boon and then 
His promised word, false man, take back again : 
Amongst these boons, my friend, all fearless choose; 
I'll grant it thee, though life itself I lose. 

Then the Great Being thought, " He has spoken like a brave fellow and 
will do what I tell him ; I will accept his offer. But if I should choose as 
the very first boon that he should abstain from eating human flesh, he will 
be very sick at heart. I will first choose three other boons, and after that 
I will choose this," and he said : 

Who with a saint lives face to face' ever with saint agrees. 
So too a sage is ever sure a brother sage to please : 
Thus safe and sound a hundred years I pray to see thee live : 
This is the first of all the boons I fain would have thee give. 

[496] The man-eater, on hearing this, thought, "This man, even though 
I have driven him from his sovereignty, now wishes long life for me, the 
noted robber that lusteth after human flesh and would do him a mischief. 
Ah ! he is my well-wishei-." And he was glad at heart, not knowing that 
this boon had been chosen to cheat him to his good, and in granting the 
boon he uttered this stanza : 

' sakkhi. The echoliast renders it ' friend,' apparently from the v.l. sakhi. 



No. 537. 271 

Who with a saint lives face to face ever with saint agrees, 

So too a sage is ever sure a brother sage to please : 

Thou fain wouldst see me safe and sound for years twice fifty live: 

Lo ! at thy prayer this first of boohs to thee I gladly give. 

Then the Bodhisatta said : 

These warrior chiefs held captive in thy hand, 
By sprinkling hailed as kings in many a land, 
These mighty lords of earth thou must not eat: 
For this as second boon I next entreat. 

Thus did he in choosing a second boon gain the boon of life for over a 
hundred kshatriyas, and the man-eater in granting the boon to him said : 

These warrior chiefs held captive in my hand. 
By sprinkling hailed as kings in many a land. 
These mighty lords, I'll not eat them, I swear : 
This second boon too. grant I to thy prayer. 

[497] Well, did these kings hear what they were talking about 1 They 
did not hear it all. For when the man-eater lighted a fire, for fear of any 
injury to the tree from the smoke and flame, he stepped back a space from 
it, and the Great Being conversed with him, seated in the interval between 
the fire and the tree, and consequently these kings did not hear all that 
they said, but heard only partially, and they comforted one another, saying, 
" Fear not : now will Sutasoma convert the man-eater,'' and at this moment 
the Great Being spoke this stanza : 

Thou captive holdst a hundred kings and more. 
All strung up by their hands and weeping sore. 
Restore them each to his own realm again : 
This the third boon I would from thee obtain. 

Thus did the Great Being in making his third choice choose the restora- 
tion of these kshatriyas, each to his own kingdom. Why was this ? 
Because the ogre, supposing he did not eat them, through fear of their 
hostility would either enslave them all and make them dwell in the forest, 
or would slay them and expose their dead bodies, or would bring them to 
the border country-and sell them as slaves; and therefore he made choice as 
his boon of their restoration to their own kingdoms, and the man-eater in 
granting his request spoke this stanza : 

I captive hold a hundred kings and more. 

All strung up by their hands and weeping sore. 

All will 1 to their realms restore again: 

This third boon too thou shalt from me obtain. 

Now in making his fourth choice the Bodhisatta .spoke this stanza : 

Distracted is thy realm and sick with fright. 
In caves much people hide them from thy sight. 
From eating human flesh, O king, abstain: 
This the fourth boon I would from thee obtain. 



272 The Jataha. Booh XXI. 

_ ^ 

[498] When he had so spokeu, the man-eater clapped his hands and 
laughing said, "Friend Sutasoma, what in truth is this that you say ? How 
can I grant you this boon ? If you are anxious to receive another boon, 
choose something else," and he uttered this stanza: 

Much to my taste I surely find this food; 
'Twas for this cause I hid within the wood. 
How then from such delights. should I abstain? 
For thy fourth boon, good sir, pray, choose again. 

Then the Great Being said, " Because you love man's flesh, you say, ' I 
cannot abstain from it.' He verily that does evil because it is pleasant is 
a fool," and he repeated this stanza : 

'A king like thee should not his pleasure take 
Nor sacrifice his life for pleasure's sake. 
Life in its highest sense, best gift, attain 
And future joys thou shalt by merit gain. 

When these words had been spoken by the Great Being, the man-eater 

was overcome with fear and thought, " I can neither repudiate the choice 

Sutasoma has made nor abstain from human flesh. [499] What in the 

world am I to do ? " and with his eyes swimming in tears he repeated this 

stanza : 

I love man's flesh.: thou too must know. 

Great Sutasoma, it is so. 

From it I never can abstain, 

Think, sir, of something else atid choose again. 

Then the Bodhisatta said : 

Whoso shall ever his own pleasure take 

And sacrifice e'en life for pleasure's sake, , 

The poison cup like drunkard will he drain, 

And so hereafter sufiers endless pain. 

Who knowingly shall pleasilre here eschew, 
The arduous path of duty to pursue. 
As one in pain that drains the healing cup. 
So he to bliss in the next world wakes up. 

After he had thus spoken, the man-eater sorely lamenting repeated this 

stanza : 

The five-fold joys that from our senses spring 
And parents dear and all abandoning. 
For this cause came I in this wood to live; 
How then can I the boon thou askest give? 

Then the Great Being spoke this stanza : 

Sages in speech duplicity ne'er show. 
True to their promise are good men, we know : 
[500] 'Choose, friend, some boon' is what thou saidst to me; 
What now thou sayst with this will scarce agree. 

' These verses are repeated from Jat. vol. in. p. 177, English version. 



No. 537. 273 

Once more, still weeping, the man-eater spoke this stanza : 

Demerit, with disgrace and shame combined, 
Misconduct, lust and sin of every kind. 
All this, to eat marfs flesh, I did incur : 
Why then should I this boon on thee confer? 

Then the Great Being said ; 

No one should claim to grant a boon and then 
His promised word, false man, take back again : 
Amongst these boons, my friend, all fearless choose ; 
I'U grant it thee, though life itself I lose. 

When he had thus pointed out the stanza uttered in the first instance 

by "the man-eater, to inspire him with courage to grant the boon, he spoke 

this stanza : 

Good men will life give up, but never right. 
True to their word e'en in their own despite ; 
• If thou shouldst promise, best of kings, a boon. 
Perfect thy work and see it done right soon'. 

One who to save a limb rich treasure gave 
Would sacrifice a limb, his life to save, 
[501] Yea, wealth, limbs, life and all away would fling. 
Right and its claims alone remembering. 

Thus did the Great Being by these means establish the man-eater in 

the Truth, and now to make clear to him his own title to respect he spoke 

this stanza : 

One from whose lips a man the Truth may prove, 
— Yea all good men that will his doubts remove — 
A refuge sure is he, a rest, a stay; 
The wise man's love for him should ne'er decay. 

After repeating these verses he said, " My man-eating friend, it is not 

right that you should transgress the words of so excellent a master, and I, 

too, when you were young, acted as your private teacher and gave you 

much instruction, and now with all the charm of a Buddha I have repeated 

to you stanzas worth a hundred pieces each : therefore you ought to obey 

my words." On hearing this the man-eater thought, " Sutasoma was my 

teacher and a learned man, and I granted him the choice of a boon. What 

am I to do? Death verily is a certainty in the case of an individual 

existence. I will not eat human flesh but will grant him the boon he 

asks," and with tears streaming from his eyes he rose up and fell at king 

Sutasoma's feet, and in granting the boon he repeated this stanza : 

[502] Sweet to my taste and pleasant is this food, 
'Twas for this cause I hid within the wood; 
But if thou askest me to do this thing, 
This boon I'll grant to thee, my friend and king. 

