JATAKA TALES
H. T. FRANCIS
AND
E.J.THOMAS
jAtaka tales
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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All rights reserved
jAtaka tales
SELECTED AND EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION
AND NOTES
BY
H. T. FRANCIS, M.A.,
SOMETIME FELLOW OF GONVILLE AND CAIUS COLLEGE
HONORARY UNDER-LIBRARIAN, UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, CAMBRIIME
AND
E. J. THOMAS, M.A.,
EMMANUEL COLLEGE
Cambridge :
at the University Press
1916
YFiL
a5E5f
CONTENTS
PAGE
ILLUSTRATJONS XV
INTRODUCTION 1
ABBREVIATIONS 11
THE LITTLE GILDMASTER (CULLAKASE'1THI-JATAKA\ 4) . . 13
A young man picks up a dead mouse which he sells, and works up his
capital till he becomes rich.
THE KING AND THE STICK-GATHERER (KATTHAHARI-JATAKA, 7) 16
A king refuses to recognise liis son by a chance amour; the mother
throws the child into the air, praying that, if he be not the king's son, he
may be killed by his fall. The child rests in mid-air, and the king recognises
him as his son.
KING MAKHADEVA'S GREY HAIRS (MAKHADEVA-JATAKA, 9) . 18
A king, finding a gi-ey hair in his head, renounces his throne to prepare
as a hermit for death. He is re-born as a king and again becomes a hermit.
THE COLD HALF OF THE MONTH (MALUTA-JATAKA, 17) . . 20
A tiger and a lion dispute whether it is the dark or the light half of the
month which is cold.
THE FEAST FOR THE DEAD (MATAKABHATTA-JATAKA, 18) . . 20
A goat, which was to be sacrificed by a brahmin, shews signs of great joy
and of great soitow. It explains the reason for each emotion.
THE MONKEYS AND THE OGRE (NALAPANA-JATAKA, 20) . . 23
Thirsty monkeys come to a pool haunted by an ogre. Their leader
miraculously blows knots out of canes, with which they safelv slake their
thirst.
THE GUILTY DOGS (KUKKURA-JATAKA, 22) .... 26
Carriage-straps having been gnawed bv palace dogs, a king orders all
other dogs to be killed. The leader of a pack of dogs reveals the tnith by
causing an emetic to be applied to the royal dogs.
THE DISCONTENTED OX (MUNIKA-JATAKA, 30) . . . 29
A young o.x, seeing a lazy pig being fattened, is discontented with his
hard fare. Another ox explains that the pig is being fott<!ned to be eaten,
and the discontented ox accepts his position.
1 In Pali c is pronounced as ch in church ; kli, th, etc. as in inkhorn, pothook ; t, th,
<1, 4h, n are pronounced with the tip of tlie tongue further back in the mouth than t, etc.;
a as u in but ; other vowels as in Italian.
vi CONTENTS
PAGE
THE peacock's WOOING (NACCA-JATAKA, 32) . . . . 30
The daughter of the Golden MaUard, king of birds, chooses the peacock
for her husband. In dancing for joy the peacock exposes himself and is
rejected.
THE FOWLER AND THE QUAILS (SAMMODAMANA-JATAKA, 33) . 32
Quails caught in a net rise up in a body with the net and escape several
times. After a time they quan-el and are caught.
THE OLDEST OF THE ANIMALS (TITTIRA-JATAKA, 37) . . 34
A partridge, a monkey, and an elephant decide to obey the eldest of
them. To prove seniority each gives his earliest recollection.
THE CRANE AND THE CRAB (BAKA-JATAKA, 38) ... 36
A crane, pretending that he was taking then) to a big lake, devours all
the fish of a pond. A wise crab nips the bird's head off.
THE HAUGHTY SLAVE (NANDA-JATAKA, 39) .... 39
A slave is made to tell where his master's father had buried his hoard.
THE PIGEON AND THE CROW (KAPOTA-JATAKA, 42) ... 41
A pigeon lives in a kitchen with a greedy crow, which attacks the
\ictuals. It is tortured to death by the cook, and the pigeon flies away.
THE FOOLISH FRIEND (MAKASA-JATAKA, 44) .... 44
A mosquito settles on a man's head. To kill it his foolish son strikes the
man's head with an axe and kills him.
THE STUPID MONKEYS (ARAMADUSAKA-JATAKA, 46) ... 45
Monkeys employed to water a pleasaunce pull up the trees to judge
by the size of the roots how much water to give. The trees die.
THE ROBBERS AND THE TREASURE (VEDABBHA-JATAKA, 48) . 47
Captured by robbers a brahmin makes treasure rain from the sky ; a
second band kills him because he cannot repeat the miracle. Mutual
slaughter leaves only two robbers with the treasure. One poisons the other's
food and is himself slain by his fellow.
GREAT KING GOODNESS (MAHASILAVA-JATAKA, 51) ... 52
A good king meets evil with good. Refusing to fight he is captured and
buried alive in a charnel-grove. He escapes the jackals, acts as umpire for
ogres, and regains his kingdom.
PRINCE FIVE-WEAPONS (PANCAVUDHA-JATAKA, 55) ... 59
Prince Five-weapons fights with the ogre Hairy-grip, and though
defeated subdues him through fearlessness.
THE brahmin's SPELL (andabhuta-jataka, 62) . . . 63
A girl is bred up among women only, without ever seeing any man but
her husband. Her innocence gives him luck in gaming. The story of her
intrigue with a lover and of her trick at the ordeal to test her innocence.
CONTENTS vii
THE VALUE OF A BltOTHER (UCCHANGA-JATAKA, 67) . . 70
A woman's husband, son, and brotlier are condemned to deatli. She
chooses and saves her brother, and gives her reason.
THE GRATEFUL ANIMALS (SACCAMKIRA-JATAKA, 73) ... 72
Tlie ingi-atitude of a prince, and the gratitude of a snake, rat, and parrot.
THE GREAT DREAMS (MAHASUPINA-JATAKA, 77) ... 78
A king dreams sixteen dreams, and the brahmins say he must offer
sacVifices to avert the evil. Hi.s queen advises him to consult Jiuddha who
shews that tlie evil will not be in the king's time.
THE CONVERTED MISER (iLLISA-JATAKA, 78) . . . . 92
A miser is cured by his father reappearing on earth and distributing the
son's wealth in the e.xact semblance of the son.
THE VALIANT DWARF (BHIMASENA-JATAKA, 80) ... 99
A dwarf makes an alliance with a huge weaver, who gets the credit of the
dwarf's achievements, until his cowardice is discovered.
THE STOLEN JEWELS (MAHASARA-JATAKA, 92) . . . . 103
A q\ieen's jewels are stolen, and several innocent persons confess to the
theft. Monkeys are proved to be the real culprits, and the jewels are
recovered.
THE TOO-CLEVER MERCHANT (KUTAVANIJA-JATAKA, 98) . . 107
A trader tries t^) cheat his partner, and puts his fiither in a hollow tree
to speak aij the tree sprite and decide the dispute. The father is burnt out
and exposed.
THE LOQUACIOUS BRAHMIN (SALITTAKA-JATAKA, 107) . . 109
A skilful markman reduces a talkative brahmin to silence by flicking
pellets of goat's dung down the latter's throat.
THE THREE FISHES (MITACINTI-JATAKA, 114) .... Ill
Of three fishes two through folly are caught in a net ; the third and wiser
fish rescues them.
THE LUCKY SNEEZE (ASILAKKHANA-JATAKA, 126) . . .112
Effects of two sneezes. One lost a sword-tester his nose, whilst the other
won a princess for her lover.
THE HYPOCRITICAL JACKAL (BILARA-JATAKA, 128) . . . 115
A jackal, under guise of saintliness, eats the rats of a troop with which he
consorts. His treachery is discovered and avenged.
THE GOLDEN GOOSE (SUVAXNAHAMSA-JATAKA, 136) . . .117
The father of a family dies, and is re-boni as a bird with golden plumage.
Finding his family poor he goes and gives them a feather at a time to sell.
The widow in greed plucks all the feathers out, and they grow again as plain
white ones.
viii CONTENTS
PAGE
THE GRATEFUL MOUSE (BABBU-JATAKA, 137) .... 118
A mouse caught by successive cats buys them oflF by daily rations of
meat. Its protector gives it a crystal, within which it can defy the cats.
THE TREACHEROUS CHAMELEON (GODHA-JATAKA, 141) . .121
A chameleon betrays a tribe of lizards to a hunter, who burns them out
of their dwelling.
THE CUNNING JACKAL (SIGALA-JATAKA, 142) .... 123
In order to catch a jackal a man pretends to be dead. The jackal tugs
at the man's stick and finds his grip tighten.
THE FOOLHARDY JACKAL (VIROCANA-JATAKA, 143) . . .124
A jackal, following a lion in the chase, imagines that he can kill a quarry
as well as the lion. He tries to kill an elephant, and is crushed to death.
THE FOOLISH CROWS (KAKA-JATAKA, 146) . . . .126
A hen crow having been dro^viied in the sea, other crows try to bale out
the sea with their beaks.
THE GREEDY JACKAL CAUGHT (SIGALA-JATAKA, 148) . . 128
A jackal eats his way into a dead elephant's carcass and cannot get out.
THE RASH MAGICIAN (SANjIVA-JATAKA, 150) .... 129
A youth, who has learnt the charm for restoring the dead to life, tries it
on a tiger ^^ith fatal results to himself.
THE TWO GOOD KINGS (RAJOVADA-JATAKA, 151) . . . 131
Two kings, both \vise and good, meet in a narrow way, and their drivers
dispute as to who is to give place. Each sings his master's praises, one is
good to the good, and bad to the bad ; the other repays evil with good.
The first acknowledges his superior, and gives place.
THE GRATEFUL ELEPHANT (ALINACITTA-JATAKA, 156) . . 134
Cai-penters extract a thorn from the foot of an elephant, and he and his
young one serve them out of gratitude. The young one is sold to the king,
and on the king's death routs a hostile host and saves the kingdom.
THE PET ELEPHANT (iNDASAMANAGOTTA-JATAKA, 161) . . 140
A man keeps a pet elephant, which turns against him and tramples him
to death.
THE MONGOOSE AND THE SNAKE (NAKULA-JATAKA, 165) . . 141
A mongoose and snake are made friends, but still distrust each other,
until the Bodhisatta reconciles them.
THE JACKAL BETRAYED BY. HIS HOWL (DADDARA-JATAKA, 172) 143
A jackal brought up among lions is betrayed by his tongue.
THE PENNY-WISE MONKEY (KALAYAMUTTHI-JATAKA, 176) . 144
A monkey throws away a handful of peas to find one.
CONTENTS ix
PAGK
THE INCOMPARABLE ARCHER (ASADISA-JATAKA, 181) . . 145
A prince is slanilered and leaves the country. He i>erfonns feats of
archery, then returns, and saves the king.
THE MAGIC TREASURES (DADHIVAHANA-JATAKA, 186) . . 149
A man beconies king through a magic razor-axe, milk-lmwl, and drum.
Another king spoils the flavour of his mangoes.
THE ASS IN THE LION's SKIN (SIHACAMMA-JATAKA, 189) . . loo
The ass in the lion's skin.
THE PRIEST IN HORSE-TRAPPINGS (RUHAKA-JATAKA, 191). . 156
A wicked wife fools her husband, and sends him prancing down the
street in horse-trappings.
INGRATITUDE PUNISHED (CULLAPADUMA-JATAKA, 193) . . 158
A wicked wife tries to murder her husband, and finally with her paramour
is brought for trial before her husband, then become king.
THE GOBLIN CITY (VALAHASSA-JATAKA, 196) .... 164
Shipwrecked mariners escape from a city of goblins by aid of a flying
horse.
THE TELL-TALE PARROT (RADHA-JATAKA, 198) . . . .167
A brahmin leaves two parrots to watch his wife in his absence. She kills
one of them which nushly reproves her. The other prudently keeps silent,
and informs the brahmin on his return.
THE CHOICE OF A HUSBAND (SADHUSILA-JATAKA, 200) . . 168
How a father chose a husband for his four daughters.
THE FOOLHARDY CROW (VIRAKA-JATAKA. 204) .... 169
A crow tries to catch fish for himself, and is drowned.
THE WOODPECKER, TORTOISE, AND ANTELOPE (KURUNGAMIGA-
JATAKA, 206) 171
A woodpecker and a tortoise rescue their friend the antelope from a tra]i.
THE CROCODILE AND THE MONKEY (SUMSUMARA-JATAKA, 208) 174
A crocodile wants the heart of a monkey, who escapes by pretending that
it is hanging on a fig-tree.
THE BRAHMIN AND THE ACROBAT (UCCHITTHABHATTA-JATAKA.
212) ■■.... 176
A husband finds out his wife's intrigue by the state of the rice.
THE TORTOISE AND THE GEESE (KACCHAPA-JATAKA, 215) . 178
A tortoise is conveyed by geese through the air, biting with his teeth
upon a stick. He answers a taunt and falls.
CONTENTS
PAOB
THE STOLEN PLOUGHSHARES (KUTAVANIJA-JATAKA, 218) . ' . 180
A man deposits ploughshares with a friencl, who pretends that they have
been eaten by rats. By a clever device he is exposed.
THE hero's tasks (DHAMMADDHAJA-JATAKA, 220) . . . 183
Impossible tasks are set to a good man, who does them all with Sakka's
aid.
DEFEATING THE KING OF DEATH (MAHAPINGALA-JATAKA, 240). 191
A porter mouras at the death of his tyrannical master, lest he should
prove too much for the King of Death and be sent back.
THE jackal's spell (SABF.ADATHA-JATAKA, 241) . . . 193
A jackal learns the spell " Of subduing the world," and collects an army of
wild beasts, but is discomfited.
THE JUDAS-TREE (KIMSUKOPAMA-JATAKA, 248) .... 196
Four lads see a tree, and quarrel because each describes it diflferently.
THE JUDGMENTS OF KING MIRROR-FACE (GAMANICANDA-JATAKA,
257) 198
A prince is made king after being tested in giving wise judgments.
Story of liis four judgments and solution of ten problems.
THE CRAB AND THE ELEPHANT (KAKKATA-JATAKA, 267) . . 211
An elephant goes to catch a great ci*ab and succeeds with the help of his
mate.
THE OWL AS KING (ULUKA-JATAKA, 270) .... 213
The owl is proposed as king of birds, but because of liis sour looks is not
taken.
THE elephant-trainer's LUCK (SIRI-JATAKA, 284) . . . 215
How luck came of eating the flesh of certain birds.
THE WISHING-CUP (BHADRAGHATA-JATAKA, 291) . . • 218
A spendthrift has a wishing-cup given to him. He breaks it and becomes
poor once more.
THE JACKAL AND THE CROW (JAMBUKHADAKA-JATAKA, 294) . 219
A jackal flatters a crow and gets fruit.
THE wolf's sabbath (VAKA-JATAKA, 300) .... 220
A wolf being without food decides to keep sabbath, but on seeing a goat
prefers to keep sabbath another day.
THE KING AND THE FRUIT-GIRL (SUJATA-JATAKA, 306) . . 221
A king marries a poor jujube-seller, who becomes too proud to recognise
the fruit, and nearly loses her position.
CONTENTS xi
«
PAGE
THE WOODPECKER AND THE LION (JA VASAKUNA-JATAKA, 308) . 228
A woodpecker extracts a bone from the throat of a liou, who afterwards
refuses the bird a boon,
THE hare's SELF-SACRIFICE (SASA-JATAKA, 316) . . . 225
A liare oft'crs its own flesii to Sakka to be eaten, and is rewarded by
having its shape impressed on the moon.
UNASKED-FOR ADVICE (KUTTDUSAKA-JATAKA, 321) . , 229
A bird gives miasked-for advice to a monkey, who destroys its nest.
THE FLIGHT OF THE BEASTS (DADDABHA-JATAKA, 322) . , 230
The timid hare and the flight of the beasts.
THE CONCEITED MENDICANT (CAMMASATAKA-JATAKA, 324) . 233
A foolish mendicant meets his death by mistaking the butting of a ram
for a respectful salutation.
THE IMPERMANENCE OF WORLDLY JOYS (ANANUSOCIYA-JATAKA,
328) 234
A holy man finds a wife by means of a golden image, and on her death he
neither fasts nor weeps.
THE TE.STING OF VIRTUE (SILAVIMAMSA-JATAKA, 330) . . 238
A man tests the power of virtue, and learns moral lessons from the hawk
and piece of meat, and from the slave-girl, to whom loss of hope alone brought
peace.
A king's LIFE SAVED BY SPELLS (THUSA-JATAKA, 338) . . 240
A king is saved from being killed by his son, through repeating spells at
critical moments.
THE heron's REVENGE (KUNTANI-JATAKA, 343) . . . 243
A heron's young ones are killed by a king's sons, and in revenge she
brings about their death.
THE LION AND THE BULL (SANDHIBHEDA-JATAKA, 349) . . 245
A j;ickal by slanderous words brings about a fatal quarrel between a lion
and a bull.
THE quail's friends (latukika-jataka, 357) . . . 247
A quail with the help of a crow, a fly, and a frog, destroys an elephant
that had killed her young ones.
QUEEN SUSSONDi (SUSSONDI-JATAKA, 360) .... 250
A garuda carries off a king's wife, but on being outwitted by a minstrel
lover, brings her back.
THE betrayer BETRAYED (CULLADHANUGGAHA-JATAKA, 374) . 253
A woman kills her husband and goes off with a robber, who robs and
deserts her. Sakka i)uts her to shame and converts her.
xii CONTENTS
PAGE
THE CAT AND THE COCK (KUKKUTA-JATAKA, 383) . . . 258
A cat flatters a cock, but fails to deceive it.
THE LANGUAGE OF ANIMALS (KHARAPUTTA-JATAKA, 386). . 259
A king gets a charm from a naga by which he understands the sounds of
all animals. His wife tries to get the charm from him, but is foiled through
Sakka's ad\ice.
THE THEFT OF A SMELL (BHLSAPUPPHA-JATAKA, 392) . . 263
A brahmin is accused of stealing the smell of a flower.
THE LION IN BAD COMPANY (MANOJA-JATAKA, 397) . . . 265
A Hon makes friends ^«th a jackal, who gives him bad advice and causes
his death.
THE OTTERS AND THE JACKAL (DABBHAPUPPHA-JATAKA, 400) . 267
Two otters, who had caught a fish, are cheated out of it by a jackal as
judge.
THE BRAHMIN AND THE SNAKE (SATTUBHASTA-JATAKA, 402) . 269
An old brahmin is sent away by his wife to beg, and a snake gets into his
meal-bag unperceived. A brahmin sage guesses that the snake is there, and
exposes the mfe's wickedness.
THE brahmin's REVENGE ON THE MONKEYS (KAPI-JATAKA, 404) 277
Monkey's fat is prescribed as a cure for elephants by a priest who out of
revenge wishes the monkeys to be destroyed.
THE monkey's heroic SELF-SACRIFICE (MAHAKAPI-.JATAKA, 407) 279
A monkey takes his followers over the Ganges at the cost of his own life.
THE ADVENTURES OF THE PRINCE AND HIS BROTHER (PARAN-
TAPA-JATAKA, 416) 283
A prince understands the speech of animals. His father is murdered by
a sen'ant, and the murder is avenged by the prince's younger brother.
THE PANTHER AND THE GOAT (DIPI-JATAKA, 426)^ . . . 289
A panther falsely accuses a goat in order to have an excuse for killing it.
THE GRATEFUL PARROT (MAHASUKA-JATAKA, 429) . . . 291
Sakka to test a parrot wthers up its tree, but the bird out of gratitude
refuses to leave it.
THE goblin's gift (PADAKUSALAMANAVA-JATAKA, 432) . . 294
A boy receives from his goblin mother the power of tracing footsteps,
and by this means a king is convicted of theft and put to death.
THE WISE GOAT AND THE JACKAL (PUTIMAMSA-JATAKA, 437) . 306
A wise she-goat outwits a jackal that was plotting to kill her.
CONTENTS xiii
'O"-
PAOS
THE UNGRATEFUL SON (TAKKALA-JATAKA, 446) . . . 309
All UHgi-iiteful son phins to iimider his fiithcr, hut when !iis own son
overhearing shews hinj an object-lesson of his own ugliness, he is put to
shame.
THE TEN SLAVE-BRETHREN (GHATA-JATAKA, 454) . . . 314
A girl is kept prisoner in a tower that she may marry no one, but she
has ten sons, who plunder the hind and capture all India,' including a city
that rises in the air. Finally they all die as fated.
RAMA AND SITA (DASARATHA-JATAKA, 461) . . . . 325
Two princes and their sister are sent away for twelve years through their
step-mothci-'s jealousy. At their father's death their step-brother goes to
bring them back, but they refuse to return until the twelve years are up. In
the meantime the shoes of Kama the eldest rule the kingdom.
THE WICKED STEP-MOTHER (MAHAPADUMA-JATAKA, 472) . . 331
A queen tempts her step-son to sin, and on being refused pretends that
he wished to force her. He is saved l)y the deity of the hill down which he
is cast, and reconciled to his father.
THE LOST CHARM (AMBA-JATAKA, 474) 337
A brahmin learns a charm from a low-caste sage, and loses it again
because he pretends that a world-famed teacher gave it him.
THE prince's wooing AND THE THRONE OF THE EUDDHAS
(kalingabodhi-jataka, 479) 343
A prince falls in love with a lady by finding a wreath which she dropped
into a river. He marries her, becomes king, and discovers the power of the
Buddhas.
THE FOLLY OF GARRULITY (taKKARIYA-JATAKA, 481) . . 348
A family priest plots to kill his wife's paramour and fails by talking too
soon. Another priest shews him his folly by telling him the stories of (1) a
young man deceived by a courtesan, (2) a bird killed by two fighting rams,
(3) four men killed in saVing another, (4) a goat that finds the knife that w:is
to kill her, (5) two fairies who knew when to be silent.
THE HAWKS AND THEIR FRIENDS (MAHAUKKUSA-JATAKA, 486) 357
Hawks make friends with an osprey, a lion, and a tortoise, through
whom their nestlings are saved.
THE PRINCE WHO COULD NOT LAUGH (SURUCI-JATAKA, 489) . 363
A prince marries a princess on condition that he has no other wife.
They are childless but he refuses other wives. Sakka at the wife's prayer
gives a son, and builds a magical palace for him. The son cannot laugh
until Sakka sends a juggler to perform tricks.
xiv CONTENTS
PAGE
A LOST FRIEND FOUND BY A SONG (CITTASAMBHUTA-JATAKA, 498) 373
Two men remain fast friends through many births — as out-casts, who
pretend to be brahmins, and are discovered, as deer, ospreys, and as son of
a family priest and son of a king. The fonner becomes an ascetic, and is
recognised by the king through the song that he sings.
KING SIVI (SIVI-JATAKA, 499) 381
King Sivi vows to give anything that is asked of him. Sakka assumes
the form of a bUud brahmin and asks for his eyes. Sivi makes an Act of
Ti-uth and his eyes are restored.
THE EVILS OF STRONG DRINK (KUMBHA-JATAKA, 512) . . 390
A forester accidentally discovers strong drink, and it leads to the ruin of
all India. Sakka appears, exposes its evils, and dissuades a king from its
use.
THE WHITE SIX-TUSKED ELEPHANT (CHADDANTA-JATAKA, 514). 395
A female elephant conceives a grudge against her husband. She pines
away, dies, and is re-bom as a queen. Remembering her grudge she orders
the elephant's tusks to be brought to her. A hunter kills the elephant and
brings the tusks to the queen, but she on hearing of his death is filled with
remorse and dies.
THE THREE WISE BIRDS (TESAKUNA-JATAKA, 521) . . . 409
A king adopts three birds as children. They are educated, give good
advice, and are promoted to high office.
A KING FINDS HIS FRIEND THROUGH A SONG (SONAKA-JATAKA,
529) 418
A prince and the son of a family priest are brought up together. The
prince is chosen king of Benares by the festal car, and his fnend becomes
an ascetic. Forty years afterwards the king remembers his friend, and finds
him again by means of a song which he causes to be sung.
THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM (KUSA-JATAKA, 531) .... 427
A childless king at length has two sons bestowed on him by Sakka, one
of whom is ugly. The ugly son consents to marry, if a lady can be found like
a golden image which he makes. His wife when found is not allowed to see
him, but on discovering how ugly he is, she returns to her parents. He
follows, and in various ways tries to win her affections, but fails until he
rescues her from seven hostile kings.
THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS (FROM JATAKA 546) .... 459
1. The piece of meat. 2. The cattle. .3. The necklace of thread.
4 The cotton thread. 5. The son. 6. The black ball. 7. The chariot.
8. The pole. 9. The head. 10. The snake. 11. The cock. 12. The gem.
13. The calving. 14. The boiled rice. 15. The sand 16. The tank.
17. The park. 18. The ass. 19. The jewel in a crow's nest.
ADDENDA 481
INDEX
482
ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE To face page
I. KING MAKHADEVA FINDS A GREY HAIR . 18
{Jataka 9, p. 18)
II. THE STUPID MONKEYS 46
{Jataka 46, p. 45)
III. THE CRAB AND THE ELEPHANT . . . 212
{Jataka 267, p. 211)
i IV. THE CONCEITED MENDICANT . . . 233
{Jataka 324, two scenes, pp. 233, 234)
V. THE QUAIL AND HER FRIENDS . . . 248
{Jataka 357, three scenes, pp. 248, 249)
VI. THE CAT AND THE COCK . . . . 258
{Jataka 383, p. 258)
VII. THE OTTERS AND THE JACKAL . . . 268
{Jataka 400, two scenes, p. 267)
VIII. THE monkey's SELF-SACRIFICE . . . 282
{Jataka 407, three scenes, pp. 281, 282)
I
^
INTRODUCTION
~I17E find in Hesiod the story of Jason, the son of Aeson,
' ' who by the will of the immortal gods achieved the
many lamentable labours imposed on him by the haughty
king Pelias, and who after his grievous toils carried off the
bright-eyed maiden and made her his wife. This is a form
of the tale known as the Hero's Tasks, which exists among
the most widely-scattered peoples. The comparative
mythologists have explained it as a myth of the spring
rains and the moon, but it does not fit into any of the
theories of folktales jirepared for its reception. Benfey
held that although the impulse to invent folktales is a
feature of general human nature, yet the existing folktales
of Europe and Asia as a matter of fact originated in
India. But this theory too is contradicted by the Jason
story. Andrew Lang has compared various forms of it
found among peoples not related either in language or
culture — the Algonquin Indians, the Samoans, and Zulus,
besides Euroi)ean races. It also exists in an Indian shape
in the present selection of birth-stories from the Jataka
(No. 220). This instance suggests, and many more could
be given, that it is too early to speak of a " science of folk-
tales." The investigators are not yet even agreed upon a
scientific method.
* The great authority of Benfey has popularised the
yiew that Indian folktales originated with the Buddhists.
F. & T. 1
2 INTRODUCTION
His work was done before the Jataka, the great collection
of buddhist birth-stories, was known, and it is now possible
to see from the stories themselves that, so far from
Buddhism being a great source of folktales, the bulk of
those which occur in the Jataka are prebuddhistic, and
merely adaptations of Indian tales.
Benfey's main argument for the buddhistic origin of
Indian folktales was the fact that traces of Buddhism
appeared to be found in the Paitchatantra, the Indian
collection of tales which has become widely known in the
West as the fables of Bidpai. From this he inferred
that the Panchatantra was a buddhist work revised by
Brahmins. But we now know that the work was of
Brahmin origin, and had been revised in the versions
which Benfey used by Buddhist or Jain editors. This has
been proved by Dr Hertel, who has edited and translated
a much earlier form of the Panchatantra, known as the
Tantrakhyayika, which is purely brahmanistic and without
any buddhist features. The question of the history of
Indian folktales has not been simplified by this discovery,
but it has made it impossible to look for their origin in
Buddhism.
The Jataka, as we possess it, occurs in the second of
the three great divisions of the Pali Buddhist Scriptures,
and in the Miscellaneous Collection of Discourses (Khud-
dhaka Nikaya) of this division. It consists of 547 jatakas,
each containing an account of the life of Gotama Buddha
during some incarnation in one of his previous existences
as a Bodhisatta, or being destined to enlightenment, before
he became Buddha, the Enlightened One. This number
does not correspond to exactly 547 stories, because some
of the tales occur more than once in a different setting, or
in a variant version, and occasionally several stories are
INTRODUCTION 3
included in one birth. Each separate story is embedded
in a framework, which forms the Story of tlie Present.
This is generally an account of some incident in the life of
the historic Buddlia, such as an act of disobedience or
folly among the brethren of the Order, the discussion of
a (juestion of ethics, or an instance of eminent virtue.
Buddha then tells a Story of the Past, an event in one of
his previous existences which explains the present incident
as a repetition of the former one, or as a parallel case, and
shews the moral consequences.
To ada[)t such an ancient tale was in general a simple
matter, as it was not necessary to make the actors
Buddhists. The tale might be told of a past time when
there was no Buddha in existence, and in which the
ideas are those of ordinary Hinduism. The one feature
necessary for the story is that the Bodhisatta in some
character should appear. When the tale itself contained
no instance of a w ise person who could play the part of
the Bodhisatta, modification was necessary; though this
is often done by making the liodhisatta a divinity or a
sage who witnesses the events and recites the gcithcU, the
verses with which the tale concludes. Some of the stories
of the past are evidently manufactured by adapting the
circumstances in the story of the present, and building up
a story of the past out of it. Verses occur in all the births.
In the first division of the work there is one vei-se in each
tale, in the second two, and so on in increasing number.
It is these verses alone which are canonical, the prose
being a commentary explaining how the verses came to
be spoken. But even here there is evidence of adaptation.
Some of the stories of the past contain no verses, and in
order to make the whole correspond to one type verses
are inserted in the frame story, and spoken by the Buddha
1—2
4 INTRODUCTION
after or during the recitation of the story of the past. An
instance will be found in Jat. 206, p. 173.
Buddhism took over the Hindu doctrine of re-birth
and karma, but moralised it. Re-birth in heaven is no
longer due to performing animal sacrifices, or the in-
fliction of self-torture, but to practising the virtues
emphasised by Buddha, almsgiving, truth-speaking, for-
giveness of enemies. But this teaching, which is the
prominent one in the Jataka, is not the essence of
buddhism. Doing good actions can never lead to salva-
tion. "Whoever shall do nothing but good works will
receive nothing but excellent future rewards." The aim
of the disciple is not to accumulate merit, but to win
Insight. Yet although much of the Jataka is merely moral
instruction to the unconverted, it also expounds teaching
which leads to enlightenment, such as the doctrine of
impermanence, belief in the Buddha, the rejection of
superstitious rites, freedom from lust, hatred, and delusion,
and other bonds which the disciple must break as he
advances on the Noble Path.
With regard to the question of the relation of the
Jataka to non-buddhist Indian works, important results are
reached by Franke in his article "Jataka Mahabharata
Parallelen^." He has shewn by the detailed examination
of a number of parallel tales, as well as of verses common
to the Jataka and Mahabharata that neither work is
directly dependent on the other, but that they are con-
nected only through common sources.
A more difficult question is the relation of the beast
fables to the fables of Aesop. Benfey became so firmly
assured of the Greek origin of such fables in the
Panchatantra that he refused to place the origin of that
^ WZKM. (Vienna Or. Journ.) xx. .317 ff. This has been fully utilised in the notes.
INTRODUCTION 5
work earlier than 200 B.C., on the ground that this was the
earliest date at which a knowledge of Aesop's fables could
have reached India. Hut in the Jfitaka we now possess
evidence for putting the existence of these fables in India
much earlier. On several buddhist stupas^ in India are
carved representations of scenes in some of the Jataka
tales and fables. The earliest and most important of these
monuments is the Stupa of Bharhut, a village 120 miles
south-west of Allahabad, the remains of which were dis-
covered by Sir A. Cunningham in 1873. Carved in relief
on the railings are a number of scenes of jataka tales and
fables with their titles. Twenty-eight have been identified,
several so-called Aesopic fables being among them. The
date of the stupa is put on epigraphical grounds between
250 — 200 B.C., and we may assert the existence of jataka
tales as early as the fourth century B.C., while the tales and
fables which Buddhism adopted must be much older. The
first feeling of the folklorists on the publication of the
Jataka was one of disappointment. Benfey's investiga-
tions had all been on the assumption of a great buddhist
source for Indian tales, and the Jataka contained hardly
anything which bore out current theories. It was sug-
gested that the Pali scholars had played their best trumps,
or were trying to win tricks with cards which they kept up
their sleeve. But the Jataka had reallv left the folklorist
without a card for the game. The stories instead of being
" a scanty contribution to the Aesopic question " made it
obsolete. They proved the existence of a great body of
Indian fable independent of any Greek source. As
Mr Jacobs has said, "it is idle to talk of a body of
literature [Aesop] amounting to 800 numbers being derived
* For a general description of these monuments, see Griinwedel, Buddhist Art
in India, London, 1901.
6 INTRODUCTION
from another [the Jataka] running also to 300, when they
have only a dozen items in common." ^
The much smaller question that remains is how, after
setting aside the bulk of jataka beast fables as of Indian
origin, are we to explain the parallelism in about a dozen
which more or less resemble Aesop? More than this
number have been compared, but many of the parallelisms,
which were taken for granted as long as a common origin
was assumed, have no value now that the question is open.
Mr Jacobs quotes Jat. 30, 32, 34 (with 45), 136, 143, 146,
189, 215, 294, 308, 374, 383, 426, and among them are
parallels to such well-known fables as The Ass ifi the Lion's
Skin, The Wolf and the Lamb, and The Fox and the Crow.
It is not necessary for the present purpose to prove that
even these are related in origin. The independent origin
of similar tales is still a tenable theory ; but it is possible
to shew, on the assumption that they are connected, that
a path of transmission from India to Greece was open long
before communications were established by Alexander.
This was from India to Persia, and from Persia to Asia
Minor. It can also be shewn that tales from India actually
reached Persia and the Euphrates district independently
of any Greek mediation. Relations with India in the
sixth century B.C. are shewn by the inscriptions of Darius
the Great (521 — 485 B.C.), especially in one at Persepolis,
which mentions Indush (the Indus district) and Gandara
among the peoples who brought him tribute. In the
Story of Ahikar^ we have a Persian or Babylonian story
which Benfey identified with a well-known Indian type. It
is the tale of a king's minister, who falls into disfavour,
and is restored through his skill in answering certain
^ See Jacobs' History of the Myopic Fable, p. 108.
2 See note on The Nineteen Problems.
INTRODUCTION 7
problems that had been sent to the king. This tale
occurs in several Indian forms, and in Pali in a much
inflated version as the jMahaummagga Jataka (546). The
nineteen problems that occur in it are given below. The
identity of several of the problems with the Indian, as
well as the structure of the tale, is strong confirmation of
the identity of the stories. One of the problems is the
biblical Judgment of Solomon, for which Salzberger^ had
already suggested a Persian origin. The date of the tale
in Persia must be at least of the fifth century B.C., as frag-
ments of an Aramaic version of it have been discovered in
a Persian military colony of Jews at Elephantine, which
was established there during the supremacy of the Persians
over Egypt. The penetration of the Ahikar story may be
anterior to the Persian conquest of Babylon. That there
were trade relations very early with India may be inferred
from the Semitic origin of the Indian alphabet. Jat. 339
speaks of a voyage from India to Baveru, which is probably
Babylon (Babilu).
Mr Jacobs gives several parallels to Indian fables from
Mid rash Rabha'^, a rabbinical commentary on the Penta-
teuch and Five Rolls. This work is a compilation much
later than the date of the entry of Greeks into India, but
it contains fables which possess Indian features not found
in the corresponding Greek fables, and it shews communi-
cation with India outside Greek influence. According to
Winter and Wiinsche this Midrash is in part Babylonian,
the older parts being Palestinian. The fables occurring in
it are used as illustrations, and have the appearance of
having been orally acquired. On Gen. xxvi. 2(5 is told the
fable of the Egyptian partridge, which extracts a bone
^ Die Salomo-Sage, p. 4, Berlin, 1907.
2 German translation by A. Wiinsche, Bibliolheca Rabbinica, Leipzig, 1880 — 85.
8 INTRODUCTION
from the throat of a lion, as in Jat. 308, not a wolf, as in
Aesop (Halm 276, 276^). On Esther iii. (3, a bird, which
builds its nest on the sea-shore that was threatened by the
waves, tries to bale out the water with its beak, and is
rebuked by another bird. Of. Jat. 146, which is without a
parallel in Aeso]). On Esth. iii. 1 is told the story of
a man who had a she-ass, its foal, and a sow. To the latter
he gives unstinted food, but to the others in proportion.
The foal inquires of its mother why the idle sow should be
so fed. The ass replies, the hour will soon come when
you will see the sow's fate, and understand that it was well
fed not out of favour, but for a disgraceful end. When
the feast comes, the fatted sow is killed, and the moral
explained to the foal. So in Jat. 30, where an ox and its
younger brother take the place of the ass and foal. But
in Aesop (Halm 113) a heifer pities a working ox. At the
feast it is taken to be slaughtered, and the ox smiles and
points the moral.
By Aesop we mean the Greek fables of various dates
which have become collected under that name. Although
the traditions as to the historical existence of Aesop are
of no value, it is significant that Phrygia occurs most
frequently as the home of Aesop. The name is probably
Phrygian. Aesepos is the name of a river of Phrygia and
Mysia, and also of a Trojan at the siege of Troy. The
"priority" or rather independence of Greek fable may
be considered certain, but if in the case of a few it is
necessary to infer a connexion with the East, then we have
a natural explanation in the relations of the Greeks of
Asia Minor with their eastern neighbours and with Persia.
Greek relations with Persia need no detailed proof The
Persian tale of Herodotus referred to on Jat. 67 (p. 70)
shews how such stories could easily pass to Greece.
INTRODUCTION 9
The works shewinj^ the closest relationship with the
Jataka are naturally buddhist compositions, such as the
Pali Carlyd-Pitaka, the Sanskrit Jdtahamdld, Schiefner's
collection of Tibetan tales, and ('hinese translations from
buddhist Sanskrit sources. The most extensive connexion
with non-buddhistic collections is, apart from the Mahab-
harata, the Panchatantra, three of the frame stories of
which occur in the Jataka, as well as a variant of a fourth
(141, 206, 208, 349), and a number of single tales. A
detailed comparison shews much the same result as in
Franke's investigation of the Mahabharata tales, that is,
no dii'ect borrowing on either side, but common inherit-
ance from an earlier source. It was firmly held by Benfey
that the Vetdlapancavimsatikd, "twenty-five tales of a
vampire," was of buddhist origin. It is true that a version
of it has found its way to the buddhist Mongols, where it
is known as Ssidi Kilr, but it is difiicult to imagine such
a thesaurus of intrigue originating in a buddhist com-
munity. The only traces of it in the Jataka are 145, of
which the Vet. No. 21 shews a greatly elaborated version,
Jat. 527 {Vet. 16), and possibly a much moralised version
of No. 2 in Jat. 200.
We are dealing with a much simpler problem than the
oral transmission of folktales, when we find Jataka stories
in mediaeval and modern European literature, such as that
of the robbers and the treasure in Chaucer's Pardoners
Tale (Jat. 48), or of the ploughshares eaten by mice (Jat.
218), and the tortoise and geese (Jat. 215) among La
Fontaine's fables. These tales can be proved to have
spread over Europe through literary channels. The Pan-
chatantra was translated into Pahlavi from an imperfect
Indian MS. for the Sassanid king Khosrau Anosherwan,
who reigned from 531 to 579 a.d. This translation has
10 INTRODUCTION
disappeared, but the closest representatives of it exist in
Syriac and Arabic versions, known as Kalilah and Dimnah
and in English as the Fables of Bidpai. From these, and
especially from the Arabic, Latin translations were made
in the middle ages. Their history properly belongs to the
genealogy of the Panchatantra. A list of them is given in
Lancereau's French translation of the Panchatantra (Paris,
1871).
The present selection has been made with the purpose
of bringing together the Jataka stories of most interest,
both intrinsically, and also from the point of view of the
folklorist. The translation adopted, with slight revision to
remove inconsistencies, is taken from the complete edition
translated under the editorship of Prof E. B. Cowell,
Cambridge, 1895—1907.
The thanks of the editors are due to Sir J. H. Marshall,
C.I.E., Director-General of Archaeology in India, who has
had photographs expressly taken for the illustrations of
the Jatakas on the carvings of the Bharhut Stupa, as well
as to Professor E. J. Rapson, who has given much help
and advice in their preparation and selection.
E. J. T.
February 1916.
ABBREVIATIONS
Babr. Babrii fabulae Aesopeae recognovit 0. Crusius. Lipsiae, 1897.
Benf. Einl. Pantschatantra, iibersetzt von T. Benfey. 1 Theil. Eiiileitung. Leipzig,
1859.
Benf. Kl. Schr. Kleinere Schriften von T. Benfey. 2 vols. 4 parts. Berlin, 1890 —
1892.
Bharhnt Stupa. A.Cunningham. The Stupa of Bharhut. London, 1879.
Buddhaghosha. Buddhaghosha's Parables, translated by T. Rogers. London, 1870.
Clouston. Popular tales and fictions. 2 vols. Edinburgh, 1887.
Dods. Select fables of Esop and other fabulists (published by R. Dodsley). (Book II
from the modems.) Birmingham, 1764.
Gesta Rom. Gesta Romanorum von H. Oesterley. Berlin, 1872.
Grimm. Grimm's Household Tales, tr. by M. Hunt, with introduction by A. Lang.
London, 1884.
Grimm, Anm. Anmerkungen zu den Kinder- u. Hausmiirchen der Briider Grimm.
Ed. Balte and PoKvka. Vol. i. Leipzig, 1913. (The numbers refer to the usual
numbering of the talcs.)
Halm. Fabulae Aesopicae collectae. Ex recog. C. Halmii. Lipsiae, 1852.
Hausrath. Article " Fabel " in Paullys Real-Encyclopadie der cl. Altertumswissen-
schaft. Vol. 6. 1909.
Jacobs. History of the Aesopic fable. (Vol. 1 of The Fables of Aesop as first printed
by W. Caxton... edited and induced by J. Jacobs. 2 vols.) London, 1889.
Julien. Contes et apologues indiens, traduction deS. Julien. Paris, 1860.
K. D. (Syr.). Kalila und Dimna, Syrisch und Deutsch. F. Schulthess. Berlin, 1911.
K. D. (Arab.). Kalila and Dimna or the fables of Bidpai, translated from the Arabic
[of De Sacy's text] by W. Knatchbull. Oxford, 1819.
Kuhn. E. Kuhn, Barlaam und Joasaph. (Abh. der phil.-philol. Cl. der k. bayer. Akad.
der Wiss. xx. 1897).
Mbh. The Mahabharata translated by M. N. Dutt. Calcutta, 1895—1905.
Midr. R. Bibliotheca Rabbinica, in deutscher Uebertragung von A. Wiinsche.
5 vols. Leipzig, 1880—85.
P. (T.). Tantrakhyajikii, die jilteste Fassung des Pancatantra, aus dcm Sanskrit
iibersetzt mit Einleitung und Anmerkungen von J. Hertel. Leipzig und Berlin,
1909.
P. (B.). Pantschatantra: Fiinf Biicher indischer Fabeln...aus dem Sanskrit iibersetzt
mit Einleitung und Anmerkungen von T. Benfey. Leipzig, 1859.
Phaedr. Phaedri Fabulae Aesopiae, recogn. L. Miiller. Lipsiae, 1868.
Rhys Davids. Buddhist Birth Stories, translated by T. W. Rhys Davids. London, 1880.
12 ABBREVIATIONS
Schmidt. hDsans-blun [Dsang-lun] oder der Weise und der Thor aus dem Tibetischen
iibersetzt. . .von I. J. Schmidt. St Petersburg, 1843.
Sind. Comparetti. Researches respecting the Book of Sindibjid [with the text and
translation of the Spanish version]. Folklore Soc. ix. London, 1882.
Som. The Katha Sarit Sagara or Ocean of the Streams of Story [of Somadeva]
translated from the original Sanskrit by C. H. Tawney. 2 vols. Calcutta, 1880 —
1884.
Suk. The enchanted parrot, being a selection from the Suka Saptati. Tr. B. H.
Wortham. London, 1911. (Complete German tr. by R. Schmidt. Kiel, 1894.)
Tib. T. Tibetan Tales derived from Indian sources. Translated from the Tibetan
of the Kah-gyur by F. A. von Schiefner. Done into English by \V. R. S. Ralston.
London, 1882.
Vet. Vetalapancavinqatika, hrsg. von H. Uhle. (Abh. fiir die Kunde des Morgenl. 8.
Leipzig, 1884.
JATAKA TALES
THE LITTLE GILDMA8TER
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reierninjr in
Benares in Kasi, the Bodhisatta was born into a srild-
master's family, and growing up, became gildmaster\ being
called Gildmaster Little. A wise and clever man was he,
with a keen eye for signs and omens. One day on his way
to wait upon the king, he came on a dead mouse lying on
the road ; and, taking note of the position of the stars at
that moment, he said, " Any decent young fellow with his
wits about him has only to pick that mouse up, and he
might start a business and keep a wife."
His words were overheard by a young man of good
family but reduced circumstances, who said to himself,
" That's a man who has always got a reason for what he
says." And accordingly he picked up the mouse, which he
sold for a farthing at a tavern for their cat.
With the farthing he got molasses and took drinking
water in a water-pot. Coming on flower-gatherers return-
ing from the forest, he gave each a tiny quantity of the
molasses and ladled the water out to them. Each of them
gave him a handful of flowers, with the proceeds of which,
next day, he came back again to the flower grounds pro-
vided with more molasses and a pot of water. That day
the flower-gatherers, before they went, gave him flowering
plants with half the flowers left on them; and thus in
a little while he obtained eight pennies.
^ The gildm:i,ster (setlhi) belonged to the chiss of householders. He was not an
official of the king's court, though he had official relations with the king. Cf. Fick,
Die soc. Gliederung im nord-ost. Indien zu Buddha's Zeit^ p. 166. Kiel, 1897.
14 THE LITTLE GILDMASTER
Later, one rainy and windy day, the wind blew down
a quantity of rotten branches and boughs and leaves in
the king's pleasaunce, and the gardener did not see how
to clear them away. Then up came the young man with
an offer to remove the lot, if the wood and leaves might
be his. The gardener closed with the offer on the spot.
Then this apt pupil of Gildmaster Little repaired to the
children's playground and in a very little while had got
them by bribes of molasses to collect every stick and leaf
in the place into a heap at the entrance to the pleasaunce.
Just then the king's potter was on the look out for fuel to
fire bowls for the palace, and coming on this heap, took
the lot off his hands. The sale of his wood brought in
sixteen pennies to this pupil of Gildmaster Little, as well
as five bowls and other vessels. Having now twenty-four
pennies in all, a plan occurred to him. He went to the
vicinity of the city-gate with a jar full of water and supplied
500 mowers with water to drink. Said they, " You've done
us a good turn, friend. What can we do for you ? " " Oh,
I'll tell you when I want your aid," said he ; and as he went
about, he struck up an intimacy with a land-trader and a
sea-trader. Said the former to him, " To-morrow there will
come to town a horse-dealer with 500 horses to sell." On
hearing this piece of news, he said to the mowers, " I want
each of you to-day to give me a bundle of grass and not to
sell your own grass till mine is sold." " Certainly," said they,
and delivered the 500 bundles of grass at his house. Unable
to get grass for his horses elsewhere, the dealer purchased
our friend's grass for a thousand pieces. Only a few days
later his sea-trading friend brought him news of the arrival
of a large ship in port ; and another plan struck him. He
hired for eight pence a well appointed carriage which plied
for hire by the hour, and went in great style down to the
THE LITTLE GILDMASTER 16
port. Having bought the ship on credit and deposited
his signet-ring as security, he had a pavilion pitclied hard
by and said to his people as he took his seat inside, "When
merchants are being shewn in, let them be j)assed on by
three successive ushers into my presence." Hearing that
a ship had arrived in port, about a hundred merchants
came down to buy the cargo ; only to be told that they
could not have it as a great merchant had already made a
payment on account. 80 away they all went to the young
man ; and the footmen duly announced them by three
successive ushers, as had been arranged beforehand. Each
man of the hundred severally gave him a thousand pieces
to buy a share in the ship and then a further thousand
each to buy him out altogether. So it was with 200,000
pieces that this pupil of Gildmaster Little returned to
Benares.
Actuated by a desire to shew his gratitude, he went
with one hundred thousand pieces to call on Gildmaster
Little. "How did you come by all this wealth?" asked
the gildmaster. " In four short months, simply by follow-
ing your advice," rei)lied the young man ; and he told him
the whole story, starting with the dead mouse. Thought
Lord High Gildmaster Little, on hearing all this, " I must
see that a young fellow of these parts does not fall into
anybody else's hands." So he married him to his own
grown-up daughter and settled all the family estates on
the young man. And at the gildmaster s death, he became
gildmaster in that city. And the Bodhisatta passed away
to fare according to his deserts.
The same tale in Horn. vi. (i. 33). In K. 1). (Arab.) xviii. it fonns part of the story
of The king's Son and his Companions. Of these four one is a husbandnnin, who
earns money by carrying wood, as in the first part of the jataka. Another, a merchant's
son, trades with a ship's cargo, as in the hitter part. The adventures of the king's
son form an episode in Jat. 445, 529, 539.
f
THE KING AND THE STICK-GATHERER
Once on a time in Benares Brahmadatta the king,
havini": ixone in great state to his pleawaunce, was roaming
about looking for fruits and flowers when he came on a
woman who was merrily singing away as she picked up
sticks in the grove. Falling in love at first sight, the king
became intimate with her, and the Bodhisatta was con-
ceived then and there. Feeling as heavy within as though
weiofhed down w^ith the bolt of Indra, the woman knew
that she would become a mother, and told the king so.
He gave her the signet-ring from his finger and dismissed
her with these words : — " If it be a girl, spend this ring on
her nurture ; but if it be a boy, bring ring and child
to me."
When the woman's time was come, she bore the Bodhi-
satta. And when he could run about and was playing in
the playground, a cry would arise, " No-father has hit me !"
Hearing this, the Bodhisatta ran away to his mother and
asked who his father was.
"You are the son of the King of Benares, my boy."
" What jjroof of this is there mother ? " " 3Iy son, the king
on leaving me gave me this signet-ring and said, ' If it be
a girl, spend this ring on her nurture ; but if it be a boy,
bring ring and child to me.'" "Why then don't you take
me to my father, mother ? "
Seeing that the boy's mind was made up, she took him
to the gate of the palace, and bade their coming be
announced to the king. Being summoned in, she entered
and bowing before his majesty said, "This is your son,
sire.