' avakarohi here and in Jat. vi. 280. 13, must mean ' pay, fulfil,' but avdkareyya in 
Jat. V. 495. 6, and 500. 19, seems to mean 'not to pay,' Is it possible that for datvana 
avdkareyya we should read datvd na avdkareyya? 

J. V. 18 



274 The Jataha. Booh XXL 

Then the Great Being said, " So be it, friend ; to one firmly grounded 
in moral practice, verily even death is a boon. I accept, sire, the boon you 
have offered me. From this very day you are established in the path of a 
spiritual guide, and this being so I beg this favour of you : if you have any 
love for me, accept, sir, the five moral laws." " Very good," he answered, 
" teach me, friend, these moral laws." " Learn then from me, sire." So he 
saluted the Great Being with the five Rests ' and took a seat apart, and the 
Great Being established him in the moral law. At that moment the deities 
that dwell on the earth gathered together and said, " There is no one else 
from the inhabitants of the Avici hell to those of the highest of the Form- 
less Worlds that by inspiring affection for the Great Being could make t^his 
man-eater abstain from eating human flesh. Oh ! a miracle has been 
wrought by Sutasoma," and they ' applauded, making the jungle re-echo 
with their loud cries, and hearing the tumult the Four Great Kings did 
likewise and there was one universal roar reaching even to the Brahma 
world. And the kings suspended on the tree heard this noise of applauding 
spirits, and the tree nymph still standing in her abode uttered a sound of 
applause. So the cry of the angel spirits was heard, but their form was 
invisible. The kings on hearing the loud applause of the spirits thought, 
" Owing to Sutasoma our lives are saved : Sutasoma has wrought a miracle 
in converting the man-eater"," and they offered up their praises to the Bodhi- 
satta. The man-eater after bowing down to the feet of the Great Being stood 
apart. Then the Great Being said to him, " Friend, release these warrior 
princes." He thought, "I am their enemy; if they are released by me, 
they will say, ' Seize him, he is an enemy of ours,' and will do me a 
mischief, but even if I lose my life, I cannot transgress the moral law which 
I have accepted at the hands of Sutasoma : I will go with him and release 
them and in this way I shall find safety." Then bowing to the Bodhisatta 
he said, " Sutasoma, we will go together and release the warrior princes," 
and he repeated this stanza : 

[503] My teacher and my friend art thou in one. 
Behold, good sir, thy bidding I have done : 
Do thou in turn what I have bidden thee 
And straight we'll go and set these princes free. 

Then the Bodhisatta said to him : 

Thy teacher and thy friend am I in one, 
And thou in truth my bidding, sir, hast done: 
I too wiU do what thou hast bidden me 
And straight we'll go and set these princes free. 

And drawing nigh to them he said : 

Strung up upon this tree your tears fast flow 

Because of ogre that has wronged you so. 

Still we would fain from you a promise wring 

Never to lay a finger on this king. 
' Ohilders, p. 327. 
' The sense is clear, but the construction of damento is irregular. 



No. 537. 275 



Then they Teplied : 



Strung up upon this tree and weeping sore 
This ogre that has wronged us we abhor, 
Yet will we all a solemn promise give 
To harm him not, if only we may live. 

[504] Then the Bodhiaatta said, "Well, give me this promise," and 
he repeated this stanza : 

Just as fond parents to their children may 
A merciful and tender love display, 
E'en such a father may he ever prove 
And may ye him as children dearly love. 

They, too, agreeing to this, repeated this stanza : 

Just as fond parents to their children may 
A merciful and tender love display. 
E'en such a father may he ever prove 
And may we him as children dearly love. 

Thus did the Great Being exact a promise from them and summoning 
the man-eater he said, "Come and release these princes," and the man-eater 
took his sword and severed the bonds of one of the kings, and as this king 
had been fasting for seven days and was maddened with pain, no sooner was 
he released by the cutting of his bonds than he fell on the ground, and the 
Great Being on seeing this was moved with compassion and said, " My 
man-eating friend, do not cut them down like this," and taking hold of a 
king firmly with both hands he clasped him to his breast and said, " Now 
cut his bonds." So the man-eater severed them with his sword and the 
Great Being, endowed as he was with great strength, placed him on his 
breast, and letting him down tenderly as though it were his own son laid 
him flat upon the ground. Thus did he lay them all on the ground, and 
after bathing their wounds he gently pulled the cords from their hands, 
just as it were a string from a child's ear, and washing ofi' the clotted blood 
he rendered the wounds harmless. And he said to the man-eater, " My 
friend, pound some bark from the tree on a stone and bring it to me." And 
when he had got him to fetch it, he performed an Act of Truth and rubbed 
the palms of their hands, and at that very moment their wounds were 
healed. The man-eater took some husked rice and cooked it as a 'prophylactic 
[505], and the pair of them gave it to the hundred and odd warrior princes 
to drink as a prophylactic, and so all of them were satisfied and the sun set. 
On the next day at dawn and at noon and in the evening they still gave 
them rice water to drink, but on the third day they gave them gruel with 
boiled rice, and so on till they were convalescent. Then the Great Being 
asked them if they were strong enough to go home, and when they answered 
they were equal to the journey he said, " Come, my man-eating friend, let 
us depart to our own kingdom." But weeping be fell at the Great Being's 

18—2 



276 The Jataha. Booh XXI. 

feet and cried, " Do you, my friend, take these kings and depart, but I will 

continue to live here on roots and wild berries." " What would you do 

here, my friend ? Your kingdom is a delightful one : go and reign at 

Benares." " Friend, what is this you say ? It is out of the question for 

me to go there : all the inhabitants of that city are my enemies. They 

will revile me and say, 'This fellow ate my mother or my father; seize this 

brigand,' and with a clod of earth they will deprive me of life, but if I am 

firmly established in the moral law by you, I could not kill anyone else, 

not even to save my life. I will not go. In consequence of my abstaining 

from eating human flesh how long shall I live ?, and now I shall no more 

set eyes on you," and he wept, saying, " Do you go." And the Great 

Being stroked him on the back and said, " My friend, my name is Suta- 

soma : 1 have ere now tamed just such a cruel wretch as yourself, and if 

you ask what story you are to tell in Benares, why I will either establish 

you there, or dividing my own kingdom I will hand over the half of it 

to you." " In your city too I have enemies," he said. Sutasoma thought, 

" In obeying my word this man has achieved a difficult task : by some 

means or other I must establish him in his former state of glory," and 

to tempt him he sang the praises of the great glory of his city and said : 

Of beasts and birds of every kind the flesh thou once didst share, 
By skilful cooks prepared was it, in sooth a dainty fare, 
Yielding such joy as Indra felt, to taste ambrosial food — 
Why leave it all, to take delight alone within this wood ? 

[506] These noble dames with slender waists, magnificently dressed, 
That round about thee formerly, a thronging bevy, pressed. 
Whilst thou, like Indra midst his gods, didst step in happy mood — 
Why leave them thus, to take delight alone within this wood? 

In midst of ample couch, king, thou once at ease didst lie, 
With many a woollen coverlet around thee piled on high. 
And pillow red beneath thy head and bedding clean and white — 
Why leave it thus, within this wood alone to take dehght? 

There thou ofttimes at dead of night the beat of drum wouldst hear. 
And sounds surpassing human strains' would strike upon the ear, 
Music and song in imison, inspiring cheerful mood — 
Why leave it all, to take delight alone within this wood ? 

Thou hadst a charming park wherein flowers in abundance grew, 
Migacira, so known to fame, as park and city too. 
There horses, elephants, and cars innumerable stood — 
Why leave them all, to take delight alone within this wood? 

[5Q7] The Great Being thought, "Haply this man, calling to mind the 
flavour of dainties he enjoyed long ago, will be eager to come with me," 
and so he tempted him first with food, next by appealing to his passions, 
thirdly by the thought of a bed, fourthly by song, dancing and music, fifthly 

' nippurisa. The word is applied to musio and means "not human," "not 
produced by human beings," but by gandharvas, or heavenly musioians. Morris, 
Academy, Feb. 25, 1888. 



No. 537. 277 

by remembrance of a park and a city — with all these thoughts he tempted 

him, saying, " Come, sire, I will go with you to Benares and firmly establish 

you there and afterwards return to my own kingdom ; but if we shall fail in 

securing the kingdom of Benares, I will grant you the half of my realm. 

What have you to do with a forest life % Only do what I tell you." The 

man-eater after hearing his words was eager to go with him and he 

thought, " Sutasoma is anxious for my well-being and is a merciful man. 

He first established me in virtue and now says he will restore me to my 

former glory, and he will be able to do so. I ought' to go with him. What 

have I to do with a forest ? " And being glad at heart he was eager by 

reason of his merit to sing Sutasoma's praises, and he said, " Friend 

Sutasoma, there is nothing better than consorting with a virtuous friend, 

nothing worse than consorting with a wicked one," and he repeated these 

verses ; 

As in the dark half of the month the moon wanes day by day. 
So friendship with the bad, king, will suffer like decay; 

Thus I consorting with that cook, the lowest of the low, 
Wrought evil deeds, for which in time to hell I'm. doomed to go. 

As in the month's clear half the moon aye waxes day by day. 
So friendship with the good, O king, will suffer no decay: 

Thus with thee, Sutasoma, I consorting, thou must know. 
Shall after working righteousness to heaven alj blissful go. 

As copious floods when shed upon dry ground 
Are ever fleeting, transitory found, 
[508] E'en so is union of bad men, O king, 
Like water on dry land, a fleeting thing. 

But copious floods when shed upon the sea 
Enduring long are ever found to be, 
E'en such is union of good men, king, 
Like water in the sea, a lasting thing. 

No transient thing is union of the good. 
As long as life endures such brotherhood, 
But union of the bad soon falls away. 
Prom virtue's course bad men go far astray. 

Thus did that man-eater in seven stanzas sing the praises of the Great 
Being. But he took the man-eater and those kings and went to a frontier 
village, and the inhabitants on seeing the Great Being went to the city and 
reported it, and the king's ministers came with an army and escorted the 
Great Being, and with this escort he came to the kingdom of Benares. And 
on his way there the country people brought presents and followed in his 
train, and a great company reached Benares with him. At that time the 
man-eater's' son was the king and Kalahatthi was still commander-in-chief, 
and the people of the city reported it to the king, saying, " Sutasoma, they 
tell us, sire, has tamed the man-eater and is come here with him : we will 
not allow him to enter the city," and they hastily closed the city gates and 
stood by with arms in their hands. The Great Being, when he discovered 



278 The Jdtaha. Booh XXI. 

that the gate was closed, left the man-eater and the hundred and odd kings 
and coining with a few of his counsellors he cried, " I am king Sutasoma, 
open ye the gate," and the officers went and told the king, and he ordered 
them to open the gate with all speed, and the Great Being entered the city. 
And the king and Kalahatthi came out to meet him [509] and took him up 
with them to the tower of the palace. The Great Being seating himself on 
the royal thi'one summoned the man-eater's chief consort and the rest of 
his counsellors, and addressing Kalahatthi said, " Why, Kalahatthi, do you 
not suflFer the king to enter the city? " He answered, " The wicked wretch 
that he was, while he was ruling as king in this city, devoured many men 
and did that which is not lawful for kshatriyas to do, and rent asunder all 
India : that is the reason why we act thus.'' " Ho not suppose," he 
answered, "that he will act after this sort now. I have converted him and 
established him in the moral law. Not even to save his life will he 
do anyone an injury : you are in no danger from him ; act not after this 
manner. Verily children ought to watch over their parents : they who 
cherish their father and mother go to heaven, the others go to hell." Thus 
did he admonish the king's son, as he sat by him on a low seat. And he 
instructed the commander-in-chief and said, " Kalahatthi, you are a friend 
and follower of the king, and were firmly established by him in great 
power ; you too ought to act in the king's interests." And admonishing 
the queen he said, " You, O queen, came from a noble stock and from his 
hand acquired the position of chief consort and were blest with many sons 
and daughters by him; you too ought to act in his interests.'' And, to bring 
this matter to a head, in teaching the law he said : 

No king should conquer one who aye inviolate' should be. 
No friend should get the better of a friend by treachery ; 
She of her lord that stands in fear is no true wife, I hold. 
Nor children they that nourish not a father when he's old. 

No council-hall is that wherein the wise do not appear. 

Nor wise are they that do not preach the Truth both far and near. 

The wise are they that lust and hate and error lay aside. 

And never fail to preach the Truth to mortals far and wide. 

The sage midst fools if silent none at once discern as wise, 
He speaks and all a Teacher of Nirvana recognise. 

Preach, glorify the Truth, and lift the sages' flag on high. 
Emblem of saints is goodly speech. Truth is the flag they fly. 

[510] The king and the commander-in-chief on hearing his exposition 
of the Truth were highly pleased and said, " Let us go and bring the great 
king here," and having made proclamation in the city by beat of drum, they 
called together the inhabitants and said, "Be not afraid; the king, they tell 
us, is established in righteousness : let us conduct him hither." So with a 
great multitude and with the Great Being at their head they went and 

1 The commentator explains this to be a man's father or mother. 



No. 537. 279 

saluted the king. And they provided barbers and when his hair and 
beard had been shorn and he had taken a bath and put on goodly raiment, 
they placed him on a pile of precious stones and besprinkled him and then 
conducted him into the city. The man-eating king paid great honour to 
the hundred and more kshatriyas and the Great Being, and there was 
great excitement throughout all India at the report that Sutasoma, lord of 
men, had converted the man-eater and re-established him on the throne. 
And the inhabitants of the city Indapatfca sent a message bidding the kings 
return. The Great Being stayed there just a month and admonished 
the king, saying, " Friend, we will be going ; see that you are zealous in 
good works and have five alms-halls erected at the city gates and at your 
palace door, and observe the ten royal virtues and guard against evil 
courses." And from a hundred and more royal cities a numerous army 
[511] assembled together, and with this escort he went forth from 
Benares. The man-eater too going forth with him halted midway on 
the road. The Great Being presented horses to ride to such as had them 
not and then dismissed them all. And they exchanged friendly greetings 
with him, and then after fitting salutations and embraces they returned 
each to his own people. The Great Being too on reaching Indapatta with 
great majesty entered the city, which its inhabitants had decorated like as 
it were a city of the gods. After paying his respects to his parents and 
expressing his pleasure at seeing them he ascended the palace tower. 
While exercising just rule in his kingdom the thought occurred to him, 
" The tree-spirit was very helpful to me ; I will see that it receives a 
religious offering." So he had a vast lake constructed near the banyan 
tree and transported thither many families and founded a village. It grew 
into a big place supplied with eighty thousand shops. And starting from 
the farthest limits of its branches he levelled the ground about the roots of 
the tree and surrounded it with a balustrade' furnished with arches and 
gates ; and the spirit of the tree was propitiated. And owing to the fact 
of the village having been settled on the spot where the ogre was converted, 
the place grew into the town of Kammasadamma. And all the kings, 
abiding in the admonition of the Great Being, performed good works such 
as alms-giving and the like, and attained to heaven. 