The king knew well enough that this was the truth, but
shame before all his court made him reply, " He is no son
THE KING AND THE STICK-GATHERER 17
of mine." " But here is your si^et-rin<j^, sire ; you will
recognise that." "Nor is this my si<(net ring." Then said
the woman, "Sire, T have now no witness to prove my
words, except to make an act of truth. Wherefore, if
this child is yours, I pray that he may stay in mid-
air ; but if not, may he fall to earth and be killed." So
saying, she seized the Bodhisatta by the foot and threw
him up into the air.
Seated cross-legged in mid-air, the Bodhisatta in sweet
tones repeated this stanza to his father, declaring the
truth :
Your sou am I, great monarch; rear me, Sire!
The kiug rears others, but uiuch more his child.
Hearing the Bodhisatta thus teach the truth to him
from mid-air, the king stretched out his hands and cried,
" Come to me, my boy ! None, none but me shall rear and
nurture you ! " A thousand hands were stretched out to
receive the Bodhisatta ; but it w^as into the arms of the
king and of no other that he descended, seating himself
in the king's lap. The king made him viceroy, and made
his mother queen-consort. At the death of the king
his father, he came to the throne by the title of King
Katthavahana — the faggot-bearer,— and after ruling his
realm righteously, passed away to fare according to his
deserts.
The story of Sakuiitala, j\lhh. i. chs. 70 — 74, in which the king refuses to recognise
Sakiintala, until a voice from heaven tells him to do so. The king says that his
refusal was in order that the people might be convinced of the truth of the woman's
story by a divine sign. In Krdidasa's drama the ring is lost and recovered from a
fish, whereuj)()n the king's memory, which had been destroyed by a sage's curse, is
restored. Buddhaghosha xx. follows the jutaka closely. A variant occurs in Jat.
487, see H. Liiders in JVindisch Festschrift^ p. 228 ft". S. J. Warren {Herm. xxix.
478) finds the genu of Kalida-sa's story in the lost ring. This is just the feature
which does not occur in the older form in the Mbh. The incident of finding a lost
treasure in a fish occurs in the quite different story of Jat. 288. Cf. Clouston, i. 398,
The Ring and the Fish.
F. & T. 2
KING MAKHADEVA'S GREY HAIRS
Once on a time in Mithila in the realm of Videha
there was a king named Makhadeva, who was righteous
and ruled righteously. For successive periods of eighty-
four thousand years he had respectively amused himself
as prince, ruled as viceroy, and reigned as king. All these
long years had he lived, when one day he said to his
barber, — "Tell me, friend barber, when you see any grey
hairs in my head." So one day, years and years after, the
barber did find among the raven locks of the king a
single grey hair, and he told the king so. "Pull it out,
my friend," said the king ; " and lay it in my palm." The
barber accordingly plucked the hair out with his golden
tongs, and laid it in the king s hand. The king had at
that time still eighty-four thousand years more to live;
but nevertheless at the sight of that one grey hair he was
filled with deep emotion. He seemed to see the King of
Death standing over him, or to be cooped within a blazing
hut of leaves. " Foolish Makhadeva ! " he cried ; " grey
hairs have come upon you before you have been able to
rid yourself of the depravities." And as he thought and
thought about the aj^pearance of his grey hair, he grew
aflame within ; the sweat rolled down from his body ;
whilst his raiment oppressed him and seemed intolerable.
" This very day," thought he, " I must renounce the world
for a hermit s life."
To his barber he gave the grant of a village, which
yielded a hundred thousand pieces of money. He sent for
his eldest son and said to him, " My son, grey hairs are
come upon me, and I am become old. I have had my fill
of human joys, and fain would taste the joys divine; the
KING MAKHADEVA'S GREY HAIRS 19
time for my renunciation has come. Take the sovereij^nty
upon yourself; as for me, 1 will take up my abode in the
pleasaunce called Makhadeva's Mango-grove, and there
tread the ascetic's path."
As he was thus bent on becoming a hermit, his
ministers drew near and said, " What is the reason, sire, of
your becoming a hermit ? "
Taking the grey hair in his hand, the king repeated
this stanza to his ministers:
Lo, these grey hairs that on my head appear
Are Death's own messengers that come to rob
My Hfe. 'Tis time I turned from worldly things,
And in the hermit's path sought saving peace.
And after these words, he renounced his sovereignty that
selfsame day and became a recluse. Dwelling in that
very Mango-grove of Makhadeva, he there during eighty-
four thousand years fostered the Four Perfect States
within himself, and, dying with ecstasy fvill and unbroken,
was reborn in the Realm of Brahma. Passing thence, he
became a king again in Mithila, under the name of Nimi,
and after uniting his scattered family, once more became
a hermit in that same Mango-grove, winning the Four
Perfect States and passing thence once more to the Realm
of Brahma.
In tlie Makhddera Sutta (Mnji/iima Nikdya 83), Buddlia tells the same story more
fully. The king, his son, grandson, and great-grandson, who is Nimi, all retire from
the world on seeing a grey hair. The eareer of Nimi is given in the Nimi-Jdt. 541,
in which he is taken by Sakka to see the various heavens and hells, as Arjuna is
taken in Mhh. in. ch. 42. The scene of finding the grey hair is illustrated on the
Bharhut Stup;i, pi. xlviii. 2, and inscribed MnghaderiDn-jdtakam. In the Vishnu
Parana, iv. 5, Nimi is condemned to e.xist without his body for having deprived
Vasishtha of the privilege of performing a sacrifice. Cf. Death's Messengers by
R. Morris in Journ. Pali Teu-t Soc. 1885, p. 62.
THE COLD HALF OF THE MONTH
Once on a time at the foot of a certain mountain there
were living together in one and the same cave two friends,
a lion and a tiger. The Bodhisatta too was living at the
foot of the same hill, as a hermit.
Now one day a dispute arose between the two friends
about the cold. The tiger said it was cold in the dark
half of the month, whilst the lion maintained that it was
cold in the light half As the two of them together could
not settle the question, they put it to the Bodhisatta. He
repeated this stanza :
In lig-ht or dark half, whensoe'er the wnid
Doth blow, 'tis cold. For cold is caused by wind.
And, therefore, I decide you both are right.
Thus did the Bodhisatta make peace between those
friends.
See Jat 248, p. 196, on disputes due to imperfect knowledge.
THE FEAST FOR THE DEAD
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, a brahmin, who was versed in the three Vedas
and world-famed as a teacher, being minded to offer a
Feast for the Dead, had a goat fetched and said to his
pupils, "My sons, take this goat down to the river and
bathe it ; then hang a wreath round its neck, adorn it with
a five-sprayed garland, and bring it back."
" Very good," said they, and down to the river they
took the goat, where they bathed and adorned the
creature and set it on the bank. The goat, becoming
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THE FEAST FOR THE DEAD 21
conscious of the deeds of its past lives, was overjoyed at
the thoujTfht that on this verv dav it would be freed from
all its misery, and laughed aloud like the smashing of
a pot. Then at the thought that the brahmin by slaying
it Avould bear the misery which it had borne, the goat felt
a great compassion for the brahmin, and wept with a loud
voice. " Friend goat," said the young brahmins, " your
voice has been loud both in laughter and in weeping;
what made you laugh and what made you weep?"
" Ask me your question before your master."
So with the goat thev came to their master and told
him of the matter. After hearing their story, the master
asked the goat Avhy it laughed and why it wept. Hereu])on
the animal, recalling its past deeds by its power of remem-
bering its former existence, spoke thus to the brahmin:
" In times past, brahmin, I, like you, was a brahmin versed
in the mystic texts of the Vedas, and I, to offer a Feast for
the Dead, killed a goat for my offering. All through
killing that single goat, I have had my head cut off' five
hundred times all but one. This is my five hundredth and
last birth ; and I laughed aloud when I thought that this
very day I should be freed from my misery. On the other
hand, I wept when I thought how, whilst I, who for killing
a goat had been doomed to lose my head five hundred
times, was to-day being freed from my misery, you, as a
penalty for killing me, would be doomed to lose your head,
like me, five hundred times. Thus it was out of com-
passion for you that I wept." " Fear not, goat," said the
brahmin ; " I will not kill you." " What is this you say,
brahmin ? " said the goat. " Whether you kill me or not,
I cannot esca])e death to-day." " Fear not, goat ; I will go
about with you to guard you." " Weak is your protection,
brahmin, and strong is the force of my evil-doing."
22 THE FEAST FOR THE DEAD
Setting the goat at liberty, the brahmin said to his
disciples, " Let us not allow anyone to kill this goat " ;
and, accompanied by the young men, he followed the
animal closely about. The moment the goat was set fi'ee,
it reached out its neck to browse on the leaves of a bush
growing near the top of a rock. And that very instant
a thunderbolt struck the rock, rending off a mass which
hit the goat on the outstretched neck and tore off its
head. And people came crowding round.
In those days the Bodhisatta had been born a tree
divinity in that selfsame spot. By his supernatural powers
he now seated himself cross-legged in mid-air while all the
crowd looked on. Thinking to himself, " If these creatures
only knew the fruit of evil-doing, perhaps they w^ould desist
from killing," in his sweet voice he taught them the Truth
in this stanza :
If folk but knew the truth that their existence
Is pain, then living things would cease
From taking life. Stern is the slayer's doom.
Thus did the Great Being preach the Truth, scaring
his hearers with the fear of hell ; and the people, hearing
him, were so terrified at the fear of hell that they left off
taking life. And the Bodhisatta after establishing the
multitude in the Commandments by preaching the Truth
to them, passed away to fare according to his deserts..
The people, too, remained steadfast in the teaching of the
Bodhisatta and spent their lives in charity and other good
works, so that in the end they attained to the City of
the gods.
The incident of laughing and crying, giving rise to an inquiry as to the cause,
occurs in several tales of Vet., 13, 22, and 23 MS. f., and in the Hindi version Baital
Pachisi, 19. The Chaddanta-jdtaka, .514, is told on the occasion of a female novice
remembering that in a former existence she was the wife of the Bodhisatta. Then
remembering that she also caused his death she weeps.
THE MONKEYS AND THE OGRE
In past times, we are told, there was a thick forest on
this spot^. And in the lake here dwelt a water-ogre who
used to devour everyone who went down into the water.
In those days the Bodhisatta had come to life as the king
of the monkeys, and was as big as the fawn of a red deer ;
he lived in that forest at the head of a troop of no less
than eighty thousand monkeys whom he shielded from
harm. Thus did he counsel his subjects : " My friends, in
this forest there are trees that are poisonous and lakes
that are haunted by ogres. Mind to ask me first before
you either eat any fruit which you have not eaten before,
or drink of any water where you have not drunk before."
" Certainly," said they readily.
One day they came to a spot they had never visited
before. As they were searching for water to drink after
their day's wanderings, they came on this lake. But they
did not drink; on the contrary they sat down watching
for the coming of the Bodhisatta.
When he came up, he said, "Well, my friends, why
don't you drink?"
" We Avaited for you to come."
" Quite right, my friends," said the Bodhisatta. Then
he made a circuit of the lake, and scrutinized the foot-
prints round, with the result that he found that all the
footsteps led down into the water and none came up again.
" Without doubt," thought he to himself, " this is the haunt
of an ogre." So he said to his followers, " You are quite
right, my friends, in not drinking of this Avater; for the
lake is haunted bv an offre."
When the water-ogre realised that they were not enter-
ing his domain, he assumed the shape of a horrible
^ The village of Nujakapana, " Reed-water."
24 THE MONKEYS AND THE OGRE
monster with a blue belly, a white face, and bright-red
hands and feet ; in this shape he came out from the water,
and said, " Why are you seated here ? Go down into the
lake and drink." But the Bodhisatta said to him, " Are
not you the ogre of this water ? " " Yes, I am," was the
answer. "Do you take as your prey all those who go
doAMi into this water?" "Yes, I do; from small birds
upwards, I never let anything go which comes down into
my water. I will eat the lot of you too." " But we shall
not let you eat us." " Just drink the water." " Yes, we
will drink the water, and yet not fall into your power."
" How do you propose to drink the water then ? " " Ah,
you think we shall have to go doAvn into the water to
drink; whereas we shall not enter the water at all, but
the whole eighty thousand of us will take a reed each
and drink therewith from your lake as easily as we could
through the hollow stalk of a lotus. And so you will not
be able to eat us." And he repeated the latter half of the
following stanza (the first half being added by the Master
when, as Buddha, he recalled the incident) :
I found the footprints all lead down, none back.
With reeds we'll drink; you shall not take my life.
So saying, the Bodhisatta had a reed brought to him.
Then, calling to mind the Ten Perfections displayed by
him, he recited them in a solemn asseveration \ and blew
down the reed. Straightway the reed became hollow
throughout, without a single knot being left in all its
length. In this fashion he had another and another
brought and blew down them. (But if this were so, he
could never have finished ; and accordingly the foregoing
sentence must not be understood in this — literal— ^sense.)
1 Literally " made a truth-act." If this is done with intention, a miracle instantly
follows. Cf. pp. 17, 69, &c.
I
THE MONKEYS AND THE OGRE 25
Next the Bodhisatta made the tour of the lake, and com-
manded, sayin<^, "Let all reeds <^Towin<^ liere become
hollow throii;j;^hoiit." Now, thanks to the jp'eat virtues of
the savin<»' jj^ooduess of Bodhisattas, their commands are
always fulfilled. And thenceforth every sin<;le reed that
grew round that lake became hollow throughout.
(In this Kappa, or Era, there are four miracles which
endure through the whole Era. What are the four? Well,
they are— first, the sign of the hare in the moon, Avhich
will last through the whole Era ; secondly, the spot w here
the fire was put out as told in the Yattaka Jataka^ which
shall remain untouched by fire throughout the Era ; thirdly,
on the site of Ghatikara's house no rain shall ever fall
while this Era lasts ; and lastly, the reeds that grow round
this lake shall be hollow throughout during the whole of
the Era. Such are the four Era-miracles, as they are
called.)
After gi\ing this command, the Bodhisatta seated
himself with a reed in his hands. All the other eighty
thousand monkeys too seated themselves round the lake,
each Avith a reed in his hands. And at the same moment
when the Bodhisatta sucked the water up through his
reed, they all drank too in the same manner, as they sat
on the bank. This was the way they drank, and not one
of them could the water-ogre get ; so he went off" in a
rage to his own habitation. The Bodhisatta, too, with his
following went back into the forest.
Variants of the prince or monkey going to the ogre-haunted lake, and overcoming
the ogre by cleverness, occur in Jat. 6 and 58. Mhh. iii. chs. .311 — 313. The story
also forms an episode in P. (B.) v. 10, The Monkeifs Revenge, the main thread of
which story forms Jat. 404, p. 277. The sign of the hare in the moon is common Indian
folklore, cf. .hit. 31 G, p. 225, Som. L.xii. 'ii. 66). On all footsteps leading down of. Aesop,
TJw Fox and sick Lion, Babr. 103, Halm 246. Horace. Ep. i. i. 73—75.
1 No. 35.
THE GUILTY DOGS
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the result of a past act of the Bodhisatta was
that he came to life as a dog, and dwelt in a great cemetery
at the head of several hundred dogs.
Now one day, the king set out for his pleasaunce in his
chariot of state drawn by white Sindh horses, and after
amusing himself all the day in the grounds came back to
the city after sunset. The carriage-harness they left in
the courtyard, still hitched on to the chariot. In the
night it rained and the harness got wet. Moreover, the
king's dogs came dowTi from the upper chambers and
gnawed the leather work and straps. Next day they told
the king, saying, "Sire, dogs have got in through the
mouth of the sewer and have gnawed the leather work
and straps of your majesty's carriage." Enraged at the
dogs, the king said, " Kill every dog you see." Then began
a great slaughter of dogs ; and the creatures, finding that
they were being slain whenever they were seen, repaired
to the cemetery to the Bodhisatta. " What is the meaning,"
asked he, " of your assembling in such numbers ? " They
said, "The king is so enraged at the report that the
leather work and straps of his carriage have been gnawed
by dogs within the royal precincts, that he has ordered all
dogs to be killed. Dogs are being destroyed wholesale,
and great peril has arisen."
Thought the Bodhisatta to himself, "No dogs from
without can get into a place so closely watched ; it must
be the thorough-bred dogs inside the palace who have
done it. At present nothing happens to the real culprits,
while the guiltless are being put to death. What if I
were to discover the culprits to the king and so save the
THE GUILTY DOGS 27
lives of my kith and kin?" He comforted his kinsfolk by
saying, "Have no fear; 1 will save you. Only wait hei-e
till I see the kin<j:."
Then, guided by the thoughts of love, and calling to
mind the Ten Perfections, he made his way alone and
unattended into the city, conmianding thus, " Let no hand
be lifted to throw stick or stone at me."' Accordingly,
when he made his ai)pearance, not a man grew angry at
the sight of him.
The king meantime, after ordering the dogs' destruc-
tion, had taken his seat in the hall of justice. And straight
to him ran the Bodhisatta, leaping under the king's throne.
The kings servants tried to get him out; but his majesty
stopped them. Taking heart a little, the Bodhisatta came
forth from under the throne, and bowing to the king, said,
"Is it you who are having the dogs destroyed?" "Yes, it
is I." " What is their offence, king of men?" " They have
been gnawing the straps and the leather covering my
carriage." "Do you know the dogs who actually did the
mischief? " " No, I do not." " But, your majesty, if you do
not know for certain the real culprits, it is not right to
order the destruction of every dog that is seen." "It was
because dogs had gnawed the leather of my carriage that
I ordered them all to be killed." "Do your people kill
all dogs without exception ; or are there some dogs who
are spared?" "Some are spared, — the thorough-bred
dogs of my own palace." " Sire, just now you were saying
that you had ordered the universal slaughter of all dogs
wherever found, because dogs had gnawed the leather of
your carriage ; Avhereas, now, you say that the thorough-
bred dogs of your own palace escape death. Therefore you
are following the four Evil Courses of partiality, dislike,
ignorance and fear. Such courses are wrong, and not
28 THE GUILTY DOGS
kinglike. For kings in trying cases should be as unbiassed
as the beam of a balance. But in this instance, since the
royal dogs go scot-free, whilst poor dogs are killed, this
is not the impartial doom of all dogs alike, but only the
slaughter of poor dogs." And moreover, the Great Being,
lifting up his sweet voice, said, " Sire, it is not justice that
you are performing," and he taught the Truth to the
kinii: in this stanza :
The dogs that in the royal palace grow,
The well-bred dogs, so strong and fair of form,—
Not these, but only we, are doomed to die.
Here's no impartial sentence meted out
To all aUke; 'tis slaughter of the poor.
After listening to the Bodhisatta's words, the king
said, "Do you in your wisdom know who it actually was
that gnawed the leather of my carriage?" "Yes, sire."
"Who was it?" "The thorough-bred dogs that live in
your own palace." "How can it be shewn that it was
they who gnawed the leather ? " "I will prove it to you."
"Do so, sage." "Then send for your dogs, and have a
little butter-milk and kusa-grass brought in." The king
did so.
Then said the Great Being, " Let this grass be mashed
up in the butter-milk, and make the dogs drink it."
The king did so;— with the result that each several
dog, as he drank, vomited. And they all brought up bits
of leather! "Why it is like a judgment of a Perfect
Buddha himself," cried the king overjoyed, and he did
homage to the Bodhisatta by offering him the royal
umbrella. And the Bodhisatta taught the Truth in the
ten stanzas on righteousness in the Te-sakuna Jataka\
beginning with the words: •
Walk righteously, great king of princely race.
1 No. 521.
THE DISCONTENTED OX 29
Then havinj^ established the king in the Five Com-
mandments, and having exhorted his majesty to be
steadfast, the Hodliisatta handed back to the king the
white umbrella of kingship.
At the close of the Great Being's words, the king
commanded that the lives of all creatures should be safe
from harm. He ordered that all dogs, from the Bodhisatta
downwards, should have a constant supply of food such
as he himself ate ; and, abiding by the teachings of the
Bodhisatta, he spent his life long in charity and other
good deeds, so that when he died he was re-born in tlie
world of gods. The 'Dog's Teaching' endured for ten
thousand years. The Bodhisatta also lived to a ripe
old age, and then passed away to fare, according to his
deserts.
Tib. T. XXXIX. The Guilty Dogs. In Jat. 546, probl. 2, the theft of cattle is
discovered by the same means. In Tib. T. viii. (a variant of Jat. 546) a rogue is
convicted in the same manner, see note on Problem 2 of The A'ineteen Problems.
THE DISCONTENTED OX
Once on a time, when Brahmadatta was reiffninir in
Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as an ox, named
Big Red, on the landowner's estate in a certain hamlet.
And he had a younger brother who was known as Little
Red. There were only these two brothers to do all the
draught-work of the family. Also, the landowner had
an only daughter, whose hand was asked in marriage for
his son by a gentleman of the town. And the parents
of the girl, with a view to furnishing dainty fare for the
wedding guests, began to fatten up a pig named Munika.
Observing this, Little Red said to his brother, "All
the loads that have to be drawn for this household are
30 THE PEACOCK'S WOOING
drawn by you and me, my brother; but all they give us
for our pains is sorry grass and straw to eat. Yet here is
the pig being victualled on rice ! What can be the reason
why he should be treated to such fare ? "
Said his brother, " My dear Little Red, envy him not ;
for the pig eats the food of death. It is but to furnish
a relish for the guests at their daughter's wedding, that
the family are feeding up the pig. Wait but a little time
and the guests will be coming. Then will you see that
pig lugged out of his quarters by the legs, killed, and in
process of conversion into curry." And so saying, he
repeated this stanza:
Then envy not poor Munika; 'tis death
He eats. Contented munch your frugal chaff,
— The pledg-e and guarantee of length of days.
Not long afterwards the guests did arrive; and Munika
was killed and cooked into all manner of dishes. Said
the Bodhisatta to Little Red, " Did you see Munika, dear
brother?" "I have indeed seen, brother, the outcome of
Munika's feasting. Better a hundred, nay a thousand,
times than such food is ours, though it be but grass, straw,
and chaff; — for our fare harms us not, and is a pledge
that our lives will not be cut short."
Variant of Jat. 286 and a close parallel to tlie Midrasli story given in the Intro-
duction, p. 8. Cf. Benf. Ei7il. p. 229, Jacobs 69.
THE PEACOCK'S WOOING
Once on a time, in the first cycle of the world's history,
the quadrupeds c-hose the Lion as their king, the fishes
the monster-fish Ananda, and the birds the Golden Mal-
lard ^ Now the King Golden Mallard had a lovely young
1 Cf. No. 270, p. 213.
THE PEACOCK'S AVOOING 31
daughter, and her royal father granted her any boon she
might ask. The boon she asked tor was to be allowed to
choose a husband for herself; and the king in fulfilment
of his promise mustered all the birds together in the
country of the Himalayas. All manner of bii'ds came,
tt, ft^ 7
mallards, peacocks and all other birds; and they flocked
together on a great plateau of bare rock. Then the king
sent for his daughter and bade her go and choose a
husband after her own heart. As she reviewed the crowd
of birds, her eye lighted on the peacock with his neck of
jewelled sheen and tail of varied hue; and she chose him,
saying, " ]jet this be my husband." Then the assembly
of the birds went up to the peacock and said, "Friend
peacock, this princess, in choosing her husband from
among all these birds, has fixed her choice on you."
Carried away by his extreme joy, the peacock ex-
claimed, *' Until this day you have never seen how active
I am " ; and in defiance of all decency in the midst of the
assembly he spread his wings and began to dance ; — and
in dancing he exposed himself.
Filled with shame. King Golden Mallard said, "This
fellow has neither modesty within his heart nor decency
in his outward behaviour; I certainly Avill not give my
daughter to one so shameless." And there in the midst
of all that assembly of the birds, he repeated this stanza :
A pleasing- note is yours, a lovely back,
A neck in hue like lapis lazuli;
A fathom's length your outstretched feathers reach.
Withal, your dancing loses you my child.
Right in the face of the whole gathering King Koyal
Mallard gave his daughter to a young mallard, a nephew
of his. Covered with shame at the loss of the mallard
princess, the peacock rose straight up from the place and
32 THE FOWLER AND THE QUAILS
fled away. And King Golden Mallard too went back to
his dwelling-place.
Tib. T. xLvi. The Peacock as Bridegroom.
The story of Hippoclides in Hdt. vi. 129. Cf. Benf. Einl. § 98 ff,, Jacobs 70,
Hausrath. Figured on the Bharhut Stupa, pi. xxvii. 11.
THE FOWLER AND THE QUAILS
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was king of
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born a quail, and lived in the
forest at the head of many thousands of quails. In those
days a fowler who caught quails came to that place ; and
he used to imitate the note of a quail till he saw that the
birds had been drawn together, when he flung his net
over them, and whipped the sides of the net together,
so as to get them all huddled up in a heap. Then he
crammed them into his basket, and going home sold
his prey for a living.
Now one day the Bodhisatta said to those quails, "This
fowler is making havoc among our kinsfolk. I have a
device whereby he will be unable to catch us. Henceforth,
the very moment he throws the net over you, let each one
put his head through a mesh and then all of you together
must fly away with the net to such place as you please,
and there let it down on a thorn-brake; this done, we
will all escape fi'om our several meshes." "Very good,"
said they all in ready agreement.
On the morrow, when the net was cast over them, they
did just as the Bodhisatta had told them: — they lifted
up the net, and let it down on a thorn-brake, escaping
themselves from underneath. While the fowler was still
disentangling his net, evening came on ; and he went away
empty-handed. On the morrow and following days the
THE FOWLER AND THE QUAILS 33
quails played the same trick. So that it became the
re«^ular thin<^ for the fowler to be enj^a^^ed till sunset
disentan<::liiig his net, and then to betake himself home
empty-handed. Accordin^dy his wife <j^rew angry and
said, "Day by day you return empty-handed; I suppose
you've got a second establishment to keep uj) elsewhere."
"No, my dear," said the fowler; "I've no second estab-
lishment to keep up. The fact is those quails have come
to work together now. The moment my net is over them,
oft* they fly with it and escape, leaving it on a thorn-brake.
Still, they won't live in unity always. Don't you bother
yourself; as soon as they start bickering among them-
selves, I shall bag the lot, and that will bring a smile to
your face to see." And so saying, he repeated this stanza
to his wife :
While concord reigns, the birds bear off the net.
When quarrels rise, they'll fall a prey to me.
Not long after this, one of the quails, in alighting
on their feeding-ground, trod by accident on another's
head. " Who trod on my head ? " angrily cried this latter.
" I did ; but I didn't mean to. Don't be angry," said the
first quail. But notwithstanding this answer, the other
remained as angry as before. Continuing to answer one
another, they began to bandy taunts, saying, "I suppose
it is you single-handed who lift up the net." As they
wrangled thus with one another, the Bodhisatta thought
to himself, " There's no safety with one who is quarrelsome.
The time has come when they will no longer lift uj) the
net, and thereby they will come to great destruction.
The fowler will get his opportunity. I can stay here no
longer." And thereupon he with his following went else-
where.
p. & T. 3
34 THE OLDEST OF THE ANIMALS
Sure enough the fowler came back again a few days
later, and first collecting them together by imitating the
note of a (^uail, flung his net over them. Then said one
quail, " They say when you were at work lifting the net,
the hair of your head fell off. Now's your time ; lift away."
The other rejoined, "When you were lifting the net, they
say both your Avings moulted. Now's your time; lift
away."
But whilst they were each inviting the other to lift
the net, the fowler himself lifted the net for them and
crammed them in a heap into his basket and bore them
oft' home, so that his wife's face was wreathed with smiles.
Julien 41 is closest to the jataka. The hunter follows the birds flying away with
the net until nightfall, when they alight in different directions.
Frame story of P. ii., Ilitop. i., Som. lxi. (ii. 48), K. D. (Syr.) ii., (Arab.) vii., but in
this the birds are set free by a mouse which gnaws the net ( = Babr. 107, Mouse and
Lion in net).
In Mbh. xri. 138, Som. xxxiii. 100 (i. 296), K. I). (Syr.) ch. v., a mouse frees a cat,
but waits until the hunter is near, so that the cat has no time to do harm. In the
variant P. (T.) iii. 11, (B.) i., Suppl. v. the birds escape by feigning death. By the
same device a deer escapes in Jat. 16. The rest of the frame story of P. (crow,
mouse, and antelope) is Jat. 206, p. 171.
THE OLDEST OF THE ANIMALS
Once on a time, hard by a great banyan-tree on the
slopes of the Himalayas, there dwelt three friends, — a
partridge, a monkey, and an elephant. And they came
to lack respect and subordination one to another, and
had no ordering of their common life. And the thought
came to them that it was not seemly for them to live in
this way, and that they ought to find out which of their
number was the senior and to honour him.
As they were engaged thinking which was the oldest,
one day an idea struck them. Said the partridge and
THE OLDEST OF THE ANIMALS 35
the monkey to tlie elei)li{int as they all three sat toj^ether
at the toot of that l)aiiyaii-tree, "Friend elephant, how
big was this banyan when you remember it first 'i " Said
the elephant, " When I was a baV)y, this banyan was a
mere bush, over whieh I used to walk ; and as I stood
astride of it, its t()j)most branches used just to reach up
to my belly. I've known the tree since it was a mere
bush."
Next the monkey was asked the same question by the
other two; and he replied, "My friends, when I was a
younglin«j^, I had only to stretch out my neck as I sat on
the ground, and I could eat the topmost sprouts of this
banyan. So I've known this banyan since it was very tiny."
Then the partridge was asked the same question by
the two others ; and he said, " Friends, of old there was
a great banyan-tree at such and such a spot; I ate its
seeds, and voided them here; that was the origin of this
tree. Therefore, I have knowledge of this tree from
before it was born, and am older than the })air of you."
Hereui)on the monkey and the elephant said to the
sage pai'tridge, " Fi-iend, you are the oldest. Henceforth
you shall have from us acts of honour and veneration,
marks of obeisance and homage, respect of word and
deed, salutation, and all due homage; and we will follow
your counsels. You for your part henceforth will please
impart such counsel as we need."
Thenceforth the partridge gave them counsel, and
established them in the Commandments, which he also
undertook himself to keep. Being thus established in
the Connnandments, and becoming resj^ectful and sub-
ordinate among themselves, with proper ordering of their
common life, these three made themselves sure of re-birth
in heaven at this life's close.
3—2
36 THE CRANE AND THE CEAB
Vinmja ii. p. 161 {S.B.E. xx. p. 193). Tib. T. xxiv., Julien 77. In the Rdma-
yana, Uttarakanda, ch. 72 (transl. by M. N. Dutt), Rama decides a dispute between
a vulture and an owl as to the ownership of a nest. The vulture claims to have been
living in the nest since mankind was first born. The owl says that the nest was
made still earlier, when the earth was first adorned with trees. C. Gardner in
Folklore J. rv. 29 ff. gives a Mongolian tale of a wolf and a fox, who find a skin of
fat, and decide that the elder shall eat it. The wolf says that when he was a
youngster Mt Sumeru was but a clot of earth in a bog. The fox weeps, because he
had two cubs, and the younger was just the age of the wolf. Cf. Clouston, ii. 90 ff.,
Cowell, Y Cymmrodoi\ 1882, p. 169. Hausrath compares the Aesopic fable of the
crested lark, w^ho was older than all beings, even than the earth, and when her
father died, having no other place for a grave, buried him in her own head.
Aristoph., Birds, 471 ff., cf. Theocr., Id. vii. 23. Aelian, De An. Nat. xvi. 5, in
reference to this gives an Indian one. An Indian king had three sons, the two elder
of whom persecute their parents. The parents flee with the youngest son, who at
their death buries them in himself, cutting open his head with a sword. The Sun in
admiration turns him into a hoopoe. Both these tales give an explanation of the
bird's crest. They appear to have little bearing on the question of the ' priority ' of
Greek fable.
THE CRANE AND THE CRAB
Once on a time the Bodhisatta came to life in a certain
forest-haunt as the divinity of a tree which stood near a
certain lotus-pond. In those days the water used every
summer to fall very low in a certain pond, not very big,
— which was plentifully stocked with fish. Catching sight
of these fish, a certain crane said to himself, " I must find
a way to cajole and eat these fish." So he went and sat
down in deep thought by the side of the water.
Now when the fishes caught sight of him, they said,
" Of what are you thinking, my lord, as you sit there ? "
"I am thinking about you," was the reply. "And what
is your lordship thinking about us ? " " The water in this
pool being low, food scarce, and the heat intense, — I was
wondering to myself, as I sat here, Avhat in the world you
fishes would do." *' And what are we to do, my lord ? "
" Well, if you'll take my advice, I will take you up one by
THE CRANE AND THE CRAB 37
one in my beak, and carry you all off to a fine lar<^e pool
covered with the five varieties of lotuses, and there j)ut
you down." "My lord," said they, "no crane ever took
the slightest thou«;ht for fishes since the world be<^an.
Your desire is to eat us one by one." " No ; I will not eat
you while you trust me," said the crane. " If you don't
take my word that there is such a pond, send one of your
number to <^o with me and see for himself." Believin<^
the crane, the fish presented to him a great big fish (blind
of one eye, by the way), who they thought would be a
match for the crane whether afloat or ashore; and they
said, " Here's the one to go with you."
The crane took the fish off' and put him in the pool,
and after shew ing him the whole extent of it, brought him
back again and put him in along with the other fish in his
old pond. And he held forth to them on the charms of
the new pool.
After hearing this report, they grew eager to go there,
and said to the crane, "Very good, my lord; please take
us across."
First of all, the crane took that big one-eyed fish again
and carried him oft' to the edge of the pool, so that he
could see the water, but actuallv alighted in a Varana-tree
wiiich grew on the bank. Dashing the fish down in a fork
of the tree, he pecked it to death, — after which he i)icked
him clean and let the bones fall at the foot of the tree.
Then back he went and said, " I've thrown him in ; who's
the next ? " And so he took the fish one bv one, and ate
them all, till at last when he came back, he could not find
another left. But there was still a crab remaining in the
pond; so the crane, who wanted to eat him up too, said,
" Mister crab, I've taken all those fishes away and turned
them into a fine large pool covered all over with lotuses.
38 THE CRANE AND THE CRAB
Come along; I'll take you too." "How will you carry
me across?" said the crab. "Why, in my beak, to be
sure," said the crane. " Ah, but you might drop me like
that," said the crab; "I won't go with you." "Don't be
frightened; 111 keep tight hold of you all the way."
Thought the crab to himself, "He hasn't put the fish in
the pool. But, if he would really put me in, that Avould
be capital. If he does not, — why, I'll nip his head off' and
kill him." So he spoke thus to the crane, " You'd never be
able to hold me tight enough, friend crane; whereas we
crabs have got an astonishingly tight grip. If I might
take hold of your neck with my claAvs, I could hold it
tight and then would go along with you."
Not suspecting that the crab wanted to trick him, the
crane gave his assent. With his claws the crab gripped
hold of the crane's neck as with the pincers of a smith,
and said, "Now you can start." The crane took him
and shewed him the pool first, and then started oft' for
the tree.
"The pool lies this way, uncle," said the crab; "but
you're taking me the other way." " Very much your dear
uncle am I!" said the crane; "and very much my nephew
are you! I suppose you thought me your slave to lift you
up and carry you about! Just cast your eye on that heap
of bones at the foot of the tree; as I ate up all those fish,
so I will eat you too." Said the crab, "It was through
their own folly that those fish were eaten by you; but I
shan't give you the chance of eating me. No; what I
shall do, is to kill you. For^you, fool that you were, did
not see that I was tricking you. If we die, we will both
die together; I'll chop your head clean off"." And so
saying he gripped the crane's weazand with his claws, as
with pincers. With his mouth wide open, and tears
THE HAUGHTY SLAVE 39
streaminfi^ from his eyes, the erane, ti-emblinj^ for his life,
said, "Lord, indeed 1 will not eat you! Spare my life!"
"Well, then, just stej) down to the pool and put me
in," said the crab. Then the crane turned back and
stepped down as directed to the pool, and placed the
crab on the mud, at the water-ed«^e. But the crab, before
entering the water, nipped off the crane's head as deftly
as if he were cuttinj^ a lotus stalk with a knife.
The divinity Avho dwelt in the tree, markin*:^ this
wonderful thin<^, made the whole forest ring with applause
repeating this stanza in sweet tones :
Gnile profits not your very guileful folk.
Mark what the guileful crane got from the crab!
P. (T.) I. 5, Som. hx. 78 (11. 31). K. D. (Syr.) i. 5, (Arab.) v. A mutilated version
in Jilt. 2.S6. In Aesop (Halm 419, Babr. 115) an eagle takes a tortoise up to teach it
to fly. In rhaedr. ii. 6 in order to kill it. Cf. Jat. 215, p. 178.
THE HAUGHTY SLAVE
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life again as a landowner.
Another landowner, a friend of his, was an old man him-
self, but had a young wife who had borne him a son and
heir. Said the old man to himself, "As soon as I am
dead, this girl, being so young as she is, will marry heaven
knows whom, and spend all my money, instead of handing
it over to my son. Wouldn't it be my best course to bury
my money safely in the ground ? "
So, in the company of a household slave of his named
Nanda, he went to the forest and buried his riches at a
certain spot, saying to the slave, " My good Nanda, reveal
this treasure to my son after I am gone, and don't let the
wood be sold."
40 THE HAUGHTY SLAVE
After giving this injunction to his slave, the old man
died. In due course the son grew up, and his mother
said to him, "My son, your father, in the company of
Nanda, buried his money. Get it back and look after the
property of the family." So one day he said to Nanda, ||
"Uncle, is there any treasure which my father buried?" i
"Yes, my lord." "Where is it buried?" "In the forest, I
my lord." " Well, then, let us go there." And he took a
spade and a basket, and going to the scene, said to
Nanda, "Well, uncle, where's the money?" But by the
time Nanda had got up to the treasure and was standing
right over it, he was so puffed up by the money that he
abused his master, saying, " You servant of a slave-wench's
son! how should you have any money here?"
The young gentleman, pretending not to have heard
this insolence, simply said, " Let us be going then," and
took the slave back home with him. Two or three days
later, he returned to the place ; but again Nanda abused
him, as before. Without any abusive rejoinder, the young
gentleman came back and turned the matter over in his
mind. Thought he to himself, "At starting, this slave
always means to reveal where the money is ; but no sooner
does he get there, than he falls to abusing me. The
reason of this I do not see ; but I could find out, if I
were to ask my father's old friend, the landowner." So
he went to the Bodhisatta, and laying the whole business
before him, asked his friend what was the real reason of
such behaviour.
Said the Bodhisatta, " The spot at which Nanda stands
to abuse you, my friend, is the place where your father's
money is buried. Therefore, as soon as he starts abusing
you again, say to him, 'Whom are you talking to, you
slave?' Pull him from his perch, take the spade, dig
THE PIGEON AND THE CROW 41
down, remove your family treasure, and make the slave
carry it home for you." And so saying, he re])eate(l this
stanza :
Methinks the gold and jewels buried lie
Where Nanda, low-borii slave, so loudly bawls!
Taking a respectful leave of the Bodhisatta, the young
gentleman went home, and taking Nanda Avent to the spot
where the money was buried. Faithfully following the
advice he had received, he brought the money away and
looked after the family property. He remained steadfast
in the Bodhisattas counsels, and after a life spent in
charity and other good works he passed away to fare
according to his deserts.
On the strengthening power of gold of. Jat. 257, p. 210, where the partridge sings
plejisantly on an antheap, because tliere is a treasure beneath. In the Si mhdsaiia-
dcdtrimsikd (Weber, Ind. Stud. xv. 266) a brahmin while in a certain place in his
field is liberal, and in other places miserly. The golden throne of Vikrania is found
beneath. In P. (T.) ii. I a mouse feels strong because he has a buried treasure.
THE PIGEON AND THE CROW
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born a pigeon. Now the
Benares folk of those days, as an act of goodness, used
to hang up straw-baskets in divers places for the shelter
and comfort of the birds ; and the cook of the gildmaster
of Benares hung up one of these baskets in his kitchen.
In this basket the Bodhisatta took up his abode, sallying
out at daybreak in quest of food, and returning home in
the evening; and so he lived his life.
But one day a crow, flying over the kitchen, snuffed
up the goodly savour from the salt and fresh fish and
meat there, and was filled with longing to taste it. Casting
about how to have his will, he perched hard by, and at
42 THE PIGEON AND THE CROW
evening saw the Bodhisatta come home and go into the
kitchen. "Ah!" thought he, "I can manage it through
the pigeon."
So back he came next day at dawn, and, when the
Bodhisatta salUed out in quest of food, kept following
him about from place to place like his shadow. So the
Bodhisatta said, "Why do you keep with me, friend?"
"My lord," answered the crow, "your demeanour has
won my admiration; and henceforth it is my wish to
follow you." "But your kind of food and mine, friend,
are not the same," said the Bodhisatta ; " you will be hard
put to it if you attach yourself to me." " My lord," said
the crow, "when you are seeking your food, I will feed
too, by your side." ' So be it, then," said the Bodhisatta ;
" only you must be earnest." And with this admonition
to the crow, the Bodhisatta ranged about pecking up
grass-seeds; whilst the other went about turning over
cowdung and picking out the insects underneath till he
had got his fill. Then back he came to the Bodhisatta
and remarked, "My lord, you give too much time to
eatinir; excess therein should be shunned."
And when the Bodhisatta had fed and reached home
ajrain at evening, in flew the crow with him into the
kitchen.
"Why, our bird has brought another home with him";
exclaimed the cook, and hung up a second basket for the
crow. And from that time onward the two birds dwelt
together in the kitchen.
Now one day the gildmaster had in a store of fish
which the cook hung up about the kitchen. Filled with
greedy longing at the sight, the crow made up his mind
to stay at home next day and treat himself to this ex-
cellent fare.
THE PICEON AND THE CROW 43
So all the night lonp^ he lay <i^r()aninn^ away ; and next
day, when the Hodhisatta was starting in seareh of food,
and cried, "Oome along, friend crow,' the crow replied,
"Go without me, my lord; foi* I have a pain in my
stomach." "Friend," answered the iiodhisatta, "I never
heard of crows having pains in their stomachs before.
True, crows feel faint in each of the three night-watches;
but if they eat a lamp-wick, their hunger is appeased for
the moment. You must be hankering after the fish in
the kitchen here. Come now, man's food will not agree
with you. Do not give way like this, but come and seek
your food with me." "Indeed, I am not able, my lord,"
said the crow. " Well, your own conduct Avill shew," said
the Bodhisatta. "pnly fall not a prey to greed, but stand
steadfast." And with this exhortation, awav he flew to
find his daily food.
The cook took several kinds of fish, and dressed some
one way, some another. Then lifting the lids ofi' his
saucepans a little to let the steam out, he put a colander
on the top of one and went outside the door, where he
stood wij^ing the sweat from his brow. Just at that
moment out popped the crow's head from the basket.
A glance told him that the cook was away, and, " Now or
never," thought he, "is my time. The only question is
shall I choose minced meat or a big lump ? " Arguing
that it takes a long time to make a full meal of minced
meat, he resolved to take a large i)iece of fish and sit and
eat it in his basket. So out he flew and alighted on the
colander. " Click " went the colander.
" What can that be ? " said the cook, running in on
hearing the noise. Seeing the crow, he cried, "Oh, there's
that rascally crow wanting to eat my master's dinner.
1 have to work for my master, not for that rascal I What's
44 THE FOOLISH FRIEND
he to me, I should Uke to know ? " So, first shutting the
door, he caui>ht the crow and plucked every feather off
his body. Then, he pounded up ginger with salt and
cumin, and mixed in sour butter-milk— finally sousing the
crow in the pickle and flinging him back into his basket.
And there the crow lay groaning, overcome by the agony
of his pain.
At evening the Bodhisatta came back, and saw the
wretched plight of the crow. "Ah! greedy crow," he
exclaimed, " you would not heed my words, and now your
own greed has worked you woe." So saying, he repeated
this stanza :
The headstrong man who, when exhorted, pays
No heed to friends who kindly counsel give,
Shall surely perish, like the greedy crow,
Who laughed to scorn the pigeon's warning words.
Then, exclaiming " I too can no longer dwell here," the
Bodhisatta flew away. But the crow died there and then,
and the cook flung him, basket and all, on the dust-heap.
Variant of Jat. 274, 375, 395.
THE FOOLISH FRIEND
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta gained his livelihood as a trader.
In those days in a border-village in Kasi there dwelt a
number of carpenters. And it chanced that one of them,
a bald grey-haired man, was planing away at some wood,
with his head gUstening like a copper bowl, when a
mosquito settled on his scalp and stung him with its
dart-like sting.
Said the carpenter to his son, who was seated hard by,
" My boy, there's a mosquito stinging me on the head ;
THE STUPID MONKEYS 45
do drive it away." "Hold still then, father," said the son;
" one blow will settle it."
(At that very time the Bodhisatta had reached that
village in the way of trade, and was sitting in the car-
penter's shop.)
"Kid nie of it," said the father. "All right, father,"
answered the son, who was behind the old man's back,
and, raising a sharp axe on high with intent to kill only
the mos(iuito, he cleft — his father's head in twain. So
the old man fell dead on the spot.
Thought the Bodhisatta, who had been an eye-witness
of the whole scene, — " Better than such a friend is an
enemv with sense, whom fear of men's veno:eance will
deter from killing a man." And he recited these lines:
Sense-lacking' friends are worse than foes with sense;
Witness the son that sought the gnat to slay,
But cleft, poor fool, his father's skull in twain.
So saying, the Bodhisatta rose up and departed,
passing away in after days to fare according to his deserts.
And as for the carpenter, his body was buried by his
kinsfolk.
A variant of Jat. 45, where a maidservant strikes her mother's head with a pestle.
In P. (B.) I., Suppl. VIII., story 12, a pet monkey strikes a bee from the head of the
king with a sword. It is preceded by a tale illustrating the superiority of a sensible
enemy, as mentioned in the verse of the jataka and P. Cf. Jacobs 64, Clouston, i. 55.
The same moral is given in Mbh. xii. ch. 138, 45.
THE STUPID MONKEYS
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was king of
Benares, a festival was proclaimed in the city; and at
the first summoning notes of the festal drum out poured
the townsfolk to keep holiday.
46 THE STUPID MONKEYS
Now in those days, a tribe of monkeys was living in
the kinoes pleasaunce; and the king's gardener thought
to himself, "They're holiday-making up in the city. I'll
get the monkeys to do the watering for me, and be off
to enjoy myself with the rest." So saying, he went to the
king of the monkeys, and, first dwelling on the benefits
his majesty and his subjects enjoyed from residence in
the pleasaunce in the way of flowers and fruit and
young shoots to eat, ended by saying, "To-day there's
holiday-making up in the city, and I'm off to enjoy
mvself. Couldn't you water the young trees while I'm
away ? "
"Oh! yes," said the monkey.
"Only mind you do," said the gardener; and off he
went, gi\ing the monkeys the water-skins and wooden
watering-pots to do the work with.
Then the monkeys took the water-skins and watering-
pots, and fell to watering the young trees. " But we must
mind not to waste the water," observed their king; "as
you water, first pull each young tree up and look at the
size of its roots. Then give plenty of water to those whose
roots strike deep, but only a little to those with tiny roots.
When this water is all gone, we shall be hard put to it to
get more."
" To be sure," said the other monkeys, and did as he
bade them.
At this juncture a certain wise man, seeing the monkeys
thus engaged, asked them why they pulled up tree after
tree and watered them according to the size of their
roots.
"Because such are our king's commands," answered
the monkeys.
Their reply moved the wise man to reflect how, with
I'l.Mi: 11
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s
t
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{.lllflllyll li;. p. 4."))
THE ROBBERS AND THE TREASURE 47
every desire to do ^^ood, the i<^ii<)rant and foolish only
succeed in doing harm. And he recited this stanza:
'Tis knowledge crowns endeavour with success,
For fools tire thwarted by their fooUshness,
—Witness the ape that killed the garden trees.
With this rebuke to the king of the monkeys, the wise
man departed with his followers from the pleasaunce.
Variant of Jat 268, in wliich the moral is the folly of the one who gave such
orders to the monkeys. Illustrated on the Bharhut Stupit, pi. xlv. 5.
THE ROBBERS AND THE TREASURE
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, there was a brahmin in a village who knew the
charm called Vedabbha. Now this charm, so they say,
was precious beyond all price. For, if at a certain con-
junction of the planets the charm was repeated and the
gaze bent upwards to the skies, straightway from the
heavens there rained the Seven Things of Price, — gold,
silver, ])earl, coral, catseye, ruby, and diamond.
In those days the Bodhisatta was a pupil of this brah-
min; and one day his master left the village on some
business or other, and came with the Bodhisatta to the
country of Ceti.
In a forest by the way dwelt five hundred robbers —
known as "the Despatchers" — who made the way im-
passable. And these caught the Bodhisatta and the
Vedabbha-brahmin. (Why, you ask, were they called the
Despatchers? — Well, the story goes that of every two
prisoners they made they used to despatch one to fetch
the ransom; and that's whv thev were called the De-
spatchers. If they captured a father and a son, they told
48 THE EOBBEKS AND THE TREASURE
the father to go for the ransom to free his son; if they
caught a mother and her daughter, they sent the mother
for the money; if they caught two brothers, they let the
elder go; and so too, if they caught a teacher and
hrs pupil, it was the pupil they set free. In this case,
therefore, they kept the Yedabbha-brahmin, and sent the
Bodhisatta for the ransom.) And the Bodhisatta said
with a bow to his master, " In a day or two I shall surely
come back; have no fear; only fail not to do as I shall
say. To-day will come to pass the conjunction of the
planets which brings about the rain of the Things of
Price. Take heed lest, yielding to this mishap, you repeat
the charm and call down the precious shower. For, if
you do, calamity will certainly befall both you and this
band of robbers." With this warning to his master, the
Bodhisatta w ent his w ay in quest of the ransom.
At sunset the robbers bound the brahmin and laid
him by the heels. Just at this moment the full moon
rose over the eastern horizon, and the brahmin, studying
the heavens, knew that the great conjunction was taking
place. " Why," thought he, " should I suffer this misery ?
By repeating the charm I will call down the precious rain,
pay the robbers the ransom, and go free." So he called
out to the robbers, "Friends, why do you take me a
prisoner?" To get a ransom, reverend sir," said they.