The Master here ended his religious instruction and said, "Not now only, 
Brethren, do I convert Angulimala, in former times too was he converted by me 
and he identified the Birth" : "At that time the man-eating king was Angulimala, 
Kalahatthi was Sariputta, the brahmin Nanda was Ananda, the tree-sprite was 
Kaasapa, Sakka was Anuruddha, the rest of the kings were the followers of 
Buddha, the king's father and mother were members of the great king's household, 
and king Sutasoma, it is said, was I myself." 



1 vedika, This word is discussed in Senart's MaMvastu, i. pp. 529 and 544, and in 
Vinaya Texts, m. 104 and 162. 



INDEX OF SUBJECT MATTERS. 



Act of Truth 15, 16, 47, 52, 246, 275 
Alms, exchange of, forbidden 208 
Alms-Halls 85, 203, 206, 279 
Ambrosia 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216 
Ananda's renunciation of life 175, 177, 

178, 186 
Annihilation, doctrine of 117, 123 
Archery, extraordinary 68, 69 
Areca nuts 171 
Arhatship 79, 130, 245, 246 
Arms, blaze of, an omen 66 
Ascetic youth led astray by a girl habited 

as a boy 102 
Attainments, eight 70, 135, 166 

Backbiting 1, 5 

Bamboo dies after bearing fruit 41, 195 

Bark garment 49, 70, 102, 104, 153 

Beauty and the Beast, parallel to 141 

Benares cloth 199 

Birds adopted as children by a king 60 

Birth without the intervention of parents 
218 

Brahmins, entertainment of 127, 206, 269 
„ not allowed strong drink 253 

„ spoken of as low-caste 132 

Bribery 2, 5, 117 

Buddha emits dark rays from his hair 220 

Cambodian horses 241 

Cannibalism 12, 18, 248 

Car, festal 128 

Cats intoxicated 7 

Child suckled by st goat 230 

Children, three kinds of 46 

Clapping with one hand 243 

Conception, miraculous 144 

Coral tree 143, 210 

Crows nourished by oblations 58 

Cry of capture, birds' 178, 190 

Cuckoo, royal, escorted through the air 

by a train of cuckoos 221 
Cycle, flame at the beginning of a 177, 

191 

Dead flowers removed from temples by a 

low-caste man 242 
Death written on the brow 119, 159, 269 
Devadatta, attempt of, to kill the Buddha 

37, 41, 175 



Devadatta swallowed up by the earth 42, 

48, 134 
Dhuta precepts 202 
Doe gives birth to a man child 79, 100 
Dog warns his benefactor of danger 119 
Door, back or side-door 69, 135 
Door, mechanism of 153, 156 
Dreams 23, 186, 239 
Drink, strong, how it was discovered 6 
„ evil effects of 7, 8, 9, 10 
Drinking festival 5, 252 

Eating alone wrong 207, 208, 212 
Ecstasy, mystic see Mystic Meditation 
Eight blessings of the ascetic 130, 131 
„ grounds for despising a husband 

232 
Eighty Great Elders 177, 246 
Elephant festival 147 

„ trained to stand firm under 

attack 162 
Emblems of royalty, five 136 
Exposure of an infant 230 

Faculties, supernatural 70, 100, 135, 165, 

166, 224 
Past-day, reward for keeping 4 

,, vows 1, 247 
Fauna of India 222 
Finger laid on the forehead as mark of 

respect to the Bodhisatta 260 
Fire, sacred 2 
Fish choose a king 250 

„ devours its own tail 251 
Five emblems of royalty 136 
,, feminine charms 48 
,, five-clawed things that may be eaten 
267 
Five kinds of immorality 185 
„ „ lust 244, 272 
,, „ women to be avoided" 241 
,, locks of hair 125, 129, 130 
„ moral laws 18, 174, 177, 193, 201, 
209, 252, 274 
Five Rests 274 
,, signs of falling from the Faith 141 
„ sweet kinds of flesh 257, 266 
Fortune tellers 154 

Fortune tellers from personal marks 108, 
154, 247, 264 



Index of Subject Matters. 



281 



Forty ways in which a woman makes up 

to a man 232 
Pour arms in a host 162, 168, 170, 259, 

265 
Pour Great Kings 166, 258, 274 

,, island continents 220 

,, modes of conciliation 174, 185, 191 

„ postures 107 

„ requisites 19 

„ things likely to prove injurious 232 

„ ,, not to be satisfied 243 

„ ways of deportment 135 
Fowlers, village of 178, 187 
Frenzy produced by a woman's beauty 108 

Gandhabba 276 

Garuda king 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48 
, , wind raised by wings of 43, 46 

Geese enclosed in a cave by a spider's web 
255 

Geese preaching the law 183, 184, 186, 
187, 192, 198 

Gold plate inscribed 32, 37, 64 

Grey hair, a king frightened by the ap- 
pearance of a 92 

Guardian angel 230 

Hells, eight major 137 

„ one hundred and twenty minor 137 

Heresies and heretics 65, 117, 122, 123, 
124, 177 

Heretics, four great 126 

Heron feather fixed on arrows 269 

Holy days, observance of 84, 85, 90, 91, 
247 

Hunting one beast with another con- 
demned 139, 198 

Impermanenoe of things 78, 96, 128 
Iron Cauldron hell 138, 139 

Jar of water, a good omen 73 

Earma denied 117, 122 
Kshatriya doctrine 117, 123, 268 

„ wiles 16 
Eusa makes the earth to tremble by his 

look 162 

Layman, characteristics of a 128 
Leprosy 38, 39, 41, 49, 52, 58 
Lion's mouth its fifth paw 225 
Lotus nectar 253 
Lucky marks 81, 108, 194, 196 

Magic jewel 88, 90, 163 

„ powers 5, 29, 65, 166, 167, 169, 221 
Marks, auspicious see Lucky marks 
Milk money 66 
Miser 204, 205, 206 
Moggallana, death of 64, 65, 66 
Monkey-skin, parable of the 121 
Moon, eclipse of, due to Bahu 18 

„ figure of a hare depicted in the 18 
Moons, observance of 90, 109, 247 



Mother, virtues of a 173, 174 
Mystic circle 166 

„ Meditation 5, 53, 70, 79, 83, 84, 
100, 103, 106, 126, 134, 135 

Nerves of taste, seven thousand 152, 248 
Nine ways in which a woman incurs 

blame 232 
Nirvana 55, 134, 245, 263, 278 
Nude ascetic 8, 42, 49 

Oath, form of 262 

Ogress (female yakkha) carries off children 

11 
Omens 66, 73, 127, 239 
One shoulder bared as a mark of respect 

217 

Parables 114, 121, 124, 131 . 
Parents called 'Brahma' 174 
care of 11, 164, 278 
,, „ devolves on the eldest 

son 165, 171, 172, 176 
Parents inviolate 278 
Paths, the 5, 6, 19, 31, 84, 106, 115, 164, 

174, 177 
Patience, virtue of 75, 76 
Perfect States, the four 91, 106, 126 
Perfection of Wisdom 31, 116, 221 
Phantom palace 2 
Pit dug to trap an elephant 27 
Prayer offered in a previous existence ful- 
filled 11, 22, 25, 109, 149 
Precious stones, king enthroned on a 

pile of 279 
Pregnancy, ceremonies observed on 144 
Previous existence, sin committed in a, 

bears fruit 65 
Princess to be cut into seven pieces for 

seven suitors 158 
Problem proposed or solved 31, 37, 61, 

62, 63, 73, 75, 76, 79, 136 
Problem of the Five Sages 45 
Prognostication from personal appearance 

108, 247, 264 
Proverbs 34, 35, 52, 137, 154, 204, 232, 

243 
Puns 110, 254, 260 

Quarrel between two clans about water 
rights 209, 210 

Eain, absence of, for three years 100 
Eaiuy season lasting five mouths 255 
Bays emitted from Buddha's hair 6 
Bays of light from a woman's body 49, 

146, 147 
Remembrance of former births 20, 22, 25, 

225, 257 
Renunciation 86, 99, 127, 129, 134 
Requisites for ascetic life 69, 70, 90, 98, 

119 
Biddies 76 
Bight-wise movement 83 



282 



Index of Subject Matters. 



Sakka's four daughters, contest between 

210 
Sakka's throne shaken by a mortal's 

virtue 50, 80, 100 
Sakka's throne shows signs of heat SO, 

142 
Sanctuary lake for birds 187, 188 
Sariputta, death of 64, 66 
Scape-goats for sin 71 
Scented wreaths, offering of 5, 65, 187, 

201, 210, 260, 263 
Sevala plant 20, 250 
Seven gold-coloured creatures 187 

,, precious things 264 
Shower, miraculous 65, 72, 73, 79 
Sieve, life like water running through a 96 
Signet ring 236, 253 
Simples in surgery 49, 275 
Sindh horses 132 
Winning, three modes of 9 
Six-coloured rays emitted by Buddha 20, 

22, 23, 220, 221 
Six injurious things 232 
„ senses, desires of the 266 
Six-tusked elephant 23, 24, 27 
Six worlds of sense 269 
Slaves made freedmen 165 
Snakes, how they defend themselves 

against garudas 43 
Snare for birds described 189 
Soma juice 92, 246 
Spell 257 

Spirit enjoys alternate bliss and woe 2 
Sprinkling ceremonial 52, 128, 132, 147, 

239, 241, 271, 279 
Squatting penance 124 
Stars, lucky conjunction of 66 
Sterility of women, observances to remove 

142 
Sun worship 192, 228 
Supernatural powers 65, 169, 208, 221, 

225, 245 
Supreme Being 117, 122 

Tax gatherers, oppression of 54, 57 
Ten royal virtues 200, 201, 279 



Thirty-Three, heaven of the 11, 83, 142, 

143, 208, 210, 216, 218 
Three kinds of misconduct 9 

,, „ right conduct 8 

Tooth-stiek 49, 71, 72, 81, 165 
Top knot severed by a king as a sign of 

abdicating the throne 97 
Torture, 'straw and meal' 65 
Traditions kept up in a, family 147, 204, 

206 
Transformation from one bodily shape to 

another 208 
Tree deity 54, 234, 257, 259 
Triple folds in the neck a sign of luck 81 
Truths, the 5, 19, 71, 84, 106, 115, 164, 

174 
Twelve evil things destroyed by eating 

ambrosia 212 
Twenty-five ways by which a wicked 

woman is known 233 

Umbrella, white, token of royalty 7, 11, 
12, 18, 52, 64, 92, 121, 151, 162, 184, 
187, 196, 201, 205, 270 

Universal monarch 245 

Vedas, the 164, 243, 252, 259 
Vision, supernatural 18, 128 

Weapons, five kinds of 150 

West, the, ill-omened quarter 214 

White Nun 228 

Wind, to catch with a net 154, 241, 243 

Woman, frailty of 225, 229, 231, 234, 235, 

236, 240, 242 
Woman, story of a, soft to the touch 237, 

238, 239 
World, Formless 274 
World of Form 245 

Yak-tail fan, emblem of royalty 170 
Yakkha, carnivorous 51, 248, 257 

„ eyes of, red and unwinking 18 
„ figure of, depicted in the moon 18 
Yellow robe of priest 27, 28, 97, 98 
, , robe does not make a saint 28 



INDEX OF NAMES AND PALI WOEDS. 



Abboharika 147 

Abbuddhi 154 

Abbuta 154 

Abhumma 92 

Acoavadatl 232 

Acchara, a measure 205 

Acchara 254 

Adanani 197 

Adarabhaarna 149 

Adhiyauam 243 

Aggadvaram 69, 13a 

Ahiparaka 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 

114, 115 
Ajatasattu 134, 135, 140 
Ajita Kesakamball 126 
Ajjhohara 250 
Ajjliupekkhati 117 

Ajjuna, king of the Kekaka 72, 76, 137 

„ Pandava prince 225, 226, 227, 228 
Akamkhauta 147 
Akatatta 185 
Akkhanavedhi 67 
Alambiisa 80, 81, 82, 83, 84 
Alara 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91 
Aftnasattu 12, 14, 18, 19 
Amajja 222 
Ammana 155 
Ananda, the Elder 11, 37, 64, 79, 91, 99, 

115, 126, 164, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 
186, 202, 218, 279 

Ananda, a monster fish 250, 251 

_ „ a vulture king 224, 241, 242, 243 

Ananjakaranam 162 

Andhakavenhu 10, 138 

Anga, king and kingdom of 167, 168 

Angirasa 72, 76 

Angulimala 19, 246, 279 

Anguttara Nikaya referred to 65 

Anjana mountain 71 

Auotatta lake 166, 169, 210, 211, 221 

Anumodiyauam 243 

Anuruddha 37, 79, 218, 279 

Anusetthi 204 

Anusissa 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 79 

Auutthahana 242 

Apannaka 91 

Aparibrflhayi 191 

Appatibhana 195 

Apsaras 234, 255 

Aranjara mountains 71 



Arindama 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 134 

Aritthapura 107, 109 

Asamgita 217 

Assaka 168 

Asura 125 

Attadanda Sutta referred to 220 

Atthaka 72, 73, 78 

Atthikaroti 79 

Avaha 145 

Avakaroti 273 

Avakujja 153 

Avauti 71, 168 

Avavata 110 

Avici 48, 134, 137, 274 

Avijjhi 151 

Avinchanarajju 156 

Ayatanam 182 

Baka 236, 239, 240 

Balaramayana cited 261 

Baliputtba 58 

Bamboo Grove (Veluvana) 37, 64, 65, 175, 
176, 178, 186 ■ 

Barlaam and Josaphat referred to 80 

Benares 1, 2, 6, 7, 22, 29, 30, 31, 32, 36, 
37, 38, 42, 52, 69, 66, 72, 79, 86, 91, 
98, 100, 104, 108, 116, 120, 121, 127, 
135, 149, 164, 186, 188, 189, 192, 
193, 195, 203, 205, 206, 209, 226, 
227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 234, 235, 
236, 237, 246, 247, 251, 252, 276, 
277, 279 

Bendall 137, 163 

Bhadrakara 33, 37 

Bhagirathi 51 

Bharadvaja 32, 33, 34, 36 

Bhavitatta 254 

Bhimaratha 72, 73, 78 

Bhimasena 225, 226 

Bhimkara 222 

Bhutabhavyani 171 

Bigandet's Legend of the Burmese Buddha 
referred to 64 

Bodhaneyya 176 

Bodhi 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 126 

Bodhisatta 12, 20, 22, 32, 38, 54, 55, 56, 
58, 63, 66, 70, 71, 79, 84, 85, 86, 92, 
94, 98, 100, 101, 107, 116, 126, 127, 
128, 130, 132, 133, 135, 136, 140, 
142, 144, 147, 149, 150, 151, 152, 



284 



Index of Names and Pali Words. 