" Well, if that is all you want," said the brahmin, " make
haste and untie me; have my head bathed, and new
clothes put on me; and let me be perfumed and decked
with flowers. Then leave me to myself" The robbers
did as he bade them. And the brahmin, marking the
conjunction of the planets, repeated his charm with eyes
uplifted to the heavens. Forthwith the Things of Price
poured down from the skies! The robbers picked them
THE ROBBERS AND THE TREASURE 49
all up, wrai)pin«^ their booty into bundles witli their cloaks.
Then with their brethren they marched away; and the
brahmin followed in the rear. But, as luck would have
it, the party was captured by a second band of five
hundred robbers! "Why do you seize us?" said the first
to the second band. "For booty," was the answer. "If
booty is what you want, seize on that brahmin, who by
simply gazing up at the skies brought down riches as
rain. It was he who gave us all that we have got." So
the second band of robbers let the first band go, and
seized on the brahmin, crying, " Give us riches too ! " " It
would give me great pleasure," said the brahmin ; " but it
will be a year before the requisite conjunction of the
planets takes place again. If you will only be so good
as to wait till then, I will invoke the precious shower for
you."
"Rascally brahmin!" cried the angry robbers, "you
made the other band rich off-hand, but want us to wait
a whole year!" And they cut him in two with a sharp
sword, and flung his body in the middle of the road.
Then hurrying after the first band of robbers, they killed
every man of them too in hand-to-hand fight, and seized
the booty. Next, they divided into two companies and
fought among themselves, company against company, till
two hundred and fifty men were slain. And so they went
on killing one another, till only two were left alive. Thus
did those thousand men come to destruction.
Now, when the two survivors had managed to carry
off' the treasure they hid it in the jungle near a village;
and one of them sat there, sword in hand, to guard it,
whilst the other went into the village to get rice and have
it cooked for supper. But true is the saying :
And greed is verily the root of ruin.
F, & T. 4
50 THE ROBBERS AND THE TREASURE
He Avho stopped by the treasure thought, " When my mate
comes back, hell want half of this. Suppose I kill him
the moment he gets back." So he drew his sword and sat
waiting for his comrade's return.
Meanwhile, the other had equally reflected that the
booty had to be halved, and thought to himself, "Suppose
1 poison the rice, and give it him to eat and so kill him,
and have the whole of the treasure to myself" Accord-
ingly, when the rice was boiled, he first ate his own share,
and then put poison in the rest, which he carried back
with him to the jungle. But scarce had he set it down,
when the other robber cut him in two with his sword, and
hid the body away in a secluded spot. Then he ate the
poisoned rice, and died then and there. Thus, by reason
of the treasure, not only the brahmin but all the robbers
came to destruction.
Howbeit, after a day or two the Bodhisatta came back
with the ransom. Not finding his master where he had
left him, but seeing treasure strewn all round about, his
heart misgave him that, in spite of his advice, his master
must have called down a shower of treasure from the
skies, and that all must have perished in consequence;
and he proceeded along the road. On his way he came
to where his master's body lay cloven in twain upon the
way. "Alas!" he cried, "he is dead through not heeding
my warning." Then with gathered sticks he made a pyre
and burnt his master's body, making an offering of wild
flowers. Further along the road, he came upon the five
hundred " Des])atchers," and further still upon the two
hundred and fifty, and so on by degrees until at last he
came to where lay only two corpses. Marking how of
the thousand all but two had perished, and feeling sure
that there must be two survivors, and that these could
THE ROBBEKS AND THE TUEASURE 51
not refrain from strife, lie i)resse(l on to see wliere they
had gone. So on he went till he found the j)ath by which
with the treasure they had turned into the jun<;le; and
there he found the heap of bundles of treasure, and one
robber lying dead with his rice-bowl overturned at his side.
Realising the whole story at a glance, the Bodhisatta set
himself to search for the missing man, and at last found
his body in the secret spot where it had been flung.
"And thus," mused the Bodhisatta, " throui):h not followin<r
my counsel my master in his self-will has been the means
of destroying not himself only but a thousand others also.
Truly, they that seek their own gain by mistaken and
misguided means shall reap ruin, even as my master."
And he repeated this stanza:
Misguided effort leads to loss, not gain;
Thieves killed Vedabbha and themsehes were slain.
Thus spake the Bodhisatta, and he went on to say, —
"And even as my master's misguided and misj)Iaced effort
in causing the rain of treasure to fall from heaven wrought
both his own death and the destruction of others with
him, even so shall every other man who by mistaken means
seeks to compass his own advantage utterly perish and
involve others in his destruction." With these words did
the Bodliisatta make the forest ring; and in this stanza
did he ])reach the Truth, whilst the tree divinities shouted
api^lause. The treasure he contrived to carry off to his
own home, where he lived out his term of life in the
exercise of almsgiving and other good works. And when
his life closed, he departed to the heaven he had won.
A simpler form of this tale occurs in Tib. T. xix. where 500 robbers with booty
find a recently killed elephant, and 250 of them are sent for water These poison
the water that they bring, and eat the remainder of the elephant, which the others
have poisoned. A jackal finds them, aiul begins to eat a bow-string, which snaps
and kills him. It must have been some such simpler version as this which p;issed
4—2
52 GREAT KING GOODNESS
into Europe and became Chaucer's Pardoner's Tale. The immediate source of
Chaucer has not been found. The earliest kno\vn European form is in the Cento
novelle antiche 73. See Clouston, ii. 379 ff. For Mohammedan variants see Kuhn, p. 82.
GREAT KING GOODNESS
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life again as the child
of the queen; and on his name-day they gave him the
name of Prince Goodness (Silava). At the age of sixteen
his education was complete; and later he came at his
father's death to be king, and ruled his people righteously
under the title of the great King Goodness. At each of
the four city-gates he built an almonry, another in the
heart of the city, and yet another at his own palace-gates,
— six in all; and at each he distributed alms to poor
travellers and the needy. He kept the Commandments
and observed the fast-days ; he abounded in patience,
loving-kindness, and mercy ; and in righteousness he ruled
the land, cherishing all creatures alike with the fond love
of a father for his baby boy.
Now one of the king's ministers had dealt treacherously
in the king's harem, and this became matter of common
talk. The ministers reported it to the king. Examining
into the matter himself, the king found the minister's guilt
to be clear. So he seat for the culprit, and said, "O
blinded by folly! you have sinned, and are not Avorthy to
dwell in my kingdom ; take your substance and your wife
and family, and go hence." Driven thus from the realm,
that minister left the Kasi country, and entering the
service of the king of Kosala, gradually rose to be that
monarch's confidential adviser. One day he said to the
king of Kosala, "Sire, the kingdom of Benares is like a
GREAT KING GOODNESS .53
goodly honeycomb untainted by flies; its king is feebleness
itself; and a trifling force would suffice to conquer the
whole country."
Hereon, the king of Kosala reflected that the kingdom
of Benares was large, and, considering this in connexion
with the advice that a trifling force could con(iuer it, he
grew suspicious that his adviser was a hireling suborned
to lead him into a trap. "Traitor," he cried, "you are
paid to say this!"
"Indeed I am not," answered the other; "I do but
speak the truth. If you doubt me, send men to massacre
a village over his border, and see whether, when they are
caught and brought before him, the king does not let
them off scot-free and even load them with gifts."
" He shews a very bold front in making his assertion,"
thought the king ; " I will test his counsel without delay."
And accordingly he sent some of his creatures to harry
a village across the Benares border. The ruffians were
cai)tured and brought before the king of Benares, who
asked them, saying, "IMy children, why have you killed
my villagers?"
" Because we could not make a living," said they.
" Then why did you not come to me ? " said the king.
"See that you do not do the like again."
And he gave them presents and sent them away. Back
they went and told this to the king of Kosala. But this
evidence was not enough to nerve him to the expedition ;
and a second band was sent to massacre another villao-e
this time in the heart of the kingdom. These too were
likewise sent away with presents by the king of Benares.
But even this evidence was not deemed stronjr enou<i^h •
and a third party was sent to plunder the very streets of
Benares. And these, like their forerunners, were sent
64 GREAT KING GOODNESS
away with presents! Satisfied at last that the king of
Benares was an entirely good king, the king of Kosala
resolved to seize on his kingdom, and set out against him
with troops and elephants.
Now in these days the king of Benares had a thousand
gallant warriors, who would face the charge even of a rut
elephant, — whom the launched thunderbolt of Indra could
not terrify, — a matchless band of invincible heroes ready
at the kings command to reduce all India to his sway!
These, hearing the king of Kosala was coming to take
Benares, came to their sovereign with the news, and
prayed that they might be despatched against the invader.
" We will defeat and capture him, sire," said they, " before
he can set foot over the border."
"Not so, my children," said the king. "None shall
suffer because of me. Let those who covet kingdoms
seize mine, if they will." And he refused to allow them
to march against the invader.
Then the king of Kosala crossed the border and came
to the middle-country; and again the ministers went to
the king with renewed entreaty. But still the king refused.
And now the king of Kosala appeared outside the city,
and sent a message to the king bidding him either yield
up the kingdom or give battle. "I fight not," was the
message of the king of Benares in reply ; " let him seize
my kingdom."
Yet a third time the king's ministers came to him and
besought him not to allow the king of Kosala to enter,
but to permit them to overthrow and capture him before
the city. Still refusing, the king bade the city-gates be
opened, and seated himself in state aloft upon his royal
throne with his thousand ministers round him.
Entering the city and finding none to bar his way, the
GREAT KINU COODNESS 55
king of Kosala passed with his army to the royal palace.
The doors stood open wide; and there on his gorgeous
throne with his thousand ministers around him sate the
great King Goodness in state. "Seize them all' ci'ied
the king of Kosala; "tie their hands tightly behind their
backs, and away with them to the cemetery! There dig
holes and bury them alive up to the neck, so that they
cannot move hand or foot. The jackals will come at
night and give them sepulchre ! "
At the bidding of the ruttianly king, his followers bound
the kins: of Benares and his ministers, and hauled them
off. But even in this hour not so nmcli as an angry
thought did the great King Goodness harbour against the
ruffians ; and not a man among his ministers, even when
they were being marched off in bonds, could disobey the
king, — so ])erfect is said to have been the discipline among
his followers.
So King Goodness and his ministers were led off and
buried u]) to the neck in pits in the cemetery, — the king
in the middle and the others on either side of him. The
ground was trami)led in upon them, and there they were
left. Still meek and free from anger against his oppressor,
King Goodness exhorted his companions, saying, "Let
your hearts be filled Avith naught but love and charity,
my children."
Now at midnight the jackals came trooping to the
banquet of human flesh ; and at sight of the beasts the
king and his companions raised a mighty shout all to-
gether, frightening the jackals away. Halting, the pack
looked back, and, seeing no one pursuing, again came
forward. A second shout drove them awav again, but
only to return as before. But the third time, seeing that
not a man amongst them all pursued, the jackals thought
56 GREAT KING GOODNESS
to themselves, "These must be men who are doomed to
death." They came on boklly ; even when the shout was
again beini^: raised, they did not turn tail. On they came,
each singling out his prey, — the chief jackal making for
the king, and the other jackals for his companions. Fertile
in resource, the king marked the beast's approach, and,
raising his throat as if to receive the bite, fastened his
teeth in the jackal's throat with a grip like a vice! Unable
to fi^ee its throat from the mighty grip of the king's jaws,
and fearing death, the jackal raised a great howl. At his
cry of distress the pack conceived that their leader must
have been caught by a man. With no heart left to ap-
proach their own destined prey, away they all scampered
for their lives.
Seeking to free itself from the king's teeth, the trapped
jackal plunged madly to and fro, and thereby loosened
the earth above the king. Hereupon the latter, letting
the jackal go, put forth his mighty strength, and by plung-
mg from side to side got his hands free ! Then, clutching
the brink of the pit, he drew himself up, and came forth
like a cloud scudding before the wind. Bidding his
companions be of good cheer, he now set to work to
loosen the earth round them and to get them out, till
with all his ministers he stood free once more in the
cemetery.
Now it chanced that a corpse had been exposed in
that part of the cemetery, which lay between the respective
domains of two goblins ; and the goblins were disputing
over the division of the spoil.
"We can't divide it ourselves," said they; "but this
King Goodness is righteous ; he will divide it for us. Let
us go to him." So they dragged the corpse by the foot
to the king, and said, " Sire, divide this man and give us
GREAT KING GOODNESS 57
each our share." "Gertainly I will, my friends," said the
kin<^. " liut, as I am dirty, I must bathe first."
Straightway, by their magic j)()wer, the goblins l)rought
to the king the scented water j)rej)ared for the usurper's
bath. And when the king had bathed, thev brought him
the robes which had been laid out for the usurper to
wear. When he had put these on, they brought his
majesty a box containing the four kinds of scent. AVhen
he had pei'fumed himself, they bi-ought flowers of divers
kinds laid out upon jewelled fans, in a casket of gold.
When he had decked himself with the flowers, the goblins
asked whether they could be of any further service. And
the king gave them to understand that he was hungry.
So away went the goblins, and returned with rice flavoured
with all the choicest flavours, which had been prepared
for the usurper's table. And the king, now^ bathed and
scented, dressed and arrayed, ate of the dainty fare.
Thereupon the goblins brought the usurper's perfumed
water for him to drink, in the usurper's o^vn golden bowl,
not forgetting to bring the golden cup too. When the
king had di-unk and had washed his mouth and was
washing his hands, they brought him fragrant betel to
chew, and asked whether his majesty had any further
commands. "Fetch me," said he, "by your magic j)ower
the sword of state which lies by the usurpers ])ill()w."
And straightway the sword was brought to the king. Then
the king took the corpse, and setting it upright, cut it in
two down the chine, giving one-half to each goblin. This
done, the king washed the blade, and girded it on his
side.
Having eaten their fill, the goblins were glad of heart,
and in their gratitude asked the king what more they
could do for him. " Set me by your magic power," said
68 GREAT KING GOODNESS
he, " in the usurper's chamber, and set each of my ministers
back in his own house." " Certainly, sire," said the goblins ;
and forthwith it was done. Now in that hour the usurper
was lying asleep on the royal bed in his chamber of state.
And as he slept in all tranquillity, the good king struck
him with the flat of the sword upon the belly. Waking
up in a fright, the usurper saw by the lamp-light that it
was the great King Goodness. Summoning up all his
courage, he rose from his couch and said: "Sire, it is
night; a guard is set; the doors are barred; and none
may enter. How then came you to my bedside, sword in
hand and clad in robes of splendour ? " Then the king
told him in detail all the story of his escape. Then the
usurper's heart was moved within him, and he cried, " O
king, I, though blessed with human nature, knew not
your goodness ; but knowledge thereof was given to the
fierce and cruel goblins, whose food is flesh and blood.
Hencefoi-th, I, sire, will not plot against such signal virtue
as you possess." So saying, he swore an oath of friendship
upon his sword and begged the king's forgiveness. And
he made the king lie down upon the bed of state, while
he stretched himself upon a little couch.
On the morrow at daybreak, when the sun had risen,
his whole host of every rank and degree was mustered by
beat of drum at the usurper's command; in their presence
he extolled King Goodness, as if raising the full-moon on
high in the heavens ; and right before them all, he again
asked the king's forgiveness and gave him back his king-
dom, saying, "Henceforth, let it be my charge to deal
with rebels ; rule thou thy kingdom, with me to keep
watch and ward." And so saying, he passed sentence on
the slanderous traitor, and with his troops and elephants
w ent back to his own kingdom.
PRINCE FIVE-AVEAPONS 69
Seated in majesty and splendour beneath a wliite
umbrella of sovereignty upon a throne of gold with legs
as of a gazelle, the great King (Goodness contemj)lated
his own glory and thought thus within himself: "Had
I not persevered, I should not be in the enjoyment of this
magnificence, nor would mv thousand ministers be still
numbered among the living. It was by i)erseverance that
I recovered the royal state I had lost, and saved the lives
of my thousand ministers. Verily, we should strive on
unremittingly with dauntless hearts, seeing that the fruit
of perseverance is so excellent." And therewithal the
king broke into this heartfelt utterance:
Toil on, my brother; still in hope stand fast;
Nor let thy couragre ting and tire.
Myself I see, who, all my woes o'ei-past,
Am master of my heart's desire.
Thus spoke the Bodhisatta in the fulness of his heart,
declaring how sure it is that the earnest ettbrt of the
good will come to maturity. After a life spent in right-
doing he passed away to fare thereafter according to his
deserts.
Variant of Jat. 282, SO.S. Tawney {Journ. Philol xii. 120) compares the escape
01 Signiund from the wolf in the Volsunga Saga ( The Story of t/ie Volxungs, tr.
Magmisson and Morris, v.). The moral of the tale is the biiddhist doctrine of non-
resistance to evil, but the moral of perseverance expressed in the verses appears to
belong to an earlier non-buddhistic version of the tale.
PRINCE FIVE-WEAPONS
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was rei«2:nin<2: in
Benares, it was as his queen's child that the Bodhisatta
came to life once more. On the day when he was to
be named, the j)arents enquired as to their child's destiny
from eight hundred brahmins, to whom they gave their
hearts' desire in all pleasures of sense. Marking the
60 PRINCE FIVE-WEAPONS
promise which he shewed of a glorious destiny, these
clever soothsaying brahmins foretold that, coming to the
throne at the king's death, the child should be a mighty
kinjr endowed with every virtue ; famed and renowned for
his exploits with five weapons, he should stand peerless in
all Jambudipa^. And because of this prophecy of the brah-
mins, the parents named their son Prince Five-Weapons.
Now, when the prince was come to years of discretion,
and was sixteen years old, the king bade him go away
and study.
" With whom, sire, am I to study ? " asked the prince.
" With the world-famed teacher in the town of Takka-
sila in the Gandhara country. Here is his fee," said the
king, handing his son a thousand pieces.
So the prince went to Takkasila and was taught there.
When he was leaving, his master gave him a set of five
weapons, armed with which, after bidding adieu to his old
master, the prince set out from Takkasila for Benares.
On his way he came to a forest haunted by a goblin
named Hairy-grip ; and, at the entrance to the forest,
men who met him tried to stop him, saying: "Young
student, do not go through that forest; it is the haunt
of the goblin Hairy-grip, and he kills every one he meets."
But, bold as a lion, the self-reliant Bodhisatta pressed on,
till in the heart of the forest he came on the goblin. The
monster made himself appear in stature as tall as a palm-
tree, with a head as big as an arbour and huge eyes like
bowls, with two tusks like turnips and the beak of a
hawk ; his belly was blotched with purple ; and the palms
of his hands and the soles of his feet were blue-black !
" Whither away ? " cried the monster. " Halt ! you are my
^ This was one of the four islands of which the earth was supposed to consist ;
it included India, and represented the inhabited world to the Indian mind.
PRINCE FIVE-WEAPONS 61
prey." "Goblin," answered the Bodliisatta, "I knew what
I was doin<^ when entering this forest. You will be ill-
advised to come near me. For witli a poisoned arrow
I will slay you where you stand." And with this defiance,
he fitted to his bow an arrow dipped in deadliest poison
and shot it at the goblin. But it only stuck on to the
monster's shaggy coat. Tlien he shot another and another,
till fifty were spent, all of which merely stuck on to the
goblin's shaggy coat. Hereon the goblin, shaking the
arrows ott' so that they fell at his feet, came at the Bod-
hisatta ; and the latter, again shouting defiance, drew his
sword and struck at the goblin. But, like the arrows, his
sword, which was thirty-three inches long, merely stuck
fast in the shaggy hair. Next the Bodhisatta hurled his
spear, and that stuck fast also. Seeing this, he smote the
goblin with his club ; but, lik^his other weapons, that
too stuck fast. And thereupon the Bodhisatta shouted,
" Goblin, you never heard yet of me. Prince Five-Weai)ons.
When I ventured into this forest, I put my trust not in
my bow and other weapons, but in myself! Now will
1 strike you a blow which shall crush you into dust. ' So
saying, the Bodhisatta smote the goblin with his right
hand ; but the hand stuck fast upon the hair. Then, in
turn, with his left hand and Avith his right and left feet,
he struck at the monster, but hand and feet alike clave to
the hide. Again shouting "1 will crush you into dust !" he
butted the goblin Avith his head, and that too stuck fast.
Yet even when thus caught and snared in fivefold wise,
the Bodhisatta, as he hung upon the goblin, was still
fearless, still undaunted. And the monster thought to
himself, " This is a very lion among men, a hero without
a peer, and no mere man. Though he is caught in the
clutches of a goblin like me, yet not so much as a tremor
62 PRINCE FIVE-WEAPONS
will he exhibit. Never, since I first took to slaying
travellers upon this road, have I seen a man to equal
him. How comes it that he is not frightened?" Not
daring to devour the Bodhisatta oftliand, he said, " How
is it, young student, that you have no fear of death ? "
"Why should I?" answered the Bodhisatta. "Each
life must surely have its destined death. Moreover,
within my body is a sword of adamant, which you will
never digest, if you eat me. It will chop your inwards
into mincemeat, and my death will involve yours too.
Therefore it is that I have no fear." (By this, it is said,
the Bodhisatta meant the Sword of Knowledge, which
was within him.)
Hereon, the goblin fell a-thinking. "This young
student is speaking the truth and nothing but the truth,"
thought he. " Not a morsel so big as a pea could I digest
of such a hero. I'll let him go." And so, in fear of his
life, he let the Bodhisatta go free, saying, " Young student,
you are a lion among men ; I will not eat you. Go forth
from my hand, even as the moon from the jaws of Rahu,
and return to gladden the hearts of your kinsfolk, your
friends, and your country."
"As for myself, goblin," answered the Bodhisatta, "I
will go. As for you, it was your sins in bygone days that
caused you to be re-born a ravening, murderous, flesh-
eating goblin ; and, if you continue in sin in this existence,
vou will go on from darkness to darkness. But, having
seen me, you will be unable thenceforth to sin any more.
Know that to destroy life is to ensure re-birth either in
hell or as a brute or as a ghost or as a titan. Or, if the
re-birth be into the world of men, then such sin cuts short
the days of a man's life."
In this and other ways the Bodhisatta shewed the evil
THE BRAHMIN'S SPELL 63
consequences of the five bad courses, and the blessin;;^
that comes of the Five ( 'omniandnients ; and so wrouglit in
divers ways upon that <^oblin's fears tliat by his teachin<^
he converted the monster, imbuing him with self-denial
and establishing^ him in the Five Commandments. Then
makin<^ the goblin the divinity of that forest, with a rijj^ht
to receive offerings, and charging him to remain steadfast,
the Bodhisatta went his way, making known the change in
the goblin's mood as he issued from the forest. And in
the end he came, armed with the five weapons, to the
city of Benares, and presented himself before his parents.
In later days, when king, he was a righteous ruler ; and
after a life spent in charity and other good works he
passed away to fare thereafter according to his deserts.
In Sam-Nik. an earlier form of the tale occurs as the parable of a monkey whose
limbs and head are caught in an adhesive substance, set as a trap by hunters. Cf. Mrs
Rhys Davids, Budd. Psychol, p. 35. The Wonderful Tar-baby {J. C. Harris, Uncle
Remus) which according to Jacobs (p. 136) is "perhaps the most remarkable instance
of the insidious spread of buddhistic tales." See A. Werner, The Tar-Baby Story,
Folklore, x. •l'S2, and more of Mr Jacobs' theories in his Indian Fairy Tales., 251 ff.
THE BRAHMIN'S SPELL
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as the child of the
Queen-consort. When he grew up, he mastered every
accom})lishment ; and when, at his father's death, he came
to be king, he proved a righteous king. Now he used to
play at dice with his family ])riest, and, as he flung the
golden dice upon the silver dice-board, he would sing this
catch for luck :
'Tis nature's law that rivers wind;
Trees grow of wood by law of kind;
And, given opportunity,
All women work iuiciuity.
64 THE BRAHMIN'S SPELL
As these lines always made the king win the game, the
priest was in a fair way to lose every penny he had in the
world. And, in order to save himself from utter ruin, he
resolved to seek out a little maid that had never seen
another man, and then to keep her under lock and key in
his own house. " For," thought he, " I couldn't manage to
look after a girl who has seen another man. So I must
take a new-born baby girl, and keep her under my thumb
as she grows up, with a close guard over her, so that none
may come near her and that she may be true to one man.
Then I shall win of the king, and grow rich." Now he was
skilled in bodily signs; and seeing a poor woman who
was about to become a mother, and knoAving that her
child would be a girl, he paid the woman to come and be
confined in his house, and sent her away after her confine-
ment with a present. The infant was brought up entirely
by women, and no men — other than himself — were ever
allowed to set eyes on her. When the girl grew up, she
was subject to him and he was her master.
Now, while the girl was growing up, the priest forbore
to play w ith the king ; but when she was grown up and
under his own control, he challenged the king to a game.
The king accepted, and play began. But, when in throwing
the dice the king sang his lucky catch, the priest added,
— "always excepting my girl." And then luck changed,
and it was now the priest who won, while the king lost.
Thinking the matter over, the Bodhisatta suspected
the priest had a virtuous girl shut up in his house ; and
enquiry proved his suspicions true. Then, in order to
work her fall, he sent for a clever scamp, and asked
whether he thought he could seduce the girl. " Certainly,
sire," said the fellow. So the king gave him money, and
sent him away with orders to lose no time.
THE BRAHMIN'S SPELL 05
With the king's money the fellow bought perfumes
and incense and aromatics of all sorts, and opened a per-
fumery shop close to the })riest's house. Now the priest's
house was seven stories high, and had seven gateways, at
each of which a guard was set, — a guard of women only, —
and no man but the brahmin himself was ever allowed to
enter. The verv baskets that contained the dust and
sweepings were examined before they were passed in.
Only the priest was allowed to see the girl, and she had
only a single waiting-woman. This woman had money
given her to buy flowers and perfumes for her mistress,
and on her way she used to pass near the shop which the
scamp had opened. And he, knowing very well that she
was the girl's attendant, watched one day for her coming,
and, rushing out of his shop, fell at her feet, clasping her
feet tightly with both hands and blubbering out, "O my
mother ! where have you been all this long time ? "
And his confederates, who stood by his side, cried,
" What a likeness ! Hand and foot, face and figure, even
in style of dress, they are identical!" As one and all
kept dwelling on the marvellous likeness, the poor woman
lost her head. Crying out that it must be her boy, she
too burst into tears. And with weeping and tears the
two fell to embracing one another. Then said the man,
"Where are you living, mother?"
"Up at the priest's, my son. He has a young wife
of peerless beauty, a very goddess for grace ; and I'm her
waiting-woman.' "And whither away now, mother?' "To
buy her perfumes and flowers." " Why go elsewhere for
them ? Come to me for them in future," said the fellow.
And he gave the woman betel, bdellium, and so forth, and
all kinds of flowers, refusing all payment. Struck with the
quantity of flowers and perfumes which the waiting-woman
F. & T. 5
66 THE BRAHMIN'S SPELL
brought home, the girl asked why the brahmin was so
pleased with her that day. " Why do yovi say that, my
dear ? " asked the old woman. " Because of the quantity
of things you have brought home." " No, it isn't that the
brahmin was free with his money," said the old woman ;
"for I got them at my son's." And from that day forth she
kept the money the brahmin gave her, and got her flowers
and other things free of charge at the man's shop.
And he, a few days later, made out to be ill, and took
to his bed. So when the old woman came to the shop
and asked for her son, she was told he had been taken ill.
Hastening to his side, she fondly stroked his shoulders,
as she asked what ailed him. But he made no reply.
" Why don't you tell me, my son ? " " Not even if I were
dying, could I tell you, mother." " But, if you don't tell
me, whom are you to tell?" "Well then, mother, my
malady lies solely in this that, hearing the praises of your
young mistress's beauty, I have fallen in love with her.
If I win her, I shall live ; if not, this will be my death-bed."
" Leave that to me, my boy," said the old w oman cheerily ;
"and don't worry yourself on this account." Then — with
a heavy load of perfumes and flowers to take with her —
she went home, and said to the brahmin's young wife,
"Alas! here's my son in love with you, merely because
I told him how beautiful you are ! What is to be done ? "
" If you can smuggle him in here," replied the girl,
" you have my leave."
Hereupon the old woman set to work sweeping together
all the dust she could find in the house from top to
bottom ; this dust she put into a huge flower-basket, and
tried to pass out with it. When the usual search was
made, she emptied dust over the woman on guard, who
fled away under such ill-treatment. In like manner she
THE BRAHMIN'S 8PI]LL G7
dealt with all the other watchers, smotherinj^ in dust each
one in turn that said anything to her. And so it came to
pass from that time forward that, no matter what the old
woman took in or out of the house, there was nobody bold
enough to search her. Now was the time ! Tlie old
woman smuggled the scam}) into the house in a flower-
basket, and brought him to her young mistress. He
succeeded in wrecking the girl's virtue, and actually stayed
a day or two in the ui)per rooms, — hiding when the priest
was at home, and enjoying the society of his mistress when
the priest was off the premises. A day or two passed and
the girl said to her lover, " Sweetheart, you must be going
now." " Very well ; only I must cuff* the brahmin first."
" Certainly," said she, and hid the scamp. Then, when the
brahmin came in again, she exclaimed, "Oh, my dear
husband, I should so like to dance, if you would play the
lute for me." " Dance away, my dear," said the priest, and
struck up forthwith. " But I shall be too ashamed, if
you're looking. Let me hide your handsome face first
with a cloth ; and then I will dance." " All right," said
he ; " if you're too modest to dance otherwise." So she
took a thick cloth and tied it over the brahmin's face so
as to blindfold him. And, blindfolded as he was, the
brahmin began to play the lute. After dancing awhile,
she cried, " My dear, I should so like to hit you once
on the head." " Hit away," said the unsuspecting dotard.
Then the girl made a sign to her paramour ; and he softly
stole up behind the brahmin and smote him on the head.
Such was the force of the blow, that the brahmin's eyes
were like to start out of his head, and a bump rose up on
the spot. Smarting with pain, he called to the girl to give
him her hand ; and she placed it in his. " Ah ! it's a soft
hand," said he ; " but it hits hard 1 "
5—2
68 THE BRAHMIN'S SPELL
Now, as soon as the scamp had struck the brahmin, he
hid ; and when he was hidden, the girl took the bandage
off the priest's eyes and rubbed his bruised head with oil.
The moment the brahmin went out, the scamp was stowed
away in his basket again by the old woman, and so carried
out of the house. Making his way at once to the king, he
told him the whole adventure.
Accordingly, when the brahmin was next in attendance,
the king proposed a game with the dice ; the brahmin was
willing; and the king caused the gaming-circle to be
drawn ^ As the king made his throw, he sang his old catch,
and the brahmin — ignorant of the girl's naughtiness — added
his "always excepting my girl," — and nevertheless lost!
Then the king, who did know what had passed, said to
his priest, " Why except her ? Her virtue has given way.
Ah, you dreamed that by taking a girl in the hour of her
birth and by placing a sevenfold guard round her, you
could be certain of her. Why, you couldn't be certain of
a woman, even if you had her inside you and always
walked about with her. No woman is ever faithful to one
man alone. As for that girl of yours, she told you she
should like to dance, and having first blindfolded you as
you played the lute to her, she let her paramour strike
you on the head, and then smuggled him out of the house.
Where then is your exception ? " And so saying, the king
repeated this stanza :
Blindfold, a-luting, by his wife beg-uiled,
The hrahmin sat, — who tried to rear
A paragon of virtue undefiled!
Learn hence to hold the sex in fear.
' This wfis a circle drawn round the players, out of which they could not go with-
out incurring a curse, until tlie debts were settled. In Jat. 91a losing player avoids
brealiing the circle by swallowing one of the dice, and tlius stopping the game
THE BRAHMIN'S SPELL 69
In such Avise did the Bodhisatta ex])ound the Truth to
the brahmin. And the bi*alnnin went home and taxed the
girl with the Avickedness of which she was accused. "My
dear husband, who can liave said such a tliin*^ about me?"
said she. " Indeed I am innocent ; indeed it was my own
hand, and nobody else's, that struck you ; and, if you do
not believe me, I will brave the ordeal of fire and swear that
no man's hand has touched me but vours ; and so I will
make you believe me." "So be it," said the brahmin.
And he had a quantity of wood brought and set light to
it. Then the girl was summoned. " Now," said he, " if you
believe your own story, brave these flames ! "
Now before this the girl had instructed her attendant
as follows: "Tell your son, mother, to be there and to
seize my hand just as I am about to go into the fire."
And the old woman did as she Avas bidden ; and the fellow
came and took his stand among the crowd. Then, to
delude the brahmin, the girl, standing there before all the
people, exclaimed with fervour, " No man's hand but thine,
brahmin, has ever touched me ; and, by the truth of my
asseveration I call on this fire to harm me not." So saying,
she advanced to the burning pile, — when up dashed her
paramour, who seized her by the hand, crying shame on
the brahmin who could force so fair a maid to enter the
flames I Shaking her hand free, the girl exclaimed to the
brahmin that what she had sworn was noAV undone, and
that she could not now brave the ordeal of fire. " Why
not?" said the brahmin. "Because," she replied, "my
asseveration was that no man's hand but thine had ever
touched me ; and now here is a man Avho has seized hold
of my hand I " But the brahmin, knowing that he Avas
tricked, drove her from him Avith bloAvs.
Such, Ave learn, is the Avickedness of Avomen. What
70 THE VALUE OF A BKOTHER
crime will they not commit ; and then, to deceive their
husbands, what oaths will they not take— aye, in the light
of day — that they did it not ! So false-hearted are they !
Therefore has it been said :
A sex composed of wickedness and guile,
Unknowable, uncertain as the path
Of fishes in the water, — womankind
Hold truth for falsehood, falsehood for the truth !
As g-reedily as cows seek pastures new.
Women, uusated, yearn for mate on mate.
Thievish and cruel as a sweet-voiced snake,
They know all tricks wherewith to gull mankind.
Illustrated on the Bharhut Stupa, pi. xxvi. 8. In ^uk. xv., a tale of commonplace
intrigue, the woman when suspected oflfers to be taken before a yaksha. At the
ordeal her lover seizes her, as arranged, and she then makes the asseveration that
witli the exception of her husband and this man no man has ever come near her. Cf.
the similar device of Tristram and Ysonde in Clouston, i. 179.
THE VALUE OF A BROTHER
This story was told by the Master while at Jetavana,
about a certain country-woman.
For it fell out once in Kosala that three men were
ploughing on the outskirts of a certain forest, and that
robbers plundered folk in that forest and made their
escape. The victims came, in the course of a fruitless
search for the rascals, to where the three men were
ploughing. " Here are the forest robbers, disguised as
husbandmen," they cried, and hauled the trio off as
prisoners to the King of Kosala. Now time after time
there came to the king's palace a woman who with loud
lamentations begged for "wherewith to be covered."
Hearing her cry, the king ordered a shift to be given her ;
but she refused it, saying this was not what she meant.
So the king's servants came back to his majesty and said
THE VALUE OF A BROTHER 71
that what the woman wanted was not clothes but a husband.
Then the kin<; had the woman l)rou<4lit into his presence
and asked her whether she really did mean a husband.
" Yes, sire," she answered ; " for a husband is a woman's
real coverin<i:, and she that lacks a husband — even thouj^h
she be clad in ^j^arments costing a thousand pieces — goes
bare and naked indeed."
(And to enforce this truth, the following Sutta should
be recited here :
Like king-less king-doins, like a stream run dry,
So bare and naked is a woman seen,
Who, having' brothers ten, yet lacks a mate.)
Pleased with the woman's answer, the king asked what
relation the three prisoners were to her. And she said
that one was her husband, one her brother, and one her
son. "Well, to mark my favour," said the king, "I give
you one of the three. Which will you take ?" " Sire," was
her answer, "if I live, I can get another husband and
another son ; but as my parents are dead, I can never get
another brother. So give me my brother, Sire." Pleased
with the woman, the king set all three men at liberty ; and
thus this one woman was the means of saving three persons
from })eril.
AVhen the matter came to the knowledge of the Brother-
hood, they were lauding the woman in the Hall of Truth,
when the Master entered. Learning on enc^uiry what was
the subject of their talk, he said, "This is not the first
time. Brethren, that this woman has saved those three
from peril ; she did the same in days gone by." And, so
saying, he told a story of the past.
The above is the story of the present, the story of the past being merely a sum-
mary, in wliieh " everything came to pass as above." It also forms the point of Jat
517 which is given in Jat. 546 (vol. vi. p. 242). In the Rdmdyana VL 24. 7, 8, wheu
72 THE GRATEFUL ANIMALS
Lakshraana is apparently killed, his brother Rama says, almost in the words of the
gatha :
Somewhere for me a wife may be,
A son, or even other kin ;
But the coimtry I do not see
In which a brother I might win.
Cf. the Persian tale of the wife of Intaphernes in Hdt. in. 118, 119, who makes
the same choice. Soph. Ant. 905 ff. Pischel {Hermes, xxviii. 465 ff.) considers it
probably the oldest example of an Indian thought in a Greek dress. A \\Titer in
Notes and Queries, Nov. 17, 1866, compares the words of Robert of Normandy when
besieging Henry in Mont St Michel, "What, shall I suffer my brother to die of
thirst? Where shall we find another when he is gone?" (Hume, ch. v.), and the
ballad in Scott, Antiquary, xl. :
He turned him right and round again,
Said, scorn na at my mither ;
Light loves I may get mony a ane,
But minnie [i.e. mother] ne'er anither.
THE GRATEFUL ANIMALS
Once on a time Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares.
He had a son named Prince Wicked. Fierce and cruel
was he, like a scotched snake ; he spoke to nobody without
abuse or bloAA s. Like grit in the eye was this prince to all
folk both within and without the palace, or like a ravening
ogre, — so dreaded and fell was he.
One day, wishing to disport himself in the river, he
went with a large retinue to the water side. And a great
storm came on, and utter darkness set in. " Hi there ! "
cried he to his servants ; " take me into mid-stream, bathe
me there, and then bring me back again." So they took
him into mid-stream and there took counsel together,
saying, " What will he do to us when king ? Let us kill the
wicked wretch here and now ! So in you go, you pest ! "
they cried, as they flung him into the water. When they
made their way ashore, they were asked where the prince
was, and replied, " We don't see him ; finding the storm
THE GRATEFUL ANIMALS 73
come on, he must have come out of the river and gone
home ahead of us."
The courtiers went into the king's presence, and the
king asked where his son was. "We do not know, sire,"
said they ; " a storm came on, and we came away in the
beUef that he must have gone on ahead." At once the
king had the gates thrown open ; down to the riverside he
went and bade dihgent search be made up and down for
the missing prince. But no trace of him coukl be found.
For, in the darkness of the storm, he had been swept away
by the current, and, coming across a tree-trunk, had
chmbed on to it, and so floated down stream, crying
lustily in the agony of his fear of drowning.
Now there had been a gild-merchant living in those
days at Benares, who had died, leaving forty crores buried
in the banks of that same river. And because of his
craving for riches, he was re-born as a snake at the spot
under which lay his dear treasure. And also in the self-
same spot another man had hidden thirty crores, and
because of his craving for riches \ Avas re-born as a rat at
the same spot. In rushed the water into their dwelling-
place; and the two creatures, escaping by the way by
which the water rushed in, were making their way athAvart
the stream, when they chanced upon the tree-trunk to
which the prince was clinging. The snake climbed up at
one end, and the rat at the other; and so both got a
footing with the prince on the trunk.
Also there grew on the river's bank a Silk-cotton tree,
in which lived a young parrot; and this tree, being up-
rooted by the swollen waters, fell into the river. The
heavy rain beat down the parrot when it tried to fly, and
it alighted in its fall upon this same tree-trunk. And so
1 Cf. Jat. 137, p. 118.
74 THE GRATEFUL ANIMALS
there were now these four floating down stream together
upon the tree.
Now the Bodhisatta had been re-born in those days as
a brahmin in the North- West country. Renouncing the
world for the hermit's life on reaching manhood, he had
built himself a hermitage by a bend of the river; and
there he was now living. As he was pacing to and fro, at
midnight, he heard the loud cries of the prince, and
thought thus within himself: "This fellow-creature must
not perish thus before the eyes of so merciful and com-
passionate a hermit as I am. I will rescue him from the
water, and save his life." So he shouted cheerily, " Be not
afraid ! Be not afraid I " and plunging across stream,
seized hold of the tree by one end, and, being as strong
as an elephant, drew it in to the bank with one long pull,
and set the prince safe and sound upon the shore. Then
becoming aware of the snake and the rat and the parrot,
he carried them to his hermitage, and there lighting a fire,
warmed the animals first, as being the weaker, and after-
wards the prince. This done, he brought fruits of various
kinds and set them before his guests, looking after the
animals first and the prince afterwards. This enraged the
young prince, who said within himself, "This rascally hermit
pays no respect to my royal birth, but actually gives brute
beasts precedence over me." And he conceived hatred
against the Bodhisatta.
A few days later, when all four had recovered their
strength and the waters had subsided, the snake bade
farewell to the hermit with these words, "Father, you have
done me a great service. I am not poor, for I have forty
crores of gold hidden at a certain spot. Should you ever
want money, all my hoard shall be yours. You have only
to come to the spot and call ' Snake.' " Next the rat took
THE GRATEFUL ANIMALS 75
his leave with a like promise to tlie hermit as to his
treasure, biddinjj^ the hermit come and call out '' Hat."
Then tlie parrot bade farewell, sayin<i^, " Father, silver and
gold have I none; but should you ever want for choice
rice, come to where I dwell and call out 'Parrot'; and
I with the aid of my kinsfolk will give you many wa«j::j^on-
loads of rice." Last came the j)rince. His heart was tilled
with base in<;ratitude and with a determinati(m to put his
benefactor to death, if the Bodhisatta should come to visit
him. But, concealing his intent, he said, "Come, father, to
me when I am king, and I will bestow on you the Four
Requisites." So saying, he took his departure, and not
long after succeeded to the throne.
The desire came on the Bodhisatta to put their })ro-
fessions to the test ; and first of all he went to the snake
and standing hard by its abode, called out "Snake." At
the word the snake darted forth and with every mark of
respect said, " Father, in this place there are forty crores
in gold. Dig them up and take them all." " It is well,"
said the Bodhisatta; "when I need them, I will not forget."
Then bidding adieu to the snake, he Avent on to where the
rat lived, and called out "Rat." And the rat did as the
snake had done. Going next to the parrot, and calling
out " Parrot," the bird at once flew down at his call from
the tree-top, and respectfully asked whether it was the
Bodhisatta's wish that he with the aid of his kinsfolk
should gather paddy for the Bodhisatta from the region
round the Himalayas. The Bodhisatta dismissed the
parrot also with a promise that, if need arose, he would
not forget the bird's offer. Last of all, being minded to
test the king in his turn, the Bodhisatta came to the royal
pleasaunce, and on the day after his arrival made his way,
carefully dressed, into the city on his round for alms.
76 THE GRATEFUL ANIMALS
Just at that moment, the ungrateful king, seated in all his
royal splendour on his elephant of state, was passing in
rightAvise procession round the city followed by a vast
retinue. Seeing the Bodhisatta from afar, he thought to
himself, " Here's that rascally hermit come to quarter him-
self and his appetite on me. I must have his head off
before he can publish to the Avorld the service he rendered
me." With this intent, he signed to his attendants, and,
on their asking what was his pleasure, said, "Methinks
yonder rascally hermit is here to importune me. See that
the ill-omened ascetic does not look at me, but seize and
bind him ; flog him at every street-corner ; and then march
him out of the city, chop off* his head at the place of
execution, and impale his body on a stake."
Obedient to their king's command, the attendants laid
the innocent Great Being in bonds and flogged him at
every street-corner on the way to the place of execution.
But all their floggings failed to move the Bodhisatta or to
wring from him any cry of " Oh, my mother and father ! "
All he did was to repeat this stanza :
They knew the world, who framed this proverb true —
"A log pays better salvage than some men."
These lines he repeated wherever he was flogged, till at
last the wise among the bystanders asked the hermit what
service he had rendered to their king. Then the Bod-
hisatta told the whole story, ending w ith the words, — " So
it comes to pass that by rescuing him from the torrent
I brought all this woe upon myself. And when I bethink
me how I have left unheeded the words of the wise of old,
I exclaim as you have heard."
Filled with indignation at the recital, the nobles and
brahmins and all classes with one accord cried out, " This
ungrateful king does not recognise even the goodness of
THE GRATEFUL ANIMALS 77
this good man who waved his majesty's Hfe. How can we
have any profit from this king i Seize the tyrant ! " And
in their anger tiiey rusiied upon the king from every side,
and slew him there and tlien, as he rode on his elephant,
with arrows and javelins and stones and clubs and any
weapons that came to hand. The corpse they dragged by
the heels to a ditch and flung it in. Then they anointed
the liodhisatta king and set him to rule over them.
As he was ruling in righteousness, one day the desire
came on him again to try the snake and the rat and the
parrot ; and followed by a large retinue, he came to where
the snake dwelt. xA.t the call of " Snake," out came the
snake from his hole and with every mark of respect said,
" Here, my lord, is your treasure ; take it." Then the king
delivered the forty crores of gold to his attendants, and
proceeding to where the rat dwelt, called "Rat." Out
came the rat, and saluted the king, and gave up its thirty
crores. Placing this treasure too in the hands of his
attendants, the king went on to where the parrot dwelt,
and called " Parrot." And in like manner the bird came,
and bowing down at the king's feet asked whether it
should collect rice for his majesty. "We will not trouble
you," said the king, "till rice is needed. Now let us be
going.' So with the seventy crores of gold, and with the
rat, the snake, and the parrot as well, the king journeyed
back to the city. Here, in a noble palace, to the state-
story of which he mounted, he caused the treasure to be
lodged and guarded ; he had a golden tube made for the
snake to dwell in, a crystal casket to house the rat, and
a cage of gold for the parrot. Every day too by the king's
command food was served to the three creatures in vessels
of gold, — sweet parched-corn for the parrot and snake,
and scented rice for the rat. And the king abounded
78 THE GREAT DREAMS
in charity and all good works. Thus in harmony and
goodwill one with another, these four lived their lives ; and
when their end came, they passed away to fare according
to their deserts.
A much modified version of The grateful Beasts and the ungrateful Man, P.
(B.) I., Suppl. II., K. D. (Arab.) ch. xvii. where the ungrateful man is a goldsmith, and
the gi-atitude of the tiger and snake is skilfully made the means of saving the brahmin
and bringing punishment on the ungrateful man. In Som. Lxv. (ii. 103) the tale is
a jutaka, and the ungrateful person a woman. Tib. T. xxvi. is more closely related
to P. than to the jataka. Gesta Rom. 119 (111). Cf. Clouston, i. 223, The thankful
Beasts.
THE GREAT DREAMS
This story was told by the Master while at Jetavana
about sixteen w^onderful dreams. For in the last watch
of one night (so tradition says) the King of Kosala, who
had been asleep all the night, dreamed sixteen great
dreams, and woke up in great fright and alarm as to what
they might portend for him. So strong was the fear of
death upon him that he could not stir, but lay there
huddled up on his bed. Now, when the night grew light,
his brahmins and chaplains came to him and with due
obeisance asked whether his majesty had slept well.
" How could I sleep well, my directors ? " answered the
king. "For just at daybreak I dreamed sixteen wonderful
dreams, and I have been in terror ever since ! Tell me, my
directors, what it all means."
"We shall be able to judge, on hearing them."
Then the king told them his dreams, and asked what
those visions would entail upon him.
The brahmins fell a-wringing their hands ! " Why wring
your hands, brahmins ? " asked the king. " Because, sire,
these are evil dreams." " What will come of them ? " said
THE GREAT DREAMS 79
the king. " One of three calamities, — harm to your kin<^-
dom, to your life, or to youi* riches." " Is there a remedy,
or is there not ? " " Undoubtedly these dreams in them-
selves are so threatening as to be without remedy; but
none the less we will find a remedy for them. Otherwise,
what boots our much study and learninji: ? " " What then
do you propose to do to avert the evil 'i " " Wherever four
roads meet, we would offer sacrifice, sire." " My directors,"
cried the king in his terror, "my life is in your hands;
make haste and woi*k my safety." " Large sums of money,
and large supplies of food of every kind will be ours,"
thought the exultant brahmins; and, bidding the king
have no fear, they departed from the palace. Outside
the town they dug a sacrificial pit and collected a host of
fourfooted creatures, perfect and without blemish, and
a multitude of birds. But still they discovered something
lacking, and back they kept coming to the king to ask for
this that and the other. Now their doings were watched
by Queen Mallika, who came to the king and asked what
made these brahmins keep coming to him.
" I envy you," said the king ; " a snake in your ear, and
you not to know of it!" "What does your majesty
mean ? " "I have dreamed, oh such unlucky dreams !
The brahmins tell me they point to one of three calamities ;
and they are anxious to offer sacrifices to avert the evil.
And this is what brings them here so often." "But has
your majesty consulted the Chief Brahmin both of this
world and of the world of gods ? " " Who, pray, may he
be, my dear ? " asked the king. " Know you not that
chiefest personage of all the world, the all-knowing and
pure, the spotless master-brahmin ? Surely, he, the Lord
Buddha, will understand your dreams. Go, ask him." " And
so I will, my queen," said the king. And away he went to
80 THE GREAT DREAMS
the monastery, saluted the Master, and sat down. " What,
pray, brings your majesty here so early in the morning?"
asked the Master in his sweet tones. " Sir," said the king,
"just before daybreak I dreamed sixteen wonderful
dreams, which so terrified me that I told them to the
brahmins. They told me that my dreams boded evil, and
that to avert the threatened calamity they must offer
sacrifice wherever four roads met. And so they are busy
with their preparations, and many living creatures have
the fear of death before their eyes. But I pray you, who
are the chiefest personage in the world of men and gods,
you into whose ken comes all possible knowledge of things
past and present and to be, — I pray you tell me what will
come of my dreams, Lord."
" True it is, sire, that there is none other save me, who
can tell what your dreams signify or what will come of
them. I will tell you. Only first of all relate to me your
dreams as they appeared to you."
" I will, sir," said the king, and at once began this list,
following the order of the dreams' appearance :
Bulls first, and trees, and cows, and calves,
Horse, dish, she-jackal, waterpot,
A pond, raw rice, and sandal-wood,
And gourds that sank, and stones that swam.
With frogs that gobbled up black snakes,
A crow with gold-plumed retinue,
And wolves in panic-fear of goats !
" How was it, sir, that I had the following one of my
dreams? Methought, four black bulls, like collyrium in
hue, came from the four cardinal directions to the royal
courtyard with avowed intent to fight ; and people flocked
together to see the bull-fight, till a great crowd had
gathered. But the bulls only made a show of fighting,
roared and bellowed, and finally went ofi' without fighting
THE GREAT DREAMS 81
at all. This was my first dream. What will come
of it ? "
"Sire, that dream shall have no issue in your days or
in mine. But hereafter, when kin<;s shall be ni^^gardly and
unrighteous, and when folk shall he unrighteous, in days
when the world is perverted, when good is waning and evil
waxing apace, — in those days of the world's backsliding
there shall fall no rain from the heavens, the feet of the
storm shall be lamed, the crops shall wither, and famine
shall be on the land. Then shall the clouds gather as if
for rain from the four quarters of the heavens ; there shall
be haste first to carry indoors the rice and crops that the
women have si)read in the sun to dry, for fear the harvest
should get wet ; and then with spade and basket in hand
the men shall go forth to bank up the dykes. As though
in sign of coming rain, the thunder shall bellow, the
lightning shall flash from the clouds, — but even as the
bulls in your dream, that fought not, so the clouds shall
flee away without raining. This is what shall come of this
dream. But no harm shall come therefrom to you ; for it
was with regard to the future that you di-eamed this
dream. What the brahmins told you, was said only to get
themselves a livelihood." And when the Master had thus
told the fulfilment of this dream, he said, " Tell me your
second dream, sire."
" Sir," said the king, " my second dream was after this
manner: Methought little tiny trees and shrubs burst
through the soil, and when they had grown scarce a span
or two high, they flowered and bore fruit ! This was my
second dream ; what shall come of it ? "
"Sire," said the Master, "this dream shall have its
fulfilment in days when the world has fallen into decay
and when men are shortlived. In times to come the
F. & T. 6
82 THE GREAT DREAMS
passions shall be strong ; quite young girls shall go to live
with men, it shall be with them after the manner of women,
and thev shall conceive and bear children. The flowers
typify their issues, and the fruit their offspring. But you,
sire, have nothing to fear therefrom. Tell me your third
dream, O great king."
" Methought, sir, I saw cows sucking the milk of calves
which they had borne that selfsame day. This was my
third dream. What shall come of it?"
" This dream too shall have its fulfilment only in days
to come, when respect shall cease to be paid to age. For
in the future men, shewing no reverence for parents or
parents-in-law, shall themselves administer the family
estate, and, if such be their good pleasure, shall bestow
food and clothing on the old folks, but shall withhold their
gifts, if it be not their pleasure to give. Then shall the old
folks, destitute and dependent, exist by favour of their own
children, like big cows suckled by calves a day old. But
you have nothing to fear therefrom. Tell me your fourth
dream."
"Methought, sir, I saw men unyoking a team of
draught-oxen, sturdy and strong, and setting young steers
to draw the load ; and the steers, proving unequal to the
task laid on them, refused and stood stock-still, so that
wains moved not on their way. This was my fourth dream.
What shall come of it ? "
"Here again the dream shall not have its fulfilment
until the future, in the days of unrighteous kings. For in
days to come, unrighteous and niggardly kings shall shew
no honour to wise lords skilled in precedent, fertile in
expedient, and able to get through business; nor shall
appoint to the courts of law and justice aged councillors
of wisdom and of learning in the law. Nay, they shall
THE GREAT DREAMS 83
honour the very yoiinf^ and foolisli, and appoint such to
preside in the courts. And these latter, ignorant alike of
state-craft and of practical knowledge, shall not be able to
bear the burthen of their honours or to govern, but because
of their incompetence shall throw otf the yoke of office.
Whereon the aged and wise lords, albeit right able to cope
with all difficulties, shall keep in mind how they were
passed over, and shall decline to aid, saying: 'It is no
business of ours ; we are outsiders ; let the boys of the
inner circle see to it.' Hence they shall stand aloof, and
ruin shall assail those kings on every hand. It shall be
even as when the yoke was laid on the young steers, who
were not strong enough for the burthen, and not upon the
team of sturdy and strong draught-oxen, who alone were
able to do the work. Howbeit, vou have nothinjr to fear
therefrom. Tell me your fifth dream."
" Methought, sir, 1 saw a horse with a mouth on either
side, to which fodder was given on both sides, and it ate
with both its mouths. This was my fifth dream. What
shall come of it?"
" This dream too shall have its fulfilment only in the
future, in the days of unrighteous and foolish kings, who
shall appoint unrighteous and covetous men to be judges.
These base ones, fools, despising the good, shall take bribes
from both sides as they sit in the seat of judgment, and
shall be filled with this twofold corruption, even as the
horse that ate fodder with two mouths at once. Howbeit,
you have nothing to fear therefrom. Tell me your sixth
dream."
"Methought, sir, I saw j^eople holding out a well-
scoured golden bowl w orth a hundred thousand pieces, and
begging an old jackal to stale therein. And 1 saw the beast
do so. This was my sixth dream. What shall come of it ? "
6—2
84 THE GREAT DREAMS
"This dream too shall only have its fulfilment in the
future. For in the days to come, unrij^hteous kings,
though sprung of a race of kings, mistrusting the scions
of their old nobility, shall not honour them, but exalt in
their stead the low-born; whereby the nobles shall be
brought low and the low-born raised to lordship. Then
shall the great families be brought by very need to seek
to live by dependence on the upstarts, and shall offer them
their daughters in marriage. And the union of the noble
maidens with the low-born shall be like unto the staling of
the old jackal in the golden bowl. Howbeit, you have
nothing to fear therefrom. Tell me your seventh dream."
"A man was weaving rope, sir, and as he wove, he threw
it down at his feet. Under his bench lay a hungry she-
jackal, which kept eating the rope as he wove, but without
the man knowing it. This is what I saw. This was my
seventh dream. What shall come of it?"^
"This dream too shall not have its fulfilment till the
future. For in days to come, women shall lust after men
and strong drink and finery and gadding abroad and after
the joys of this world. In their wickedness and profligacy
these women shall drink strong drink with their para-
mours ; they shall flaunt in garlands and perfumes and
unguents ; and heedless of even the most pressing of their
household duties, they shall keep watching for their
paramours, even at crevices high up in the outer wall ;
aye, they shall pound up the very seed-corn that should
be sown on the morrow so as to provide good cheer ;— in
all these ways shall they j)lunder the store won by the
hard work of their husbands in field and byre, devouring
* 111 one of the paintings of Polygnotus in the Lesche at Delphi Patisanias (x. 29)
describes a figure of Indolence (Oknos), represented as plaiting a rope, which a she-
ass furtively eats as fast as he plaits it. See Frazer ad loc, who mentions six
existing representations of the subject in ancient art.
THE GREAT DREAMS 86
the poor men's substance even as the hungry jackal under
the bench ate u}) the ro[)e of the rope-maker as he wove it.
Howbeit, you have nothin*^ to fear therefrom. Tell me
your ei<^hth dream."
" Methou<>ht, sir, I saw at a palace gate a big pitcher
which was full to the brim and stood amid a number
of empty ones. And from the four cardinal points, and
from the four intermediate points as well, there kept
coming a constant stream of people of all the four castes,
carrying water in pij^kins and pouring it into the full
pitcher. And the water overflowed and ran away. But
none the less they still kept on pouring more and more
water into the overflowing vessel, without a single man
giving so much as a glance at the empty pitchers. This
was my eighth dream. What shall come of it ? "
"This dream too shall not have its fulfilment until the
future. For in days to come the world shall decay ; the
kingdom shall grow weak, its kings shall grow^ poor and
niggardly ; the foremost among them shall have no more
than 100,000 pieces of money in his treasury. Then shall
these kings in their need set the whole of the countrv-folk
to work for them; — for the kings' sake shall the toilino-
folk, leaving their own Avork, sow grain and pulse, and keep
w atch and reap and thresh and garner ; for the kings' sake
shall they plant sugar-canes, make and drive sugar-mills,
and boil down the molasses ; for the kings' sake shall they
lay out flower-gardens and orchards, and gather in the
fruits. And as they gather in all tlie divers kinds of
produce they shall fill the royal garners to overflowing, not
giving so much as a glance at their own em})ty barns at
home. Thus it shall be like filling up the full pitcher,
heedless of the quite-empty ones. Howbeit, you have
nothing to fear therefrom. Tell me your ninth dream."
86 THE GREAT DREAMS
" Methouo^ht, sir, I saw a deep pool with shelving banks
all round and overgrown with the five kinds of lotuses.
From every side tAvo-footed creatures and four-footed
creatures iiocked thither to drink of its waters. The
depths in the middle were muddy, but the water was clear
and sparkling- at the margin where the various creatures
went down into the pool. This was my ninth dream.
What shall come of it?"
"This dream too shall not have its fulfilment till the
future. For in days to come kings shall grow unrighteous ;
they shall rule after their own will and pleasure, and shall
not execute judgment according to righteousness. These
kings shall hunger after riches and wax fat on bribes;
they shall not shew mercy, love and compassion toward
their people, but be fierce and cruel, amassing wealth by
crushing their subjects like sugar-canes in a mill and by
taxing them even to the uttermost farthing. Unable to
pay the oppressive tax, the people shall fly from village
and town and the like, and take refuge upon the borders
of the realm ; the heart of the land shall be a wilderness,
while the borders shall teem with people, — even as the
water was muddy in the middle of the pool and clear at
the margin. Howbeit, you have nothing to fear therefrom.
Tell me your tenth dream."
"Methought, sir, I saw rice boiling in a pot without
getting done. By not getting done, I mean that it looked
as though it were sharply marked off and kept apart, so
that the cooking went on in three distinct stages. For part
was sodden, part hard and raw, and part just cooked to a
nicety. This was my tenth dream. What shall come of it ? "
"This dream too shall not have its fulfilment till the
future. For in days to come kings shall grow unrighteous ;
the people surrounding the kings shall grow unrighteous
THE GREAT DREAMS 87
too, as also shall brahmins and householders, to>vnsmen,
and country-folk ; yes, all people alike shall j^row un-
righteous, not excepting even sages and brahmins. Next,
their very tutelary deities — the spirits to wliom they ofi'er
sacrifice, the spirits of tlie trees, and tlie spirits of the air
— shall become unrighteous also. The very winds that
blow over the realms of these unrighteous kings shall
grow cruel and lawless ; they shall shake the mansions of
the skies and thereby kindle the anger of the spirits that
dwell there, so that they will not suffer rain to fall — or, if
it does rain, it shall not fall on all the kingdom at once,
nor shall the kindlv shower fall on all tilled or sown lands
alike to help them in their need. And, as in the kingdom
at large, so in each several district and village and over
each separate pool or lake, the rain shall not fall at one
and the same time on its whole expanse ; if it rain on the
upper part, it shall not rain upon the lower; here the
crops shall be spoiled by a heavy downpour, there wither
for very drought, and liere again thrive apace with kindly
showers to water them. So the crops sown within the
confines of a single kingdom — like the rice in the one pot
— shall have no uniform character. Howbeit, you have
nothing to fear therefrom. Tell me your eleventh dream."
"Methought, sir, I saw sour butter-milk bartered for
precious sandal-wood, worth 100,000 pieces of money.
This was my eleventh dream. What shall come of it?"
" This dream too shall not have its fulfilment till the
future — in the days when my doctrine is waning. For in
days to come many greedy and shameless Brethren shall
arise, who for their belly's sake shall })reach the very
words in which I inveighed against greed ! Because they
have deserted by reason of their belly and have taken
their stand on the side of the heretics, thev shall fail
88 THE GREAT DREAMS
to make their preaching lead up to Nirvana. Nay, their
only thought, as they preach, shall be by fine words and
sweet voices to induce men to give them costly raiment
and the like, and to be minded to give such gifts. Others
again seated in the highways, at the street-corners, at the
doors of kings' palaces, and so forth, shall stoop to preach
for money, yea for mere coined kahapanas, half-kahapanas,
padas, or masakas ! And as they thus barter aAvay for
food or raiment or for kahapanas and half-kahapanas my
doctrine the worth whereof is Nirvana, they shall be even
as those who bartered away for sour butter-milk precious
sandal-wood worth 100,000 pieces. Howbeit, you have
nothing to fear therefrom. Tell me your twelfth dream."
" Methought, sir, I saw empty pumpkins sinking in the
water. What shall come of it ? "
" This dream also shall not have its fulfilment till the
future, in the days of unrighteous kings, when the world is
perverted. For in those days shall kings shew favour not
to the scions of the nobility, but to the low-born only; and
these latter shall become great lords, whilst the nobles
sink into poverty. Alike in the royal presence, in the
palace gates, in the council chamber, and in the courts of
justice, the words of the low-born alone (whom the empty
pumpkins typify) shall be stablished, as though they had
sunk down till they rested on the bottom. 80 too in the
assemblies of the Brotherhood, in the greater and lesser
conclaves, and in enquiries regarding bowls, robes, lodging,
and the like, — the counsel only of the wicked and the vile
shall be considered to have saving power, not that of the
modest Brethren. Thus everywhere it shall be as when
the empty pumpkins sank. Howbeit, you have nothing to
fear therefrom. Tell me your thirteenth dream."
Hereupon the king said, "Methought, sir, I saw huge ^
THE CREAT DREAMS 89
blocks of solid rock, as bi<j^ as houses, floatinj^ like ships
upon the waters. What shall come of it ? "
"This dream also shall not have its fulfilment before
such times as those of which I have spoken. For in those
days unrighteous kinjj^s shall shew honour to the low-born,
who shall become <2^reat lords, whilst the nobles sink into
poverty. Not to the nobles, but to the upstarts alone
shall respect be paid. In the royal presence, in the
council chamber, or in the courts of justice, the words of
the nobles learned in the law (and it is they whom the
solid rocks typify) shall drift idly by, and not sink deep
into the hearts of men; when they si)eak, the upstarts
shall merely laugh them to scorn, saying, 'What is this
these fellows are saving?' So too in the assemblies of
the Brethren, as afore said, men shall not deem worthy of
respect the excellent among the Brethren ; the words of
such shall not sink deep, but drift idly by,— ^even as when
the rocks floated upon the waters. Howbeit, you have
nothing to fear therefrom. Tell me your fourteenth dream."
"Methought, sir, I saw tiny frogs, no bigger than
minute flowerets, swiftly pursuing huge black snakes,
chop])ing them up like so many lotus-stalks and gobbling
them u]). What shall come of this ? "
" This dream too shall not have its fulfilment till those
days to come such as those of which I have spoken, when
the world is decaying. For then shall men's passions be
so strong, and their lusts so hot, that they shall be the
thralls of the very youngest of their wives for the time
being, at whose sOle disposal shall be slaves and hired
servants, oxen, buft'aloes and all cattle, gold and silver, and
everything that is in the house. Should the poor husband
ask where the money (say) or a robe is, at once he shall
be told that it is where it is, that he should mind his own
90 THE GREAT DREAMS
business, and not be so inquisitive as to what is, or is not,
in her house. And therewithal in divers ways the wives
with abuse and goading taunts shall establish their
dominion over their husbands, as over slaves and bond-
servants. Thus shall it be like as when the tiny frogs, no
bigger than minute flowerets, gobbled up the big black
snakes. Howbeit, you have nothing to fear therefrom.
Tell me your fifteenth dream."
"Methought, sir, I saw a village crow, in which dwelt
the whole of the Ten Vices, escorted by a retinue of those
birds which, because of their golden sheen, are called
Royal Golden Mallards. What shall come of it ? "
"This dream too shall not have its fulfilment till the
future, till the reign of weakling kings. In days to come
kings shall arise who shall know nothing about elephants
or other arts, and shall be cowards in the field. Fearing
to be deposed and cast from their royal estate, they shall
raise to power not their peers but their footmen, bath-
attendants, barbers, and such like. Thus, shut out from
royal favour and unable to support themselves, the nobles
shall be reduced to dancing attendance on the upstarts, —
as when the crow had Royal Golden Swans for a retinue.
Howbeit, you have nothing to fear therefrom. Tell me
your sixteenth dream."
"Heretofore, sir, it always used to be panthers that
preyed on goats ; but methought I saw goats chasing
panthers and devouring them — munch, munch, munch ! —
whilst at bare sight of the goats afar off', terror-stricken
wolves fled quaking with fear and hid themselves in their
fastnesses in the thicket. Such was my dream. What
shall come of it ? "
"This dream too shall not have its fulfilment till the
future, till the reign of unrighteous kings. In those days
THE GREAT DRExVMS 91
the low-born shall be raised to lordship and be made royal
favourites, whilst the nobles shall sink into obseiiritv and
distress. Gaining influence in the courts of law because
of their favour with the king, these upstarts shall claim
perforce the ancestral estates, the raiment, and all the
property of the old nobility. And when these latter
plead their rights before the courts, then shall the king's
minions have them cudgelled and bastinadoed and taken
by the throat and cast out with words of scorn, such as :
' Know your ])lace, fools ! What ? do you dispute with us ?
The king shall know of your insolence, and we will have
your hands and feet chopped off and other correctives
applied ! ' Hereupon the terrified nobles shall affirm that
their own belongings really belong to the overbearing
upstarts, and will tell the favourites to accept them. And
they shall hie them home and there cower in an agony of
fear. Likewise, evil Brethren shall harry at pleasure good
and worthy Brethren, till these latter, finding none to help
them, shall flee to the Jungle. And this oppression of the
nobles and of the good Brethren by the low-born and by
the evil Brethren, shall be like the scaring of wolves by
goats. Howbeit, you have nothing to fear therefrom. For
this dream too has reference to future times only. It was
not truth, it was not love for you, that prompted the
brahmins to prophesy as they did. No, it was greed of
gain, and the insight that is bred of covetousness, that
shaped all their self-seeking utterances."'
Thus did the Master expound the import of these
sixteen great dreams, adding,— " You, sire, are not the
first to have these dreams ; they were dreamed by kings
of bygone days also ; and, then as now, the brahmins found
in them a pretext for sacrifices ; whereupon, at the instance
of the wise and good, the Bodhisatta was consulted,
92 THE CONVERTED MISER
and the dreams were expounded by them of old time in
just the same manner as they have now been expounded."
In K. D. (Syr.) ix., (Arab.) xiv., occurs the story of Bilad [Bharata], which has a
strong auti-brahmanical tendency. This was Benfey's chief evidence for a buddhistic
origin of the Panchatantra tales, but there is no proof that it is connected with them
(Benf. Eiitl. § 225). The execution of 12,000 brahmins Benfey thought was not
original, but it occurs in the Tibetan Buddhist form (Schiefner, Makdkdtjdjana
und Konig Tshandapradjota, Mem. Acad. St Pet. xxii. 7). We now have three
buddhist versions in Jat. 77 (the present tale), 314 and 418, none of which can be the
direct origin of the story of K. D. The tale is essentially the same in all. A king
through certain omens is persuaded to perform sacrifices. Being advised by his wife
(or a minister) he consults a sage, who interjDrets the omens and dissuades hira from
the sacrifices. In K. D. there are eight dreams, quite different from those in the
jataka. In Jat. 314 ( = Buddhaghosa xv.) the omens are sounds uttered by inhabit-
ants of hell, and in Jat. 418 eight sounds made by animals and other creatures in the
palace. The story of the past in Jat. 77 is merely built upon the introductory story.
The king in all three stories of the present is the king of Kosala, and in one place
is expressly called Pasenadi (Prasenajit), who was a contemporary of Buddha. Cf,
Benf E'ml. § 225. Other Indian and Slavonic versions are given by H. Wenzel,
JRAS., 1893, 509 ff. Dr Gaster gives a Rumanian version {JRAS., 1900, 623) which
has probably come through the Slavonic from the Buddhist Mongols.
THE CONVERTED MISER
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, there was a gildmaster, Illisa by name, who was
worth eighty crores, and had all the defects which fall to
the lot of man. He was lame and crook-backed and had
a squint; he was an unconverted infidel, and a miser,
never giving of his store to others, nor enjoying it himself;
his house was like a pool haunted by ogres. Yet, for
seven generations, his ancestors had been bountiful, giving
freely of their best ; but, when he became gildmaster, he
broke through the traditions of his house. Burning down
the almonry and driving the poor with blows from his
gates, he hoarded his wealth.
One day, when returning home from attendance on
the king, he saw a yokel, who had journeyed far and was
THE CONVEKTED MLSER 93
a-weary, seated on a beneli, and fillin;:]^ a mu<^ from a jar of
rank spirits, and drinking; it oli", with a dainty morsel of
stinkinj^ dried-tish as a relish. At the sij^Iit he felt a thirst
for spirits, but he thoujj^ht to himself, " If I drink, others
will want to drink with me, and that means a ruinous
expense." So he walked about, keeping his thirst under.
But, as time wore on, he eould do so no lon^^er ; he <^rew as
yellow as old cotton ; and the veins stood out on his sunken
frame. On a day, retiring to his chamber, he lay down
hu<2:ging his bed. His wife came to him, and rubbed his
back, as she asked, " What has gone amiss w ith my lord ? "
(What follows is to be told in the words of the former
story 1.) But, when she in her turn said, "Then I'll only
brew liquor enough for you," he said, " If you make the
brew in the house, there will be many on the watch ; and
to send out for the spirits and sit and drink it here, is out
of the question." So he produced one single penny, and
sent a slave to fetch him a jar of spirits from the tavern.
When the slave came back, he made him go from the town
to the riverside and put the jar down in a thicket near the
highway. " Now^ be off ! " said he, and made the slave wait
some distance off, while he filled his cup and fell to.
Now the gildmaster s father, who for his charity and
other good works had been re-born as Sakka in the Kealm
of gods, Avas at that moment w ondering whether his bounty
was still kept up or not, and became aware of the stopping
of his bounty, and of his son's behaviour. He saw how his
son, breaking through the traditions of his house, had
burnt the almonry to the ground, had driven the poor
with blows from his gates, and how^ in his miserliness,
fearing to share with others, that son had stolen away to
^ In the introductory story the wife proposes to cook cakes enough for the town.
He gradually reduces the amount, until she promises to cook one for him alone.
94 THE CONVERTED MISER
a thicket to drink by himself. Moved by the sight, Sakka
cried, " I will go to him and make my son see that deeds
must have their consequences ; I will work his conversion,
and make him charitable and worthy of re-birth in the
Realm of gods." So he came down to earth, and once
more trod the ways of men, putting on the semblance of
the gildmaster Illisa, with the latter's lameness, and crook-
back, and squint. In this guise, he entered the city of
Rajagaha and made his way to the palace-gate, where he
bade his coming be announced to the king. "Let him
approach," said the king ; and he entered and stood with
due obeisance before his majesty.
"What brings you here at this unusual hour, Lord
gildmaster?" said the king. "I am come, sire, because
I have in my house eighty crores of treasure. Deign to
have them carried to fill the royal treasury." "Nay, my
Lord gildmaster ; the treasure within my palace is greater
than this." " If you, sire, will not have it, I shall give it
away to whom I will." " Do so by all means, gildmaster,"
said the king. " So be it, sire," said the pretended Illisa,
as with due obeisance he departed from the presence to
the gildmaster's house. The servants all gathered round
him, but not one could tell that it was not their real
master. Entering, he stood on the threshold and sent for
the porter, to whom he gave orders that if anybody re-
sembling himself should appear and claim to be master of
the house they should soundly cudgel such a one and
throw him out. Then, mounting the stairs to the upper
story, he sat down on a gorgeous couch and sent for Illisa's
wife. When she came he said with a smile, " My dear, let
us be bountiful."
At these words, wife, children, and servants all thought,
" It's a long time since he was this way minded. It must
THE CONVERTED MISER 95
be through drinking to-day that he is so good-natured and
generous." And his wife said to him, "Be as bountiful as
you please, my husband.' " Send for the crier," said he,
" and bid him proclaim by beat of drum all tlirough the
city that everyone who wants gold, silver, diamonds, i)earls,
and the like, is to come to the house of lUisa the gild-
master." His wife did as he bade, and a large crowd soon
assembled at the door carrying baskets and sacks. Then
Sakka bade the treasure-chambers be thrown open, and
cried, " This is my gift to you ; take w hat you will and go
your ways." And the crowd seized on the riches there
stored, and piled them in heaps on the floor and filled the
bags and vessels they had brought, and went ofl' laden
with the spoils. Among them was a countryman who
yoked Illisa's oxen to Illlsa's carriage, filled it with the
seven things of price, and journeyed out of the city along
the highroad. As he went along, he drew near the thicket,
and sang the gildmaster's praises in these words: "May
you live to be a hundred, my good lord Illisa ! What you
have done for me this day will enable me to live Avithout
doing another stroke of work. Whose were these oxen ? —
yours. Whose was this carriage ? — yours. Whose the
wealth in the carriage? — yours again. It w^as no father
or mother who gave me all this ; no, it came solely from
you, my lord."
These words filled the gildmaster with fear and
trembling. "Why, the fellow^ is mentioning my name iu
his talk," said he to himself "Can the king have been
distributing my wealth to the ])eople?" At the bare
thought he bounded from the bush, and, recognising his
ow^n oxen and cart, seized the oxen by the cord, crying,
" Stop, fellow ; these oxen and this cart belong to me."
Down leaped the man from the cart, angrily exclaiming.
96 THE CONVERTED MISER
" You rascal ! Illisa, the gildmaster, is giving away his
wealth to all the city. What has come to you ? " And he
sprang at the gildmaster and struck him on the back like
a falling thunderbolt, and went off with the cart. Illisa
picked himself up, trembling in every limb, wiped off the
mud, and hurrying after his cart, seized hold of it. Again
the countryman got down, and seizing Illisa by the hair,
doubled him up and thumped him about the head for
some time; then taking him by the throat, he flung him
back the way he had come, and drove off Sobered by
this rough usage, Illisa hurried off home. There, seeing
folk making off with the treasure, he fell to laying hands
on here a man and there a man, shrieking, " Hi ! what's
this? Is the king despoiling me?" And every man he
laid hands on knocked him down. Bruised and smarting,
he sought to take refuge in his own house, when the
porters stopped him with, "Holloa, you rascal! Where
might you be going?" And first thrashing him soundly
with bamboos, they took their master by the throat and
threw him out of doors. " There is none but the king left
to see me righted," groaned Illisa, and betook himself to
the palace. "Why, oh why, sire," he cried, "have you
plundered me like this?"
"Nay, it was not I, my Lord gildmaster," said the king.
" Did you not yourself come and declare your intention of
giving your wealth away, if I would not accept it ? And
did you not then send the crier round and carry out your
threat ? " " Oh sire, indeed it was not I that came to you
on such an errand. Your majesty knows how near and
close I am, and how I never give away so much as the
tiniest drop of oil which a blade of grass will take up.
May it please your majesty to send for him who has given
my substance away, and to question him on the matter."
THE CONVERTED MISER 97
Then the kin<j^ sent for Sakka. And so exactly alike
were the two that neitlier the kin«^ nor his court could tell
which was the real jj^ildniaster. Said the miser Illisa,
"Who, and what, sire, is this gildniaster? / am the gild-
master."
" Well, really I can't say which is the real Illisa," said
the king. "Is there anybody who can distinguish them
for certain ? " " Yes, sire, my wife." So the wife was sent
for and asked which of the two was her husband. And
she said Sakka was her husband and went to his side.
Then in turn lllisas children and servants were brouirht
in and asked the same question ; and all w ith one accord
declared Sakka was the real gildmaster. Here it flashed
across Illisa's mind that he had a wart on his head, hidden
among his hair, the existence of which was known only to
his barber. So, as a last resource, he asked that his barber
might be sent for to identify him. Now at this time the
Bodhisatta was his barber. Accordingly, the barber was
sent for and asked if he could distinguish the real from
the false Illisa. " I could tell, sire," said he, " if I might
examine their heads." " Then look at both their heads,"
said the king. On the instant Sakka caused a wart to rise
on his headl After examining the tAvo, the Bodhisatta
reported that, as both alike had got warts on their heads,
he couldn't for the life of him say which was the real man.
And therewithal he uttered this stanza :
Both squint; both halt; both men are hunchbacks too;
And botli have warts aUke! I cannot tell
Which of the two the real Illisa is.
Hearing his last hope thus fail him, the gildmaster fell
into a tremble ; and such was his intolerable anguish at
the loss of his beloved riches, that down he fell in a swoon.
Thereupon Sakka put forth his transcendental powers,
F. i T. 7
98 THE CONVERTED MISER
and, risinjj: in tlie air, addressed the king thence in these
words : " Not Illisa am I, O king, but Sakka." Then those
around wiped Illisa's face and dashed water over him.
Recovering, he rose to his feet and bowed to the ground
before Sakka, King of gods. Then said Sakka, " Illisa,
mine was the wealth, not thine ; I am thy father, and thou
art my son. In my lifetime I was bountiful toward the
poor and rejoiced in doing good ; wherefore, I am ad-
vanced to this high estate and am become Sakka. But
thou, walking not in my footsteps, art grown a niggard
and a very miser; thou hast burnt my almonry to the
ground, driven the poor from the gate, and hoarded
thy riches. Thou hast no enjoyment thereof thyself, nor
has any other human being ; but thy store is become like
a pool haunted by ogres, whereat no man may slake his
thirst. Albeit, if thou wilt rebuild mine almonry and
shew bounty to the poor, it shall be accounted to thee for
righteousness. But, if thou wilt not, then will I strip thee
of all that thou hast, and cleave thy head with this thunder-
bolt of Indra, and thou shalt die."
At this threat Illisa, quaking for his life, cried out,
"Henceforth I will be bountiful." And Sakka accepted
his promise, and, still seated in mid-air, established his son
in the Commandments and preached the Truth to him,
departing thereafter to his own abode. And Illisa was
diligent in almsgiving and other good works, and so
assured his re-birth thereafter in heaven.
Respecting this story, see an article by the translator [Sir R. Chalmers] in the
Journal (if the Royal Asiatic Society for January 1892, entitled "The Lineage of the
'Proud King.'" Cf. Gesta Rom. 59, De superbia nimia, retold by Longfellow, Tales
of a Wayside Inn, King Robert of, Sicily.
THE VALIANT DWARF
Once on a time when Hrahniadatta was reij^nin<^ in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born a braliniin in a market-
town in the North c(juntry, and when he was <^own uj) he
studied under a teacher of worhl-wide fame at Takkasihi.
There he learnt the Three Vedas and the Ei<^hteen
Branches of knowledge, and completed his education.
And he became known as the Sage Little Bowman.
Leaving Takkasila, he came to the Andhra country in
search of })ractical ex])erience. Now, it hap})ened that in
this Birth the Bodhisatta was somewhat of a crooked little
dwarf, and he thought to himself, " If I make my ajipear-
ance before any king, he's sure to ask what a dwarf like
me is good for ; why should I not use a tall broad fellow
as my stalking-horse and earn my living in the shadow of
his more imposing ])ersonality ? " So he betook himself to
the weavers' quarter, and there es})ying a huge weaver
named Bhimasena, saluted him, asking the man's name.
"Bhimasena^ is my name," said the weaver. "And what
makes a fine big man like you work at so sorry a trade ? "
"Because I can't get a living any other way." "Weave no
more, friend. The whole continent can shew no such
archer as I am ; but kings would scorn me because I am
a dwarf And so you, friend, must be the man to vaunt
your prowess with the bow, and the king will take you into
his pay and make you ply your calling regularly. Mean-
time I shall be behind you to perform the duties that are
laid upon you, and so shall earn my living in your shadoAv.
In this manner we shall both of us thrive and prosper.
Only do as I tell you." " Done with you," said the other.
* The name means "one who has or leads a teirible army"; it is the name of the
second of the five sons of Pandu in tlio Mahabharata.
100 THE VALIANT DWARF
Accordinfflv, the Bodhisatta took the weaver with him
to Benares, acting as a little page of the bow, and putting
the other in the front; and when they were at the gates of
the palace, he made him send word of his coming to the
king. Being summoned into the royal presence, the pair
entered together and bowing stood before the king.
"What brings you here? " said the king. " I am a mighty
archer," said Bhimasena ; " there is no archer like me in
the whole continent." " What pay would you want to
enter my service ? " "A thousand pieces a fortnight, sire."
" What is this man of yours ? " " He's my little page, sire."
" Very well, enter my service."
So Bhimasena entered the king's service; but it was
the Bodhisatta who did all his work for him. Now in
those days there was a tiger in a forest in Kasi which
blocked a frequented high-road and had devoured many
victims. When this was reported to the king, he sent for
Bhimasena and asked whether he could catch the tiger.
" How could I call myself an archer, sire, if I couldn't
catch a tiger?" The king gave him largesse and sent
him on the errand. And home to the Bodhisatta came
Bhimasena with the news. "All right," said the Bodhisatta ;
" away you go, my friend." " But are you not coming too ? "
"No, I won't go; but I'll tell you a little plan." "Please
do, my friend." "Well, don't you be rash and approach
the tiger's lair alone. What you will do is to muster
a strong band of country-folk to march to the spot with
a thousand or two thousand bows; when you know that
the tiger is aroused, you bolt into the thicket and lie down
flat on your face. The country-folk will beat the tiger
to death ; and as soon as he is quite dead, you bite off
a creeper with your teeth, and draw near to the dead
tiger, trailing the creeper in your hand. At the sight
THE VALIANT DWARF 101
of the dead body of the brute, you will burst out with —
*Who has killed the ti<^er? I meant to lead it by a
creeper, like an ox, to the king, and with this intent had
just stei)ped into the thicket to get a creeper. I must
know who killed the tiger before I could get back with
my creeper.' Then the country-folk w ill be very frightened
and bribe you heavily not to report them to the king ; you
will be credited with slaying the tiger ; and the king too
will give you lots of money."
" Very good," said Bhimasena ; and oif he went and
slew the tiger just as the Bodhisatta had told him.
Havinjr thus made the road safe for travellers, back he
came with a large following to Benares, and said to the
king, " I have killed the tiger, sire ; the forest is safe for
travellers nowV Well-pleased, the king loaded him with
gifts.
Another day, tidings came that a certain road was
infested with a buffalo, and the king sent Bhimasena to
kill it. Following the Bodhisatta's directions, he killed
the buffalo in the same way as the tiger, and returned
to the king, who once more gave him lots of money. He
was a great lord now. Intoxicated by his new honours,
he treated the Bodhisatta with contempt, and scorned
to follow^ his advice, saying, "I can get on without you.
Do you think there's no man but yourself?" This and
many other harsh things did he say to the Bodhisatta.
Now, a few days later, a hostile king marched upon
Benares and beleaguered it, sending a message to the king
summoning him either to surrender his kingdom or to do
battle. And the king of Benares ordered Bhimasena out to
fight him. 80 Bhimasena was armed cap-a-pie in soldierly
fashion and mo\inted on a war-elephant sheathed in
complete armour. xVnd the Bodhisatta, who was seriously
102 THE VALIANT DWARF
alarmed that Bhimasena might get killed, armed himself
cap-a-pie also and seated himself modestly behind Bhi-
masena. Surrounded by a host, the elephant passed out
of the gates of the city and arrived in the forefront of the
battle. At the first notes of the martial drum Bhimasena
fell a-quaking with fear. " If you fall off now, you'll get
killed," said Bodhisatta, and accordingly fastened a cord
round him, which he held tight, to prevent him from
falling oflf the elephant. But the sight of the field of
battle proved too much for Bhimasena, and the fear of
death was so strong on him that he fouled the elephant's
back. "Ah," said the Bodhisatta, "the present does not
tally with the past. Then you affected the warrior ; now
your prowess is confined to befouling the elephant you
ride on." And so saying, he uttered this stanza:
You vaunted your prowess, and loud was your boast;
You swore you would vanquish the foe !
But is it consistent, when faced with their host,
To vent your emotion, sir, so'?
When the Bodhisatta had ended these taunts, he said,
" But don't you be afraid, my friend. Am not I here to
protect you?" Then he made Bhimasena get ofi' the
elephant and bade him wash himself and go home. " And
now to win renown this day," said the Bodhisatta, raising
his battle-cry as he dashed into the fight. Breaking
through the king's camp, he dragged the king out and
took him alive to Benares. In great joy at his prowess,
his royal master loaded him with honours, and from that
day forward all India was loud with the fame of the Sage
Little Bowman. To Bhimasena he gave largesse, and sent
him back to his own home ; whilst he himself excelled in
charity and all good works, and at his death passed away
to fare according to his deserts.
Cf. Grimm 20, The valiant Tailor, Anm.
THE STOLEN JEWELS
Once on a time when Braliniadatta was rei<^nint^ in
Benares, the Bodliisatta, havin<jj perfected his education,
became one of the king's ministers. One day the king
with a large foHowing went into his pleasaunce, and, after
walking about the woods, felt a desire to disport himself
in the water. So he went down into the royal tank and
sent for his hat'em. The women of the harem, removing
the jewels from their heads and necks and so forth, laid
them aside with their upper garments in boxes under the
charge of female slaves, and then went down into the
water. Now, as the queen was taking off her jewels and
ornaments, and laying them with her upper robe on a
box, she was Avatched by a female monkey, which was
hidden in the branches of a tree hard by. Conceiving a
longing to wear the queen's pearl necklace, this monkey
watched for the slave in charge to be off her guard. At
first the girl kept looking all about her in order to keep
the jewels safe ; but as time wore on, she began to nod.
As soon as the monkey saw this, quick as the wind she
jumped down, and quick as the wind she was up the tree
again, with the pearls round her oAvn neck. Then, for
fear the other monkeys should see it, she hid the string
of pearls in a hole in the tree and sat on guard over her
spoils as demurely as though nothing had happened. i>y
and by the slave awoke, and, terrified at finding the jewels
gone, saw notliing else to do but to scream out, "A man
has run ofi' with the queen's pearl necklace." LTp ran the
guards from every side, and hearing this story told it to
the king. " Catch the thief," said his majesty ; and away
went the guards searching high and low for the thief in
the pleasaunce. Hearing the din, a poor superstitious
104 THE STOLEN JEWELS
rustic ^ took to his heels in alarm. " There he goes," cried
the guards, catching- sight of the runaway; and they
followed him up till they caught him, and with blows
demanded what he meant by stealing such precious
jewels.
Thought he, "If I deny the charge, I shall die with
the beating I shall get from these ruffians. I'd better say
I took it." So he confessed to the theft and was hauled
off a prisoner to the king. " Did you take those precious
jewels?" asked the king. "Yes, your majesty." "Where
are they noAV?" "Please, your majesty, I'm a poor man;
I've never in my life owned anything, even a bed or a
chair, of any value, — much less a jewel. It was the gild-
master who made me take that valuable necklace; and
I took it and gave it to him. He knows all about it."
Then the king sent for the gildmaster, and asked
whether the rustic had passed the necklace on to him.
" Yes, sire," was the answer. " Where is it then ? " "I gave
it to your majesty's family priest." Then the priest was
sent for, and interrogated in the same way. And he said
he had given it to the chief musician, who in his turn
said he had given it to a courtesan as a present. But she,
being brought before the king, utterly denied ever having
received it.
Whilst the five were thus being questioned, the sun
set. " It's too late now," said the king ; " we will look into
this to-morrow." So he handed the five over to his
ministers and went back into the city. Hereupon the
Bodhisatta fell a-thinking. "These jewels," thought he,
"were lost inside the grounds, whilst the rustic was
outside. There was a strong guard at the gates, and it
was impossible for anyone inside to get away with the
1 Or perhaps " a taxpaying ryot."
THE STOLEN JEWELS 105
necklace. I do not see how anyone, whether inside or
out, could have managed to secure it. The truth is this
poor wretched fellow must have said he gave it to the
gildmaster merely in order to save his own skin ; and the
gildmaster must have said he gave it to the })riest, in
the hoi)e that he would get off' if he could mix the priest
up in the matter. Further, the i)riest must have said he
gave it to the chief musician, because he thought the
latter would make the time pass merrily in ])rison ; whilst
the chief musician's object in implicating the courtesan,
was simply to solace himself with her company during
imprisonment. Not one of the whole five has anything
to do with the theft. On the other hand, the grounds
swarm with monkeys, and the necklace must have got
into the hands of one of the female monkeys."
When he had arrived at this conclusion, the Bodhisatta
went to the king with the request that the suspects might
be handed over to him and that he might be allowed to
examine })ersonally into the matter. "By all means, my
wise friend," said the king; "examine into it."
Then the Bodhisatta sent for his servants and told
them where to lodge the five prisoners, saying, "Keep
strict watch over them ; listen to everything they say, and
report it all to me." And his servants did as he bade
them. xVs the prisoners sat together, the gildmaster said
to the rustic, " Tell me, you wretch, where you and I ever
met before this day: tell me when you gave me that
necklace." " Worshipful sir,' said the other, " it has never
been mine to own aught so valuable even as a stool or
bedstead that wasn't rickety. 1 thought that with your
help I should get out of this trouble, and that's why I said
what I did. Be not angry with me, my lord. ' Said the
priest in his turn to the gildmaster, " How then came you
106 THE STOLEN JEWELS
to pass on to me what this fellow had never given to
you ? " "I only said so because I thought that if you and
I, both high officers of state, stand together, we can soon
put the matter right." "Brahmin," now said the chief
musician to the priest, "when, pray, did you give the
jewel to me?" "I only said I did," answered the priest,
"because I thought you would help to make the time
pass more agreeably." Lastly the courtesan said, "Oh,
you wretch of a musician, you know you never visited
me, nor I you. So when could you have given me the
necklace, as you say ? " " Why be angry, my dear ? " said
the musician; "we five have got to keep house together
for a bit ; so let us put a cheerful face on it and be happy
together."
This conversation being reported to the Bodhisatta by
his asrents, he felt convinced the five were all innocent of
the robbery, and that a female monkey had taken the
necklace. " And I must find a means to make her drop
it," said he to himself. So he had a number of bead
necklaces made. Next he had a number of monkeys
caught and turned loose again, with strings of beads on
their necks, wrists and ancles. Meantime, the guilty
monkey kept sitting in the trees watching her treasure.
Then the Bodhisatta ordered a number of men to observe
every monkey in the grounds carefully, till they saw one
wearing the missing pearl necklace, and then frighten her
into droi)ping it.
Tricked out in their new splendour, the other monkeys
strutted about till they came to the real thief, to whom
they said, "See our necklaces." Jealousy overcoming
her prudence, she exclaimed, " They're only beads ! " and
put on her own necklace of i*eal pearls. This was at once
seen by the watchers, who promptly made her drop the
THE TOO-CLEVER MERCHANT 107
necklace, which they picked uj) and brouj^ht to the
Bodhisatta. He took it to the king, sayin<^, " Here, sire,
is the necklace. The five ])i*isoners are innocent ; it was
a female monkey in tlie ])leasannce that took it." "How
came you to find that out?" asked the king; "and how
did you manage to get possession of it again ? " Then
the Bodhisatta told the whole story, and the king thanked
the Bodhisatta, saying, "You are the right man in the
right place." And he uttered this stanza in praise of the
Bodhisatta :
For war men crave the hero's mig-ht,
For counsel sag-e sobriety,
Boon comrades for their jollity,
But judg-ment when in parlous plight.
Over and above these words of praise and gratitude, the
king showered treasures upon the Bodhisatta like a
storm-cloud pouring rain from the heavens. After
following the Bodhisatta's counsels through a long life
spent in charity and good works, the king passed away
to fare thereafter according to his deserts.
THE TOO-CLEVER MERCHANT
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born into a merchant's
family and on name-day was named 'Wise.' When he
grew up he entered into j^artnership Avith another mer-
chant named 'Wisest,' and traded with him. And these
two took five hundred waggons of merchandise from
Benares to the country-districts, whei-e they disposed of
their wares, returning afterwards with the proceeds to
the city. When the time for dividing came, Wisest said,
"1 must have a double share." "Why so ? " asked Wise.
108 THE TOO-CLEVER MERCHANT
"Because while you are only Wise, 1 am Wisest. And
Wise ought to have only one share to Wisest's two."
" But we both had an equal interest in the stock-in-trade
and in the oxen and Avaggons. Why should you have two
shares ? " " Because I am Wisest." And so they talked
away till they fell to quarrelling.
"Ah!" thought Wisest, "I have a plan." And he
made his father hide in a hollow tree, enjoining the old
man to say, when the two came, "Wisest should have a
double portion." This arranged, he went to the Bodhi-
satta and proposed to him to refer the claim for a double
share to the competent decision of the tree divinity. Then
he made his appeal in these words: "Lord, decide our
cause ! " Hereupon the father, who was hidden in the tree,
in a changed voice asked them to state the case. The
cheat addressed the tree as follows: "Lord, here stands
Wise, and here stand I Wisest. We have been partners
in trade. Declare what share each should receive."
" Wise should receive one share, and Wisest two," was
the response.
Hearing this decision, the Bodhisatta resolved to find
out whether it was indeed a tree divinity or not. So he
filled the hollow trunk with straw and set it on fire. And
Wisest 's father was half roasted by the rising flames and
clambered up by clutching hold of a bough. Falling to
the ground, he uttered this stanza :
Wise rig-htly, Wisest wrongly got his name;
Through Wisest, I'm nigh roasted in the flame.
Then the two merchants made an equal division and
each took half, and at their deaths passed away to fare
according to their deserts.
A somewhat mutilated version of Dustabuddhi and Ahuddhi {Dharmdbuddhi)
P. (T.) I. 15, Som. LX. 211 (ii. 40), K. D. (Syr.) i. 13, (Arab.) v.
THE LOQUACIOUS BRAHMIN
Once on a time wlien Hrahmadatta was reij^ning in
Benares, tlie l^odhisatta was one of the kin<^s courtiers.
And the kin<^'s family i)i'iest of those days was so talkative
and longwinded that, when he once started, no one else
could get a word in. So the king cast about for someone
to cut the ])riest short, and looked high and low for such
an one. Noav at that time there Avas a crip])le in Benares
who was a wonderful marksman with stones, and the boys
used to put him on a little cart and draw him to the gates
of Benares, where there is a large branching banyan-tree
covered with leaves. There they would gather round and
give him half-pence, saying 'Make an elejjhant,' or 'Make
a horse.' And the cripjjle would throw stone after stone
till he had cut the foliage into the shapes asked for. And
the ground Avas covered with fallen leaves.
On his way to his pleasaunce the king came to the
spot, and all the boys scampered off in fear of the king,
leaving the cripple there helpless. At the sight of the
litter of leaves the king asked, as he rode by in his
chariot, who had cut the leaves off. And he was told
that the cripple had done it. Thinking that here might
be a way to stop the priest's mouth, the king asked where
the cripple was, and was shewn him sitting at the foot
of the tree. Then the king had him brought to him and,
motioning his retinue to stand a})art, said to the cripple,
" I have a very talkative priest. Do you think you could
stop his talking ? '
"Yes, sire, — if I had a peashooter full of dry goat's
dung," said the cripple. Then the king had him taken
to the palace and set with a peashooter full of dry goat's
dung behind a curtain with a slit in it, facing the priest's
no THE LOQUACIOUS BRAHMIN
seat. When the brahmin came to wait upon the king
and was seated on the seat prepared for him, his majesty
started a conversation. And the priest forthwith mono-
poUzed the conversation, and no one else could get a
word in. Hereon the cripple shot the })ellets of goat's
dung one by one, like flies, through the slit in the curtain
right into the priest's gullet. And the brahmin swallowed
the pellets down as they came, like so much oil, till all
had disappeared. When the whole peashooter-full of
pellets Avas lodged in the priest's stomach, they swelled
to the size of half a peck ; and the king, knowing they
were all gone, addressed the brahmin in these words:
"Reverend sir, so talkative are you, that you have
swallowed down a peashooter-full of goat's dung without
noticing it. That's about as much as you will be able
to take at a sitting. Now go home and take a dose of
panick seed and water by way of emetic, and put yourself
right again."
From that day the priest kept his mouth shut and
sat as silent during conversation as though his lips were
sealed.
"Well, my ears are indebted to the cripple for this
relief," said the king, and bestoAved on him four villages,
one in the North, one in the South, one in the West, and
one in the East, producing a hundred thousand a year.
The Bodhisatta drew near to the king and said, " In
this world, sire, skill should be cultivated by the wise.
Mere skill in aiming has brought this cripple all this
prosperity." So saying he uttered this stanza:
Prize skill, and note the marksman lame;
— Four villages reward his aim.
THE TTTKEE FISHES
Once on a time when JJrahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, there lived in the river of lienares three fishes,
named Very-tlionghtful, Thoughtless, and Duly-thoughtful.
And they came down stream from the wild country to
where men dwelt. Hereupon Duly-thoughtful said to the
other two, " This is a dangerous and i)erilous neighbour-
hood, where fishermen catch fish with nets, basket-traps,
and such like tackle. Let us be off to the wild country
again." But so lazy were the other two fishes, and so
greedy, that they kept i)utting oft' their going from day
to day, until they had let three months slij) by. Now
fishermen cast their nets into the river; and Very-
thoughtful and Thoughtless were swimming on ahead in
quest of food when in their folly they blindly rushed into
the net. Duly-thoughtful, who was behind, observed the
net, and saw the fate of the other two.
" I must save these lazy fools from death," thought he.
So first he dodged round the net, and splashed in the
water in front of it like a fish that has broken through
and gone up stream ; and then doubling back, he s})lashed
about behind it, like a fish that has broken through and
gone down stream. Seeing this, the fishermen thought
the fish had broken the net and all got away; so they
pulled it in by one corner and the two fishes escaped
from the net into the open water again. In this way
they owed their lives to Duly-thoughtful.
P. (T.) I. 12. Benfcy's i. 14 is a variant version. He gives the version of T. as i.,
Suppl. IV b, and a further version in v. 6 (two fishes and a frog). Mhh. xii. eh. 137.
THE LUCKY SNEEZE
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, he had in his service a brahmin who professed
to tell whether swords were lucky or not, and all came to
pass as in the Introductory Story'. And the king called
in the surgeons and had him fitted with a false tip to his
nose which was cunningly painted for all the world like
a real nose; and then the brahmin resumed his duties
again about the king. Now Brahmadatta had no son,
only a daughter and a nephew, whom he had brought up
under his own eye. And when these two grew up, they
fell in love with one another. So the king sent for his
councillors and said to them, "My nephew is heir to the
throne. If I give him my daughter to wife, he shall be
anointed king."
But, on second thoughts, he decided that as in any
case his nephew was like a son, he had better marry him
to a foreign princess, and give his daughter to a prince
of another royal house. For, he thought, this plan would
give him more grandchildren and vest in his line the
sceptres of two several kingdoms. And, after consulting
with his councillors, he resolved to separate the two, and
they were accordingly made to dwell apart from one
another. Now they were sixteen years old and very much
in love, and the young prince thought of nothing but how
to carry off his cousin from her father's palace. At last
the plan struck him of sending for a wise woman, to whom
he gave a pocketful of money.
^ The brahmin in Buddha's time was a sword-tester, who took bribes. A disap-
pointed smith brouj^ht a sword and pnt it into the sheath with some pepper. When
the brahmin sniffed at the sword and pretended to test it, he sneezed and split
his nose.