156, 157, 164, 169, 170, 181, 183, 
186, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 
201, 202, 208, 246, 247, 261, 262, 
263, 268, 269, 271, 274, 273 

Bodhicaryavatdra referred to 67 

Boyd's Ndgdnanda referred to 43 

Brahma 15, 29, 174, 177, 218 

„ World 5, 53, 78, 80, 91, 99, 126, 
134, 164, 264, 274 

Brahmadatta 1, 6, 38, 42, 48, 56, 57, 59, 
66, 79, 91, 100, 116, 135, 203, 225, 
226, 229, 240, 246, 247 

Brahma vaddhana, an old name of Benares 
164, 165, 166, 167 

Buddha 5, 23, 31, 32, 36, 37, 59, 61, 64, 
65, 66, 107, 115, 134, 140, 145, 164, 
174, 175, 176, 177, 186, 202, 220, 
221, 224, 225, 245, 246, 269, 270, 
273, 279 

Buddhaghosha's Parables referred to 107, 
219, 236 

Buddhist India referred to 132 

Buddhist Suttas referred to 123, 218 

Camgavara 96 

Canda 203, 206, 207, 208, 218 

Canda 94, 99 

Candadevi 92 

Gandaka mount 84 

Candapajjota 71 

Garaka referred to 104 

Gariyd-Pitaka 246 

Catlpala 198 

Caturmasya festival 134 

Cecca 138 

Celavaka 222 

Chabbanna 23 

Chabbisana 23 

Chaddanta elephant 20, 21 

lake 20, 21, 22, 221 
Ghalangakumara 225, 231 
Ghandl, Bengali poem, referred to 73 
Chanua 186, 202 
Chedagamimani, 244 
Chuddha 206 
Ciritika 104 
Cittakuta 178, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 

193, 201, 202, 210, 255 
Coleman's Mythology of the Hindus 142 
Cowell 73 
Cula 125 

GuUakammasadamma 19 
GuUasubhadda, queen elephant 20, 22, 25 
Gullavaggg, referred to 10, 117, 124, 153, 

156, 159, 165, 175, 177, 213 

Danadbamma 218 

Dandaka forest 16 

Dandaki 71, 72, 76, 137 

Dasa'bala 134, 177 

Dayapassa 136, 137 

Devadatta 81, 37, 41, 42, 48, 134, 175, 

176 
Devala see Kaladevala 
Deyyadhamma 218 



Dhamma Sangani referred to 123, 254 

Dhammaganddka 159 

Dhammaganthika 159 

Dhammapada referred to 6, 64, 219, 242 

Dhananjaya 31, 37 

Bhanantevasi 225, 231 

Dhanapalaka 177 

Dbanum 257 

Dhatarattha 178, 185, 187, 188, 189, 191, 

193, 194, 195, 197; 199, 255 
Digha Nikaya referred to 116, 134 
Dighavu 129, 132, 133 
Dipayana 188 
Disam, kurute 180 
Dona 207 
Dubois and Beauohamp's Hindu Manners 

and Gustoms 142 
Dujivha and Dujjivha 226 
Dukkhudraya 180 
Duyyodhana 84, 89 
Dvaragama 237 
Dvaravasi 237 

Ekodibhava 181 

Elakamara 225, 281 

Emendations suggested and remarks on 
the text 7, 11, 53, 68, 78, 106, 121, 
124, 184, 136, 147, 149, 151, 154, 
156, 159, 161, 164, 165, 168, 175, 
180. 182, 187, 190, 193, 197, 202, 204, 
209, 225, 226, 229, 232, 257, 270, 273 

Eravana, ludra's elephant 78 

Feer 20, 137 

Eick, Sociale Gliederung, referred to 204 

Erazer, Golden Bough, referred to 71 

Gamaniyo 226 

Gandhabba 61, 276 

Gandhamadana 35, 102, 210, 211 

Gandi 159 

Gauges 2, 3, 33, 34, 51, 64, 98, 131, 209, 

211 
Garuda 42, 48, 44, 45, 46, 48, 229 
Gaya'207 
Ghanasela 71 
Gharasandhi 248 
Ghatassita 197 
Godhavari 69, 70, 72, 73 
Gotama 137, 175, 176, 219 
Grierson 248 

Hall of Truth 1, 48, 65, 107, 127, 135, 
178, 208, 246 

Hapeti 190 

Harayati 148 

Hardy's Manual and Monachism 1, 70, 
126, 134, 202, 219, 246 

Hattha-vikara 148 

Herodotus eited 113 

Himalaya 2, 6, 7, 20, 24, 38, 52, 80, 86, 
90, 91, 98, 100, 116, 120, 126, 185, 
136, 164, 165, 167, 169, 187, 208, 
211, 220, 221, 223, 224, 228, 245, 
261, 252 



Index of Names and Pali Words. 



285 



Himsati 159 

Indapatta 31, 32, 37, 246, 258, 264, 279 
Indra 18, 80, 82, 88, 125, 140, 170, 216, 

217, 218, 276 
iBigili mountain 65 
Isisinga 80, 81, 82, 84, 100, 101, 102, 104, 

106 
Ivanhoe referred to 67 

Jacob's Barlaam and Josaphat 80 

Jambuka 60, 63, 64 

Jataka-MalS referred to 107, 116, 146, 

175, 246 
Jatakas referred to in the notes : 

Ayogbara 11 

Cetiya 138 

Cullahamsa 186 

Darimukha 127 

Ohata 138 

Hamsa 175 

Illlsa 202 

Indriya 66, 70 

Jayaddisa 246 

Ehantivadi 72 

Eumbha 138 

Mahajanaka 128 

Mahasadassana 64 

Mabasutasoma 19 

Manoja 164 

Matanga 138 

Neru 226 

Bajovada 54 

Bobantamiga 64 

Bukkbadbamma 219 

Samkicca 245 

Sammodamana 220 

Samugga 244 

Sarabhanga 137 

Sasa 18 

Sattigumba 171 

Ummadanti 242 
Jatakas referred to in the text : 

Alambusa 100 

Cullahauisa 202 

Daddabha 220 

Hatthipala 98, 99 

Indriya 79 

Eakatr 229 

Kummasapinda 48 

Latutika 220 

Mabanarada Eassapa 91 

Mabaummagga 31, 42, 116 

Phandana 220 

Bukkbadbamma 220 

Sama 11, 164 

TJmmagga 45 

Vattaka 220 
Jatakas translated in this volume : 

Alambusa 79 

Chaddanta 20 

Cullahamsa 175 

CuUasutasoma 91 

Gandatindu 54 

Jayaddisa 11 ' 



Jatakas translated in this volume : 

Eimchanda 1 

Kumbha 5 

Kunala 219 

Kuaa 141 

Mababodhi 116 

Mahahaiusa 186 

Mahakapi 37 

Mabasutasoma 246 

Nalinika 100 

Pandara 42 

Sambbava 31 

Sambula 48 

Samkhapala 84 

Samkicca 134 

Sarabhanga 64 

Sonaka 127 , 

Sona-Nanda 164 

Sudhabhojana 202 

Tesakuna 59 

Ummadanti 107 
Jayaddisa 12, 13, 16 
Jayampati 144, 148 

Jetavana 1, 5, 20, 31, 42, 48, 54, 59, 65, 
79, 84, 91, 100, 107, 116, 127, 134, 
141, 164, 202, 246 , 

Jetthamula mouth 219 
Jivaka 134, 175 
Jotipala 66, 67, 68, 69 
Journal Asiatique cited 20, 137, 242 

Kaocayana 79 

Kaccha 213 

EakatI 225 

Kalabu 72, 77 

Kaladevala 70, 71 

Kaiahatthi 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 

■ 255, 256, 277, 278, 279 
Kaiasutta 137, 138 
Kaiinga king 72, 73, 78 
Kamavaoara world 224 
Eambuglva 81 
Eammakarana 136 
Kammasadamma 279 
Kampilla, kingdom of 11, 18, 54 
Kanisa, king 61 
Eandari 234, 236 
Eanha 226, 226, 227 
Eanikara 154, 158 
Eanna 241 

Eannamundaka lake 221 
Eannapenna 84, 85 
Eapilavatthu 219, 220, 221 
Karambiya port 42, 43 
Easi, king and kingdom of 6, 23, 28, 30, 

38, 49, 61, 72, 79, 100, 116, 130, 137, 

158, 196, 197, 199, 201, 226, 246 
Easina 70, 166, 228 
Eassapa, father of Isisinga 81, 82 

the Elder 37, 79, 91, 99, 218, 279 
Eassapa Buddha 109, 259, 260, 263, 264, 

266, 267 
Eatadutiya 53 
Katha Sarit Sdgara referred to 72, 125, 

225 



286 



Index of Names and Pali Words. 



Eathd Vatthu referred to 123 

Katta 113 

Eattika festival 109, 184 

Eatnkndraya 180 

Kavittha forest 69, 70; 71 

Keka'ka 137 

Eelasa 22, 29 

Kern cited 67 

Ebadiyanam 243 

Khantivadi 72 

Khanum 257 

Khela 164 

Ehema, lake 198 

Khema, queen 186, 187, 197, 201, 202 

„ river 103 
Ehemaka 188, 189, 191, 193, 196 
Khila 200 
Ehiramulam 66 
Khujjuttara 99, 164 
Khundanti 163 
Ehuradhara 139 
Einnara 234, 235, 236 
Kisavacoha 70, 71, 72, 73, 76, 78, 79, 

137 
Kita 198 
Eoocha 216 
Eokanada 143, 150 
Eoli 219 
Kolita 79 

Koliya tribe 219, 220, 221 
Komudi 134 
Kondanna 75 
Eorabya 31 
Koravya 246 
Eosala 53, 58, 59, 166, 167, 225, 226, 

229, 230, 231 
Eoshthaki-kritya 68 
Eosiki river 2 
Eosiya, a brabmin, father of Sona 168, 

169, 172 
Eosiya (Maeobarikosiya) 207, 208, 209, 

211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 

218 
Kukkula 76 

Eulavaddbana 95, 96, 99 
Kumbbavati 71 
Eurtikumi 233 
Eunala lake 219, 221 

Eunala, king of birds 221, 222, 223, 224, 
■ 225, 228, 229, 236, 240, 241, 243, 

245 
Kundalini 60, 62, 63, 64 
Eurangavi 225, 230, 231 
Euru king and kingdom 31, 33, 34, 36, 

167, 246, 258, 261, 264 
Kusa 141, 144, 146, 147, 148, 149, 160, 

151, 152, 153, 154, 156, 157, 159, 

160, 161, 162, 163, 164 
Kusa Jdtakaya referred to 141 
Eusavati 141, 146, 147, 153, 154, 155, 

163, 164 
Kusinara 141 

La Fontaine cited 102 
Lambaciilaka 70 



Maeobarikosiya 203,204, 206, 207, 208, 209 
Madda, king and kingdom of 22, 145, 
146, 147, 151, 153, 154, 157, 158, 
159, 160, 162, 163 
Maga king 138 

Magadha, king of 84, 89, 127, 167, 168 
Hagbava 74 

Mahdbhdrata referred to 68, 226 
Mababodhi see Bodbi 
Mahakammasadamma 19 
Mahasamayasutta 245 
Mahasubhadda 20, 22 
Mahavagga referred to 2, 143, 148 
Mahavastu referred to 64, 137, 203, 279 
Mahavyutpatti referred to 246 
Mabayana, scbool of 6 
Mabimsaka kingdom 84, 178 
Majjhima Nikdya referred to 96, 246 
Makkbali Gosala 126 
Malla king 141 
Mallika, queen 48, 53 
Maloue's Sbakspeare referred to 102 
Manoja 164, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 

174 
Manosila 210 
Manu cited 248 
Manusiya lake 178 
Mara 29, 244 
Marjaraka 222 
Masakkasara 88, 213 
Matali 203, 207, 208, 211, 212, 216, 217, 

218 
Matanga 138 
Mejjba 138 
Mendissara 70, 71, 79 
Migjicira 38, 259, 276 
Milinda Panha referred to 65, 96, 121, 

155, 206, 242 
Mingala 250 
Mitbila 86 

Moggallana 37, 64, 65, 79, 99, 218 
Morris cited 67, 79,- 131, 136, 165, 169, 

232, 276 
Miiller's Pali Grammar cited 161, 163 

Naga World 46, 84, 85 
Naga king 67, 84, 88, 89, 184 
Nagananda referred to 43 
Nakula 225, 226 
Nala, a village 65 
Nalagiri 175, 176, 177, 178 
Nalikira 70, 72, 76 
Naiinika 101, 102, 103, 106 
Namuci 244 
Nanda, Naga king 65 

,, a brabmin of Takkasila 13, 14, 

259, 269, 279 
Nanda, son of a brabmin at Brabma- 

vaddhana 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 

169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174 
Kandamula 128 
Nandana 80, 82, 245 
Narada, pupil of Sarabhauga 70, 71 
Narada, brabmin ascetic 210, 211, 218, 

224, 242, 243, 245 



Index of Names and Pali Words. 