THE LUCKY SNEEZE 113
" And what am I to do for this ? " said she.
" There is nothin<2: you can't do, tell me how you can get
my uncle to let his daughter out of the i)alace."
And she promised to help him, and said that she
would tell the king that his daughter was under the
influence of witchcraft, but that, as the demon had
possessed her so long that he was off his guard, she
would take the ])i-ineess one day in a carriage to the
cemetery with a strong escort under arms, and there in
a magic circle lay the princess on a l)ed with a dead man
under it, and with a hundred and eight douches of
scented water wash the demon out of her. "And when
on this pretext I bring the jirincess to the cemetery,"
continued the wise woman, " mind that you just reach the
cemetery before us in your carriage Avith an armed escort,
taking some ground pepper with you. Arrived at the
cemetery, you will leave your carriage at the entrance,
and despatch your men to the cemetery grove, while you
will yourself go to the top of the mound and lie down
as though dead. Then I will come and set up a bed over
you on which I will lay the princess. Then will come the
time when you must sniff at the pepper till you sneeze
two or three times, and when you sneeze we will leave the
princess and take to our heels. Thereon you and the
princess must bathe all over, and you must take her
home with you." " Capital," said the prince ; " a most
excellent device."
So away Avent the wise woman to the king, and he fell
in with her idea, as did the princess when it was explained
to her. When the day came, the old woman told the
princess their errand, and said to the guards on the road
in order to frighten them, " Listen. Under the bed that
I shall set up, there will be a dead man ; and that dead
F. & T. 8
114 THE LUCKY SNEEZE
man will sneeze. And mark well that, so soon as he has
sneezed, he will come out from under the bed and seize
on the first person he finds. So be prepared, all of you."
Now the prince had already got to the place and got
under the bed as had been arranged.
Next the crone led off the princess and laid her upon
the bed, whispering to her not to be afraid. At once the
prince sniffed at the pepper and fell a-sneezing. And
scarce had he begun to sneeze before the wise woman left
the princess and with a loud scream was off^ quicker than
any of them. Not a man stood his ground ; — one and all
they threw away their arms and bolted for dear life.
Hereon the prince came forth and bore off the princess
to his home, as had been before arranged. And the old
woman made her way to the king and told him what had
happened.
"Well," thought the king, "I always intended her for
him, and they've grown up together like ghee in rice-
porridge." So he didn't fly into a passion, but in course
of time made his nephew king of the land, with his
daughter as queen-consort.
Now the new king kept on in his service the brahmin
who professed to tell the temper of swords, and one day
as he stood in the sun, the false tip to the brahmin's nose
got loose and fell off. And there he stood, hanging his
head for very shame. " Never mind, never mind," laughed
the king. " Sneezing is good for some, but bad for others.
One sneeze lost you your nose ; whilst I have to thank a
sneeze for both my throne and queen." So saying he
uttered this stanza:
Our diverse fates this moral shew,
— What brings one weal, may woric another woe.
So spake the king, and after a life spent in charity
THE HYPOCRITICAL JACKAL 115
and other good works, he passed away to fare aecordiiig
to his deserts.
ButlcUui tells this tale to ridicule the superstition of luck in sneezing. In Jat. 155
liudilha permits the brethren, when they sneeze, iind someone says, " Long lite to
you, Sir ! " to reply, " The same to you." But a brother who says " Long life " is
guilty of a sin. On the folklore of sneezing see Tylor, Prim. Culture, i. 97 ff. (1903).
THE HYPOCRITICAL JACKAL
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reiirnins" in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born a rat, perfect in
wisdom, and as big as a young boar. He had liis
dwelling in the forest and many hundreds of other rats
owned his sway.
Now there was a roving jackal Avho espied this troop
of rats and fell to scheming how to beguile and eat them.
And he took up his stand near their home with his face
to the sun, snuffing up the wind, and standing on one
leg. Seeing this when out on his road in quest of food,
the Bodhisatta conceived the jackal to be a saintly being,
and went up and asked his name.
" ' Godly ' is my name," said the jackal. " Why do you
stand only on one leg ? " " Because if I stood on all four
at once, the earth could not bear my weight. That is
why I stand on one leg only." "And why do you keep
your mouth open?" "To take the air. I live on air;
it is my only food." "And why do you face the sun?"
"To worship him." "What uprightness!" thought the
Bodhisatta, and thenceforward he made a point of going,
attended by the other rats, to pay his respects morning
and evening to the saintly jackal. And wlien the rats
were leaving, the jackal seized and devoured the hinder-
most one of them, Avi})ed his lips, and looked as though
8—2
116 THE HYPOCRITICAL JACKAL
noiliiiig bad happened. In consequence of this the rats
grew fewer and fewer, till they noticed the gaps in their
ranks, and wondering why this was so, asked the Bodhi-
satta the reason. He could not make it out, but
suspecting the jackal, resolved to put him to the test.
So next day he let the other rats go out first and himself
brought up the rear. The jackal made a spring on the
Bodhisatta Avho, seeing him coming, faced round and
cried, "So this is your saintliness, you hypocrite and
rascal ! " And he repeated the following stanza :
Where saintliness is but a cloak
Whereby to cozen guileless folk
And screen a villain's treachery,
^The cat-like nature there we see.
So saying, the king of the rats sprang at the jackal's
throat and bit his windpipe asunder just under the jaw,
so that he died. Back trooped the other rats and
gobbled up the body of the jackal with a ' crunch, crunch,
crunch ' ; — that is to say, the foremost of them did, for they
say there was none left for the last-comers. And ever
after the rats lived happily in peace and quiet.
Though the foregoing prose relates to a jackal, the stanza speaks of a cat {bildra),
as does the version in Tib. T. xl. In the variant Jat. 129 the jackal wins confidence
through the tuft of hair on liis head, resembling an ascetic's tonsure, which was all
the hair he had left after escaping a forest fire. This is the same motive as The blue
Jackal, P. (T.) I. 8. In Jat. 384 the hypocrite is a crow, which is closest to the version
of Mbfi. II. ch. 41, where the egg-eater is a goose. Hertel compares P. (T.) in. 14,
(B.) III. 2 in which a sparrow and hare go to a hypocritical cat to decide a dispute.
Som. LXii. 46 (ii. 67), but of. Jat. 400, p. 267.
THE GOLDEN GOOSE
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benai'es, the Bodliisatta was born a brahnun, and ^rowinj^
up was mari'ied to a bi-ide of his own rank, who bore him
three dau^jjliters named Nanda, Nandavati and Sundari-
nanda. The Bodhisatta dyin^:, they were taken in by
neij^hbours and friends, whilst he was born agaiu into the
workl as a golden goose endowed with consciousness of
its former existences. Growing up, the bird viewed his own
magnificent size and golden plumage, and remembered
that previously be had been a human being. Di>.covering
that his wife and daughters were living on the charity of
others, the goose bethought him of his plumage like
hammered and beaten gold and how by giving them a
golden feather at a time he could enable his wife and
daughters to live in comfort. So away he flew to where
they dwelt and alighted on the top of the central beam
of the roof. Seeing the Bodhisatta, the wife and girls
asked where he had come from ; and he told them that he
was their father who had died and been born a golden
goose, and that he had come to visit them and put an
end to their miserable necessity of working for hire.
"You shall have my feathers," said he, "one by one,
and they will sell for enough to keep you all in ease
and comfort." So saying, he gave them one of his
feathers and departed. And from time to time he
returned to give them another feather, and with the ])ro-
ceeds of their sale these brahmin-women grew prosperous
and quite well-to-do. But one day the mother said to her
daughters, " There's no trusting animals, my children.
Who's to say your father might not go away one of these
days and never come back again ? Let us use our time and
118 THE GRATEFUL MOUSE
pluck him clean next time lie comes, so as to make sure of
all his feathers." Thinking this would pain him, the
dau^rhters refused. The mother in her crreed called the
golden goose to her one day Avhen he came, and then
took him with both hands and plucked him. Now the
Bodhisatta's feathers had this property that if they were
plucked out against his wish, they ceased to be golden
and became like a crane's feathers. And now the poor
bird, though he stretched his wings, could not fly, and the
woman flung him into a barrel and gave him food there.
As time went on his feathers grew again (though they
were plain white ones now), and he flew away to his own
abode and never came back again.
This is more closely related to Aesop's Goose with the golden Eggs, Halm 343,
Babr. 123, than are other Indian variants. In P. (B.) in. 5 a brahmin feeds a
snake, and finds daily a dinar in the bowl. His son to get the whole treasure tries
to kill the snake, but is bitten and killed. The snake tells the brahmin that he comes
from gi'eed, and refuses to have any more to do with him. In Gesta Rom. 141 (133)
it is the father who tries to kill the snake. Hausrath, however, connects this with
The Countryman and Snake, Halm 97, Babr. 167. In P. (B.) in. 13 a fowler catches
a bird whose excrements turn to gold, and gives it to the king. He refuses to believe
the fowler and sets the bird free. See the gipsy variant in the note to Jat. 284,
p. 218. Cf Jacobs 67, Clouston, i. 123 flf.
THE GRATEFUL MOUSE
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born a stone-cutter, and grow-
ing up became expert in working stones. Now in the Kasi
country there dwelt a very rich merchant who had amassed
forty crores in gold. And when his wife died, so strong
was her love of money that she was re-born a mouse and
dwelt over the treasure. And one by one the whole family
died, including the merchant himself Likewise the village
became deserted and forlorn. At the time of our story
THE GRATEFUL MOUSE 119
the Bodliisatta was (iiiarryiii}^ and shapinu^ stones on the
site of this deserted villa<^e ; and the mouse used often to
see him as she ran about to find food. At last she fell in
love with him ; and, bethinking her how the secret of all
her vast wealth would die with her, she conceived the idea
of enjovin<i^ it with him. So one dav she came to the
Bodhisatta Avith a coin in her mouth. Seein<j^ this, he sj)oke
to her kindly, and said, " Mother, what has brought you
here with this coin?" "It is for you to lay out for your-
self, and to buy meat with for me as well, my son." Nowise
loth, he took the money and spent a halfpenny of it on
meat which he brought to the mouse, who departed and
ate to her heart's content. And this went on, the mouse
giving the Bodhisatta a coin every day, and he in return
supplying her with meat. But it fell out one day that the
mouse was caught by a cat.
" Don't kill me," said the mouse.
" Why not ? " said the cat. " I'm as hungry as can be,
and really must kill you to allay the pangs."
" First, tell me whether you're always hungry, or only
hungry to-day."
" Oh, every day finds me hungry again."
" Well then, if this be so, I will find you always in meat ;
only let me go."
" Mind you do then," said the cat, and let the mouse go.
As a consequence of this the mouse had to divide the
supplies of meat she got from the Bodhisatta into two
portions and 'gave one half to the cat, keeping the other
for herself
Now^ as luck would have it, the same mouse was caught
another day by a second cat and had to purchase her
release on the same terms. So now the dailv food was
«
divided into three portions. And when a third cat caught
120 THE GRATEFUL MOUSE
the mouse and a like arrangement had to be made, the
supply was divided into four portions. And later a fourth
cat caught her, and the food had to be divided among five,
so that the mouse, reduced to such short commons, grew
so thin as to be nothing but skin and bone. Remarking
how emaciated his friend was getting, the Bodhisatta
asked the reason. Then the mouse told him all that had
befallen her.
" Why didn't you tell me all this before ? " said the
Bodhisatta. " Cheer up, I'll help you out of your troubles."
So he took a block of the purest crystal and scooped out
a cavity in it and made the mouse get inside. " Now stop
there," said he, "and don't fail to fiercely threaten and
revile all who come near."
So the mouse crept into the crystal cell and waited.
Up came one of the cats and demanded his meat. "Away,
vile grimalkin," said the mouse; " why should I supply you?
go home and eat your kittens!" Infuriated at these words,
and never suspecting the mouse to be inside the crystal,
the cat sprang at the mouse to eat her up ; and so furious
was its spring that it broke the walls of its chest and its
eves started from its head. So that cat died and its
carcass tumbled down out of sight. And the like fate in
turn befell all four cats. And ever after the grateful
mouse brought the Bodhisatta two or three coins instead
of one as before, and by degrees she thus gave him the
whole of the hoard. In unbroken friendship the two lived
together, till their lives ended and they passed away to
fare according to their deserts.
Buddhaghosa xviii, where the Bodhisatta is excavating a stone temple, and makes
a small hole in the temple, where the rat can be safe from the cats. See references
to the grateful beasts on Jat. 73, p. 78, and for re-birth in the place where wealth is
hoarded Jat. 39, p. 41, Jat. 73, p. 73.
THE TREACHEROUS CHAMELEON
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born a lizard. Wlien he arew
up he dwelt in a big burrow in the river bank with a
following of many hundreds of other lizards. Now the
Bodhisatta had a son, a young lizard, who was great friends
with a chameleon, whom he used to clip and embrace.
This intimacy being reported to the lizard king, he sent
for his young son and said that such friendship was mis-
placed, for chameleons were low creatures, and that if the
intimacy was persisted in, calamity would befall the Avhole
of the tribe of lizards. And he enjoined his son to have
no more to do with the chameleon. But the son continued
in his intimacy. Again and again did the Bodhisatta
speak with his son, but finding his words of no avail, and
foreseeing danger to the lizards from the chameleon, he
had an outlet cut on one side of their burrow, so that there
might be a means of escape in time of need.
Now as time went on, the young lizard grew to a great
size, whilst the chameleon never grew any bigger. And as
these mountainous embraces of the young giant grew pain-
ful indeed, the chameleon foresaw that thev would be the
death of him if they went on a few days longer, and he
resolved to combine with a hunter to destrov the whole
tribe of lizards.
One day in the summer the ants came out after a
thunder-storm, and the lizards darted hither and thither
catching them and eating them. Now there came into
the forest a lizard trai)})er with spade and dogs to dig
out lizards; and the chameleon thought what a haul he
would put in the trapj)er s way. So he went up to the
122 THE TREACHEROUS CHAMELEON
man, and, lying down before him, asked why he was about
in the forest. " To catch lizards," was the reply. " Well,
I know where there's a burrow of hundreds of them," said
the chameleon ; "bring fire and brushwood and follow^ me."
And he brought the trapper to where the lizards dwelt.
" Now," said the chameleon, " ])ut your fuel in there and
smoke the lizards out. Meantime let your dogs be all
round and take a big stick in your hand. Then as the
lizards dash out, strike them down and make a pile of the
slain." So saying, the treacherous chameleon withdrew to
a spot hard by, where he lay down, with his head up, saying
to himself, — " This day I shall see the back of my enemy."
The trapper set to work to smoke the lizards out ; and
fear for their lives drove them helter-skelter from their
burrow. As they came out, the trapper knocked them on
the head, and if he missed them, they fell a prey to his dogs.
And so there was great slaughter among the lizards.
Realising that this was the chameleon's doing, the
Bodhisatta cried, " One should never make friends of the
wicked, for such bring sorrow in their train. A single
wicked chameleon has proved the bane of all these lizards."
So saying, he escaped by the outlet he had provided,
uttering this stanza :
Bad company can never end in good.
Through friendship with one sole chameleon
The tribe of lizards met their end.
In the frame story of P. m. the owls are destroyed by the crows through the
same means as in the above jataka, Julicn 5. The teaching of the actual story is too
unbuddhistic for it to be adopted as a jataka, but the enmity of the crows and owls
is referred to in the jatakas, cf Jat. 270, p. 213. In 226 an owl that comes out at an
unseasonable time is killed by crows.
THE CUNNING JACKAL
Once on a time wlien liralnnadatta was rei«^nin^ in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born a Jackal, and dwelt in a
charnel-<^rove with a <^reat following of jackals of whom he
was king. And at that time there was a festival held at
Bajagaha, and a very wet festival it was, with everybody
drinking hard. Now a parcel of rogues got hold of victual
and drink in abundance, and j)utting on their best clothes
sang and made merry over their fare. By midnight the
meat was all gone, though the liquor still held out. Then
on one asking for more meat and being told there was
none left, said the fellow, " Victuals never lack while I am
about. I'll off to the charnel-grove, kill a jackal prowling
about to eat the corpses, and bring back some meat." So
saying he snatched up a club and made his way out of the
city by the sewer to the place, where he lay down, club in
hand, feigning to be dead. Just then, followed by the
other jackals, the Bodhisatta came up and marked the
pretended corpse. Suspecting the fraud, he determined
to sift the matter. So he went round to the lee side and
knew by the scent that the man Avas not really dead.
Kesolving to make the man look foolish before leaving
him, the Bodhisatta stole near and took hold of the club
with his teeth and tugged at it. The rascal did not leave
go: not perceiving the Bodhisatta's approach, he took
a tighter grip. Hereon the Bodhisatta stepped back a
pace or two and said, " My good man, if you had been dead,
you would not have tightened your grip on your club when
I was tugging at it, and so have betrayed yourself." So
saying, he uttered this stanza :
Thy tighteniug: grip upon thy chib doth shew
Thy rauk imposture— thou'rt uo corpse, I trow.
124 THE FOOLHARDY JACKAL
Finding that he was discovered, the rogue sprang to
his feet and flung his club at the Bodhisatta, but missed
his aim. "Be off", you brute," said he, "I've missed you
this time." Turning round, the Bodhisatta said, "True
you have missed me, but be assured you will not miss the
torments of the Great Hell and the sixteen Lesser Hells."
Empty-handed, the rogue left the cemetery and, after
bathing in a ditch, went back into the city by the way he
had come.
THE FOOLHARDY JACKAL
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was a maned lion and dwelt at
Gold Den in the Himalayas. Bounding forth one day from
his lair, he looked North and West, South and East, and
roared aloud as he went in quest of prey. Slaying a large
buffalo, he devoured the prime of the carcass, after which
he went down to a pool, and having drunk his fill of crystal
water turned to go towards his den. Now a hungry Jackal,
suddenly meeting the lion, and being unable to make his
escape, threw himself at the lion's feet. Being asked what
he Avanted, the jackal replied, "Lord, let me be your
servant." " Very well," said the lion ; " serve me and you
shall feed on prime meat." So saying, he went with the
jackal following to Gold Den. Thenceforth the lion's
leavings fell to the jackal, and he grew fat.
Lying one day in his den, the lion told the jackal to
scan the valleys from the mountain top, to see whether
there were any elephants or horses or buffaloes about, or
any other animals of which he, the jackal, was fond.
If any such were in sight, the jackal was to report and say
THE F00LHA1U)Y JACKAL 125
with due obeisance, "Shine fortli in thy nii<i:ht, Lord." Then
the lion promised to kill and eat, j^iving a part to the
jackal. 80 the jackal used to climb the heights, and when-
ever he espied below beasts to his taste, he would report
it to the lion, and falling at his feet, say, " Shine forth in
thy might. Lord." Hereon the lion would nimbly bound
forth and slay the beast, even if it were a rutting elepliant,
and share the prime of the carcass with the jackal.
Glutted Avitli his meal, the jackal would then retire to his
den and sleep.
Now as time went on, the jackal grew^ bigger and
bigger till he grew haughty. " Have not I too four legs ? "
he asked himself. " Why am I a pensioner day by day on
others' bounty? Henceforth / will kill elephants and other
beasts, for my own eating. The lion, king of beasts, only
kills them because of the fornmla, 'Sliine forth in thy
might, Lord.' Til make the lion call out to me, 'Shine
forth in thy might, jackal,' and then I'll kill an elephant
for myself" Accordingly he went to the lion, and pointing
out that he had long lived on what the lion had killed, told
his desire to eat an elephant of his own killing, ending with
a request to the licm to let him, the jackal, couch in the
lion's corner in Gold Den whilst the lion w as to climb the
mountain to look out for an elephant. The quarry found,
he asked that the lion should come to him in the den and
say, " Shine forth in thy might, jackal.' He begged the
lion not to grudge him this much. Said the lion, " Jackal,
only lions can kill elephants, nor has the world ever seen
a jackal able to cope with them. Give up tliis fancy, and
continue to feed on Avhat I kill." But say what the lion
could, the jackal would not give way, and still pressed his
request. So at last the lion gave way, and bidding the
jackal couch in the den, climbed the peak and thence
126 THE FOOLISH CROWS
espied an elephant in rut. Returning to the mouth of
the cave, he said, "Shine forth in thy might, jackal."
Then from Gold Den the jackal nimbly bounded forth,
looked around him on all four sides, and, thrice raising its
howl, sprang at the elephant, meaning to fasten on its
head. But missing his aim, he alighted at the elephant's
feet. The infuriated brute raised its right foot and crushed
the jackal's head, trampling the bones into powder. Then
pounding the carcass into a mass, and dunging upon it,
the elephant dashed trumpeting into the forest. Seeing
all this, the Bodhisatta observed, " Now shine forth in thy
might, jackal," and uttered this stanza :
Your mang-led corpse, your brains mashed into clay.
Prove how you've shone forth in your might to-day.
Thus spake the Bodhisatta, and living to a good old
age he passed away in the fulness of time to fare according
to his deserts.
See Jat. 204, p. 169, and parallels given there. Jat. 335 is a variant version.
THE FOOLISH CROWS
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was a sea-spirit. Now a crow with
his mate came down in quest of food to the sea-shore
where, just before, certain persons had been offering
to the Nagas a sacrifice of milk, and rice, and fish, and
meat and strong drink and the like. Up came the crow
and with his mate ate freely of the elements of the sacrifice,
and drank a great deal of the spirits. So they both got
very drunk. Then they wanted to disport themselves in
the sea, and were trying to swim on the surf, when a wave
THE FOOLISH CROWS 127
swept the heii-crow out to sea and a fish came and gobbled
her up.
" Oh, my ])Oor wife is dead," cried the crow, bursting
into tears and himentations. Then a crowd of crows were
drawn by his waiUng to tlie spot to learn wliat ailed him.
And when he told them how his wife had been carried out
to sea, they all began with one voice to lament. Suddenly
the thought struck them that they were stronger than the
sea and that all they had to do was to empty it out and
rescue their comrade ! So they set to work with their
bills to empty the sea out by mouthfuls, betaking them-
selves to dry land to rest so soon as their throats were sore
with the salt water. And so they toiled away till their
mouths and jaws were dry and inflamed and their eyes
bloodshot, and they were ready to drop for weariness.
Then in despair they turned to one another and said that
it was in vain they laboured to empty the sea, for no sooner
had they got rid of the water in one place than more
flowed in, and there was all their work to do over again ;
they would never succeed in baling the water out of the
sea. And, so saying, they uttered this stanza :
Our jaws are tired, our mouths are sore;
The sea relilleth evermore.
Then all the crows fell to praising the beauty of her
beak and eyes, her com])lexion, figure and sweet voice,
saying that it was her excellences that had i^rovoked the
sea to steal her from them, liut as they talked this
nonsense, the sea-spirit made a bogey appear from the sea
and so put them all to flight. In this wise they were saved.
A much mutilated version of P. (T.) i. 10, (B.) i. 12, SuJidpiper and Sea. The eggs
of the birds are carried away by the sea, but restored by Vishnu on the birds appeahng
to his bird Garutmat. Som. Lx. 163 (ii. 36), K. D. (Syr.) i. 10, (Arab.) v. Cf. the fable
of the dogs who try to drink a river dry in order to get out a hide, Phaedr. i. 20.
Jacobs 71.
THE GREEDY JACKAL CAUGHT
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was re-born into life as a jackal
and dwelt in the forest by the river-side. Now an old
elephant died by the banks of the Ganges, and the jackal,
finding the carcass, congratulated himself on lighting upon
such a store of meat. First he bit the trunk, but that was
like biting a plough-handle. "There's no eating here,"
said the jackal and took a bite at a tusk. But that was
like biting bones. Then he tried an ear, but that was like
chewing the rim of a winnowing-basket. So he fell to on
the stomach, but found it as tough as a grain-basket. The
feet were no better, for they were like a mortar. Next he
tried the tail, but that was like the pestle. "That won't
do either," said the jackal ; and having failed elsewhere to
find a toothsome part, he tried the rear and found that
like eating a soft cake. " At last," said he, " I've found the
right place," and ate his way right into the belly, where he
made a plenteous meal off the kidneys, heart and the rest,
quenching his thirst with the blood. And when night
came on, he lay down inside. As he lay there, the thought
came into the jackal's mind, "This carcass is both meat
and house to me, and wherefore should I leave it ? " So
there he stopped, and dwelt in the elephant's inwards,
eating away. Time wore on till the summer sun and the
summer winds dried and shrank the elephant's hide,
until the entrance by which the jackal had got in was
closed and the interior was in utter darkness. Thus the
jackal was, as it were, cut off from the world and confined
in the interspace between the worlds. After the hide, the
flesh dried up and the blood was exhausted. In a frenzy
THE T^ASH MAGICIAN 129
of desj)air, he rushed to and fro beatin<;- a^^ainst liis j)rison
walls ill the fruitless endeavour to escape. But as he
bobbed up and down inside like a ball of ilce in a boil-
in<^ saucepan, soon a tempest broke and the downpour
moistened the shell of the carcass and restored it to its
former state, till lii»ht shone like a star tlirou^^h the way
by which the jackal had «i^ot in. " Saved ! saved ! "' cried
the jackal, and, backin<^ into the elephant's head made a
rush head-first at the outlet. He manaj^ed to get through,
it is true, but only by leaving all his hair on the way. And
first he ran, then he halted, and then sat down and sur-
veyed his hairless body, now smooth as a palm-stem.
"Ah!" he exclaimed, "this misfortune has befallen me
because of my greed and my greed alone. Henceforth I
will not be greedy nor ever again get into the carcass of an
elephant." And his terror found expression in this stanza:
Once bitten, twice shy. Ah, great was my fear!
Of elephants' inwards henceforth I'll steer clear.
And with these words the jackal made off, nor did he
ever again so much as look either at that or at anv other
elephant s carcass. And thenceforth he was never greedy
again.
Hcrtel makes a far-fetched comparison with tlie fable in P. (B.) i. 2, where a
jackal breaks open a drum and finds it empty, a fable whicli also occurs in K. D.
(Syr.) I. 2, (Arab.) v., Som. lx. 5(5 (ii. 30).
THE RASH MAGICIAN
Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born into the family of a
wealthy brahmin. Arriving at years of discretion, be went
to study at Takkasila, where he received a complete edu-
cation. In Benares as a teacher he enjoyed world-wide
F. & T. 9
130 THE RASH MAGICIAN
fame and had five hundred young brahmins as pupils.
Among these was one named Safijiva, to whom the
Bodhisatta taught the spell for raising the dead to life.
But though the young man was taught this, he was not
taught the counter charm. Proud of his new power, he
went with his fellow-pupils to the forest wood-gathering,
and there came on a dead tiger.
" Now^ see me bring the tiger to life again," said he.
" You can't," said they.
" You look and you will see me do it."
" Well, if you can, do so," said they, and climbed up a
tree forthw ith.
Then Safijiva repeated his charm and struck the dead
tiger with a potsherd. Up started the tiger and quick as
lightning sprang at Saiijiva and bit him on the throat,
killing him outright. Dead fell the tiger then and there,
and dead fell Safijiva too at the same spot. So there the
two lay dead side by side.
The young brahmins took their wood and went back to
their master to whom they told the story. "My dear pupils,"
said he, " mark herein how by reason of shewing favour to
the sinful and paying honour where it was not due, he has
brought all this calamity upon himself" And so saying he
uttered this stanza :
Befriend a villain, aid him in his need,
And, like that tiger whicli Safijiva raised
To life, he straight devours you for your pains.
Such was the Bodhisatta's lesson to the young brahmins,
and after a life of almsgiving and other good deeds he
passed away to fare according to his deserts.
p. (B.) v. 4, The Lion-makers, Vet. 21. This tale and Jilt. 527, Vet. 16, are the
only jatakas in common with Vet., excejit a doubtful parallel in Jat. 200, p. 168.
THE TWO COOD KINGS
Once upon a time, when Bralnnadatta was k\u<r of
lienares, the Bodhisatta was conceived l)y his (^ueen
Consort; and the ceremonies proper to her state having
been duly done\ she was afterwards safely delivered. On
his name-day, the name they gave him was Prince Brah-
madatta.
In course of time, he grew up, and at sixteen years
went to Takkasila- for his education; where he mastered
all branches of learning, and on his father's death he
became king in his stead, and ruled with uprightness and
all rectitude, administering justice with no regard had to
his own will or whim. And as he ruled thus justly, his
ministers on their part were also just; thus, while all
things were justly done, there was none who brought a
false suit into court. Presently all the bustle of suitors
ceased within the precincts of the palace; all day long the
ministers might sit on the bench, and go away without
seeing a single suitor. The courts were deserted.
Then tlie Bodhisatta thought to himself, " Because of
my just government not one suitor comes to try issue in
court ; the old hubbub is quiet ; the courts of law are
deserted. Now I must search whether I have any fault
in me; which if I find, I Avill eschew it, and live a good
life hereafter." From that time he tried continually to
find some one who would tell him of a fault; but of all
who were about him at court he could not find one such;
nothing could he hear but good of himself "Perhaps,"
thought he, " they are all so much afraid of me that they
^ Lit. " protection to the embryo"; doubtless some magical rite.
* The great University town of India (Ta^tXa) ; it was in the Punjab.
9—2
132 THE TWO GOOD KINGS
say no ill of me but only good," and so he went about to
try those who were outside his walls. But with these it
was just the same. Then he made inquisition of the
citizens at large, and outside the city questioned those
who belonged to the suburbs at the four city gates. Still
there was none who had any fault to find; nothing but
praises could he hear. Lastly, Avith intent to try the
country side, he entrusted all government to his ministers,
and mounted in his carriage, and taking only the driver
with him, left the city in disguise. All the country he
traversed, even to the frontier; but not a fault-finder could
he light ui)on ; all he could hear was only his own praises.
So back he turned from the marches, and set his face
homewards again by the high-road.
Now it fortuned that at this very time Mallika, the king
of Kosala, had done the very same thing. He too was a
just king, and he had been searching for his faults; but
amongst those about him there was none who had any
fault to find; and hearing nothing but praise, he had been
making enquiry throughout all the country, and had but
then arrived at that same spot.
These two met, in a place where the carriage-road was
deeply sunk between two banks, and there was no room
for one carriage to pass another.
" Get your carriage out of the way ! " said king Mallika's
driver to the driver of the king of Benares.
" No, no, driver," said he, " out of the way with yours !
Know that in this carriage sits the great monarch Brahma-
datta, lord of the kingdom of Benares!"
"Not so, driver!" replied the other, "in this carriage
sits the great king Mallika, lord of the realm of Kosala !
It is for you to make way, and to give place to the carriage
of our king!"
Till] TWO (;0()D KINGS 133
"Why, here's a kui<r too," thou«<^ht the driver of the
king of ]5eiiares. " What in the worhl is to be done ? "
Then a thou<»ht struck him; he wonkl emiuire wliat should
be tlie age of the two kings, so that the younger should
give way to the ekler. And lie made encjuiry of the other
driver how old his king was; but he learnt tliat both were
of the same age. Thereupon he asked the extent of this
king's power, wealth, and gloi-y, and all points touching
his caste and clan and his family; discovering that both
of them had a country three hundred leagues long, and
that they were alike in power, wealth, glory, and the nature
of their fjimily and lineage. Then he bethought him that
place might be given to the better man; so he recpiested
that the other driver should describe his masters virtues.
The man replied by the first verse of ])()etry following, in
which he set forth his monarch's faults as though they
were so manv virtues:
Koug-h to the roug-h, king- Mallika the mild with mildness sways,
Masters the good by g-oodness, and the bad with badness pays.
Give place, give place, 0 driver! such are this monarch's ways!
" Oh," said the man of the king of Benares, " is that all
you have to say about your king's virtues ? " " Yes," said
the other.—" If these are his virtues, what must his vices
be ! " " Vices be it, then," quoth he, " if you will ; but let
us hear what your king's virtues may be like!" "Listen
then," rejoined the first, and rei)eated the second verse:
He conquers wTath by mildness, the bad with groodness sways,
By gifts the miser vanquishes and lies with truth repays.
Give place, give place, 0 driver! such are this monarch's ways^!
At these words both king ^Mallika and his driver de-
scended from their carriage, and loosed the horses, and
moved it out of the way, to give place to the king of
* Dhammapada, verse 223.
134 THE GRATEFUL ELEPHANT
Benares. Then the king of Benares gave good admonition
to king Mallika, saying, "Thus and thus must you do";
after Avhich he returned to Benares, and there gave alms
and did good all his life, till at the last he went to swell
the hosts of heaven. And king Mallika took the lesson to
heart ; and after traversing the length and breadth of the
land, and lighting upon none who had any fault to find in
him, returned to his own city; where he gave alms all his
life and did good, till at the end he too attained to heaven.
A siinilai" contest of two minstrels occurs in the Kalecala (Crawford's translation,
i. 30). The young fiercely drives into the old, who says, " Thou shouldst give me all
the highway, for I am the older." "What matters that?" says the other; "let the
least wise give place." There they stand and each sings his legends by way of
deciding the matter. (Dr Rouse.) The jataka itself is a variant of the story of the
kings Narada and Sivi in 3Ibh. in. ch. 194.
THE GRATEFUL ELEPHANT
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king of
Benares, there was a village of carpenters not far from
the city, in which five hundred carpenters lived. They
would go up the river in a vessel, and enter the forest,
where they would shape beams and planks for house-
building, and put together the framework of one-storey
or two-storey houses, numbering all the pieces from the
mainpost onwards; these then they brought down to the
river bank, and put them all aboard; then rowing down
stream again, they would build houses to order as it was
required of them; after which, when they received their
wage, they went back again for more materials for the
building, and in this way they made their livelihood.
Once it befell that in a place where they were at work
in shaping timbers, a certain Elephant trod upon a splinter
of acacia wood, which pierced his foot, and caused it to
THE GRATEFUL ELEPHANT i:5r,
swell up and fester, and he was in j^reat pain. In his
agony, he cau<^ht the sound of these carpenters cutting
wood. "There are some carpenters will cure nie,'" thought
he; and limping on three feet, he presented himself before
them, and lay down close by. The carpenters, noticing
his swollen foot, went up and looked ; there was the
splinter sticking in it. With a sharp tool they made in-
cision about the splinter, and tying a string to it, pulled
it right out. Then they lanced the gathering, and washed
it with warm water, and doctored it properly; and in a
very short time the wound was healed.
Grateful for this cure, the Elei)hant thought: "My life
has been saved by the help of these carpenters; now I
must make myself useful to them.' So ever after that,
he used to pull up trees for them, or when they were
chopping he would roll up the logs ; or bring them their
adzes and any tools they might want, holding everything
in his trunk like grim death. And the carpenters, when
it was time to feed him, used to bring him each a ])ortion
of food, so that he had five hundred portions in all.
Now this Elephant had a young one, white all over, a
magnificent high-bred creature. The Elephant reflected
that he was now old, and he had better bring his young
one to serve the carpenters, and himself be left free to go.
So without a word to the carpenters, he went off into the
wood, and brought his son to them, saying, "This young
Elephant is a son of mine. You saved my life, and I give
him to you as a fee for your leechcraft ; from henceforth
he shall work for you." So he explained to the young
Elephant that it was his duty to do the work which he
had been used to do himself, and then went away into the
forest, leaving him with the carpenters. So after that
time the young Elei)hant did all their work, faithfully and
13(5 THE GRATEFUL ELEPHANT
obediently; and they fed him, as they had fed the other,
with five hundred portions for a meal.
His work once done, the Elephant would go play about
in the river, and then return again. The carpenters'
children used to pull him by the trunk, and play all sorts
of pranks with him in water and out. Now noble creatures,
be they elephants, horses, or men, never dung or stale in
the water ^ So this P^lephant did nothing of the kind
when he was in the water, but waited until he came out
upon the bank.
One day, rain had fallen up river; and by the flood a
half-dry cake of his dung was carried into the river. This
floated down to the Benares landing place, where it stuck
fast in a bush. Just then the king's elephant keepers
had brought down five hundred elephants to give them a
bath. But the creatures scented this soil of a noble
animal, and not one would enter the water ; up went their
tails, and off they all ran. The keepers told this to the
elephant trainers; who replied, "There must be something
in the water, then." So orders were given to cleanse the
water; and there in the bushes this lump was seen. " That's
what the matter is ! " cried the men. So they brought a
lar, and filled it with water; next powdering the stuff into
it, they sprinkled the water over the elephants, whose
bodies then became sweet. At once they went down into
the river and bathed.
When the trainers made their report to the king, they
advised him to secure the Elephant for his own use and
profit.
The king accordingly embarked upon a raft, and rowed
1 Compare Hesiod, Op. 757: nrjbe ttot iv irpoxof) troTafjLav oKa^i npopfovrcov, fir]8
eir\ Kpj^vaciiv ovpdv. Hdt. i. 138: (the Persians) e? nnraiiov be ovre ivovptovcri..-.
(Dr KoiLse.j
THE GRATEFUL ELEPHANT 137
up stream until he arrived at the place whei-e the carpenters
had settled. The young Elephant, hearing the sound of
drums as he was playing in the water, came out and pre-
sented himself before the carpenters, who one and all came
forth to do honour to the king's coming, and said to him,
" Sire, if woodwork is wanted, what need to come here ?
Why not send and have it brought to you ? "
" No, no, good friends," the king answered, " 'tis not for
wood that I come, but for this elephant here."
"He is yours. Sire!"— But the Elephant refused to
budge.
"What do you want me to do, gossip Elephant?" asked
the king.
" Order the carpenters to be paid for what they have
spent on me. Sire."
" Willingly, friend." And the king ordered an hundred
thousand pieces of money to be laid by his tail, and trunk,
and by each of his four feet. But this was not enough
for the Elephant; go he would not. So to each of the
carpenters was given a pair of cloths, and to each of their
wives robes to dress in, nor did he omit to give enough
whereby his playmates the children should be brought up ;
then with a last look upon the carpenters, and the women,
and the children, he dei)arted in company with the king.
To his capital city the king brought him; and city and
stable were decked out with all magnificence. He led the
Elephant round the city in solemn procession, and thence
into his stable, which was fitted up with splendour and
pomp. There he solemnly si)rinkled the Elephant, and
appointed him for his own riding; like a comrade he
treated him, and gave him the half of his kingdom, taking
as much care of him as he did of himself After the coming
of this Elephant, the king won supremacy over all India.
138 THE GRATEFUL ELEPHANT
In course of time the Bodhisatta was conceived by the
Queen Consort; and when her time was near come to be
delivered, the kino- died. Now if the Elephant learnt
news of the king s death, he was sure to break his heart ;
so he was waited upon as before, and not a word said.
But the next neighbour, the king of Kosala, heard of the
king s death. " Surely the land is at my mercy," thought
he;'' and marched with a mighty host to the city, and
beleaguered it. Straight the gates were closed, and a
message was sent to the king of Kosala: " Our Queen is
near the time of her delivery; and the astrologers have
declared that in seven days she shall bear a son. If she
bears a son, we will not yield the kingdom, but on the
seventh day we will give you battle. For so long we pray
you wait ! " And to this the king agreed.
In seven days the Queen bore a son. On his name-day
they called him Prince Winheart, because, said they, he
was born to win the hearts of the people.
On the very same day that he was born, the townsfolk
began to do battle with the king of Kosala. But as they
had no leader, little by little the army gave way, great
though it was. The courtiers told this news to the Queen,
adding, " Since our army loses ground in this way, we fear
defeat. But the state Elephant, our king s bosom friend,
has never been told that the king is dead, and a son born
to him, and that the king of Kosala is here to give us
battle. Shall we tell him?"
"Yes, do so," said the Queen. So she dressed up her
son, and laid him in a fine linen cloth; after which she
with all the court came down from the palace and entered
the Elephant's stable. There she laid the babe at the
Elephant's feet, saying, "Master, your comrade is dead,
but we feared to tell it you lest you might break your
THE GRATEFUL ELEPHANT 139
heart. This is your comrade's son; the kin<^ of Kosahi
has run a leaj^uer about the city, and is makiu«^ war upon
your son ; the army is losinjj;- <i;round ; either kill your son
yourself, or else win the kinjj^dom back for him ! "
At once the I^]lephant stroked the child with his trunk,
and lifted him upon his own head ; then makin<^ moan
and lamentation he took him down and laid him in his
mother's arms, and with the words— "I will master the
king of Kosala ! " he went forth hastily.
Then the courtiers put his armour and caparison
upon him, and unlocked the city gate, and escorted hhn
thither. The Elephant emerging trumpeted, and frightened
all the host so that they ran away, and broke up the
camp ; then seizing the king of Kosala by his topknot, he
carried him to the young prince, at whose feet he let him
fall. Some rose to kill him, but them the Elephant stayed ;
and he let the captive king go with this advice: "Be
careful for the future, and be not presumptuous by reason
that our Prince is young."
After that, the power over all India fell into the Bod-
hisatta's own hand, and not a foe was able to rise up
agaiust him. The Bodhisatta was consecrated at the age
of seven years, as King Winheart ; just was his reign, and
when he came to life's end he attained to heaven.
Tlie story of Androcles or Androclus and the lion is given l>y Auhis Gcllius, v. 14,
on the authority of Apion, who says that he saw it in Rome with his own eyes,
cf. Aelian, De An. Nat. vii. 48. Seneca, De Ben. ii. 19, tells a similar story of a liou
seen by himself in the amphitheatre, which recognised its former keeper and pro-
tected him fn)m the attacks of the other animals. In Gestn Rom. 104 (96) the
story is of a soldier, who finds the lion while hunting, and is afterwards condemned
by the king to be devoured.
THE PET ELEPHANT
Once upon a time, while Brahmadatta was king of
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born of a brahmin family.
On growing up he left his worldly home and took to the
religious life, and in time became the leader of a company
of five hundred anchorites, who all lived together in the
region of Himalaya.
Amongst these anchorites was a headstrong and un-
teachable person named Indasamanagotta. He had a
pet elephant. The Bodhisatta sent for him when he found
this out, and asked if he really did keep a young elephant ?
Yes, the man said, he had an elephant Avhich had lost its
dam. " Well," the Bodhisatta said, " when elephants grow
up they kill even those who foster them ; so you had
better not keep it any longer." " But I can't live without
him, my Teacher!" was the reply. "Oh, well," said the
Bodhisatta, "you 11 live to repent it."
Howbeit he still reared the creature, and by and by
it grew to an immense size.
It happened once that the anchorites had all gone far
afield to gather roots and fruits in the forest, and they
were absent for several days. At the first breath of the
south Avind this elephant fell in a frenzy. "Destruction
to this hut!" thought he, "I'll smash the water-jar! I'll
overturn the stone bench ! I'll tear up the pallet ! I'll kill
the hermit, and then off I'll go!" So he sped into the
jungle, and waited watching for their return.
His master came first, laden with food for his pet. As
soon as he saw him, he hastened up, thinking all was well^.
Out rushed the elephant from the thicket, and seizing
' Or, " with his usual greeting, or signal."
THE MONCOOSE AND THE SNAKE 141
him in his trunk, dashed him to tlie ground, then with a
blow on the head crushed the life out of him ; and madly
trumj)etin<j^, he scampered into the forest.
The other anchorites brought this news to the Bod-
hisatta. Said he, " We should have no dealings with tlic
bad " ; and then he repeated these two verses :
Friendship with evil let the good eschew,
The goad, who know what duty bids them do:
They will work mischief, be it soon or lute,
Even as the elephant his master slew.
But if a kindred spirit thou shalt see,
In virtue, wisdom, learning like to thee,
Choose such an one to be thy own true friend;
Good friends and blessing go in company.
In this way the Bodhisatta shewed his band of anchorites
that it is well to be docile and not obstinate. Then he
performed Indasamanagotta's obsequies, and cultivating
the Excellences, came at last into Brahma's heaven.
In Jat. 43 an ascetic keeps a tame viper in a bamboo tube. It is neglected for
several days, and when taken out bites and kills him. Cf. Aesop, Countryman and
frozen Snake, Halm 97, Babr. 167. Hausrath compares P. (B.) iil 5, The Gold-
giving Snake. See on Jat. 136, p. 118.
THE MONGOOSE AND THE SNAKE
Once on a time, when 13rahmadatta Avas king of Benares,
the Bodhisatta was born in a certain village as one of a
brahmin family. When he came of age, he was educated
at Takkasila; then, renouncing the world he became a
recluse, cultivated the Faculties and the Attainments,
and dwelt in the region of Himalaya, living upon wild
roots and fruits which he picked up in his goings to and
fro.
At the end of his cloistered walk lived a IMongoose in
142 THE MONGOOSE AND THE SNAKE
an ant-heap; and not far off, a Snake lived in a hollow
tree. These two, Snake and Mongoose, were perpetually
quarrelling. The Bodhisatta preached to them the misery
of quarrels and the blessing of cultivating friendship, and
reconciled the two together, saying, "You ought to cease
your quarrelling and live together at one."
When the Serpent was abroad, the Mongoose at the
end of the walk lay with his head out of the hole in his
ant-hill, and his mouth open, and thus fell asleep, heavily
drawing his breath in and out. The Bodhisatta saw him
sleeping there, and asking him, " Why, what are you afraid
of?" repeated the first stanza:
Creature ^ your eg-g-born euemy a faithful friend is made:
Why sleep you there with teeth all hare ? of what are you afraid ?
" Father," said the Mongoose, " never despise a former
enemy, but always suspect him": and he repeated the
second stanza:
Never despise an enemy nor ever trust a friend:
A fear that springs from unfeared thing's uproots and makes an end.
"Fear not," replied the Bodhisatta. "I have persuaded
the Snake to do you no harm; distrust him no more."
With this advice, he proceeded to cultivate the Four
Excellences, and became destined for Brahma's heaven.
And the others too passed away to fare hereafter ac-
cording to their deeds.
The doctrine of the mongoose is the same as that taught in The Crows and the
Olds, the frame story of P. iii. Cf. Jat. 141, p. 121. The jataka appears to be a
folktale modified to counteract such morality.
^ Lit. "O viviparous one."
THE JACKAL BETRAYED BY HLS HOWL
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was rei<j^ning in
Benares, the Jiodhisatta was born as a youn<^ Lion, and
was the king of many Hons. With a suite of lions he
dwelt in Silver Cave. Near by was a Jackal, living in
another cave.
One day, after a shower of rain, all the Lions were
together at the entrance of their leader's cave, roaring
loudly and gambolling about as lions use. As they were
thus roaring and playing, the Jackal too lifted up his
voice. " Here's this Jackal, giving tongue along with us ! "
said the Lions ; they felt ashamed, and were silent. When
they all fell silent, the Bodhisatta's cub asked him this
question. " Father, all these Lions that were roaring and
playing about have fallen silent for very shame on hearing
yon creature. What creature is it that betrays itself thus
by its voice ? *' and he repeated the first stanza :
Who is it with a mighty cry makes Dadrtara resound ?
Who is it, Lord of Beasts ? and why has he no welcome found ?
At his son's words the old Lion repeated the second
stanza :
The Jackal, of all heasts most vile, 'tis he that makes that sound:
The Lions loathe his baseness, while they sit in silence round.
Ill P. (B.) IV. 4 a lion brings home a young jackal, which is brought up with two
young lions, and through his cowardice makes them lose their courage. In Jat. 188
a cub, a cro.ss between a lion and a jackal, is like a lion in form, but is betrayed by
his howl. Cf. Cidhiv. i. 18. 3 {S.B.E. xvii. 362), the offspring of a hen and crow caws
when it tries to crow and vice versa.
THE PENNY-WISE MONKEY
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, he had a Councillor who was his right-hand man
and gave him advice in things spiritual and temporal.
There was a rising on the frontier, and the troops there
stationed sent the king a letter. The king started, rainy
season though it was, and formed a camp in his park.
The Bodhisatta stood before the king. At that moment
the people had steamed some peas for the horses, and
poured them out into a trough. One of the monkeys that
lived in the park jumped down from a tree, filled his
mouth and hands with the jjeas, then up again, and sitting
down in the tree he began to eat. As he ate, one pea fell
from his hand upon the grovind. Down dropped at once
all the peas from his hands and mouth, and down from
the tree he came, to hunt for the lost pea. But that pea
he could not find; so he climbed up his tree again, and
sat still, very glum, looking like some one who had lost a
thousand in some lawsuit.
The king observed how the monkey had done, and
pointed it out to the Bodhisatta. *' Friend, what do you
think of that ? " he asked. To which the Bodhisatta made
answer: King, this is what fools of little wit are wont to
do ; they spend a pound to win a penny " ; and he went
on to repeat the first stanza:
A foolish monkey, living- in the trees,
0 king, when both his hands were full of peas,
Has thrown them all away to look for one:
There is no wisdom, Sire, in such as these.
Then the Bodhisatta approached the king, and ad-
dressing him again, repeated the second stanza:
Such are we, O mig-hty monarch, such all those that greedy be;
Losing- much to g"ain a little, like the monkey and the pea.
THE INCOMPARABLE ARCHER 145
On hearinj^ this address the king turned and went
straiglit back to Benares. And the outlaws liearing that
the king liad set foi-tli from his capital to make mincemeat
of his enemies, hurried away from the borders.
K. D. (Syr.) ix. 2, (Arab.) xrv., where it is inserted in the story of Bilad (variant
of Jat. 77, p. 78).
THE INCOMPARABLE ARCHER
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king of
Benares, the liodhisatta was conceived as the son of the
Queen Consort. She was safely delivered ; and on his
name-day they gave him the name of Asadisa-Kumara,
Prince Peerless. About the time he was able to walk,
the Queen conceived one who was also to be a good being.
She was safely deUvered, and on the name-day they called
the babe Brahmadatta-Kumara, or Prince Heaven-sent.
When Prince Peerless Avas sixteen, he went to Tak-
kasila for his education. There at the feet of a world-
famed teacher he learnt the Three Vedas and the Eighteen
Accomplishments ; in the science of archery he was peer-
less; then he returned to Benares.
When the king was on his deathbed he commanded
that Prince Peerless should be king in his stead, and
Prince Brahmadatta the \iceroy. Then he died; after
which the kingship was offered to Peerless, who refused,
saying that he cared not for it. So they consecrated
Brahmadatta to be king by sprinkling him. Peerless
cared nothing for glory, and wanted nothing.
While the younger brother ruled, Peerless lived in all
royal state. The slaves came and slandered him to his
brother ; " Prince Peerless w ants to be king ! " said they.
F. & T. 10
146 THE INCOMPARABLE ARCHER
Brahinadatta believed them, and allowed himself to be
deceived ; he sent some men to take Peerless prisoner.
One of Prince Peerless' attendants told him what was
afoot. He waxed angry with his brother, and went away
into another country. When he arrived there, he sent in
word to the king- that an archer was come, and awaited
him. "What wages does he ask?" the king enquired.