287 



NSri grove 80 
Natakam 142 
Natakuvera 225 
Neru 226 
Neumann 96 
Nibbisesakara 226 
Nioohubhati 206 
Nigantha Nathaputta 126 
Nilaramsi 220 
Nippatibhana 124 
Nippui-isa 276 

Odissakametta 177 

Okkaka 141, 142, 145, 146, 147, 160 

Opapatika 218 

Pabbata 70, 71, 79 

Pabhavati 145, 146, 147, 148, 150, 151, 

152, 153, 155, 156, 157, 158, 160, 

161, 162, 163, 164 
Paocekabuddha 20, 22, 24, 29, 30, 128, 

130, 131, 134, 149, 236, 237 
Paeehaya 175 
Padesananam 246 
Pajapati 218 
Paka geese 188, 189 
Pakarana Atphakathd referred to 123 
Pakkhadivasa 247 
Pakudha Kaccana 126 
Fanameti 165 

Panca-gati-dipana referred to 137 
Panoala king 11, 13, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 

225 
Fancala kingdom 11, 54 
Pancalacanda 225, 231, 234, 236 
Pancapapa' 236, 237, 239 
Panoaaikha 203, 2U6, 207, 208, 209, 218 
Pandara and Pandaraka 42, 43, 44, 45, 

' 46, 47 
Pandu 226, 227 
Papa 241 
Parabhata 222 
Faraha 165 
Parapatti 220 
Pare 165 

Paribbnnjiyana 243 
Passionate Pilgrim cited 102 
Patapana 137, 245 
Patigacc'eva 121 
Fatimaneti 165 
Pattakkhanda 10, 122 
Pavariya 239, 240 

Perfumed Chamber 6, 178, 203, 220, 246 
Phalaka 261 

Fhussa asterism 259, 260 
Phussaratha 128 
Pingiyani 240 
Fisaca 268 
Pisciiel 206, 241, 243 
Pitthiaoariya 247 
Piyadasi, edict of 145 
Foussiu cited 67 
Pratiharayati 146 
Preta 38 
Funnamukha 223, 224, 225, 232, 233, 245 



Pupphachaddaka 242 
Purana Eassapa 126, 134 

Babelais referred to 102 

Baccha 176 

Bahandama Uppalavaima 107 

Eahu 18, 244, 263 

Bahula 99, 134 

Eahula's mother 19, 99, 164 

Eajagaha 65, 84, 127, 176 

Bama 16 

Bamdyana referred to 16, 72, 80 

Bathakara lake 221 

Eatya 161, 201 

Ehys Davids cited 65, 96, 116, 132, 159, 

216 
Bincati 214 
Bishyasringa 80 
Bohini 219 
Boruva 137 
Bucchiti 194 

Sabbamitta, king 7, 8 

Saccatapavi 225, 228 

Sagala 145, 146, 150 

Sahadeva 225, 226 

Saketa 7 

Sakiya tribe 219 

Sakka 8, 10, 11, 18, 29, 50, 51, 52, 61, 69, 
70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 82, 
83, 84, 98, 100, 101, 104, 111, 115, 
133, 142, 143, 144, 145, 157, 162, 
163, 166, 167, 203, 205, 206, 207, 
208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 216, 
218, 254, 258, 279 

Sakkhi 270 

Sakula 178, 183, 185 

Salissara 70, 79 

Saliya 56 

Samanna Phala referred to 116 

Sambhava 34, 35, 36, 37 

Sambula 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53 

Samgharati 204 

Samkhapala, lake 84 

king 84, 85, 88, 91 

Samkicoa 135, 136, 137, 140 

Sampunnamukha 231 

SatQvara 244 

SaihvelU 213 

Samyama 186, 193, 196, 202 

Samyutta-Atthakathd referred to 21 

Sangahaka 191 * 

Sangahavatthu 174, 185, 191 

Sanghata 137 

Safijaya 34, 35, 37 

Sanjiva 137 

Sarabhanga 72, 73, 74, 75, 79 

Saranlya 203 

garattanam 168 

Sariputta 19, 37, 48, 64, 79, 91, 99, 115, 
174, 176, 186, 202, 218, 245, 279 

Sarva-darSana-samgraha referred to 73 

Satodika 71 

Sattava 189 



288 



Index of Names and Pali Words. 



Savatthi 5, 7, 20, 107, 134, 141, 202, 219, 

220 
Senart see Mahavastu 
Setasamani 228 
Sihappapata lake 221 

Sikshdsamuccaya referred to 137, 246 

Silavatl 141, 142, 143, 146 

Sineru 6, 166, 174 

Sivi, king and country 107, 111, 113, 114, 
115 

Soma, a deva king 15 

Somadatta 96, 99 

Somakumara see Sutasoma 

Sona 164, 165, 168, 169, 172, 173, 174 

Sonaka 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132 

Sonuttara 20, 24, 25, 30 

Sotthisena 48, 49, 51, 52, 53 

Steele, Thomas 141 

Subhadda 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30 

Suei 153 

Suoirata 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37 

Sudassana, old name of Benares 91 

Sudhamma 205 

Suhema 194 

Sujampati 74 

Sujata 251, 252, 254 

Sukhudraya 180 

Sumukha 178, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 
185, 186, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 
193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 
200, 201, 202 

Sunanda, oharicteer 110, 115 

Sura, a forester 6, 7 

Sura 7 

Surattha 71 

Suriya 203, 206, 207, 208, 218 

Suta 260 

Sutasoma, son of Brahmadatta, king of 
Benares 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98, 99 

Sutasoma, son of king Koravya in Inda- 
patta 246, 247, 258, 259, 261, 262, 
263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 
270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 276, 277, 
278, 279 

Sutta Nipata referred to 200, 220 

Suttavibhanga referred to 232 

Svayarnvara 226 

Svetambara 228 



Taittiriya Samhita referred to 222 
Takkasila 13, 14, 66, 84, 92, 107, 116, 

127, 185, 22T, 246, 259 
Tapana 137, 138, 139 
Tathagata 37, 48, 64, 66, 99, 116, 126, 

127, 134, 135, 175, 176, 177, 178 
Tawney see Katha Sarit Sagara 
Thera-Gatha referred to 242 
Tibetan Tales referred to 141 
Timanda 250 
Timbaru 207 



Timirapingala 250 

Tiritavaooha 108, 111 

Tltiinlti 250 

Tiyaggala lake 221 

Trenckner's Milindapanha cited 121, 206 

Tulaputta 229 

Uccbedavada 123 

Udaggihutta 211 

Udayi 245 

Uddaraka 222 

Ummadanti 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 

114, 115 
Unnanabbi spider 255 
Upananda, Naga king 65 
Uposatha 1, 247 
Uppalavanna 5, 19, 64, 115, 218 
Ussada 137 
UUbabaka 242 

Vambheti 169 
Varuna, deva king 15 

,, ascetic 7 
Varuni strong drink 7 
Vasava 83 
Vatra 80 
Vatthum 151 

Vedas, three 164, 252, 259 
Vedika 279 

Vejayanta 65, 205, 216 
Velli 213 

Vejuvana see Bamboo Grove 
Venateyya 225 
Verooana 163 
Vessantara 60, 61, 62, 64 
Vessavana 12 
VetaranI 139 
Videha'50, 86 
Vidhura 32, 33, 37 
Vimba, vimboshtha 244 
Vinaya Texts referred to 128, 126, 159, 

213, 216, 279 
Virgil, Georgics quoted 215 
Visakha 5, 6 
Vishnu 138 

Vishnu Parana referred to 10, 171 
Vissakamma'69, 70, 98 
Vivaha 145 
Vohara 133 
Vulture Peak 175, 224 

Whitney's Sanskrit Grammar referred to 

191 
Wilson's Vishnu Purana cited 10 
Windisoh, Mara und Buddha referred to 

244 

Yama 138, 159, 226 

Yathodhika 209 

Yo va so va 191 

Yudhitthila 33, 34, 36, 37, 225, 226 



CAMBBIDOE : PBINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. AT THE CNIVEBSITT PBESS.