*' A hundred thousand a year." "Good," said the king;
"let him enter."
Peerless came into the presence, and stood waiting.
"Are you the archer?" asked the king. "Yes, Sire." "Very
well, I take you into my service." After that Peerless
remained in the service of this king. But the old archers
were annoyed at the w age w hich was given him ; " Too
much," they grumbled.
One day it so happened that the king went out into
his park. There, at foot of a mango tree, where a screen
had been put up before a certain stone seat of ceremony,
he reclined upon a magnificent couch. He happened to
look up, and there right at the treetop he saw a cluster
of mango fruit. " It is too high to climb for," thought he ;
so summoning his archers, he asked them whether they
could cut off yon cluster w ith an arrow, and bring it dow n
for him. " Oh," said they, " that is not much for us to do.
But your majesty has seen our skill often enough. The
newcomer is so much better paid than we, that perhaps
you might make him bring down the fruit."
Then the king sent for Peerless, and asked him if he
could do it. "Oh yes, your Majesty, if I may choose my
position." "What position do you want?" "The place
where your couch stands." The king had the couch re-
moved, and gave place.
Peerless had no bow in his hand; he used to carry
THE INCOMPARABLE AKCHER 147
it underneath his body-cloth; so he must needs have a
screen. The kin<;- ordered a screen to be broujL^ht and
spread for him, and our archer went in. He doffed the
white ck^th which he wore over all, and put on a red cloth
next his skin; then he fastened his girdle, and donned
a red waistcloth. From a bag he took out a sword in
pieces, which he put together and girt on his left side.
Next he put on a mailcoat of gold, fastened his bow-case
over his back, and took out his great ramshorn bow, made
in several i)ieces, which he fitted together, fixed the bow-
string, red as coral ; put a turban upon his head ; twirling
the arrow with his nails, he threw open the screen and
came out, looking like a Naga prince just emerging
from the riven ground. He went to the place of shooting,
arrow set to bow, and then put this question to the king.
"Your Majesty," said he, "am I to bring this fruit down
with an upward shot, or by dropping the arrow upon it? "
"My son," said the king, "I have often seen a mark
brought down by the upward shot, but never one taken
in the fall. You had better make the shaft fall on it."
"Your Majesty," said the archer, "this arrow will fly
high. Up to the heaven of the Four Great Kings it will
fly, and then return of itself. You must please be patient
till it returns." The king promised. Then the archer
said again, "Your Majesty, this arrow in its upshot will
pierce the stalk exactly in the middle ; and when it comes
down, it will not swerve a hairsbreadth either way, but
hit the same spot to a nicety, and bring down the cluster
with it." Then he sped the arrow forth swiftly. As the
arrow went up it pierced the exact centre of the mango
stalk. By the time the archer knew his arrow had
reached the place of the Four Great Kings, he let fly
another arrow with greater speed than the first. This
10—2
148 THE IXCOMPARABLE ARCHER
struck the feather of the first arrow, and turned it back ;
then itself went up as far as the heaven of the Thirty-three
gods. There the deities caught and kept it.
The sound of the falling arrow as it cleft the air was
as the sound of a thunderbolt. "What is that noise?"
asked every man. " That is the arrow falling," our archer
replied. The bystanders were all frightened to death, for
fear the arrow should fall on them; but Peerless com-
forted them. "Fear nothing," said he, "and I will see
that it does not fall on the earth." Down came the arrow,
not a hairbreadth out either way, but neatly cut through
the stalk of the mango cluster. The archer caught the
arrow in one hand and the fruit in the other, so that they
should not fall upon the ground. " We never saw such a
thing before ! " cried the onlookers, at this marvel. How
they praised the great man ! how they cheered and clapped
and snapped their fingers, thousands of kerchiefs waving
in the air ! In their joy and delight the courtiers gave
presents to Peerless amounting to ten millions of money.
And the king too showered gifts and honours upon him
like rain.
While the Bodhisatta was receiving such glory and
honour at the hands of this king, seven kings, who knew
that there was no Prince Peerless in Benares, drew a
leaguer around the city, and summoned its king to fight
or yield. The king was frightened out of his life. "Where
is my brother?" he asked. "He is in the service of a
neighbouring king," was the reply. " If my dear brother
does not come," said he, " I am a dead man. Go, fall at
his feet in my name, appease him, bring him hither!"
His messengers came and did their errand. Peerless took
leave of his master, and returned to Benares. He com-
forted his brother and bade him fear nothing; then
THE MAGIC TREASURES 149
scratched^ a messa<i;e uj)on an arrow to this effect: "I,
Prince Peerless, am returned. I mean to kill you all with
one arrow which I will shoot at you. Let those who care
for life make their escape." This he shot so that it fell
upon the very middle of a golden dish, from which the
seven kings were eating together. When they read the
writing they all fled, half-dead with fright.
Thus did oui" Prince put to flight seven kings, without
shedding even so much blood as a little fly might drink ;
then, looking upon his younger brother, he renounced his
lusts, and forsook the world, cultivated the Faculties and
the Attainments, and at his life's end came to Brahma's
heaven.
Hardy, Manual of Buddhism, 114. The latter part of the story is given verj'
briefly in Mahdvdstu 2. 82-3, (^araksepana Jdtaka. It is figured on the i31iarhiit
Stupa, see Cunningham, p. 70, and plate xxvii. 13; and possibly on the Sanchi Tope,
see Fergusson, Tree and Serpent Worship, pi. xxvi. p. 181. (Dr Rouse.)
THE MAGIC TREASURES
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, four brahmins, brothers, of the land of Kasi, left
the world and became hermits; they built themselves four
huts in a row in the highlands of the Himalaya, and there
they lived.
The eldest brother died, and was born as Sakka.
Knowing who he had been, he used to visit the others
every seven or eight days, and lend them a helping hand.
One day, he visited the eldest of the anchorites, and
after the usual greeting, took his seat to one side. " Well,
Sir, how can I serve you ? " he enquired. The hermit, who
was suflering from jaundice, replied, "Fire is what I
1 In the Mahdcaatu it is wrapt round it (2. p. 82. \A, pari pet hitcd); so in-IIardy.
150 THE MAGIC TREASURES
want." Sakka gave him a razor-axe. (A razor-axe is so
called because it serves as razor or as axe according as
yon fit it into the handle.) "Why," said the hermit, '-'who
is there to get me firewood with this ? " " If you want a
fire, Sir," replied Sakka, "all you have to do is to strike
your hand upon the axe and say — ' Fetch wood and make
a fire!' The axe will fetch the wood and make you the
fire."
After giving him this razor-axe he next visited the
second brother, and asked him the same question — " How
can I serve you, Sir?" Noav there was an elephant track
by his hut, and the creatures annoyed him. So he told
Sakka that he was annoyed by elephants, and wanted
them to be driven away. Sakka gave him a drum. "If
you beat upon this side, Sir," he explained, " your enemies
will run away; but if you strike the other, they will become
your firm friends, and will encompass you with an army
in fourfold array." Then he handed him the drum.
Lastly he made a visit to the youngest, and asked as
before how he could serve him. He too had jaundice,
and what he said was — "Please give me some curds."
Sakka gave him a milk-bowl, with these words: "Turn
this over if you want anything, and a great river will pour
out of it, and Avill flood the whole place, and it will be
able even to win a kingdom for you." With these words
he departed.
After this the axe used to make fire for the eldest
brother, the second used to beat upon one side of his
drum and drive the elephants away, and the youngest had
his curds to eat.
'About this time a wild boar, that lived in a ruined
village, lit upon a gem possessed of magic power. Picking
up the gem in his mouth, he rose in the air by its magic.
THE MAGIC TREASURES 151
From afar he could see an isle in mid-ocean, and there
he resolved to live. So descendin«^ he chose a pleasant
spot beneath a fig tree, and there he made his abode.
One day he fell asleep under the tree, with the Jewel
lying in front of him. Now a certain man from the Kasi
country, who had been turned out of doors by his parents
as a neer-do-well, had made his way to a seaport, where
he embarked on shipboard as a sailors' drudge. In mid-
sea the ship was wrecked, and he floated upon a plank
to this island. As he wandered in search of fruit, he es})ied
our boar fast asleep. (Quietly he crept up, seized the
gem, and found himself by magic rising through the air !
He alighted on the fig tree, and pondered. "The
magic of this gem," thought he, "has taught yon boar
to be a sky-walker; thats how he got here, I sujipose.
"Well! I must kill him and make a meal of him first;
and then I'll be off'." So he snapt off a twig, dropping it
upon the boar's head. The boar woke up, and seeing no
gem, ran trembling up and down. The man up in the
tree laughed. The boar looked up, and seeing him ran
his heacl against the tree, and killed himself.
The man came down, lit a fire, cooked the boar and
made a meal. Then he rose up in the sky, and set out
on his journey.
As he passed over the Himalaya, he saw the hermits'
settlement. So he descended, and spent two or three
days in the eldest brother's hut, entertaining and enter-
tained, and he found out the virtue of the axe. He made
up his mind to get it for himself So he shewed our
hermit the virtue of his gem, and offered to exchange it
for the axe. The hermit longed to be able to i)ass through
mid-air ^ and struck the bargain. The man took the axe,
1 Tliis was one of the supernatural powers much coveted by Buddhists.
152 THE 31 AGIO TREASURES
and departed ; but before he had <i^one very far, he struck
upon it and said — "Axe! smash that hermit's skull and
brin^ the gem to me!" Oft' flew the axe, clove the hermits
skull, and brought the gem back.
Then the man hid the axe away, and paid a visit to
the second brother. With him the visitor stayed a few
days, and soon discovered the power of his drum. Then
he exchanged his gem for the drum, as before, and as
before made the axe cleave the owner's skull. After this
he went on to the youngest of the three hermits, found
out the power of the milk-bowl, gave his jewel in exchange
for it, and as before sent his axe to cleave the man's skull.
Thus he was now owner of jewel, axe, drum, and milk-
bowl, all four. ^
He now rose up and passed through the air. Stopping-
hard by Benares, he wTote a letter which he sent by a
messenger's hands, that the king must either fight him or
yield. On receipt of this message the king sallied forth
to "seize the scoundrel." But he beat on one side of
his drum, and was promptly surrounded by an army in
fourfold array. When he saw that the king had deployed
his forces, he then overturned the milk-bowl, and a great
river poured forth ; multitudes were drowned in the river
of curds. Next he struck upon his axe. " Fetch me the
king's head!" cried he; away went the axe, and came
back and dropt the head at his feet. Not a man could
raise hand against him.
So encompassed by a mighty host, he entered the city,
and caused himself to be anointed king under the title of
king Dadhi-vahana, or Carried-on-the-Curds, and ruled
righteously.
One day, as the king was amusing himself by casting
a net into the river, he caught a mango fruit, fit for the
THE MAGIC TREASURES 153
gods, which had floated down from Lake Kaimainunda.
When the net was hauled out, tlie mango was found, and
shown to the king. It was a huge fruit, as big as a basin,
round, and golden in colour. The king asked what the
fruit was: ^lango, said the foresters. He ate it, and had
the stone planted in his park, and watered with milk-water.
The tree sprouted up, and in three years it bore fruit.
Great was the worship paid to this tree; milk-water was
poured about it; perfumed garlands with five sprays^
were hung upon it; wreaths were festooned about it; a
lam]) w as kept burning, and fed with scented oil ; and all
round it was a screen of cloth. The fruit was sweet, and
had the colour of fine gold. King Dadhi-vahana, before
sending ])resents of these mangoes to other kings, used to
prick with a thorn that place in the stone where the
sprout would come from, for fear of their growing the like
by planting it. When they ate the fruit, they used to
plant the stone; but they could not get it to take root.
They encjuired the reason, and learnt how the matter was.
One king asked his gardener whether he could spoil
the flavour of this fruit, and turn it bitter on the tree.
Yes, the man said he could; so his king gave him a
thousand pieces and sent him on his errand.
So soon as he had arrived in Benares, the man sent a
message to the king that a gardener was come. The king
admitted him to the presence. After the man had saluted
him, the king asked, "You are a gardener?" "Yes, Sire,"
1 The meaning of gandhapan^angnlikarh is uncertain. Perliaps a garland in
which sprouts or twigs were arranged radiating like the fingers of a hand. See
MoiTis in JPTS., 18S4, p. 84. The spread hand is in many places a symbol used to
avert the evil eye. In some villages of India it is marked on the house walls {North
Ind. N. and Q., i. 42); it is carved on Phoenician tombstones (see those in the
Bibhothfeque Xationale in Paris); and I have seen it in all pails of S}Ti:i, on the
houses of Jews, Christians, and Moslems. (Dr Rouse.)
154 THE MAGIC TREASURES
said the man, and began to sound his own praises. " Very
well," said the king, "you may go and assist my park-
keeper." So after that these used both to look after the
royal grounds.
The new comer managed to make the park look more
beautiful by forcing flowers and fruit out of their season.
This pleased the king, so that he dismissed the former
keeper and gave the park into sole charge of the new
one. No sooner had this man got the park into his
own hands than he planted nimbs and creepers about
the choice mango tree. By and by the nimbs sprouted
up. Above and below, root with root, and branch with
branch, these were all entangled with the mango tree.
Thus this tree, with its sweet fruit, grew bitter as the
bitter-leaved nimb by the company of this noxious and
sour plant. As soon as the gardener knew that the fruit
had gone bitter, he took to his heels.
King Dadhi-vahana went a-walking in his pleasaunce,
and took a bite of the mango fruit. The juice in his
mouth tasted like a nasty nimb ; swallow it he could not,
so he coughed and spat it out. Now at that time the
Bodhisatta was his temporal and spiritual counsellor.
The king turned to him. " Wise Sir, this tree is as care-
fully cared for as ever, and yet its fruit has gone bitter.
What s the meaning of it ? " and asking this question, he
repeated the first stanza :
Sweet was once the mango's savour, sweet its scent, its colour gold :
What has caused this bitter flavour? for we tend it as of old.
The Bodhisatta explained the reason in the second
stanza :
Round about the trunk entwining-, branch with branch, and root with
root,
See the bitter creeper climbing ; that is what has spoilt your fruit ;
So you see bad company will make the better follow suit.
THE ASS IN THE LION'S SKIN 155
On hearing this the Bodhisatta caused all the nimbs
and creepers to be removed, and their roots pulled up;
the noxious soil was all taken away, and sweet earth ])ut
in its place ; and the tree was carefully fed with sweet
water, milk-water, scented water. Then by absorbin<i: all
this sweetness its fruit grew sweet again. '^I'he king ])ut
his former gardener in charge of the ])ark, and after his
life was done passed away to fare according to his deserts.
Tliis tale belongs to the same group as Grimm No. 36, The, Wishing Table, the
Gold-Asx, and the Cud(jel in the Sack; No. 54, The Knapsack, the Hat, and the
Horn (to which see the bibliographical note in Hunt's edition). (Dr Rouse.) Cf.
also the note on Jat. 400, p. 269, and Clouston, i. 72 ff., on magical treasures.
THE ASS IN THE LIONS SKIN
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born in a farmers family,
and when he grew up he got a livelihood by tillage.
At the same time there was a Merchant who used to
go about hawking goods, which a donkey carried for him.
Wlierever he went, he used to take his bundle off the ass,
and throw a lionskin over him, and then turn him loose
in the rice and barley fields. When the watchmen saw
this creature, they imagined him to be a lion, and so
durst not come near him.
One day this hawker stopped at a certain village, and
while he was getting his own breakfast cooked, he turned
the ass loose in a barley field with the lionskin on. The
watchmen thought it was a lion, and durst not come near,
but fled home and gave the alarm. All the villagers
armed themselves, and hurried to the field, shouting and
blowing on conchs and beating drums. The ass was
frightened out of his wits, and gave a hee-haw ! Then the
156 THE PRIEST IX HORSE-TRAPPINGS
Bodhisatta, seeing that it was a donkey, repeated the first
stanza :
Nor lion nor tiger I see,
Not even a panther is he:
But a donkey— the ^^Tetclled old hack !
With a lionskin over his back!
As soon as the villagers learnt that it was only an ass,
they cudgelled him till they broke his bones, and then went
ofi" with the lionskin. When the Merchant appeared, and
found that his ass had come to grief, he repeated the
second stanza:
The donkey, if he had been wise,
Mig-ht long- the green barley have eaten;
A lionskin was his disguise: —
But he gave a hee-haw, and got beaten!
As he was in the act of uttering these words, the ass
expired. The Merchant left him, and went his way.
In P. (T.) III. 1 the skin is a panther's, and is evidence for the Kashmirian origin
of this recension. In P. (B.) iv. 7 it is changed with the locality to a tiger-skin,
more ftiniiliar further south. A trace of the earlier version is seen in the first stanza
of the jatak;x, where a panther is referred to. In Aesop (Babr. 139, Halm 333), as
Prof Rhys David notes, a natural reason for the use of the skin is not given. Som.
Lxii. 18 (ii. 65) follows P. (T.). The earliest reference to the fable in Greek literature
is Lucian, Piscal. c. 32, the sujjposed reference in Plato, Crat. 411a, being to the
lion's skin of Hercules, nor is there necessarily any reference in Hor. Sat. i. 6. 22,
II. 1. 64. Of. Hausi-ath, Jacobs 57.
THE PRIEST IN HORSE-TRAPPINGS
Once upon a time, when king Brahmadatta was reigning
in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born of his chief queen.
He came of age, and his father passed away ; and then he
became king and ruled in righteousness.
The Bodhisatta had a family priest named Ruhaka,
and this Ruhaka had an old brahmin woman to wife.
The kins: irave the brahmin a horse accoutred with all
THE PRIEST IN HORSE-THAPPINGS 157
its trappinjj^s, and he mounted the horse and went to wait
upon the king. As he rode along on the baek of his
richly caparisoned steed, the people on this side and that
were loud in its praise: "See that fine horse!" they cried;
"what a beauty!"
When he came home again, he went into his mansion
and told his wife, "Goodwife," said he, "oui- horse is
passing fine 1 Kight and left the people are all speaking
in praise of it."
Now his wife was no better than she should be, and full
of deceit; so she made reply to him thus.
"Ah, husband, you do not know wherein lies the beauty
of this horse. It is all in his fine trappings. Now if you
would make yourself fine like the horse, put his trappings
on yourself and go down into the street, prancing along
horse-fashion. You will see the king, and he will praise
you, and all the people will praise you."
This fool of a brahmin listened to it all, but did not
know what she purposed. So he believed her, and did as
she had said. All that saw him laughed aloud: "There
goes a fine professor ! " said they all. And the king cried
shame on him. "Why, my Teacher," said he, "has your
bile gone wrong ? Are you crazy ? " At this the brahmin
thoujjht that he must have behaved amiss, and he was
ashamed. So he was wroth with his wife, and made haste
home, saying to himself, "The woman has shamed me
before the king and all his army : I will chastise her and
turn her out of doors ! "
But the crafty woman found out that he had come
home in anger; she stole a march on him, and departed
by a side door, and made her way to the palace, where
she stayed four or five days. When the king heard of it,
he sent for his priest, and said to him,
158 INGRATITUDE PUNISHED
"My Teacher, all womankind are full of faults; you
ought to forgive this lady"; and with intent to make him
forgive he uttered the first stanza:
Even a broken bowstring' can be mended and made whole:
Forgive your wife, and cherish not this anger in your soul.
Hearing this, Ruhaka uttered the second :
Wliile there is bark and workmen too
'Tis easy to buy bowstrings new.
Another wife I will procure;
I've had enough of this one, sure.
So saying, he sent her away, and took him another
brahmin woman to wife.
p. (B.) IV. 6. The minister's wife makes him have his head shaved, and the king's
wife drives her husband wth a bridle. When the king asks his minister why he is
shaven at the wi-ong time, the minister retorts on tlie king's folly. This latter point
was probably omitted in the jataka in order to fit it into the bodhisatta theory. Cf.
Benf. Einl. § 187.
INGRATITUDE PUNISHED
Once upon a time, Avhen king Brahmadatta reigned
over Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as his chief queen's
son. On his name-day, they called him Prince Paduma,
the Lotus Prince. After him came six younger brothers.
One after another these seven came of age and married
and settled down, living as the king s companions.
One day the king looked out into the palace courts,
and as he looked he saw these men with a great following
on their way to wait upon himself He conceived the
suspicion that they meant to slay him, and seize his
kingdom. So he sent for them, and after this fashion
bespake them.
"My sons, you may not dwell in this town. So go
elsewhere, and when I die you shall return and take the
kingdom which belongs to our family."
INGRATITUDE PUNISHED 159
They agreed to their father's words ; and went home
weeping and waiHng. " It matters not where we go ! " they
cried ; and taking their wives with them, they left the city,
and journeyed along the road. By and by they came to
a wood, where they could get no food or drink. And
being unable to bear the pangs of hunger, they deter-
mined to save their lives at the women's cost. They
seized the youngest brother's wife, and slew her; they cut
up her body into thirteen parts, and ate it. But the
Bodhisatta and his wife set aside one portion, and ate
the other between them.
Thus they did six days, and slew and ate six of the
Avomen; and each day the Bodhisatta set one portion
aside, so that he had six portions saved. On the seventh
day the others would have taken the Bodhisatta's wife to
kill her ; but instead he gave them the six portions which
he had kept. "Eat these," said he; "to-morrow I will
manage." They all did eat the flesh ; and when the time
came that they fell asleep, the Bodhisatta and his wife
made off together.
When they had gone a little space, the woman said,
" Husband, I can go no further." So the 13odhisatta took
her upon his shoulders, and at sunrise he came out of the
wood. When the sun was risen, said she — "Husband, I
am thirsty ! "
"There is no water, dear wife!" said he.
But she begged him again and again, until he struck
his right knee with his sword, and said,
" Water there is none ; but sit you down and drink the
blood here from my knee." And so she did.
By and by they came to the mighty Ganges. They
drank, they bathed, they ate all manner of fruits, and
rested in a pleasant spot. And there by a bend of the
160 INGRATITUDE PUNISHED
river they made a hermit s hut and took up their abode
in it.
Now it happened that a robber in the regions of Upper
Ganges had been guilty of high treason. His hands and
feet, and his nose and ears had been cut otf, and he was
laid in a canoe, and left to drift down the great river. To
this place he floated, groaning aloud with pain. The
Bodhisatta heard his piteous wailing.
" While I live,"' said he, " no poor creature shall perish
for me!" and to the river bank he went, and saved the
man. He brought him to the hut, and with astringent
lotions and ointments he tended his wounds.
But his wife said to herself, " Here is a nice lazy fellow
he has fetched out of the Ganges, to look after!" and she
went about spitting for disgust at the fellow.
Now when the man's wounds were growing together,
the Bodhisatta had him to dwell there in the hut along
with his wife, and he brought fruits of all kinds from the
forest to feed both him and the woman. And as they
thus dwelt together, the woman fell in love with the fellow,
and committed sin. Then she desired to kill the Bod-
hisatta, and said to him, "Husband, as I sat on your
shoulder when I came out from the forest, I saw yon hill,
and I vowed that if ever you and I should be saved, and
come to no harm, I would make offering to the holy spirit
of the hill. Now this spirit haunts me: and I desire to
pay my offering ! "
"Very good," said the Bodhisatta, not knowing her
guile. He prepared an offering, and delivering to her the
vessel of offering, he climbed the hill-top. Then his wife
said to him,
" Husband, not the hill-spirit, but you are my chief of
gods! Then in your honour first of all I will offer wild
INGRATITUDE PUNISHED 161
flowers, and walk reverently round you, keeping you on
the right, and salute you: and after that I will make my
offering to the mountain spirit." So saying, she placed him
facing a precipice, and pretended to salute him by offering
flowers and walking round him. Thus getting behind
him, she smote him on the back, and hurled him down
the precipice. Then she cried in her joy, "1 have seen
the back of my enemy!" and she came down from the
mountain, and went into the presence of her paramour.
Now the 13o(lhisatta tumbled down the clifl'; but he
stuck fast in a clump of leaves on the top of a fig-tree
where there were no thorns. Yet he could not get down
the hill, so there he sat among the branches, eating the
figs. It happened that a huge lizard king used to climb
the hill from the foot of it, and would eat the fi-uit of this
fig-tree. That day he saw the Bodhisatta and took to
flight. On the next day, he came and ate some fruit on
one side of it. Again and again he came, till at last he
struck up a friendship with the 15odhisatta.
" How did you get to this place ? " he asked ; and the
Bodhisatta told him hoAv.
"Well, don't be afraid," said the lizard; and taking;
him on his own back, he descended the hill and brought
him out of the forest. There he set him upon the high-
road, and shewed him what way he should go, and himself
returned to the forest.
The other proceeded to a certain village, and dwelt
there till he heard of his fathers death. Upon this he
made his way to ]5enares. There he inherited the king-
dom which belonged to his family, and took the name of
King Lotus ; the ten rules of righteousness for kings he
did not transgress, and he ruled ui)rightly. He built six
Halls of Bounty, one at each of the four gates, one in the
p. & T. 11
162 INGRATITUDE PUNISHED
midst of the city, and one before the palace; and every
day he distributed in gifts six hun(h'ed thousand pieces
of money.
Now the wicked wife took her paramour upon her
shoulders, and came forth out of the forest ; and she went
a-begging among the people, and collected rice and gruel
to support him withal. If she was asked what the man
was to her, she would reply, " His mother was sister to my
father, he is my cousin^; to him they gave me. Even if
he were doomed to death I would take my own husband
upon my shoulders, and care for him, and beg food for
his living!"
"What a devoted wife!" said all the people. And
thenceforward they gave her more food than ever. Some
of them also offered advice, saying, "Do not live in this
way. King Lotus is lord of Benares ; he has set all India
in a stir by his bounty. It will delight him to see you;
so delighted will he be, that he will give you rich gifts.
Put your husband in this basket, and make your way to
him." So saying, they persuaded her, and gave her a
basket of osiers.
The wicked woman placed her paramour in the basket,
and taking it up she repaired to Benares, and lived on
what she got at the Halls of Bounty. Now the Bodhisatta
used to ride to an alms-hall upon the back of a splendid
elephant richly dight; and after giving alms to eight or
ten people, he would set out again for home. Then the
wicked woman placed her paramour in the basket, and
taking it up, she stood where the king was used to pass.
The king saw her. "Who is this? " he asked. "A devoted
wife," was the answer. He sent for her, and recognised
1 The Panchatantra says " his kinsfolk persecuted him," which gives a reason for
the state he was seen in. (Dr Rouse.)
INGRATITUDE PUNISHED 163
who she was. He caused the man to be put down fi-oni
the basket, and asked her, "What is this man to you?"
— " He is the son of my father's sister, given me by my
family, my own husband," she answered.
"Ah, what a devoted wife!" cried they all: for they
knew not the ins and outs of it; and they praised the
wicked woman.
" Wliat — is the scoundrel your cousin ? did your family
give him to you?" asked the king; "your husband, is
he?"
She did not recognise the king ; and " Yes, my lord ! "
said she, as bold as you like.
"And is this the king of Benares' son? Are you not
the wife of prince Lotus, the daughter of such and such
a king, your name so and so? Did not you drink the
blood from my knee ? Did you not fall in love with this
rascal, and throw me down a precii)ice ? Ah, you thought
that I was dead, and here you are with death written
upon your OAvn forehead — and here am I, alive!" Then
he turned to his courtiers. "Do you remember what I
told you, when you questioned me? My six younger
brothers slew their six wives and ate them ; but I kept my
wife unhurt, and brought her to Ganges' bank, where I
dwelt in a hermit's hut: I hauled a condemned criminal
out of the river, and supported him; this woman fell in
love with him, and threw me down a precipice, but I saved
my life by shewing kindness. This is no other than the
wicked woman who threw me off the crag: this, and no
other, is the condemned wretch!" And then he uttered
the following verses:
'Tis I — no other, and this quean is she;
The handless knave, no other, there you see;
Quoth she— "This is the husband of my youth."
AYomen deserve to die; they have no truth.
11—2
164 THE GOBLIN CITY
With a great clul) beat out the scoundrel's life
Who lies in wait to steal his neighbour's wife.
Then take the faithful harlot by and by,
And shear off nose and ears before she die.
But although the Bodhisatta could not swallow his
anger, and ordained this punishment for them, he did not
do accordingly ; but he smothered his wrath, and had the
basket fixed upon her head so fast that she could not
take it off; the villain he had placed in the same, and
they were driven out of his kingdom.
The version in Som. Lxv. (ii. 101) is a jataka and closely follows this. The
woman's nose and ears are cut off, and this must have been tlie earUer ending of
the iiresent tale, as is implied by the verses. This feature is omitted in Tib. T. xxi.
In P. (B.) IV. 5 the husband saves her life by giving her half his own. She afterwards
pushes him into a well and goes to the city with the cripple, where the king (not her
husband) gives them support. When her husband discovers her, she accuses him
of being her enemy. He demands back what he has given her, she gives it him
{i.e. her life), and falls dead. In Som. xiv. (i. 98) the brahmin Ruru thus saves the
life of his betrothed, who w^as bitten by a snake. Cf Grimm 16, Anm.
THE GOBLIN CITYi
Once upon a time, there was in the island of Ceylon
a goblin town called Sirisavatthu, peopled by she-goblins.
When a ship is wrecked, these adorn and deck themselves,
and taking rice and gruel, with trains of slaves, and their
children on their hip, they come up to the merchants.
In order to make them imagine that theirs is a city of
human beings, they make them see here and there men
ploughing and tending kine, herds of cattle, dogs, and
the like. Then approaching the merchants they invite
them to partake of the gruel, rice, and other food which
they bring. The merchants, all unaware, eat of what is
offered. When they have eaten and drunken, and are
taking their rest, the goblins address them thus : " Where
^ Tlie magical Valalia liorse is one of the king's seven treasures of Empire in
Jat. 479, and OHe of the chariot-horses of Vishnu in the Mahabharata.
THE GOBLIN CITY 165
do you live? where do you come from? whither are you
going, and what errand brought you here?" "We were
shipwrecked here," they reply. "Very good, noble sirs,"
the others make answer; "'tis three years ago since our
own husbands went on board ship ; they must have perished.
You are merchants too; we will be your wives." Thus
they lead them astray by their women's wiles, and tricks,
and dalliance, until they get them into the goblin city;
then, if they have any others already caught, they bind
these with magic chains, and cast them into the house of
torment. And if they find no shipwrecked men in the
place where they dwell, they scour the coast as far as the
river Kalyani^ on one side and the island of Nagadipa on
the other. This is their way.
Now it happened once that five hundred shipwrecked
traders were cast ashore near the city of these she-goblins.
The goblins came up to them and enticed them, till they
brought them to their city; those whom they had caught
before, they bound with magic chains and cast them into
tlie house of torment. Then the chief goblin took the
chief man, and the others took the rest, till five hundred
had the five hundred traders; and they made the men
their husbands. Then in the night time, when her man
was asleep, the chief she-goblin rose up, and made her
wav to the house of death, slew some of the men and ate
them. The others did the same. When the eldest goblin
returned from eating men's flesh, her body was cold. The
eldest merchant embraced her, and perceived that she
was a goblin. "All the five hundred of them must be
goblins!" he thought to himself: "we must make our
escape ! "
So in the early morning, when he went to wash his
^ The modern Kuelanigaiigfi {Journ. of the Pali Text Soc, 1888, p. 20).
166 THE GOBLIN CITY
face, he bespake the other merchants in these words.
" These are goblins, and not human beings ! As soon as
other shipwrecked men can be found, they will make them
their husbands, and will eat us ; come — let us escape ! "
Two hundred and fifty of them replied, "We cannot
leave them : go ye, if ye will, but we will not flee away."
Then the chief trader with two hundred and fifty, who
were ready to obey him, fled away in fear of the goblins.
Now at that time, the Bodhisatta had come into the
world as a flying horse, Avhite all over, and beaked like a
crow, with hair like munja grass, possessed of super-
natural power, able to fly through the air. From Himalaya
he flew through the air until he came to Ceylon. There
he passed over the ponds and tanks of Ceylon, and ate
the paddy that grcAv wild there. As he passed on thus,
he thrice uttered human speech filled with mercy, saying
— "Who Avants to go home? who wants to go home?"
The traders heard his saying, and cried — " We are going
home, master!" joining their hands, and raising them
respectfully to their foreheads. " Then climb up on my
back," said the Bodhisatta. Thereat some of them climbed
up, some laid hold of his tail, and some remained standing,
with a respectful salute. Then the Bodhisatta took up
even those who stood still saluting him, and conveyed all
of them, even two hundred and fifty, to their OAvn country,
and set down each in his own place; then he went back
to his place of dwelling.
And the she-goblins, when other men came to that
place, slew those two hundred and fifty who were left, and
devoured them.
Divydvacldna 5i2A, Kdrandavyuha 52, Beal, Rom. Leg. 332, a Tibetan version by
Wenzel, JRAS., 1888, 503. The magic horse, which in the Pali is a previous incarna-
tion of Buddha, is also an episode in the tale of Supriya {Dhydv. 120), and is there
an incarnation of Maitreya, and in the Karandavyuha of Avalokitesvara. Wenzel
THE TELL-TALE PARROT 167
coniiJiires the myth of tlie sirens, and explains the magic horse as a inytli of the moon,
but JJeal as the wliite crested waves at the change of the monsoon. It is illustiMted
on the bas-reliefs of the temple of Boro-15oedoer in Java (Leemans, D6ru-Boudout\
pi. 389, Leide, 1874), and on a railing at Mathura (Anderson, Catalogue of the Indian
Museum, i. p. 189). Cf. Kuhn, p. 81.
THE TELL-TALE PARROT
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king of
Benares, the Bodhisatta came into the world as a young
parrot. His name was Radha, and his youngest brother
was named Potthapada. While they were yet quite young,
both of them were caught by a fowler and handed over to
a brahmin in Benares. The brahmin cared for them as
if they were his children. But the brahmins wife was a
wicked Avoman ; there was no watching her.
The husband had to go away on business, and addressed
his young parrots thus. "Little dears, I am going away
on business. Keep watch on your mother in season and
out of season; observe whether or not any man visits
her." So off he went, leaving his wife in charge of the
young parrots.
As soon as he Avas gone, the woman began to do wrong ;
night and day the visitors came and went — there was no
end to them. Potthapada, observing this, said to Radha
— " Our master gave this woman into our charge, and here
she is doing wickedness. I will speak to her."
" Don't," said Radha. But the other would not listen.
" Mother," said he, " why do you commit sin 'i "
How she longed to kill him! But making as though
she would fondle him, she called him to her.
" Little one, you are my son ! I will never do it again !
Here, then, the dear ! " So he came out ; then she seized
him crying,
168 THE CHOICE OF A HUSBAND
" What ! you preach to me ! you don't know your mea-
sure!" and she wrung his neck, and threw him into the
oven.
The brahmin returned. When he had rested, he asked
the Bodhisatta: "Well, my dear, what about your mother
— does she do wrong, or no ? " and as he asked the question,
he repeated the first couplet:
I come, my son, the journey done, and now I am at home again:
Come tell me; is your mother true? does she make love to other men?
Radha answered, " Father dear, the wise speak not of
things which do not conduce to blessing, whether they
have happened or not"; and he explained this by re-
peating the second couplet:
For what he said he now lies dead, burnt up heneath the ashes there:
It is not well the truth to tell, lest Potthapada's fate I share.
Thus did the Bodhisatta hold forth to the brahmin;
and he went on — "This is no place for me to live in
either"; then bidding the brahmin farewell, he flew away
to the woods.
A shorter variant in Jat. 145. This is the frame story of Suh, and of the Persian
and Turkish derivatives Tutl-nameh. The Pali form is closer to these latter than
to the Sanskrit. As in the Persian there are two birds, one of which is killed
through his rashness, and the wife is put to death. In the Sanskrit there is one
bird, which is given to the man to cure him of his evil courses, and the erring wife is
finally pardoned, Gesta Rom. 68. Other variants in Clouston, ii. 196 ff. A Jain
version is given in J. J. Meyer's Hindu Tales, .302. London, 1909.
THE CHOICE OF A HUSBAND
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta ruled in Benares,
the Bodhisatta was born as a brahmin's son. He came
of age, and received his education at Takkasila; then on
returning he became a famous teacher.
Now there was a brahmin who had four daughters.
THE FOOLHARDY CROW 169
These four were wooed by four persons as told above ^
The brahmin could not decide to whom to <2:ive them.
" I will enquire of the teacher," he thought, " and then he
shall have them to whom they should be ^iven." So he
came into the teachers presence, and repeated the first
couplet:
One is good, iind ono is noble ; one litis beanty, one has years.
Answer nie this qnestion, brahmin; of the four, which best appears ?
Hearin<2: this, the teacher replied, " Even thou<;h there
be beauty and the like qualities, a man is to be despised
if he fail in virtue. Therefore the former is not the
measure of a man ; those that I like are the virtuous." And
in explanation of this matter, he repeated the second
couplet:
Good is beauty: to the aged shew respect, for this is rig'ht:
Good is noble birth; but virtue — virtue, that is my delight.
Wlien the brahmin heard this, he gave all his dau<^hters
to the virtuous wooer.
Possibly a much moralised version of Vet. 2, where four wooers dispute for the
hand of a brahmin's daughter. This occurs in Som. lxxvi. (ii. 242), the Hindi
Baital Pachisi, and Burmese Precedents of Princess Sudhammacdri (tr. by
St John in Folkl. Journ. vii. 309 ff.), where there are only three wooers.
THE FOOLHARDY CROW
Once upon a time, while Brahmadatta reigned as king-
in Benares, the Bodhisatta became a marsh crow, and
dwelt by a certain pool. His name was Viraka, the
Strong.
There arose a famine in Kasi. Men could not spare
food for the crows, nor make offering to goblins and
nagas. One by one the crows left the famine-stricken
land, and betook them to the woods.
1 I.e. in the introductory story, in which Buddha is consulted l)y a bruhmin whose
daughters are wooed by four suitors, one handsome, one old, one of good family, and
one good.
170 THE FOOLHARDY CROW
A certain crow named Savitthaka, who lived at Benares,
took with him his lady crow and went to the place where
Viraka lived, making his abode beside the same pool.
One day, this crow was seeking food about the pool.
He saw how Viraka went down into it, and made a meal
off some fish; and afterwards came up out of the water
again, and stood drying his feathers. "Under the wing
of that crow," thought he, " plenty of fish are to be got.
I will become his servant." So he drew near.
" What is it, Sir ? " asked Viraka.
" I want to be your servant, my lord ! " was the reply.
Viraka agreed, and from that time the other served
him. And from that time, Viraka used to eat enough fish
to keep him alive, and the rest he gave to Savitthaka as
soon as he had caught them; and Avhen Savitthaka had
eaten enough to keep him alive, he gave what was over to
his wife.
After a while pride came into his heart. " This crow,"
said he, " is black, and so am I : in eyes and beak and feet,
too, there is no difference between us. I don't want his
fish; I will catch my own!" So he told Viraka that for
the future he intended to go down to the water and catch
fish himself. Then Viraka said, "Good friend, you do not
belong to a tribe of such crows as are born to go into
water and catch fish. Don't destroy yourself!"
But in spite of this attempt to dissuade him, Savitthaka
did not take the warning to heart. Down he went to the
pool, down into the water; but he could not make his
way through the weeds and come out again — there he
was, entangled in the weeds, with only the tip of his beak
appearing above the water. So not being able to breathe
he perished there beneath the water.
His mate noticed that he did not return, and went to
WOODPECKER, TORTOISE, AND ANTELOPE 171
Viraka to ask news of him. " My lord," she asked, " Savit-
thaka is not to be seen: where is he?" And as she asked
him this, she repeated the first stanza:
O have you seen Savitthakti, 0 Viraka, have you seen
My sweet-voiced mate whose neck is like the peacock in its sheen ?
When Viraka heard it, he replied, " Yes, I know where
he is gone," and recited the second stanza :
He was not born to dive beneath the wave,
But what he could not do he needs must try;
So the poor bird has found a watery grave,
Entangled in the weeds, and left to die.
When the lady-crow heard it, weeping, she returned to
Benares.
Cf. Jat. 143, p. 124, of which Jat. 335 is a variant, Aesop, The Fox and the Lion
(Halm 41), La Fontaine, ii. 16, Le Corbeaii voulant imiter TAigle. Jacobs 73.
THE WOODPECKER, TORTOISE, AND ANTELOPE
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king of
Benares, the Bodhisatta became an Antelope, and lived
within a forest, in a thicket near a certain lake. Not far
from the same lake, sat a Woodpecker perched at the top
of a tree; and in the lake dwelt a Tortoise. And the
three became friends, and lived together in amity.
A hunter, wandering about in the wood, observed the
Bodhisatta's footprint at the going down into the water;
and he set a trap of leather, strong, like an iron chain,
and went his way. In the first watch of the night the
Bodhisatta went down to drink, and got caught in the
noose : whereat he cried the cry of capture. Thereupon the
Woodpecker Hew down from her tree- top, and the Tortoise
came out of the water, and consulted what was to be done.
172 WOODPECKER, TORTOISE, AND ANTELOPE
Said the Woodpecker to the Tortoise, " Friend, you
have teeth — bite this snare through; I will go and see to
it that the hunter keeps away ; and if we both do our best,
our friend will not lose his life/' To make this clear he
uttered the first stanza :
Come, Tortoise, tear the leathern snare, and hite it through and through,
And of the hunter I'll take care, and keep him off from you.
The Tortoise began to gnaw the leather thong: the
Woodpecker made his way to the hunter s dwelling. At
dawn of day the hunter went out, knife in hand. As soon
as the bird saw him start, he uttered a cry, flapped his
winffs, and struck him in the face as he left the front door.
"Some bird of ill omen has struck me!" thought the
hunter; he turned back, and lay down for a little while.
Then he rose up again, and took his knife. The bird
reasoned within himself, "The first time he went out by
the front door, so now he w ill leave by the back " : and he
sat him down behind the house. The hunter, too, reasoned
in the same way: "When I went out by the front door, I
saw a bad omen, now will I go out by the back!" and so
he did. But the bird cried out again, and struck him in
the face. Finding that he was again struck by a bird of
ill omen, the hunter exclaimed, "This creature will not
let me go!" and turning back he lay down until sunrise,
and when the sun was risen, he took his knife and started.
The Woodpecker made all haste back to his friends.
"Here comes the hunter!" he cried. By this time the
Tortoise had gnawed through all the thongs but one tough
thong: his teeth seemed as though they would fall out,
and his mouth was all smeared with blood. The Bodhi-
satta saw the young hunter coming on like lightning, knife
in hand; he burst the thong, and fled into the woods. The
Woodpecker perched upon his tree-top. But the Tortoise
WOODPECKER, TORTOISE, AND ANTELOPE 1 73
was so weak, tliat he lay where he was. The hunter threw
him into a bag, and tied it to a tree.
The Bodhisatta observed that the Tortoise was taken,
and determined to save his friend's life. So he let the
hunter see him, and made as though he wei'e weak. The
hunter saw him, and thinking him to be weak, seized his
knife and set out in pursuit. The Bodhisatta, keeping just
out of his reach, led him into the forest; and when he saw
that they had come far away, gave him the slip and re-
turned swift as the wind by another way. He lifted the
bag with his horns, threw it upon the ground, ripped it
open and let the Tortoise out. And the AVoodpecker
came down from the tree.
Then the IJodhisatta thus addressed them both: "My
life has been saved by you, and you have done a friend's
part to me. Now the hunter will come and take you; so
do you, friend Woodpecker, migrate elsewhere with your
brood, and you, friend Tortoise, dive into the water."
They did so.
The Master, as the All-enlightened One, uttered the
second stanza:
The Tortoise went into the pond, the Deer into the wood,
And from the tree the Woodpecker carried away his brood.
The hunter returned, and saw none of them. He
found his bag torn ; picked it up, and went home sorrow-
ful. And the three friends lived all their life long in
unbroken amity, and then passed away to fare according
to their deeds.
The latter part of the frame story of P. ii. (crow, mouse, and antelope^ C£
Jat. 33, p. 32. Figured on the Bharhut Stupa, pi. xxvii. 9.
THE CROCODILE AND THE MONKEY
Once upon a time, while Brahmaclatta was king of
Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life at the foot of Hima-
laya as a Monkey. He gTCw strong- and sturdy, big of
frame, well-to-do, and lived by a curve of the river Ganges
in a forest haunt.
Now at that time there was a Crocodile dwelling in the
Ganges. The Crocodile's mate saw the great frame of the
monkey, and she conceived a longing for his heart to eat.
So she said to her lord : " Sir, I desire to eat the heart of
that great king of the monkeys 1 "
" Good wife," said the Crocodile, " we live in the water
and he lives on dry land : how can we catch him ? "
" By hook or by crook," she replied, " caught he must
be. If I don't get him, I shall die."
"All right," answered the Crocodile, consoling her,
" don't trouble yourself I have a plan ; I will give you his
heart to eat."
So when the Bodhisatta was sitting on the bank of the
Ganges, after taking a drink of water, the Crocodile drew
near, and said :
" Sir Monkey, why do you live on bad fruits in this old
familiar place ? On the other side of the Ganges there is
no end to the mango trees, and bread-fruit trees', with fruit
sweet as honey ! Is it not better to cross over and have all
kinds of wild fruit to eat ? "
" Lord Crocodile," the Monkey made answer, "deep and
wide is the Ganges : how shall I get across ? "
" If you w ill go, I will mount you on my back, and carry
you over."
1 Artocarpus Lacucha {Childers).
THE CROCODILE AND THE MONKEY 175
The Monkey trusted him, and a^eed. "Come here,
then," said the other, " up on my back with you ! " and up
the monkey climbed. But when the Crocodile had swum
a little way, he plunged the ^lonkey under the water.
" Good friend, you are letting me sink ! " cried the
Monkey. "What is that for?"
Said the Crocodile, " You think I am carrying you out
of pure good nature ? Not a bit of it ! My wife has
a longing for your heart, and I want to give it her to
eat ! "
" Friend," said the Monkey, " it is nice of you to tell
me. Why, if our heart were inside us when we go jumping
among the tree-tops, it would be all knocked to pieces ! "
"Well, where do you keep them ? " asked the other.
The Bodhisatta pointed out a fig-tree, with clusters of
ripe fruit, standing not far off. " See," said he, " there are
our hearts hanging on yon fig-tree."
" If you will shew me your heart," said the Crocodile,
" then I won't kill you."
" Take me to the tree, then, and I will point it out to
you hanging upon it."
The Crocodile brought him to the place. The Monkey
leapt off his back, and climbing up the fig-tree sat upon it.
" O silly Crocodile ! " said he, " you thought that there were
creatures that kept their hearts in a tree-top ! You are a
fool, and 1 have outwitted you ! You may keep your fruit
to yourself Your body is great, but you have no sense."
And then to explain this idea he uttered the following
stanzas :
Eose-apple, bread-fruit, mangoes too across the water there I see;
Enough of them, T want them not; my fig is good enough for me!
Great is your body, verily, but how much smaller is your wit!
Now go your ways, Sir Crocodile, for I have had the best of it.
176 THE BRAHMIN xVND THE ACROBAT
The Crocodile, feeling as sad and miserable as if he had
lost a thousand pieces of money, went back sorrowing to
the place where he lived.
Frame story of P. iv. A tale widely spread by means of buddhism in Asia.
Variants in Jat. 57, 342, Cariyd-Pit. iii. 7, Mahdvastu ii. 108, O'Connor, Folktales
from Tibet 20, Griffis, Japanese Fairy World, No. 17, Beal, Romantic Legend,
231, K. D. (SjT.) HI. (Arab.) i.x. Benfey compares Aesop (Halm 363), Monkey and
Dolphin. In Jat. 57 the monkey has to leap on a rock which is occupied by the
crocodile. The monkey addresses the rock, and the crocodile reveals himself by
replying. This incident is parallel to P. (T.) in., Anhang in., (B.) in. 14, The Fox and
the speaking Bole. This fable is first found in Greek in Plato, Alcib. i. 123 a. In
Jat. 21 an antelope speaks to a tree in which he suspects a hunter. Dr Rouse gives
a Jewish form given by Mr I. Nestor Schnurmann, who heard it from his
nurse (about 1860). — "Once ujion a time, the King of the Fishes was wanting in
wisdom. His advisers told him that once he could get the heart of the fox, he would
become wise. So he sent a deputation, consisting of the great magnates of the
sea, whales and others. 'Our king wants your advice on some state aflfairs.' The
fox, flattered, consented. A whale took him on his back. On the way the waves
beat upon him; at last he asked what they really wanted. They said, what their
king really wanted was to eat his heart, by which he hoped to become clever. He
said, 'Why didn't you tell me that before ? I would gladly sacrifice my life for such
a woi-thy object. But we foxes always leave our hearts at home. Take me back
and I'll fetch it. Otherwise I'm sure your king ^vill be angry.' So they took him
back. As soon as he got near the shore, he leaped on land, and cried 'Ah you
fools ! Have you ever heard of an animal not carrying his heart with him ? ' and
ran off. The fish had to return empty." See The fox's heart in The Book of
Delight (Philadelphia, 1912) by I. Abrahams, who gives the Jewish version from the
Alp/uibetum Siracidis, and much information on the folklore of eating the heart.
THE BRAHMIN AND THE ACROBAT
Once upon a time, while Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as one of a family of
poor acrobats, that lived by begging. So when he grew
up, he was needy and squalid, and by begging he lived.
There was at the time, in a certain village of Kasi, a
THE BKAHMIN AND THP] ACROBAT 177
brahmin whose wife was bad and wicked, and did wronj^.
And it befell that the husband went abroad one day u])on
some matter, and her lover watehin<j^ his time went to visit
the house. After she had received him, he said, " I w ill
eat a bit before I i»:o." So she made readv the food, and
served up rice hot with sauce and curry, and <^ave it him,
biddin<*^ him eat : she herself stood at the door, w atchin;:^
the brahmin's comin<>^. And w hile the lover was eating, the
Bodhisatta stood waitin*;- for a morsel.
At that moment the brahmin set his face for home.
And his wife saw him draw in«^ ni<^h, and ran in quickly —
"Up, my man is coming!" and she made her lover go
down into the store-room. The Imsband came in ; she gave
him a seat, and water for washing the hands ; and uj)on
the cold rice that was left bv the other she turned out
some hot rice, and set it before him. He put his hand
into the rice, and felt that it Avas hot above and cold
below. " This must be some one else's leavings," thought
he ; and so. he asked the woman about it in the words
of the first stanza:
Hot at top, iiud cold at bottom, not alike it seems to be:
I would ask you for the reason: come, my lady, answer me!
Again and again he asked, but she, fearing lest her
deed should be discovered, held her peace. Then a
thought came into our tumbler s mind. " The man dow n
in the store-room must be a lover, and this is the master
of the house : the wife says nothing, for fear that her deed
be made manifest. Soho ! I will declare the w hole
matter, and shew the brahmin that a man is hidden in
his larder.' And he told him the whole matter : how that
when he had gone out from his house, another had come
in, and had (hme evil ; how he had eaten the first rice, and
the wife had stood by the door to watch the road ; and
F. 4 T. 12
178 THE TORTOISE AND THE GEESE
how the other man had been hidden in the store-room.
And in so saying, he repeated the second stanza :
I am a tumbler, Sir: I came on beg-g-ing- here intent;
He that you seek is hiding- in the store-room, where he went!
By his top-knot he haled the man out of the store-room,
and bade him take care not to do the hke again ; and then
he went awav. The brahmin rebuked and beat them both,
and gave them such a lesson that they were not likely to do
the same again. Afterwards he passed away to fare ac-
cording to his deserts.
Cf. Oldeuberg, The Akhycma Type and the Jdtakas, JPTS. 1910-12 {^Niu:h-
richten der k. Gesell. der Wiss. zu G'Ottingen, 1911), for a discussion of tliis as a
tjijical form of jataka.
THE TORTOISE AND THE GEESE
Once on a time Brahmadatta was king of Benares, and
the Bodhisatta, being born to one of the king's court, grew
up, and became the king's adviser in all things human and
divine. But this king was very talkative; and when he
talked there was no chance for any other to get in a word.
And the Bodhisatta, wishing to put a stop to his much
talking, kept watching for an opportunity.
Now there dwelt a Tortoise in a certain pond in the
region of Himalaya. Two young wild Geese, searching for
food, struck up an acquaintance with him; and by and
by they grew close friends together. One day these two
said to him : " Friend Tortoise, we have a lovely home in
Himalaya, on a plateau of Mount Cittakuta, in a cave of
gold ! Will you come with us ? "
" Why," said he, " how can I get there ? "
" Oh, we will take you, if only you can keep your mouth
shut, and say not a word to anybody."
" Yes, I can do that," said he ; '* take me along ! "
THE TORTOISE AND THE GEESE 170
So they made the Tortoise hold a stick between his
teeth: and themselves taking hold of the two ends, they
sprang up into the air.
The village children saw this, and exclaimed — " There
are two geese carrying a tortoise by a stick ! "
(\iy this time the geese flying swiftly had arrived at the
space above the palace of the king at Benares.) The
Tortoise wanted to cry out — " Well, and if my friends do
carry me, what is that to you, you caitiffs ? " — and he let
go the stick from between his teeth, and falling into the
open courtyard he split in two. What an uproar there was !
" A tortoise has fallen in the courtyard, and broken in
two ! " they cried. The king, with the Bodhisatta, and all
his court, came up to the place, and seeing the tortoise
asked the Bodhisatta a question. " Wise Sir, what made
this creature fall ? "
" Now s my time ! " thought he. " For a long wliile
I have been wishing to admonish the king, and I have
gone about seeking my opportunity. No doubt the truth
is this : the tortoise and the geese became friendly ; the
geese must have meant to carry him to Himalaya, and so
made him hold a stick between his teeth, and then lifted
him into the ah' ; then he must have heard some remark,
and wanted to re])ly ; and not being able to keep his
mouth shut he must have let himself go ; and so he must
have fallen from the sky and thus come by his death." So
thought he ; and addressed the king : " O king, they that
have too much tongue, that set no limit to their speaking,
ever come to such misfortune as this " ; and he uttered the
following verses :
The Tortoise needs must speak aloud,
Although between his teetli
A stick he bit : yet, spite of it,
He spoke — and fell beneath.
12—2
180 THE STOLEN PLOUGHSHARES
And now, O mighty master, mark it well.
See thou speiik wisely, see thou speak in season.
To death the Tortoise fell:
He talked too much: that was the reason.
"He is speaking of me ! " the king thought to himself;
and asked the Bodhisatta if it was so.
" Be it you, O great king, or be it another," replied he,
" whosoever talks beyond measure comes by some misery
of this kind " ; and so he made the thing manifest. And
thenceforward the king abstained from talking, and became
a man of few words.
p. (T.) I. 11, (B.) I. 13, Som. LX. 168 (ii. 37), K. D. (Syr.) i. 11, (Arab.) v., Julien 14,
Dods. II. 11, The Tortoise and two Ducks. Cf. Babr. 115, Halm 419, the fable of
the tortoise that wishes to learn to fly, and is taken up by an eagle, who drops him
on the rocks and kills him. In Phaedr. ii. 6 the eagle on the advice of the raven
intends to kill him. Jacobs 60.
THE STOLEN PLOUGHSHARES
Once upon a time, while Brahmadatta was king of
Benares, the Bodhisatta came into this world as the son of
one in the king's court. Wlien he grew up he was made a
Lord Justice.
ki that time, two traders, one from a village and one
of the town, were friends together. The villager deposited
with the townsman five hundred ploughshares. The other
sold these, and kept the price, and in the place where
they Avere he scattered mouse dung. By and by came
the villager, and asked for his ploughshare. "The mice
have eaten them upM" said the cheat, and pointed out
the mouse dung to him.
1 Thing's gnawed by mice or rats were unlucky; cp. Jat. 87 (vol. i. p. 215), Tevijja-
Sutta Mahasllam i (trans, in S.B.E., Buddhist Suttas, p. 196). The man here
goes further than he need ; if the mice had but nibbled the ploughshares perhaps he
THE STOLEN PLOUGHSHARES 181
" Well, well, so be it," replied the other : " what can be
done with thin<j:s which the mice have eaten ? "
Now at the time of bathin*^- he took the other trader's
son, and set him in a friend's house, in an inner chamber,
bidding them not sutler him to <^o out any wliither. And
havin«2,- washed himself he went to his fi'iend's house.
" Where is my son ? " asked the cheat.
" Dear friend," he replied, " I took him with me and
left him on the river-side ; and when I was gone down
into the water, there came an osprey, and seized your son
in his extended claAvs, and flew up into the air. I beat
the water, shouted, struggled — but could not make him
let go."
" Lies ! " cried the rogue. " No osprey could carry off
a boy ! "
" Let be, dear friend : if things happen that should not,
how can 1 hel}) it ? Your son has been carried off by an
osprey, as I say."
The other reviled him. " Ah, you scoundrel ! you
murderer! Now I will go to the judge, and have you
dragged before him ! " And he departed. The villager
said, "As you please," and went to the court of justice.
The rogue addressed the Bodhisatta thus:
" My lord, this fellow took my son with him to bathe,
and when I asked where he was, he answered, that an
osprey had carried him off. Judge my cause!"
" Tell the truth," said the Bodhisatta, asking the other.
" Indeed, my lord," he answered, " I took him with me,
and a hawk has carried him off."
might throw them away. — We may also have a reference tt) an old proverb, found
both in Greek and Latin: "where mice eat iron" meant "nowliore." Herondas
3. 75 ovS' o(cci)y ;^<upr;f ot fxiis 6fioi<i>s rov a-idrjpov rpmyovcriv. Scneca, ApoColiJCyntOftS
chap. 7 (to Claudius in heaven) venisti hue ubi mures ferrum rodunt. (Dr Rouse.)
182 THE STOLEN PLOUGHSHARES
" But where in the world are there ospreys Avhich carry
oft^ boys ? "
" My lord," he aiisAvered, " I have a question to ask you.
If ospreys cannot carry off boys into the air, can mice
eat iron ploughshares ? "
" What do you mean by that ? "
" My lord, I deposited in this man's house five hundred
ploughshares. The man told me that the mice had de-
voured them, and shewed me the dro})pings of the mice
that had done it. My lord, if mice eat ploughshares, then
ospreys carry off boys : but if mice cannot do this, neither
will haAvks carry the boy off. This man says the mice ate
my ploughshares. Give sentence Avhether they are eaten
or no. Judge my cause ! "
"He must have meant," thought the Bodhisatta, "to
fight the trickster w ith his own weapons. — Well devised ! "
said he, and then he uttered these two verses :
Well planned indeed! The biter bit,
The trickster tricked — a pretty hit!
If mice can eat a ploughshare, why,
Ospreys away with boys can fly!
A rogue out-rogued with tit for tat!
Give back the plough, and after that
Perhaps the man who lost the plough
May give your son back to you now!i
Thus he that had lost his son received him again, and
he received his ploughshare that had lost it; and after-
wards both passed away to fare according to their deeds.
p. (T.) I. 17, (B.) I. 21, Som. lx. 237 (ii. 41), Suk. xxxix. There is confusion
throughout the story as to the number of the ploughshares. The singular, which
occurs in the stanza, is probably original. The confusion may have arisen through
an expression denoting the weight. In P. it is a balance weighing 100 pounds.
There is a similar confusion between hawks and ospreys as in Jat. 330, p. 238.
1 A like repartee is found in North Ind. N. and Q. iii. 214 ( The Jtuhjement of the
Jackal); Swynnerton, Ind. Nights' Entertainment, p. M2{The Traveller and the Oil-
man) ; and a story of an oilman in Stumme's Tunisische Mdrchen, vol. ii. (Dr Rouse.)
THE HERCrS TASKS
Once upon a time reigned at 15enares a king nanjed
Yasapani, the (ilorious. His chief captain was named
Kalaka, or 131ackie. At that time the Bodhisatta was his
family priest, and had tlie name of Dhannnachlhaja. tlie
Banner of the Faith. There was also a man C'hattapaui,
maker of ornaments to the king. The king was a good
king. But his chief captain swallowed bribes in the
judging of causes; he was a backbiter; he took bribes,
and defrauded the rightful owners.
On a day, one who had lost his suit was departing from
the court, weeping and stretching out his arms, when he
fell in with the Bodhisatta as he was going to pay his
service to the king. Falling at his feet, the man cried out,
tellin<r how he had been worsted in his cause : " xVlthough
such as you, my lord, instruct the king in the things of this
world and the next, the Conmiander-in-Chief takes bribes,
and defrauds rightful owners ! "
The Bodhisatta pitied him. " Come, my good fellow, '
said he, " I will judge your cause for you ! " and he pro-
ceeded to the court-house. A great company gathered
toirether. The Bodhisatta reversed the sentence, and
gave judgment for him that had the right. The spectators
applauded. The sound was great. The king heard it,
and asked — "AVhat sound is this I hear?"
" My lord king," they answered, " it is a cause wrongly
judged that has been judged aright by the wise Dham-
maddhaja; that is why there is this shout of applause."
The king was pleased and sent for the Bodhisatta.
"They tell me," he began, "that you have judged a
cause ? "
184 THE HERO'S TASKS
"Yes, great king, I have judged that which Kalaka
did not judge aright."
" Be you judge from this day," said the king ; " it will
be a joy for my ears, and prosperity for the world ! "
He was unwilling, but the king begged him — " In mercy
to all creatures, sit you in judgment ! " and so the king
won his consent.
From that time Kalaka received no presents; and
losing his gains he spoke calumny of the Bodhisatta before
the king, saying, " O mighty king, the wise Dhammaddhaja
covets your kingdom ! " But the king would not believe ;
and bade him say not so.
" If you do not believe me," said Kalaka, " look out
of the window at the time of his coming. Then you
will see that he has got the whole city into his own
hands."
The king saw the crowd of those that were about him
in his judgment hall. " There is his retinue," thought he.
He gave way. " What are we to do, Captain ? " he asked.
" My lord, he must be put to death."
" How can we put him to death without having found
him out in some great wickedness ? "
" There is a way," said the other.
" What way ? "
" Tell him to do Avhat is impossible, and if he cannot,
put him to death for that."
" But what is impossible to him ? "
" My lord king," replied he, " it takes two years or twice
two for a garden with good soil to bear fruit, being
planted and tended. Send for him, and say — ' We want
a garden to disport ourselves in to-morrow. Make us a
garden ! ' This he will not be able to do ; and we will slay
him for that fault."
THE HERO'S TASKS 185
The kinj^ addressed himself to the Bodhisatta. "Wise
Sir, we have sported long enou<j^h in our old jj^arden ; now
we crave to sport in a new. We shall sj)ort to-morrow.
Make us a garden ! If you cannot make it, you must die.'
The Bodhisatta reasoned, " It must be that Kajaka has
set the king against me, because he gets no presents. —
If I can," he said to the king, " () mighty king, I will see
to it." And he went home. After a good meal he lay
upon his bed, thinking. Sakka s palace grew hot^ Sakka
reflecting i)erceived the Bodhisatta's difhculty. He made
haste to him, entered his chamber, and asked him — "Wise
Sir, what think you on ? "—poised the while in mid-air.
" Who are you ? " asked the Bodhisatta.
" I am Sakka."
' Tliis was supposed to happen when a good man was in straits. Some modern
superstitions, turning upon the pity of a god for creatures in pain, may Vje seen in
North Iml. N. and Q. iii. 285. As this : " Hot oil is poured into a dog's ear and the
pain makes him yell. It is believed that his yells are heard by Raja Indra, who iu
pity stops the rain." (Dr Rouse.)
In brahmin works Indra (Sakka) is represented as becoming disturbed, when he
sees mortals practising severe penance, or performing great sacrifices, because he
fears that the person may acquire merit enough to take his place. In such cases
he comes down and tempts the ascetic with sensual pleasures or hindei-s the
sacrifice. This idea is retained by the Buddhists, but the more characteristic motive
in Ijuddhisni is that the god comes down to hell) the person who is in difficulty, as
here, or to test him by giving him an opportunity of performing an act of merit, as
in Jat. .316, 499. In the jatakiis the person's merit causes Sakka's throne to become
hot, or his palace to be shaken (Jat. 292). In Burmese tales his throne becomes
stiff". See L. Allan Goss in We-than-da-ya, a Buddhist Legend, p. 93, Rangoon,
1895. There is a curious parallel in the story of St Martin of Tours, given by
i^ulpicius Severus in his DUdogues ii. 5, where St Martin visits the emperor Valen-
tinian, who docs not wish to see him. The seat of the emperor bursts into flames,
and he is compelled to get up and listen to the saint. " Neiiuaquam ad.surgerc est
dignatus adstanti, donee regiam sellam ignis operiret, ipsumque regem ea parte
corporis qua sedebat, adflaret incendium. Ita e solio suo superbus excutitur et
Martino invitus adsurgit." The Dialogues contain tales of Egyptian monks which
have a buddhistic colouring. In Jat. 527 the incident of St Martin dividing his
cloak is paralleled, where a girl, having worked for three years to earn a scarlet
robe, divides it, and gives half to an ascetic, who had been robbed of his clothes.
186 THE HERO'S TASKS
" The king bids me make a garden : that is what I am
thinking upon."
" Wise Sir, do not trouble : I will make you a garden
like the groves of Nandana and Oittalata ! In Avhat place
shall I make it ? "
" In such and such a place, " he told him. Sakka made
it, and returned to the city of the gods.
Next day, the Bodhisatta beheld the garden there in
very truth, and sought the king's presence. " O king, the
garden is ready : go to your sport ! "
The king came to the place, and beheld a garden girt
with a fence of eighteen cubits, vermilion tinted, having
gates and ponds, beautiful with all manner of trees, laden
heavy with flowers and fruit! "The sage has done my
bidding," said he to Kalaka : " now what are we to do ? "
" O mighty king ! " replied he, " if he can make a
garden in one night, can he not seize upon your king-
dom ? "
"Well, what are we to do?"
" We will make him perform another impossible thing."
"What is that?" asked the king.
" We will bid him make a lake possessed of the seven
precious jewels ! "
The king agreed, and thus addressed the Bodhisatta:
" Teacher, you have made a park. Make now a lake to
match it, with the seven precious jewels. If you cannot
make it, you shall not live ! " <<.
"Veiy good, great king," answered the Bodhisatta,
" I will make it if I can."
Then Sakka made a lake of great splendour, having
an hundred landing-places, a thousand inlets, covered over
with lotus plants of five different colours, like the lake in
Nandana.
THE HERO'S TASKS 187
Next day, the Uodhisatta beheld this also, and told the
king : " See, the lake is made ! "' And the king saw it, and
asked of Kalaka what was to be done.
"Bid him, my lord, make a house to suit it," said he.
" Make a house, Teacher," said the king to the Bodhi-
satta, " all of ivory, to suit with the park and the lake : it
you do not make it, you must die ! "
Then Sakka made him a house likewise. The Bodhi-
satta beheld it next dav, and told the kin"-. When the
king had seen it, he asked Kajaka again, what was to do.
Ka]aka told him to bid the Bodhisatta make a jewel
to suit the house. The king said to him, "Wise Sir,
make a jewel to suit Avitli this ivory house ; I Avill
go about looking at it by the light of the jewel : if you
cannot make one, vou must die ! " Then Sakka made him
a jewel too. Next day the Bodhisatta beheld it, and told the
king. When the king had seen it, he again asked Kalaka
what was to be done.
" Mighty king ! " answered he, " I think there is some
divinitv who does each thing: that the Brahmin Dham-
maddhaja wishes. Now bid him make something which
even a divinity cannot make. Not even a deity can make
a man Avith all four virtues ; therefore bid him make a
keeper with these four." So the king said, "Teacher, you
have made a park, a lake, and a palace, and a jewel
to give light. Now make me a kee])er with four virtues,
to watch the park ; if you cannot, you must die."
"So be it," answered he, "if it is possible, I will see
to it." He went home, had a good meal, and lay down.
When he awoke in the morning, he sat upon his bed, and
thought thus. " What the great king Sakka can make by
his power, that he has made. He cannot make a park-
keeper with four virtues. This being so, it is better to
188 THE HERO'S TASKS
die forlorn in the woods, than to die at the hand of other
men." So saying no word to any man, he went down from
his dwelhng and passed out of the city by the chief gate,
and entered the woods, where he sat him down beneath a
tree and reflected u}3on the religion of the good. Sakka
perceived it ; and in the fashion of a forester he approached
the Bodhisatta, saying,
"Brahmin, you are young and tender: why sit you
here in this wood, as though you had never seen pain
before?" As he asked it, he repeated the first stanza:
You look as thoug-h your life must happy l)e;
Yet to the wild woods you would homeless go,
Like some poor wretch whose life was misery,
And pine beneath this tree in lonely woe.
To this the Bodhisatta made answer in the second
stanza :
I look as though my life must happy be;
Yet to the wild woods I would homeless go,
Like some poor ^\Tetch whose life was misery,
And pine beneath this tree in lonely woe.
Pondering the truth that all the saints do know.
Then Sakka said, " If so, then why, Brahmin, are you
sitting here ? "
" The king," he made answer, " requires a park-keeper
with four good qualities ; such an one cannot be found ;
so I thought — Why j^erish by the hand of man ? I will oft*
to the woods, and die a lonely death. So here I came, and
here I sit."
Then the other replied, " Brahmin, I am Sakka, king of
the gods. By me was your park made, and those other
things. A park-keeper possessed of four virtues cannot
be made; but in your country there is one Chattapani,
who makes ornaments for the head, and he is such a
man. If a park-keeper is wanted, go and make this
THE HEROS TASKS 189
workman the keeper.' With these words Sakka de-
parted to his city divine, after consoling him and bidding
him fear no more.
The Bodliisatta went home, and having broken his fast,
he repaired to the palace gates, and there in that spot he
saw Chattaj)ani. He took him by the hand, and asked
him—" Is it trne, as 1 hear, Chattapani, that you are en-
dowed with the four virtues ? "
"Who told you so?" asked the other.
"Sakka, king of the gods."
" Why did he tell you ? " He recounted all, and told
the reason. The other said,
" Yes, I am endowed with the four virtues." The Bod-
hisatta taking him by the hand led him into the king's
presence. " Here, mighty monarch, is Chattapani, endowed
with four virtues. If there is need of a keeper for the
park, make him keeper."
" Is it true, as I hear," the king asked him, " that you
have four virtues ? "
" Yes, mighty king."
"What are they?" he asked.
I envy not, and drink no wine;
No strong desire, no wrath is mine,
said he.
" Chattapani," cried the king, " did you say you have
no envv?"
" Yes, O king, I have no envy."
" AVhat experience was it that made you to be without
envy ? "
" Listen, my lord ! " said he ; and then he told him why
he felt no envy in the following lines ^ :
1 In the verses he refers to his virtuous action when lie was king in Jat. 120.
After wrongly suspecting his fannly priest he releases him and all his guilty slaves, and
forgives his queen who had been the cause. See note on J7ie Wicked Stepmother.
190 THE HERO'S TASKS
A chaplain once in bonds I threw —
Which thing a woman made me do;
He built me up in holy lore;
Since when I never envied more.
Then the kmg said, " Dear Chattapani, what has made
vou to abstain from strono^ drink ? And the other answered
in the following verse ^ :
Once I was drunken, and I ate
My own son's flesh upon my plate;
Then, touched with sorrow and with pain.
Swore never to touch drink again.
Then the king said, " But what has made you to be
indifferent, without love ? " The man explained it in these
words^ :
King- Kitavasa was my name;
A mighty king was I;
My hoy a Buddha's basin broke
And so he had to die.
Said the king then, "What was it, good friend, that
made you to be w ithout anger ? " And the other made the
matter clear in these lines :
As Araka, for seven years
I practised charity;
And then for seven ages dwelt
In Brahma's heaven on high.
When Chattapani had thus explained his four attri-
butes, the king made a sign to his attendants. And in an
instant all the court, priests and laymen and all, rose up,
and cried out upon Kalaka — " Fie, bribe-sw allowing thief
and scoundrel ! You couldn't get your bribes, and so
you would murder the wise man by speaking ill of him ! "
They seized him by hand and foot, and bundled him out
1 The commentary explains that this happened in his bjrth as king of Benares.
'•^ The boy broke the basin of a pacceka-buddha, and as liis sin bore fruit at once
he burst into flame and perished.
DEFEATING THE KING OF DEATH 191
of the palace ; and catching up ^vhatcver they could get
hold of, this a stone, and this a staff, they broke his head
and did him to death; and dragging him by the feet they
cast him u})on a dunghill.
Thenceforward the king ruled in righteousness, until
he passed away according to his deserts.
A form of the Hero's Tasks. Cf. Grimm 29, Anm. A. Lung, Custom and Myth
{a far-tracelled Tide).
DEFEATING THE KING OF DEATH
Once upon a time reigned at Benares a wicked and
unjust king named Maha-pingala, the Great Yellow King,
who did sinfully after his own will and pleasure. With
taxes and fines, and many mutilations and robberies, he
crushed the folk as it were sugar-cane in a mill ; he was
cruel, fierce, ferocious. For other people he had not a
grain of pity; at home he was harsh and implacable
towards his Avives, his sons and daughters, to his brahmin
courtiers and the householders of the country. He was
like a speck of dust that falls in the eye, like gravel in the
broth, like a thorn sticking in the heel.
Now the Bodhisatta was a son of king Maha-pihgala.
After this king had reigned for a long time, he died.
When he died all the citizens of Benares were overjoyed
and laughed a great laugh ; they burnt his body with a
thousand cartloads of logs, and quenched the place of
burning with thousands of jars of water, and consecrated
the Bodhisatta to be king: thev caused a drum of re-
joicing to beat about the streets, for joy that they had got
them a righteous king. They raised fiags and banners,
and decked out the city ; at every door was set a pavilion.
102 DEFEATING THE KING OF DEATH
and scattering parched corn and flowers, they sat them
down npon the decorated platforms under fine canopies,
and did eat and drink. The Bodhisatta himself sat upon
a fine divan on a great raised dais, in great magnificence,
with a white parasol stretched above him. The courtiers
and householders, the citizens and the doorkeepers stood
around their king.
But one doorkeeper, standing not far from the king,
was sighing and sobbing. " Good Porter," said the Bodhi-
satta, observing him, " all the people are making merry
for joy that my father is dead, but you stand weeping.
Come, was my father good and kind to you ? " And with
the question he uttered the first stanza :
The Yellow King- was cruel to all men;
Now he is dead, all freely breathe again.
Was he, the yellow-eyed, so very dear?
Or, Porter, why do yon stand weeping here ?
The man heard, and answered : " I am not weeping for
sorroAV that Pihgala is dead. My head would be glad
enough. For King Pingala, every time he came down
from the palace, or went up into it, would give me eight
blows over the head with his fist, like the blows of a black-
smith's hammer. So when he goes down to the other
world, he will deal eight blows on the head of Yama, the
gatekeeper of hell, as though he were striking me. Then
the people will cry — He is too cruel for us ! and will send
him up again. And I fear he will come and deal fisticuff's
on my head again, and that is why I weep." To explain
the matter he uttered the second stanza :
The Yellow King was anything hut dear:
It is his coming back again I fear.
What if he beat the king of Death, and then
The king of Death should send him back again?
Then said the Bodhisatta : " That king has been burnt
THE JACKAL'S SPELL 103
with a thousand cartloads of wood ; the place of his
burning has been soaked with water from thousands of
pitchers, and the ground has been dug up all round; beings
that have gone to the other world, otherwise than by
re-birth, do not return to the same bodily shape as they
had before ; do not be afraid ! " and to comfort him, he
repeated the following stanza :
Thousands of loads of wood have burnt him quite,
Thousands of pitchers quenched what still did burn;
The earth is dug about to left and rig-ht —
Fear not — the king- will never more return.
After that, the porter took comfort. And the liodhi-
satta ruled in righteousness ; and after giving gifts and
doing other good acts, he passed away to fare according
to his deserts.
For tales of overcoming the King of Death and striking terror into the Devil,
of. Clouston, i. 385 ff.
rr
THE JACKAL'S SPELL
Once upon a time, Brahmadatta was king of Benares,
and the Bodhisatta was his family priest ; and he had
mastered the three Vedas and the eighteen branches of
knowledge. He knew the spell entitled ' Of subduing the
World.' (Now this spell is one which involves religious
meditation.)
One day, the Bodhisatta thought that he would recite
this spell ; so he sat down in a place apart upon a flat stone,
and there went through his reciting of it. It is said that
this spell could be taught to no one Avithout use of a
special rite ; for which reason he recited it in the place
just described. It so happened that a Jackal lying in a
F. &T. 13
194 THE JACKAL'S SPELL
hole heard the spell at the time that he Avas reciting it,
and got it by heart. We are told that this jackal in a
previous existence had been some brahmin who had learnt
the charm ' Of subduing the World.'
The Bodhisatta ended his recitation, and rose up,
saying — "Surely I have that spell by heart now." Then
the Jackal arose out of his hole, and cried — " Ho, brahmin !
I have learnt the spell better than you know it yourself!"
and off' he ran. The Bodhisatta set off" in chase, and
followed some way, crying — " Yon jackal will do a great
mischief — catch him, catch him ! " But the jackal got
clear off* into the forest.
The Jackal found a she-jackal, and gave her a little
nip upon the body. "What is it, master?" she asked.
" Do you know me," he asked, " or do you not ? " "I do
not know you." He repeated the spell, and thus had
under his orders several hundreds of jackals, and gathered
round him all the elephants and horses, lions and tigers,
swine and deer, and all other fourfooted creatures; and
their king he became, under the title of Sabbadatha, or
AUtusk, and a she-jackal he made his consort. On the
back of two elephants stood a lion, and on the lion's back
sat Sabbadatha, the jackal king, along with his consort the
she-jackal ; and great honour was paid to them.
Now the Jackal was tempted by his great honour, and
became puffed up with pride, and he resolved to capture
the kingdom of Benares. So with all the fourfooted
creatures in his train, he came to a place near to
Benares. His host covered twelve leagues of ground.
From his position there he sent a message to the king,
" Give up your kingdom, or fight for it." The citizens of
Benares, smitten with terror, shut close their gates and
stayed within.
THE JACKAL'S SPELL 195
Then the Bodhisatta drew near the king, and said to
him, " Fear not, mighty king ! leave me tiie task of fighting
with the jackal king, Sabbadtitha. Except only me, no
one is able to fight with him at all." Thus he gave heart
to the king and the citizens. " 1 will ask him at once," he
went on, " what he will do in order to take the city." So
he mounted the tower over one of the gates, and cried
out — " Sabbadatha, what will you do to get possession of
this realm ? "
"I will cause the lions to roar, and with the roaring
I will frighten the multitude : thus will I take it ! "
"Oh, that's it," thought the Bodhisatta, and down he
came from the tower. He made proclamation by beat of
drum that all the dwellers in the great city of Benares,
over all its twelve leagues, must stop up their ears with
flour. The multitude heard the command ; they stopped
up their own ears with flour, so that they could not hear
each other speak : — nay, they even did the same to all their
animals down to the cats.
Then the Bodhisatta went up a second time into the
tower, and cried out " Sabbadatha ! "
" What is it, Brahmin ? " quoth he.
" How will you take this realm ? " he asked.
"I will cause the lions to roar, and 1 will frighten
the people, and destroy them; thus will I take it!" he
said.
"You will not be able to make the lions roar; these
noble lions, with their tawny paws and shaggy manes, will
never do the bidding of an old jackal like you ! "
The jackal, stubborn with pride, answered, "Not only
will the other lions obey me, but I'll make this one, upon
whose back I sit, roar alone ! "
"Very well," said the Bodhisatta, "do it if you can."
13—2
196 THE JUDAS-TREE
So lie tapped with his foot on the lion which he sat
upon, to roar. And the lion resting his mouth upon the
Elephant's temjile, roared thrice, without any manner of
doubt. The elephants were terrified and dropped the
Jackal down at their feet ; they trampled upon his head
and crushed it to atoms. Then and there Sabbadatha
perished. And the elephants, hearing the roar of the
lion, were frightened to death, and wounding one another,
they all perished there. The rest of the creatures, deer
and swine, down to the hares and cats, perished then and
there, all except the lions ; and these ran off" and took
to the woods. There was a heap of carcasses covering
the ground for twelve leagues.
The Bodhisatta came down from the tower, and had
the gates of the city thrown open. By beat of drum he
caused proclamation to be made throughout the city:
" Let all the people take the flour from out of their ears,
and they that desire meat, meat let them take!" The
people all ate what meat they could fresh, and the rest
they dried and preserved.
It was at this time, according to tradition, that people
first began to dry meat.
THE JUDAS-TREE
Once on a time Brahmadatta the king of Benares had
four sons. One day they sent for the charioteer, and said
to him,
" We want to see a Judas-tree^ ; shew us one ! "
" Very well, I will," the charioteer replied. But he did
not shew it them all together. He took the eldest at once
^ Kimsuka = Butea Jrondoia.
THE JUDAS-TREE 197
to the forest in the chariot, and shewed him the tree at
the time when the buds were Just sproutin<^ from the stem.
To the second he shewed it wlien the leaves were green, to
the third at the time of bhjssoming, and to the fourth when
it was bearing fruit.
After this it happened that the four brothers were
sitting together, and some one asked, "What sort of a
tree is the Judas-tree?" Then the first brother answered,
" Like a burnt stump ! "
And the second cried, " Like a banyan-tree ! "
And the third — "Like a piece of meat ^ !"
And the fourth said, " Like the acacia ! "
They were vexed at each others answers, and ran to
find their father. " My lord," they asked, " what sort of a
tree is the Judas-tree?"
" What is that you say?" he asked. They told him the
manner of their answers. Said the king,
"All four of you have seen the tree. Only when the
charioteer shewed you the tree, you did not ask him
' What is the tree like at such a time ? ' or ' at such another
time?' You made no distinctions, and that is the reason
of your mistake." And he repeated the first stanza :
All have seen the Judas-tree —
What is your perplexity?
No one asked the charioteer
What its form the livelong- year!
Gf. the dispute of the Hon and tiger, Jat. 17 (p. 20), Dods. ii. 3, The Camelion (two
travellers dispute as to its colour\ In .lulien (8) king Adarsamukha (Adasamukha
of the next tale) shews an elephant to four blind men, who each describe it differently.
Uddna vi. 4. Of Rh. Davids, Dial, of the Buddha,\. 187.
^ It has pink flowers.
THE JUDGMENTS OF KING MIRROR-FACE
Once upon a time, Brethren, when Janasandha was
reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as the
son of his chief queen. His face was resplendent, wearing
a look of auspicious beauty, like a golden mirror well
polished. On the day of his naming they called him
Adasa-mukha, Prince Mirror-face.
Within the space of seven years his father caused him
to be taught the three Vedas, and all the duties of this
world ; and then he died, when the lad was seven years
old. The courtiers performed the king's obsequies with
great pomp, and made the offerings for the dead ; and on
the seventh day they gathered together in the palace
court, and talked together. The prince was very yoimg,
they thought, and he could not be made king.
Before they made him king, they would test him. So
they prepared a court of justice, and set a divan. Then
they came into the prince's presence, and said they, " You
must come, my lord, to the law-court." To this the prince
agreed ; and with a great company he repaired thither, and
sat upon the dais.
Now at the time when the king sat down for judg-
ment, the courtiers had dressed up a monkey, in the garb
of a man who is skilled in the lore which tells what are
good sites for a building. They made him go upon two
feet, and brought him into the judgment hall.
" My lord," said they, " in the time of the king your
father this man was one who divined by magic as to
desirable sites, and well did he know his art. Down in the
earth as deep as seven cubits he can see a fault. By his
help there was a place chosen for the king's house ; let the
king provide for him, and give him a post."
THE JUDGMENTS OF KING MIRliOU-FACE 199
The prince scanned him fi-om head to foot. " This is
no man, but a monkey," he thou<^lit; "and monkeys can
destroy what othei's liave made, but of themselves can
neither make anything nor carry out such a thing." And
so he repeated the first stanza to his court :
It i8 not a clever builder, but an ape >vith a wrinkled face;
He can destroy what others make; that is the way of his race.
" It must be so, my lord ! " said the courtiers, and took
him away. But after a day or two they dressed this same
creature in grand clothes, and brought him again to the
judgment hall. " In the king your father s time, my lord,
this was a judge who dealt justice. Him should you take
to help you in the awarding of justice."
The prince looked at him. Thought he, "A man with
mind and reason is not so hairy as all that. This witless
ape cannot dispense justice " ; and he repeated the second
stanza :
There's no wit in this hairy creature; he breeds no confidence;
He knows nought, as my father taug-ht : the animal has no sense !
" So it must be, my lord ! " said the courtiers, and led
him away. Yet once again did they dress up the very
same monkey, and bring him to the hall of judgment.
"Sire," said they, "in the time of the king your father
this man did his duty to father and mother, and paid
respect to old age in his family. Him you should keep
with you."
Again the prince looked at him, and thought —
" Monkeys are fickle of mind ; such a thing they cannot
do." And then he repeated the third stanza:
One thing Dasaratha^ has taught me ; no help such a creature would send
To father or mother, to sister or brother, or any who call him friend !
^ Dasaratha is another name for his father (SchoL).
200 THE JUDGMENTS OF KING 31IRROR-FACE
"So must it be, my lord!" answered they, and took
him away again. And they said amongst themselves,
" 'Tis a wise prince ; he will be able to rule " ; and they
made the Bodhisatta king; and throughout the city by
beat of drum they made proclamation, saying, " The edicts
of king Mirror-face ! "
From that time the Bodhisatta reigned righteously;
and his wisdom was noised abroad throughout all India.
To shew forth the matter of this wisdom of his, these
fourteen problems were brought to him to decide :
An ox, a lad, a horse, a basket-knight,
A squire, a light-o'-love, and a young dame,
A snake, a deer, a partridge, -and a sprite,
A snake, ascetics, a young priest I name.
This happened as we shall now explain. When the
Bodhisatta was inaugurated king, a certain servant of
king Janasandha, named Gamani-canda, thus considered
within himself: " This kingdom is glorious if it be governed
by aid of those who are of an age with the king. Now
I am old, and I cannot wait upon a young prince: so
I will get me a living by farming in the country." So he
departed from the city a distance of three leagues, and
abode in a certain village. But he had no oxen for
farming. And so, after rain had fallen, he begged the
loan of two oxen from a friend ; all day long he ploughed
with them, and then he gave them grass to eat, and went
to the owners house to give them back again. At the
moment it happened that the owner sat at meat with his
wife; and the oxen entered the house, quite at home.
As they entered, the master was raising his plate, and the
wife putting hers down. Seeing that they did not invite
him to share the meal, Gamani-canda departed without
THE JUDGMENTS OF KING! MIKROR-FACE 201
formally making over the oxen. Durin<^ the night, thieves
broke into the cow-pen, and stole the oxen away.
Early on the morrow, the owner of these oxen entered
the cow-shed, but cattle there were none; he perceived
that they had been stolen away by thieves. " I'll make
Gamani pay for it ! " thought he, and to (jiamani he
went.
" I say, return me my oxen ! " cried he.
" Are not thev in their stall ? "
" Now did you return them to me ? "
"No, T didiVt."
" Here's the king's officer : come along ! "
Now this people have a custom that they pick up
a bit of stone or a potsherd, and say — " Here's the king's
officer : come along ! " If any man refuses to go, he is
punished. So when Gamani heard the word " officer," he
went along.
So they went together towards the king's court. On
the way, they came to a village where dwelt a friend of
Gamani's. Said he to the other,
"I say, I'm very hungry. Wait here till I go in and
get me something to eat!" and he entered his friend's
house.
But his friend was not at home. The wife said,
" Sir, there is nothing cooked. Wait but a moment ;
I will cook at once and set bef(^re you."
She climbed a ladder to the grain store, and in her
haste she fell to the ground. And as she was seven months
gone with child, a miscarriage followed.
At that moment, in came the husband, and saw Avhat
had happened. "You have struck my wife," cried he,
" and brought her labour upon her untimely ! Here's a
king's officer for you — come along !" and he carried him off.
202 THE JUDGMENTS OF KING MIRROR-FACE
After this they went on, the two of them, with Gamani
between.
As they went, there was a horse at a village gate ; and
the groom could not stop it, but it ran along with them.
The horsekeeper called out to Gamani —
"Uncle ^ Candagamani,hit the horse with something, and
head him back ! " Gamani picked up a stone, and threw it
at the horse. The stone struck his foot, and broke it like
the stalk of a castor-oil plant. Then the man cried,
"Oh, you've broken my horse's leg! Here's a king's
officer for you ! " and he laid hold of him.
Gamani was thus three men's prisoner. As they led
him along, he thought : " These people will denounce me
to the king ; I can't pay for the oxen ; much less the fine
for causing an untimely birth ; and then where shall I get
the price of the horse? I were better dead." So, as
they went along, he saw a wood hard by the road, and in
it a hill with a precipice on one side of it. In the shadow
of it were two basket-makers, father and son, weaving a
mat. Said Gamani,
" I say, I Avant to retire for a moment : wait here, while
I «ro aside " ; and with these words he climbed the hill, and
threw himself down the precipice. He fell upon the back
of the elder basket-maker, and killed him on the spot.
Gamani got up, and stood still.
"Ah, you villain! you've murdered my father!" cried
the younger basket-maker ; " here's the king's officer ! "
He seized Gamani's hands, and came out of the thicket.
"What's this?" asked the others.
" The villain has murdered my father ! "
So on they went, the four of them, with Gamani in the
middle.
1 It is worth noting that this term of affection means a mother's brother.
THE JUDGMENTS OF KING MIRllOR-FACE 203
They came to the j^ate of another village. The head-
man was there, who hailed Gamani : "Uncle Garida, whither
away ? "
" To see the king," says (iamani.
"Oh indeed, to see the king. T want to send him a
message ; will yon take it ? "
"Yes, that I will."
"Well — I am usually handsome, rich, honoured, and
healthy; but now 1 am miserable and have the jaundice
too. Ask the king why this is. He is a wise man, so they
say ; he will tell you, and you can bring me his message
again."
To this the other agreed.
At another village a light-o'-love called out to him —
"Whither bound, Uncle C^anda?"
" To see the king," says he.
" They say the king is a wise man ; take him a message
from me," says the woman. "Aforetime I used to make
great gains ; now I don't get the worth of a betel-nut, and
nobody courts me. Ask the king how this may be, and
then you can tell me."
At a third village, there was a young woman who told
Gamani, " T can live neither with my husband nor with my
own family. Ask the king how this is, and then tell me."
A little further on there was a snake living in an ant-
hill near the road. He saw Gamani, and called out,
" Whither awav, Cauda ? "
" To see the king."
" The king is wise ; take him a message from me.
When 1 go out to get my food, I leave this ant-hill faint
and famishing, and yet I fill the entrance hole with my
body, and I get out with difficulty, dragging myself along.
But when I come in again, I feel satisfied, and fat, yet
204 THE JUDGMENTS OF KING MIRROR-FACE
I pass quickly through the hole without touching the
sides. How is this ? ask the king, and bring me his
answer."
And further on a deer saw him, and said — " I can't eat
grass anywhere but underneath this tree. Ask the king
the reason." And again a partridge said, " When I sit at
the foot of this ant-heap, and utter my note, I can make
it prettily ; but nowhere else. Ask the king why." And
again, a tree spirit saw him, and said,
"Whither away, Canda?"
" To the king."
"The kings a wise man, they say. In former times
I was highly honoured ; now I don't receive so much as
a handful of twigs. Ask the king what the reason is."
And further on again he w^as seen by a naga king,
who spoke to him thus: "The king is said to be a wise
man: then ask him this question. Heretofore the water
in this pool has been clear as crystal. Why is it that now
it has become turbid, with scum all over it ? "
Further on, not far from a town, certain ascetics who
dwelt in a park saw him, and said, in the same way, "They
say the king is wise. Of yore there were in this park
sweet fruits in plenty, now they have grown tasteless and
dry. Ask him what the reason is." Further on again, he
was accosted by some brahmin students who were in a hall
at the gate of a town. They said to him,
"Where are you going, Cauda, eh ? "
" To the king," says Canda.
" Then take a message for us. Till now, whatever
passage we learnt was bright and clear ; now it does not
stay with us, it is not understood, but all is darkness, —
it is like water in a leaky jar. Ask the king what the
reason is."
THE JUDGMENTS OF KING MIimOR-FACE 205
Gamani-caiula came before tlie kin<^ witli his fourteen
quewtions. When the king saw liim, he recognised him,
"This is my fathers servant, who used to dandle me in his
arms. AVhere has he been living all this time?" And
"Cauda," said he, "where have you been living all this
time? We have seen nothing of you for a long while;
what brings you here ? "
"Oh, my lord, when my lord the late king went to
heaven, I departed into the country and kept myself by
farming. Then this man summoned me for a suit regard-
ing his cattle, and here he has brought me."
" If you had not been brought here, you had never
come ; but I'm glad that you were brought anyhow. Now
I can see vou. Where is that man ? "
" Here, my lord."
" Is it you that summoned our friend Cauda ? "
" Yes, my lord."
" Why ? "
" He refuses to give back my pair of oxen ! "
" Is this so, Canda ? "
" Hear my story too, my lord !" said Canda ; and told
him the Avhole. When he had heard the tale, the king
accosted the owner of the oxen. " Did you see the oxen,"
said he, " entering the stall ? "
" No, my lord," the man replied.
"Why, man, did you never hear my name? They call
me king Mirror-face. Speak out honestly."
" I saw them, my lord ! " said he.
"Now, Canda," said the king, "you failed to return the
oxen, and therefore you are his debtor for them. But this
man, in saying that he had not seen them, told a direct
lie. Therefore you with your own hands shall pluck his
eyes out, and you shall yourself pay him twenty-four
206 THE JUDGMENTS OF KING MIRKOR-FACE
pieces of money as the price of the oxen." • Then they led
the OAmer of the oxen out of doors.
" If I lose my eyes, what do I care for the money ? "
thought he. And he fell at Gamani s feet, and besought
him — "O master Canda, keep those twenty-four pieces,
and take these too ! " and he gave him other pieces, and
ran away.
The second man said, " My lord, this fellow struck my
wife, and made her miscarry." " Is this true, Canda ? "
asked the king. Canda begged for a hearing, and told
the whole story.
"Did you really strike her, and cause her to miscarry?"
asked the king.
" No, my lord ! I did no such thing."
" Now, can you " — to the other^" can you heal the mis-
carriage which he has caused ? "
" No, my lord, I cannot."
" Now, what do you want to do ? "
" I ought to have a son, my lord."
"Now then, Canda — you take the man's wife to your
house; and when a son shall be born to you, hand him
over to the husband."
Then this man also fell at Canda's feet, crying, " Don't
break up my home, master! ' threw down some money,
and made off.
The third man then accused Canda of laming his horse's
foot. Canda as before told what had happened. Then the
king asked the owner,
" Did you really bid Canda strike the horse, and turn
him back ? "
"No, my lord, I did not." But on being pressed, he
admitted that he had said so.
"This man," said the king, "has told a direct lie, in
THE JUDGMENTS OF KING MIKUOK-FACE 207
saying that he did not tell you to head back the horse. You
may tear out his tongue ; and then pay him a thousand
pieces for the horse s price, which I will give you.' But
the fellow even gave him another sum of money, and
departed.
Then the basket-maker's son said,
"This fellow is a murderer, and he killed my father !"
" Is it so, Canda ? " asked the king. " Hear me, my lord,"
said Canda, and told him about it.
" Now, what do you want ? " asked the king.
" My lord, I must have my father."
" Canda," said the king, " this man must have a father.
But you cannot bring him back from the dead. Then
take his mother to your house, and do you be a father
to him."
" Oh, master ! " cried the man, " don't break up my dead
father's home ! " He gave Gamani a sum of money, and
hurried away.
Thus Gamani won his suit, and in great delight he said
to the king,
" My lord, I have several questions for you from several
persons ; may I tell you them ? "
" Say on," said the king.
So Gamani told them all in reverse order, beginning
with the young brahmins. The king answered them
in turn. To the first question, he answered: "In the
place where they lived there used to be a crowing cock
that knew the time. When they heard his crow, they
used to rise up, and repeat their texts, until the sun rose,
and thus they did not forget what they learnt. But now
there is a cock that crows out of season ; he crows at
dead of night, or in broad day. When lie crows in the
depth of night, up they rise, but they are too sleepy to
208 THE JUDGMENTS OF KING MIRROR-FACE
repeat the text. AVlien he crows in broad day, they rise
up, but they have not the chance to repeat their texts.
Thus it is, that whatever they learn, they soon forget."
To the second question, he answered : " Formerly
these men used to do all the duties of the ascetic, and
they induced the mystic trance. Now they have neglected
the ascetic's duties, and they do what they ought not to
do ; the fruits which grow in the park they give to their
attendants ; they live in a sinful way, exchanging their
alms^ This is why this fruit does not grow sweet. If
they once more with one consent do their duty as
ascetics, again the fruit will gi^ow sweet for them. Those
hermits know not the wisdom of kings ; tell them to live
the ascetic life."
He heard the third question, and answered, "Those
naga chiefs quarrel one with another, and that is why
the water becomes turbid. If they make friends as
before, the water will be clear again." After hearing
the fourth, " The tree-spirit," said he, " used formerly to
protect men passing through the wood, and therefore it
received many offerings. Now it gives them no protection,
and so it receives no offerings. If it protects them as
before, it will receive choice offerings again. It knows
not that there are kings in the world. Tell it, then, to
guard the men who go up into that wood." And on
hearing the fifth, " Under the ant-hill where the partridge
finds himself able to utter a pleasant cry is a crock of
treasure ; dig it up and get it." To the sixth he answered,
"On the tree under which the deer found he could eat
grass, is a great honeycomb. He craves the grass on
which this honey has dropped, and so he can eat no other.
You get the honeycomb, send the best of it to me, and eat
^ Some staying at home, while others beg for all, to save trouble.
THE JUDGMENTS OF KING MTT?KOT{-FAGE 201)
the rest yourself." Then on hearing the seventh, " Under
the snake's ant-heap lies a large treasure-crock, and there he
lives guarding it. So when he goes out, from greed for this
treasure his body sticks fast ; but after lie has fed, his
desire for the treasure ])re vents his body from sticking, and
he goes in quickly and easily. Dig up the treasure, and
keep it." Then he replied to the eighth question, " Hetween
the villages where dwell the young woman's husband and
her parents lives a lover of hers in a certain house. She
remembers him, and her desire is toward him ; therefore
she cannot stay in her husband's house, but says she will
go and see her parents, and on the way she stays a few-
days with her lover. When she has been at home a few
days, again she remembers him, and saying she will
return to her husband, she goes again to her lover. Go,
tell her there are kings in the land ; say, she must dwell
with her husband, and if she will not, let her have a care,
the king will cause her to be seized, and she shall die."
He heard the ninth, and to this he said, "The woman
used formerly to take a price from the hand of one, and
not to go with another until she was off with him, and
that is how she used to receive much. Now she has
changed her manner, and without leave of the first she
goes with the last, so that she receives nothing, and none
seek after her. If she keeps to her old custom, it will be
as it was before. Tell her that she should keep to that."
On hearing the tenth, he replied, "That village headman
used once to deal justice indifferently, so that men were
pleased and delighted with him ; and in their delight they
gave him many a j)resent. This is what made him hand-
some, rich, and honoured. Now he loves to take bribes,
and his judgment is not fair; so he is })oor and miserable,
and jaundiced. If he judges once again with righteousness,
F. &T. 14
210 THE JUDGMENTS OF KING MIRROR-FACE
he will be again as he was before. He knows not that
there are kings in the land. Tell him that he must use
justice in giving judgment."
And Gamani-canda told all these messages, as they
were told to him. And the king having resolved all these
questions by his wisdom, like Buddha omniscient, gave
rich presents to Gamani-canda; and the village where
Canda dwelt he gave to him, as a brahmin's gift, and let
him go. Canda went out of the city, and told the king's
answer to the brahmin youths, and the ascetics, to the
naga and to the tree-spirit ; he took the treasure from
the place where the partridge sat, and from the tree
beneath which the deer did eat, he took the honeycomb,
and sent honey to the king ; he broke into the snake's ant-
hill, and gathered the treasure out of it ; and to the young
woman, and the light-o'-love, and the village headman he
said even as the king had told him. Then he returned to
his own village, and dwelt there so long as he lived, and
afterward passed away to fare according to his deserts.
And king Mirror-face also gave alms, and wrought good-
ness, and finally after his death attained to heaven.
Tib. T. 111. Adarsamukha, where there are seven problems, only five of which
have a correspondence with the jataka. The same story in Schmidt, 340 ff., quoted
by Benf. Einl. § 166. Cf. The Nineteen ProUems, and Clouston, i. 61—64, Grimm 29,
Anm. On the influence of buried gold in the fifth question cf. Jat. 39, p. 40.
THE CRAB AND THE ELEPHANT
Once on a time, when Brahniadatta was kin^j^ of
Benares, there was a great lake in Himalaya, wherein
was a great golden Crab. Because he lived there, the
place was known as the Crab Tai-n. The Crab was very
large, as big round as a threshing floor; it would catch
elephants, and kill and eat them ; and from fear of it the
elephants durst not go down and browse there.
Now the Bodhisatta was conceived by the mate of an
elephant, the leader of a herd, living hard by this Crab
Tarn. The mother, in order to be safe till her delivery,
sought another place on a mountain, and there she was
delivered of a son ; who in due time grew to years of
wisdom, and was great and mighty, and prospered, and he
was like a purple mountain of collyrium.
He chose another elephant for his mate, and he re-
solved to catch this Crab. So with his mate and his
mother, he sought out the elei)hant herd, and finding his
father, proposed to go and catch the Crab.
" You will not be able to do that, my son," said he.
But he begged the father again and again to give him
leave, until at last he said, " Well, you may try."
So the young Elephant collected all the elephants
beside the Crab Tarn, and led them close by the lake.
"Does the Crab catch them when they go down, or
while they are feeding, or when they come up again?"
They replied, "When the beasts come up again."
" Well then," said he, " do you all go down to the lake
and eat whatever you see, and come up first; I will follow-
last behind you." And so they did. Then the Ci*ab,
seeing the Bodhisatta coming u\y last, caught his feet tight
in his claw, like a smith who seizes a lump of iron in a
U— 2
212 THE CRAB AND THE ELEPHANT
huge pair of tongs. The Bodhisatta's mate did not leave
him, but stood there close by him. The Bodhisatta
pulled at the Crab, but could not make him budge.
Then the Crab pulled, and drew him towards himself.
In deadly fear the Elephant roared the cry of capture ;
hearing which all the other elephants, in deadly terror,
ran off trumpeting, and dropping excrement. Even his
mate could not stand, but began to make off. Then to tell
her how he was held a prisoner, he uttered the first stanza,
hoping to stay her from her flight :
Gold-clawed 1 creature with projecting eyes,
Tarn-bred, hairless, clad in bony shell,
He has caught me! hear my woful cries!—
Mate! don't leave me— for you love me well!
Then his mate turned round, and repeated the second
stanza to his comfort :
Leave you? never! never will I go —
Noble husband, with your years threescore.
All four quarters of the earth can shew
None so dear as you have been of yore.
In this way she encouraged him ; and saying, " Noble
sir, now I will talk to the Crab a while to make him let you
go," she addressed the Crab in the third stanza :
Of all the crabs that in the sea,
Ganges, or Nerbudda be.
You are best and chief, I know:
Hear me — let my husband go!
As she spoke thus, the Crab's fancy was smitten with
the sound of the female voice, and forgetting all fear he
loosed his claws from the Elephant's leg, and suspected
1 Singl means either ' horned ' or ' gold,' and the scholiast gives both interpre-
tations. As the word suggested both to the writer, I use a word which expresses
both in English. (Dr Rouse.)
riATE fir
IllK ( KAIi AM) IllK KLKI'llAM"
(Jrihiha -Hu . /-. 1:1 1)
THE OWL AS KING 213
nothing of what he would do when he was set free. Then
the Elephant lifted his foot, and stepped upon the Crab's
back ; and at once his eyes started out. The Elephant
shouted the joy-cry. Up ran the other elephants all,
pulled the Crab alon<j: and set him upon the j^round, and
trampled him to mincemeat. His two claws broken from
his body lay apart. And this Crab Tarn, being near the
Ganges, wlien there was a flood in the Ganges, was filled
with Ganges water; when the water subsided it ran
from the lake into the Ganges. Then these two claws
were lifted and floated along the Ganges. One of them
reached the sea, the other was found by the ten royal
brothers while ])laying in the water, and they took it and
made of it the little drum called Anaka. The Titans
found that which reached the sea, and made it into the
drum called Alambara. These afterwards being worsted
in battle with Sakka, ran oft* and left it behind. Then
Sakka caused it to be kept for his own use ; ^nd it is
of this they say, "There is thunder like the Alambara
cloud ! "
The tale of the ten royal brothers is part of the Krishna legend. Krishna slays
a demon Paficajana in the form of a conch shell, of which he makes a war-horn.
Vishnu Pur. v. 21. The father of the royal brothers, who in the Vishnu Pur. iv. 15
is called Vasudeva, has the epithet Anakadundubhi, 'he who has a war-drum
{anaka).' See further, The ten Slave-brethren.
THE OWL AS KING
Once upon a time, the people who lived in the first
cycle of the world gathered together, and took for their
king a certain man, handsome, auspicious, commanding,
altogether perfect. The quadrupeds also gathered, and
chose for king the Lion ; and the fish in the ocean chose
214 THE OWL AS KING
them a fish called Anauda. Then all the birds in the
Himalayas assembled upon a flat rock, crying,
"Among men there is a king, and amcmg the beasts, and
the fish have one too ; but amongst us birds king there is
none. We should not live in anarchy; we too should
choose a king. Fix on some one fit to be set in the king's
place ! "
They searched about for such a bird, and chose the
Owl ; " Here is the bird we like," said they. And a bird
made proclamation three times to all that there would be
a vote taken on this matter. After patiently hearing this
announcement twice, on the third time up rose a Crow,
and cried out,
" Stay now ! If that is what he looks like when he is
being consecrated king, what will he look like when he is
angry? If he only looks at us in anger, we shall be
scattered like sesame seeds thrown on a hot plate. I don't
want to make this fellow king ! " and enlarging upon this
he uttered the first stanza : ^
The owl is king", you say, o'er all bird-kind:
With your permission, may I speak my mind?
The Birds repeated the second, granting him leave to
speak :
You have our leave. Sir, so it he good and right:
For other birds are young, and wise, and bright.
Thus permitted, he repeated the third :
I like not (with all deference be it said)
To have the Owl anointed as our Head.
Look at his face! if this good humour be.
What will he do when he looks angrily?
Then he flew up into the air, cawing out " I don't like
it! I don't like it! " The Owl rose and pursued him.
THE ELEPHANT-TRAINER'S LUCK 215
Thenceforward those two nursed enmity one towards
another. And the birds chose a j^oldeu Mallard for their
king, and dispersed.
p. (T.) III. 2, Som. Lxii. 34 (ii, 65), K. D. (Syr.) vi. 1, (Arab.) vm. In Jiilien 7 the
parrot objects to the owl and is chosen himself. In Aesop (Halm 398) the iK;acock
is chosen, and the jackdaw says, " If you arc king, and the eagle attacks us, how will
you defend us ? "
THE ELEPHANT-TRAINER'S LUCK
Once on a time, when Brahmadatta rei<^ned in Benares,
the Bodhisatta was born into a Brahmin family in the
realm of Kasi. On growing up, he was educated at
Takkasila, and lived among his family ; but when his
parents died, much distressed he retired to the life of a
recluse in the Himalaya, and there he cultivated the
Attainments.
A long time passed, and he came down to inhabited
parts for salt and savouring, and took up his quarters in
the gardens of the king of Benares. Next day, on his
begging rounds, he came to the door of an elephant-
trainer. This man took a fancy to his ways and manners,
fed him, and gave him lodging in his own grounds, waiting
upon him continually.
Now it happened just then that a man whose business it
was to gather firewood failed to get back to town from
the woods in time. He lay down for the night m a
temple, i)lacing a bundle of sticks under his head for
a pillow. At this temple there were a number of cocks
quite free, which had perched close by on a tree. Towards
morning, one of them, who was roosting high, let fall a
dropping on the back of a bird below. "Who dropt that
on me ? " cried this one. " I did," cried the first. " And
216 THE ELEPHANT-TRAINER'S LUCK
why?" "Didn't think," said the other; and then did it
a«>;ain. Hereupon they both began to abuse each other,
crying — ' What power have you? what power have youV
At last the lower one said, " Anybody who kills me, and
eats my flesh roasted on the coals, gets a thousand pieces
of money in the morning ! " And the one above answered
— " Pooh, pooh, don't boast about a little thing like that !
Anybody who eats my fleshy parts will become king; if
he eats my outside, he'll become commander-in-chief or
chief queen, according as he's man or woman ; if he
eats the flesh by my bones, he'll get the post of royal
Treasurer, if he be a householder ; or, if a holy man, will
become the king's favourite ! "
The stick-picker heard all this, and pondered. " Now
if I become king, there'll be no need of a thousand pieces
of money." Quietly he climbed the tree, caught the top-
most cock and killed him : he fastened him in a fold of
his dress, saying to himself — "Now I'll be king!" As
soon as the gates were opened, in he walked. He plucked
the fowl, and cleaned it, and gave it to his wife, bidding
her make the meat nice for eating. She got ready the
meat with some rice, and set it before him, bidding her
lord eat.
" Goodwife," said he, " there's great virtue in this meat.
By eating it I shall become king, and you my queen!"
So they took the meat and rice down to the Ganges
bank, intending to bathe before eating it. Then, putting
meat and rice down upon the bank, in they went to bathe.
Just then a breeze stirred up the water, which washed
away the meat. Down the river it floated, till it came in
sight of an elephant-trainer, a great personage, who was
giving his elephants a bath lower down. " What have we
here ? " said he, and picked it up. " It's fowl and rice, my
THE ELEPHANT-TRAIXER'8 LUCK 217
lord," was the reply. He bade wrap it up, and seal it, and
sent it home to his wife, with a messaj^e not to open it till
he returned.
The stick-picker also ran off* with his belly jmffed out
with sand and water which he had swallowed.
Now a certain ascetic, who had divine vision, the family
priest of the elephant-trainer, was thinking to himself,
"My patron friend does not leave his post with the
elephants. When will he attain promotion ? " As he thus
pondered, he saw this man by his divine insight, and per-
ceived what was a-doing. He went on before, and sat in
the patron's house.
When the master returned, he greeted him respect-
fully and sat down on one side. Then sending for the
parcel, he ordered food and water to be brought for the
ascetic. The ascetic took the rice which was offered ; but
not the meat, and said, "I will divide this meat.' The
master gave him leave. Then separating the meat into
portions, he gave to the elephant-trainer the fleshy parts,
the outside to his wife, and took the flesh about the bones
for his own share. After the meal was over, he said, " On
the third day from this you will become king. Take care
what you do ! " and away he went.
On the third day a neighbouring king came and
beleaguered Benares. The king told his elephant-trainer
to dress in the royal robes, bidding him go mount his
elephant and fight. He himself put on a disguise, and
mingled with the ranks ; swift came an arrow, and pierced
him, so that he perished then and there. The trainer,
learning that the king was dead, sent for a great quantity
of money, and beat the drum, proclaiming, "Let those who
want money, advance, and fight ! " The warrior host in a
twinkling slew the hostile king.
218 THE WISHING-CUP
After the king's obsequies the courtiers deliberated
who was to be made king. Said they, "AVhile our king
was yet alive, he put his royal robes upon the elephant-
trainer. This very man has fought and won the kingdom.
To him the kingdom shall be given ! " And they conse-
crated him king, and his wife they made the chief queen.
The Bodhisatta became his confidant.
The episode of eating the cock's flesh occurs in Jat. 445, Tib. T. viii., Steele and
Temple, Wideawake Stories, p. 139. Miklosich ( Ueher die Mundarten der Zigeuner,
IV. p. 25) gives a tale of the gipsies of Bukowina. A poor man with three sons buys
a hen which lays a diamond, and a second and third, on the last of which is written,
" he who eats the head of the hen will become emperor, he who eats the heart will
have 1000 gold pieces under his head every night, and he who eats the feet will
be a prophet." The luck falls to the three sons. Cf. Jat. 136, p. 117, Cloustou, i. 93 ff.,
Grimm 60. On the folklore of eating the heart see p. 176.
THE WISHING-CUP
Once upon a time, when Brahraadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as a rich merchant's son ;
and after his father's death, took his place. In his house
was buried a treasure of four hundred million. He had
an only son. The Bodhisatta gave alms and did good
until he died, and then he came to life again as Sakka,
king of the gods. His son proceeded to make a pavilion
across the road, and sat down with many friends round
him, to drink. He paid a thousand pieces to runners
and tumblers, singers and dancers, and passed his time in
drinking, gluttony, and debauchery; he wandered about,
asking only for song, music, and dancing, devoted to his
boon-companions, sunk in sloth. So in a short time he
squandered all his treasure of four hundred millions, all
his property, goods, and furniture, and got so poor and
miserable that he had to go about clad in rags.
THE JACKAL AND THE CROW 219
Sakka, as he meditated, became aware how poor he
was. Overcome with love for his son, he gave him a
Wishing Cup, with these words: "Son, take care not to
break this cup. So long as you keep it, your wealth will
never come to an end. So take good care of it ! " and then
he returned to heaven.
After that the man did nothing but drink out of it.
One day, he was drunk, and thrcAv the cup into the air,
catching it as it fell. But once he missed it. Down it fell
upon the earth, and smashed ! Then he got poor again,
and went about in rags, begging, bowl in hand, till at last
he lay do>vn by a wall, and died.
Cf. Uhland's ballad of the Luck of Edenhall (translated by Longfellow), which
was suggested to him by Ritson's Fairy Tales, xix. (1831). The shattering of the
cup and ruin of the place was Uhland's invention. The cup still exists in the
possession of the Musgrave family. Ritson says that the Duke of Wharton once
accidentally dropped it, but that the butler caught it in a napkin. See E. S. Hart-
land, The Science of Fairy Tales, p. 153, London, 1891.
THE JACKAL AND THE CROW
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king of
Benares, the Bodhisatta became a tree-spirit in a certain
rose-apple grove. A Crow perched upon a branch of his
tree, and began to eat the fruit. Then came a Jackal, and
looked up and spied the Crow. Thought he, " If I flatter
this creature, ])erhaps I shall get some of the fruit to eat ! "
So in flattery he re})eated the first stanza :
Who is it sits in a rose-apple tree —
Sweet singer! whose voice trickles gently to me?
Like a young peacock she coos with soft grace,
And ever sits still in her place.
220 THE WOLF'S SABBATH
The Crow, in his praise, responded with the second :
He that is noble iu breeding- and birth
Can praise others' breeding, knows what they are worth.
Like a yonng" tiger thou seemest to be :
Come, eat what I give, Sir, to thee!
With these words she shook the branch and made
some fruit drop. Then the spirit of the tree, beholding
these two eating, after flattering each other, repeated the
third stanza :
Liars, foregather, I very well know.
Here, for example, a carrion Crow,
And coi*pse-eating Jackal, with puerile clatter
Proceed one another to flatter!
After repeating this stanza, the tree-spirit, assuming a
fearful shape, scared them both away.
Cf. Aesop, The Fox and the Crow, Babr. 77, Halm 204, Phaedr. i. 13. It was
known to Horace, Sat. ii. 5. 56, Ep. i. 17. 50, A. P. 437. In Jat. 295 a crow on a
tree Hatters a jackal in order to share the flesh that he is eating. Jacobs 65. It is
the jackal that usually takes the place in Indian fables of the fox of Aesop.
THE WOLF'S SABBATH
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta reigned king in
Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as Sakka, king of
the gods. At that time a Wolf lived on a rock by the
Ganges bank. The winter floods came up and surrounded
the rock. There he lay upon the rock, with no food and
no way of getting it. The water rose and rose, and the
wolf pondered : " No food here, and no way to get it.
Here I lie, with nothing to do. I may as well keep a sabbath
fast." Thus resolved to keep a sabbath, as he lay he
solemnly resolved to kec]) the religious precepts. Sakka in
his meditations perceived the wolf's weak resolve. Thought
THE KING AND THE FRUIT-GIRL 221
he, " I'll pla<j^e that wolf " ; and takiiijj^ the shape of a wild
goat, he stood near, and let the wolf see him.
" I'll keep sabbath another day ! " thou^dit the Wolf, as
he spied him ; up he got, and leapt at the creature. But
the goat jumped about so that the Wolf could not catch
him. When our Wolf saw that he could not catch him,
he came to a standstill, and went back, thinking to himself
as he lay down again, "Well, my sabbath is not broken
after all. "
Then Sakka, by his divine power, hovered above in the
air ; said he,
" What have such as you, all unstable, to do with keep-
ing a sabbath ? You didn't know that I was Sakka,
and wanted a meal of goat's-flesh ! " and thus plaguing
and rebuking him, he returned to the world of the gods.
A variant of De lupo et ariete of Marie de France (l, Roquefort, lxxiii), in
Berekhyah ha-Naqdan, Mishle Shu'dllm 36. It occurs as follows in the Paris
Promptuarium Exeinplorum, 20 (a work dependent on Marie): De lupo uouente,
quod non coniederet carnes per totum xl. Qui dum iret per siluani, uidit vnura
pinguem arietem solum. Qui dixit in corde suo, quod uotum amplius non seruaret,
sed comederet mutonem loco salmonis, qui carius emitur. Jacobs 172, gives a
translation of the Hebrew.
Cf. Ixjssing's fable, ir. 4, of The Wolf on his Deat/tied, who confesses his sins,
but remembers that he once refrained from devouring a lamb, and took no notice
of the mockery of a sheep. The fox reminds him that it was at the time when he
was afflicted with the bone in his throat. See Jat. 308, p. 223.
THE KING AND THE FRUIT-GIRL
Once u])on a time when Brahmadatta was king at
Benares, the Bodhisatta was his minister and his temporal
and spiritual adviser.
Now one day the king stood at an open window looking
into the })alace court. And at this veiy moment the
daughter of a fruiterer, a beautiful girl in the flower of
her youth, stood with a basket of jujubes on her head
222 THE KING AND THE FRUIT-GIRL
cryino;, "Jujubes, ripe jujubes, who'll buy my jujubes?"
But she did not venture into the royal court.
And the king no sooner heard her voice than he fell in
love with her, and when he learned that she was un-
married he sent for her and raised her to the dignity of
chief queen, and bestowed great honour uj^on her. Now
she was dear and pleasing in the kings eyes. And one
day the king sat eating jujubes in a golden dish. And the
queen Sujata, when she saw the king eating jujubes, asked
him, saying, " My lord, what in the world are you eating ? "
And she uttered the first stanza :
What is this egg-shaped fruit, my lord, so pretty and red of hue,
In a gold dish set before thee? Pray tell me, where they grew.
And the king was wroth and said, " O daughter of a
greengrocer, dealer in ripe jujubes, do you not recognise
the jujubes, the special fruit of your own family?" And
he repeated two stanzas :
Bare-headed and meanly clad, my queen, thou once didst feel no shame,
To fill thy lap with the jujube fruit, and now thou dost ask its name;
Thou art eaten up with pride, my queen, thou findest no pleasure in life.
Begone and gather thy jujubes again. Thou shalt be no longer my wife.
Then the Bodhisatta thought, " No one, except myself,
will be able to reconcile this pair. I will appease the
king's anger and prevent him from turning her out of
doors." Then he repeated the fourth stanza:
These are the sins of a woman, my lord, promoted to high estate :
Forgive her and cease from thine anger, 0 king, for 'twas thou didst
make her great.
So the king at his word put up with the offence of the
queen and restored her to her former position. And
thenceforth they lived amicably together.
JtLt. 108 (Buddhaghosha xvi., The Modest Girl) is a similar tale of a king who
marries a village girl because of her good behaviour. The ballad of king Cophetua
THE WOODPECKER AND THE LION 223
and tho beggar-maid (Percy's Rel. i. 189, ed. 1876) appears to have been known to
Shiikspere, cf. L. L. L. i. 90, 311 and iv. 1. 86. It contains tlie same feature aa the
jataka:
She liad forg-ot her g-owne of gray,
Which slie did weare of late.
The proverb old is come to passe,
The priest, when he beg-ins his masse,
Forg-ets that ever clerke he was.
The tale is here told of a previous birth of Pasenadi, king of Kosala, wlio wished
to marry into the Sakya clan, but was tricked into marrying a slave-girl, tho daughter
of a Sakyan prince.
THE WOODPECKER AND THE LION
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as a woodpecker in
the Himalaya country.
Now a certain lion, while devouring his prey, had a
bone stick in his throat. His throat swelled up so that
he could not take any food and severe pains set in. Then
this woodpecker, while intent on seeking its own food, as
it was perched on a bough, saw the lion and asked him,
saying, " Friend, what ails you ? " He told him what was
the matter, and the bird said, " I would take the bone out
of your throat, friend, but I dare not put my head into
your mouth, for fear you should eat me up."
" Do not be afraid, friend ; I will not eat you up. Only
save my life."
" All right," said the bird, and ordered the lion to lie
do^vn upon his side. Then it thought: "Who knows what
this fellow will be about?" And to prevent his closing
his mouth, it fixed a stick between his upper and lower
jaw, and then entering into the lion's mouth, it struck
the end of the bone with its beak. The bone fell out and
224 THE WOODPECKER AND THE LION
disappeared. And then the woodpecker came out of the
lions mouth, and with a blow from its beak knocked out
the stick, and hopping off sat on the top of a bough.
The lion recovered from his sickness, and one day was
devouring a wild buffalo which he had killed. Thought
the woodpecker: "I will noAV put him to the test," and
perching on a bough above the lion's head, it fell to con-
versing with him and uttered the first stanza :
Kindness as much as in us lay,
To thee, my lord, we once did shew:
On us in turn, we humbly pray.
Do thou a trifling hoon bestow.
On hearing this the lion repeated the second stanza :
To trust thy head to a lion's jaw,
A creature red in tooth and claw,
To dare such a deed and be living still,
Is token enough of my good will.
The woodpecker on hearing this uttered two more
stanzas :
From the base ingrate hope not to obtain
The due requital of good service done;
From bitter thought and angry word refrain,
But haste the presence of the wretch to shun.
With these words the woodpecker flew away.
Tib. T. xxviL, Jatakamala xxxiv., Aesop, Ttie Wolf and the Crane, Babr. 94,
Halm 276, Phaedr. i. 8. Cf. .Jacobs 55,
THE HARE'S SELF-SACRIFICE
Once u])on a time wlien Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodliisatta came to life as a young hare and
lived in a wood. On one side of this wood was the foot of
a mountain, on another side a river, and on the third side
a border-village. The hare had tliree friends — a monkey,
a jackal and an otter. These four wise creatures lived
together and each of them got his food on his own
hunting-ground, and in the evening they again came
togetlier. The hare in his wisdom by way of admonition
preached the Truth to his three companions, teaching
that alms are to be given, the moral law to be observed,
and holy days to be kept. They accepted his admonition
and went each to his own part of the jungle and dwelt
there.
And so in the course of time the Bodhisatta one day
observing the sky, and looking at the moon knew that
the next day would be a fast-day, and addressing his three
companions he said, "To-morrow is a fast-day. Let all
three of you take upon you the moral precepts, and
observe the holy day. To one that stands fast in moral
})ractice, almsgiving brings a great reward. Therefore
feed any beggars that come to you by giving them food
from your own table." They readily assented, and abode
each in his own place of dwelling.
On the morrow quite early in the morning, the otter
sallied forth to seek his prey and went down to the bank
of the Ganges. Now it came to pass that a fisherman had
landed seven red fish, and stringing them together on a
withe, he had taken and buried them in the sand on
the river s bank. And then he dropped down the stream,
F. & T. 15
22G THE HARE'S SELF-SACRIFICE
catching more fish. The otter scenting the buried fish, dug
up the sand till he came upon them, and pulling them
out cried thrice, "Does anyone own these fish?" And
not seeing any owner he took hold of the withe with his
teeth and laid the fish in the jungle where he dwelt,
intending to eat them at a fitting time. And then he lay
down, thinking how^ virtuous he was ! The jackal too
sallied forth in quest of food and found in the hut of a
field- watcher two spits, a lizard and a pot of milk-curd.
And after thrice crying aloud, " To whom do these belong?"
and not finding an ow ner, he put on his neck the rope for
lifting the pot, and grasping the spits and the lizard with
his teeth, he brought and laid them in his own lair, think-
ing, " In due season I w ill devour them," and so lay down,
reflecting how virtuous he had been.
The monkey also entered the clump of trees, and
gathering a bunch of mangoes laid them up in his part of
the jungle, meaning to eat them in due season, and then
lay down, thinking how virtuous he was. But the Bodhi-
satta in due time came out, intending to browse on the
kusa-grass, and as he lay in the jungle, the thought
occurred to him, " It is impossible for me to offer grass
to any beggars that may chance to appear, and I have no
sesame, rice, and such like. If any beggar shall appeal to
me, I shall have to give him my own flesh to eat. ' At this
splendid display of virtue, Sakka's white marble throne
manifested signs of heat. Sakka on reflection discovered
the cause and resolved to put this royal hare to the test.
First of all he went and stood by the otter s dw elling-place,
disguised as a brahmin, and being asked why he stood
there, he replied, "Wise Sir, if I could get something
to eat, after keeping the fast, I would perform all my
ascetic duties." The otter replied, "Very well, I will give
THE HAKE'S SELF-SACKIFICE 227
you some food," and as he conversed witli liim lie re|)eated
the first stanza :
Seven red fish I safely broug-lit to land from Ganges tlood,
0 brahmin, eat thy fill, I pray, and stay within this wood.
The brahmin said, "Let be till to-morrow. I will see
to it by and by." Next he went to the jackal, and when
asked by him why he stood there, he made the same
answer. The jackal, too, readily promised him some
food, and in talking with him repeated the second
stanza :
A lizard and a jar of curds, the keeper's evening meal,
Two spits of roasted flesh withal I wrong-fully did steal:
Such as I have I give to thee : 0 brahmin, eat, I pray.
If thou shouldst deign within this wood a while with us to stay.
Said the brahmin, " Let be till to-morrow. I will see
to it by and by." Then he went to the monkey, and
when asked what he meant by standing there, he answered
just as before. The monkey readily offered him some food,
and in conversing with him gave utterance to the third
stanza :
An icy stream, a mango ripe, and pleasant greenwood shade,
'Tis thine to enjoy, if thou canst dwell content in forest glade.
Said the brahmin, "Let be till to-morrow. I will see
to it by and by." And he went to the wise hare, and on
being asked by him why he stood there, he made the
same reply. The Bodhisatta on hearing what he wanted
was highly delighted, and said, " Brahmin, you have done
well in coming to me for food. This day will I grant you
a boon that 1 have never granted before, but you shall
not break the moral hiAv by taking animal life. Go, friend,
and when you have piled together logs of wood, and
kindled a fire, come and let me know, and I will sacrifice
myself by falling into the midst of the flames, and when
15—2
228 THE HARE'S SELF-SACRIFICE
my body is roasted, you shall eat my flesh and fulfil all
your ascetic duties." And in thus addressing him the hare
uttered the fourth stanza :
Nor sesame, nor toeans, nor rice have I as food to give,
But roast with fire my flesh I yield, if thou with us wouldst live.
Sakka, on hearing what he said, by his miraculous
power caused a heap of burning coals to appear, and
came and told the Bodhisatta. Rising from his bed of
kusa-grass and coming to the place, he thrice shook him-
self that if there were any insects within his coat, they
might escape death. Then offering his whole body as a
free gift he sprang up, and like a royal swan, alighting on
a cluster of lotuses, in an ecstasy of joy he fell on the heap
of live coals. But the flame failed even to heat the pores
of the hair on the body of the Bodhisatta, and it was as
if he had entered a region of frost. Then he addressed
Sakka in these words: "Brahmin, the fire you have
kindled is icy-cold : it fails to heat even the pores of the
hair on my body. What is the meaning of this ? " " Wise
Sir," he replied, " I am no brahmin. I am Sakka, and
I have come to put your virtue to the test." The Bodhi-
satta said, " If not only thou, Sakka, but all the inhabitants
of the world were to try me in this matter of almsgiving,
they would not find in me any unwillingness to give," and
with this the Bodhisatta uttered a cry of exultation like
a lion roaring. Then said Sakka to the Bodhisatta,
"O wise hare, be thy virtue known throughout a whole
aeon." And squeezing the mountain, with the essence thus
extracted, he daubed the sign of a hare on the orb of the
moon. And after depositing the hare on a bed of young
kusa-grass, in the same wooded part of the jungle, Sakka
returned to his own place in heaven. And these four wise
UNASKED-FOR ADVICE 220
creatures dwelt liappily and liarmouiously tojj^ether, ful-
filliii*^ the moral law and observing holy days, till they
' departed to fare according to their deeds.
This talc is apparently not found outside buddhist sources. Jdtakamdld vi.,
Car. Pit. I. 10. Hiuen Tiisung Mem. sur fcs Contrcr.s ocridt^ntales tr. Julien i. 375.
It wa.s found among the buddhist Kaliuuks by Pallas in 1769 {Reixe durrh rer-
schiedinie Provinzen des Russischen Reidis. i. 343) and by licrgniann in 1802 {Num.
Streif. iii. 204). The sign of the hare in the moon is mentioned in Jat. 20 (p. 25),
454, V. (T.) III. 3, (B.) III. 1. In Sanskrit the moon is called sasiii 'having a hare,'
as well as inrgCiiika and harindnka 'having the mark of a deer.' Cf. Benf. Einl.
§ 143. In works on folklore the story is sometimes corrupted by making Buddha,
not Sakka, the god who requires the sacrifice. The confusion occurs first in Douce's
Illustrations of Shakspeure, i. 16 (1807), followed by Grimm, and Harley Moon
Lore.
UNASKED-FOR ADVICE
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta reigned in
Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as a young sihgila
bird. And when he grew to be a big bird, he settled in
the Himalaya country and built him a nest to his fancy,
that was proof against the rain. Then a certain monkey in
the rainy season, when the rain fell without intermission,
sat near the Bodhisatta, his teeth chattering by reason
of the severe cold. The Bodhisatta, seeing him thus
distressed, fell to talking with him, and uttered the first
stanza :
Monkey, in feet and hands and face
So like the human form,
Why buildest thou no dwelling'-plaee,
To hide thee from the storm?
The monkey, on hearing this, replied with a second
stanza :
In feet and hands and face, 0 bird,
Thoug-h close to man allied.
Wisdom, chief boon on him conferred,
To me has been denied.
230 THE FLIGHT OF THE BEASTS
The Bodhisatta, on hearing this, repeated yet two more
couplets :
He that inconstancy betrays, a light and fickle mind,
Unstable proved in all his ways, no happiness may find.
Monkey, in virtue to excel, do thou thy utmost strive,
And safe from wintry blast to dwell, go, hut of leaves contrive.
Thought the monkey, " This creature, though dwelling
in a place that is sheltered from the rain, despises me.
I will not suffer him to rest quietly in this nest." Accord-
ingly, in his eagerness to catch the Bodhisatta, he made a
spring upon him. But the Bodhisatta flew up into the
air, and winged his way elsewhere. And the monkey,
after smashing up and destroying his nest, betook him-
self off.
p. (B.) I. 18. The bird, which in the Panchatantra is an example of the folly of
misplaced advice, here becomes an incarnation of the All-enlightened One. In
Purnabhadra's recension of P. it is iv. 9. It does not occur in T., but a variant
is found in the corresponding place (i. 14) in which the monkeys try to blow a
fire-fly into a blaze, and finally kill the oflScious bird. Som. .lx. 204 (ii. 39) follows
this version.
THE FLIGHT OF THE BEASTS
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta reigned in
Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as a young lion.
And when fully grown he lived in a wood. At this time
there was near the Western Ocean a grove of palms
mixed with vilva trees. A certain hare lived here beneath
a palm sapling, at the foot of a vilva tree. One day this
hare after feeding came and lay down beneath the young
palm tree. And the thought struck him : " If this earth
should be destroyed, what would become of me ? " And
at this very moment a ripe vilva fruit fell on a palm leaf.
THE FLIGHT OF THE BEASTS 231
At the sound of it, the hare thouj^ht : " This solid earth is
collapsing," and startin<2: up he fled, without so much as
lookin*^ behind him. Another hai'c saw him scampering
ofl', as if frightened to death, and asked the cause of his
panic f1i<»]it. "Pray, don't ask me," he said. The other
liare cried, " Pray, Sir, what is it ? " and kept running after
him. Then the hare stopped a moment and without look-
ing back said, " The earth here is breaking uj)." And at
this the second hare ran after the other. And so first
one and then another hare caught sight of him running,
and joined in the chase till one hundred thousand hares
all took to flight together. They were seen by a deer, a
boar, an elk, a buftalo, a wild ox, a rhinoceros, a tiger,
a lion and an elephant. And when they asked what it
meant and were told that the earth was breaking up, they
too took to flight. So by degrees this host of animals
extended to the length of a full league.
When the Bodhisatta saw this headlong flight of the
animals, and heard the cause of it was that the earth was
coming to an end, he thought: "The earth is nowhere
coming to an end. Surely it must be some sound which
was misunderstood bv them. And if I don't make a great
effort, they will all perish. 1 will save their lives." So
w ith the speed of a lion he got before them to the foot of a
mountain, and lion-like roared three times. They were
terribly frightened at the lion, and stopping in their flight
stood all huddled together. The lion went in amongst
them and asked why they were running away.
" The earth is collapsing," they answered.
" Who saw it collapsing ? " he said.
" The ele])hants know all about it," they replied.
He asked the elephants. " We don't know," they said,
"the lions know." But the lions said, "We don't know,
232 THE FLIGHT OF THE BEASTS
the tigers know." The tigers said, "The rhinoceroses
know." The rhinoceroses said, "The wild oxen know."
The wild oxen, " the buffaloes." The buffaloes, " the elks."
The elks, "the boars." The boars, "the deer." The deer
said, " We don't know, the hares know." When the hares
were questioned, they pointed to one particular hare and
said, ' This one told us."
So the Bodhisatta asked, " Is it true, Sir, that the earth
is breaking up ? "
" Yes, Sir, I saw it," said the hare.
"Where," he asked, "were you living, when you
saw it?"
"Near the ocean. Sir, in a grove of palms mixed
with vilva trees. For as I was lying beneath the shade
of a palm sapling at the foot of a vilva tree, methought,
' If this earth should break up, where shall I go ? ' And at
that very moment I heard the sound of the breaking up
of the earth and I fled."
Thought the lion: "A ripe vilva fruit evidently must
have fallen on a palm leaf and made a 'thud,' and this
hare jumped to the conclusion that the earth was coming
to an end, and ran away. I will find out the exact truth
about it." So he reassured the herd of animals, and said,
" I will take the hare and go and find out exactly whether
the earth is coming to an end or not, in the place pointed
out by him. Until I return, do you stay here." Then
]>lacing the hare on his back, he sprang forward with the
speed of a lion, and putting the hare down in the palm
grove, he said, " Come, shew us the place you meant."
" I dare not, my lord," said the hare.
" Come, don't be afraid," said the lion.
The hare, not venturing to go near the vilva tree,
stood afar off and cried, "Yonder, Sir, is the place of
I 'I. Ml'. I\
,/ '
^)
-A,^.^
TIIK (()N( i:iTi:i) MENDICANT
(Jatdkd :ll-'4, lin, xrriirs-. p/i. l':')."). -!:!-J-)
THE CONCEITED MENDICANT 233
dreadful sound," and so saying, he repeated the first
stanza :
From tlic spot whore 1 <li(l tl\Ncll
Issued forth a fearful 'thud';
What it was I could not tell,
Nor what caused it understood.
After hearini,^ what the hare said, the lion went to the
foot of the vilva tree, and saw the spot where the hare
had been lyinj,^ beneath the shade of the pahn tree, and
the ripe vilva fruit that fell on the palm leaf, and having
carefully ascertained that the earth had not broken
up, he placed the hare on his back and with the speed of
a lion soon came again to the herd of beasts.
Then he told them the whole story, and said, " Don t
be afraid." And having thus reassured the herd of beasts,
he let them go. Verily, if it had not been for the Bodhi-
satta at that time, all the beasts w ould have rushed into
the sea and perished. It was all owing to the Bodhisatta
that they escaped death.
Tib. T. XXII. The Flight of the Beasts.
THE CONCEITED MENDICANT
Once ui)on a time the Bodhisatta was born in a
merchant family and plied his trade. At that time a
certain religious mendicant, clad in a leather garment, in
sroinjr his rounds for alms, came to the rams fighting
ground, and on seeing a ram falling back before him, he
fancied it did this as a mark of respect, and did not him-
self retire. " In the whole world," he thought, " this ram
alone recognises my merits," and raising his joined hands in
respectful salutation he stood and repeated the first stanza:
The kindly beast obeisance makes before
The high-caste brahmin versed in holy lore.
Good honest creatnre thou,
Famous above all other beasts, I vow!
234 THE IMPERMANENCE OF WORLDLY JOYS
At this moment the wise merchant sitting in his stores,
to restrain the mendicant, uttered the second stanza :
Brahmin, be not so rash this heast to trust,
Else will he haste to lay thee in the dust,
For this the ram falls back,
To gain an impetus for his attack.
While this wise merchant was still sjieaking, the ram
came on at full speed, and striking the mendicant on the
thigh, knocked him down. He was maddened with the pain
and lay groaning. The Master, to explain the incident, gave
utterance to the third stanza :
With broken leg" and bowl for alms upset,
His damaged fortune he will sore regret.
Let him not weep with outstretched arms in vain,
Haste to the rescue, ere the priest is slain.
Then the mendicant repeated the fourth stanza :
Thus all that honour to the unworthy pay,
Share the same fate that I have met to-day;
Prone in the dust by butting ram laid low
To foolish confidence my death I owe.
Thus lamenting he there and then came by his death.
Illustrated on the Bharhut Stupa, pi. xli. 1 and 3.
THE IMPERMANENCE OF WORLDLY JOYS
Once upon a time when Bramadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta Avas born into a brahmin family.
And when he grew up, he studied all the arts at Takkasila
and then returned to his parents. In this Birth the
Great Being became a holy young student. Then his
parents told him they would look out a wife for him.
" I have no desire for a married life," said the Bodhi-
satta. "When you are dead, I will adopt the religious life
of an ascetic."
THP] IMPERMANEXCE OF WOIU.DLY JOYS 235
And bciii<^ greatly importuned by them, he had a
golden hnage made, and said, " If you can find me a
maiden like unto this, 1 will take her to wife." His
parents sent forth some emissaries with a large escort,
and bade them place the golden image in a covered
carriage and go and search through the plains of India,
till they found Just such a young brahmin girl, when they
were to give this golden image in exchange, and bring the
girl back with them. Now at this time a certain holy
man passing from the Brahma world was born again in
the form of a young girl in a town in the kingdom of
Kasi, in the house of a brahmin worth eighty crores, and
the name given her Avas Sammillabhasini. At the age of
sixteen she was a fair and gracious maiden, like to an
Apsaras, endued with all the marks of female beauty.
And since no thought of evil was ever suggested to her
by the power of sinful passion, she was perfectly pure.
So the men took the golden image and wandered about
till they reached this village. The inhabitants on seeing
the image asked, " Why is Sammillabhasini, the daughter
of such and such a brahmin, placed there ? " The mes-
sengers on hearing this found the brahmin family, and
chose Sammillabhasini for the young man's bride. She
sent a message to her parents, saying, ''When you are dead,
I shall adopt the religious life ; I have no desire for the
married state." They said, " What art thou thinking of,
maiden ? " And accepting the golden image they sent off
their daughter with a great retinue. The marriage cere-
mony took ])lace against the wishes of both the Bodhisatta
and Sammillabhasini. Though sharing the same room
and the same bed they did not regard one another with
the eye of i)assion, but dwelt together like two holy men or
two female saints.
236 THE IMPERMANENCE OF WORLDLY JOYS
By and by the father and mother of the Bodhisatta
died. He ])erformed tlieh* funeral rites and calling to
him SammillabhasinI, said to her, "My dear, my family
property amounts to eighty crores, and yours too is worth
another eighty crores. Take all this and enter upon house-
hold life. I shall become an ascetic."
"Sir," she answered, "if you become an ascetic, I will
become one too. I cannot forsake you."
" Come then," he said. So spending all their wealth in
almsgiving and throwing up their worldly fortune as it
were a lump of phlegm, they journeyed into the Himalaya
country and both of them adopted the ascetic life. There
after living for a long time on wild fruits and roots, they
at length came down from the Himalayas to procure salt
and vinegar, and gradually found their way to Benares,
and dwelt in the royal grounds. And while they were living
there, this young and delicate female ascetic, from eating
insipid rice of a mixed quality, was attacked by dysentery
and not being able to get any healing remedies, she grew
very weak. The Bodhisatta at the time for going his
rounds to beg for alms, took hold of her and carried her
to the gate of the city and there laid her on a bench in a
certain hall, and himself went into the city for alms. He had
scarce gone out when she expired. The people, beholding
the great beauty of this female ascetic, thronged about
her, weeping and lamenting. The Bodhisatta after going
his round of begging returned, and hearing of her death
he said, "That which has the quality of dissolution is
dissolved. All impermanent existences are of this kind."
With these words he sat down on the bench whereon she
lay and eating the mixture of food he rinsed out his mouth.
The people that stood by gathered round him and said,
"Reverend Sir, what was this female ascetic to you?"
rp
THE IMPERMANENCE OF WORLDLY JOYS 237
" When I was a layman," he replied, " she was my wife."
" Holy Sir," they said, " while we weep and lament and
cannot control our feelings, why do you not weep ? "
The Bodhisatta said, " While she was alive, she belonged
to me in some sort. Nothing belongs to her that is
gone to another world: she has passed into the power
of others. Wherefore should I weep?" And teaching
the people the Truth, he recited these stanzas:
Why should 1 shed tears for thee,
Fair Saminillabh.isim ?
Passed to death's majority
Tliou art henceforth lost to me.
Wherefore should frail man lament
What to him is only lent?
He too draws his mortal breath
Forfeit every hour to death.
Be he standing, sitting- still,
Moving-, resting-, what he will,
In the twinkling- of an eye.
In a moment death is nig-h.
Life I count a thing- unstable.
Loss of friends inevitable.
Cherish all that are alive.
Sorrow not shouldst thou survive.
Thus did the Great Being teach the Truth, illustrating
by these four stanzas the impermanence of things. The
people performed funeral rites over the female ascetic.
And the Bodhisatta returned to the Himalayas, and
entering on the higher knowledge arising from mystic
meditation was destined to birth in the Brahma-world.
The variant in Tib. T. ix. is converted into a story contemporary mth Buddha,
and the hero becomes tlie buddhist elder Mahaki\ssapa. The incident of the golden
image occurs also i!i Jat. 581, T?ic Ugly Bridegroom.
THE TESTING OF VIRTUE
This was a story told by the Master when at Jetavana, about a brahmin who
was ever proving his virtue. Two similar stories have been told before^ In this
case the Bodhisatta was the family priest of the king of Benares.
In testing his virtue he for three days took a coin
from the royal treasurer s board. They informed against
him as a thief, and when brought before the king, he
said :
Power on earth beyond compare,
Thus virtue owns a wondrous charm :
Putting- on a virtuous air
The deadly snake escapes all harm.
After thus praising virtue in the first stanza, he gained
the king's consent and adopted the ascetic life. Now
a hawk seized a piece of meat in a butchers shop and
darted up into the air. The other birds surrounded him
and struck at him Avith feet, claws and beaks. Unable to
bear the pain he dropped the piece of meat. Another
bird seized it. It too in like manner being hard pressed
let the meat fall. Then another bird pounced on it, and
whosoever got the meat was pursued by the rest, and who-
soever let it go was left in peace. The Bodhisatta on
seeing this thought, " These desires of ours are like pieces
of meat. To those that grasp at them is sorrow, and to
those that let them go is peace." And he repeated the
second stanza :
While the hird had aug-ht to eat,
Ospreys pecked at him full sore,
When perforce he dropped the meat,
Then they pecked at him no more.
The ascetic going forth from the city, in the course of
his journey came to a village, and at evening lay down in
1 Jat. 86 and 290. The above passage is a very brief example of a Story of the
Present ; for other examples see pp. 78, 243.
THE TESTING OF VIRTUE 230
a certain man's house. Now a female slave there named
Pihgala made an assignation with a man, saying, "You
are to come at such and such an lioui*.' After she had
bathed the feet of her master and his family, when they
had lain down, she sat on the threshold, looking out foi-
the coming of her lover, and passed the first and the
middle watch, repeating to herself, "Now he will be
coming," but at daybreak, losing hope, she said, " He will
not come now," and lay down and fell asleep. The Bodhi-
satta seeing this happen said, " This woman sat ever so
long in the hope that her lover would come, but now that
she knows he will not come, in her despair, she slumbers
peacefully." And with the thought that while hope in
the passions brings sorrow , despair brings peace, he uttered
the third stanza :
The fruit of hope fuinUed is bliss ;
How differs loss of hope from this?
Thoug-h dull despair her hope destroys,
Lo! PiiigaUi calm sleep enjoys.
Next day going forth from that village he entered into
a forest, and beholding a hermit seated on the ground and
indulging in meditation he thought, " Both in this world
and in the next there is no happiness beyond the bliss of
meditation." And he repeated the fourth stanza :
In this world and in worlds to be
Noug-ht can surpass ecstatic joy:
To holy calm a devotee,
Himself unharmed, will none annoy.
Then he went into the forest and ado])ted the ascetic
life of a llishi and developed the higher knowledge born
of meditation, and became destined to birth in the Brahma-
world.
The first episode of the testing of virtue is given in Jat. 290 and 362, and more
fully in Jat. 86. In the hitter the Bodhisatta, when being brouglit before the king,
240 A KING'S LIFE SAVED BY SPELLS
sees a perfonniiig snake, and is told that it will not bite, as it is good. This explains
the reference to the snake in the first stanza.
The episodes of the hawk and of Pingala are referred to in the Sdnkhya
Aphorisms iv. 5 and 11, and according to Franke probably come from a source
which is the common source of the jataka and of the stories as given in Mbh. xii.
chs. 174, 178.
In the second stanza ospreys are spoken of, as in the Mhh., although the prose
speaks of a hawk. K. U. (Anib.) iv. also has a hawk. Cf the similar confusion in
Jat. 218, p. 180.
A KING'S LIFE SAVED BY SPELLS
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta reigned in Be-
nares, the Bodhisatta was a far-famed teacher at Takkasila
and trained many young princes and sons of brahmins in
the arts. Now the son of the king of Benares, when he
was sixteen years okl, came to him and after he had
acquired the three Vedas and all the liberal arts and
was perfect in them, he took leave of his master. The
teacher regarding him by his gift of prognostication
thought, " There is danger coming to this man through his
son. By my magic power I will deliver him from it." And
composing four stanzas he gave them to the young prince
and spoke as follows : " My son, after you are seated on
the throne, when your son is sixteen years old, utter the
first stanza while eating your rice ; repeat the second
stanza at the time of the great levee ; the third, as you
are ascending to the palace roof, standing at the head of
the stairs, and the fourth, when entering the royal chamber,
as you stand on the threshold."
The prince readily assented to this and saluting his
teacher went away. And after acting as viceroy, on his
father's death he ascended the throne. His son, when he was
sixteen years of age, on the king's going forth to take his
A KING'S LIFE SAVED BY SPELLS 241
pleasure in the garden, observing his fathers majesty and
power was filled with a desire to kill him and seize upon
his kingdom, and spoke to his attendants about it. Tliey
said, "True, Sir, what is the good of obtaining power,
when one is old ? You must by some means or other kill
the king and possess yourself of his kingdom." The
prince said, " I will kill him by putting poison in his food."
So he took some poison and sat down to eat his evening
meal with his father. The king, when the rice was just
served in tlie bowl, spoke the first stanza:
With sense so nice, the husks from rice
Rats keen are to discriminate:
They cared not much the husks to touch,
But grain by grain the rice they ate.
" I am discovered," thought the prince, and not daring
to administer the poison in the bowl of rice, he rose up
and bowing to the king went away. He told the story to
his attendants and said, " To-day I am found out. How now
shall 1 kill him ? " From this day forth they lay concealed
in the garden, and consulting together in whispers said,
"There is still one expedient. When it is time to attend the
great lev^e, gird on your sword, and taking your stand
amongst the councillors, when you see the king oif his
guard, you must strike him a blow with your sword and
kill him." Thus they arranged it. The prince readily
agreed, and at the time of the great levee, he girt on his
sword and moving about from place to place looked out
for an opportunity to strike the king. At this moment the
king uttered the second stanza :
The secret counsel taken in the wood
By me is understood:
The village plot soft whispered in the ear
That too I hear.
F, A T. 16
242 A KING'S LIFE SAVED BY SPELLS
Thought the prince, " My father knows that I am his
enemy," and ran away and told his attendants. After the
lapse of seven or eight days they said, " Prince, your father
is ignorant of your feeling toAvards him. You only fancy
this in your own mind. Put him to death." So one day
he took his sword and stood at the top of the stairs in the
royal closet. The king standing at the head of the stair-
case spoke the third stanza:
A monkey ouce did cruel measures take
His tender ofEspring- impotent to make.
Thought the prince, "My father wants to seize me,"
and in his terror he fled away and told his attendants he
had been threatened by his father. After the lapse of a
fortnight they said, "Prince, if the king knew this, he
would not have put up with it so long a time. Your
imagination suggests this to you. Put him to death." So
one day he took his sword and entering the royal chamber
on the upper floor of the palace he lay down beneath the
couch, intending to slay the king, as soon as he came.
At the close of the evening meal, the king sent his
retinue away, wishing to lie down, and entering the royal
chamber, as he stood on the threshold, he uttered the
fourth stanza:
Thy cautious creeping- ways
Like one-eyed g-oat in mustard field that strays,
And who thou art that lurkest here below,
This too I know.
Thought the prince, "My father has found me out.
Now he will put me to death." And seized with fear he
came out from beneath the couch, and throwing down his
sword at the king's feet and saying, " Pardon me, my lord,"
he lay grovelling before him. The king said, " You thought,
no one knows what I am about." And after rebuking
THE HERON'S REVENGE 243
him he ordered him to be bound in chains and put
into the prison house, and set a guard over him. Then
the kin<i^ meditated on the virtues of the Rodhisatta. And
by and by he died. When they liad celebrated his funeral
rites, they took the young })rince out of prison and set him
on the throne.
A close variant occurs in Jat. 373, and in Buddhaghosha vi., in a form in which
the royal barber is bribed to kill the king. Cf. Clouston, ii. 317 ff., A king's life
saved by a Maxim, and Gestu Horn. 103 (95).
The mention of the monkey in the third stanza is to Jat. 58, in which a parent
monkey is jealous of his offspring, much as Satuni, who devoured his children
(Hesiod, Theog. 473).
THE HERON'S REVENGE
This story was told by the Master at Jetavana, con-
cerning a heron that lived in the house of the king of
Kosala. She carried messages, they say, for the king, and
had two young ones. The king sent this bird with a letter
to some other king. When she was gone away, the boys
in the royal family squeezed the young birds to death in
their hands. The mother bird came back and missing
her young ones, asked who had killed her offspring.
They said, "So and so." And at this time there was
a fierce and savage tiger kept in the j)alace, fastened
by a strong chain. Now these boys came to see the
tiger and the heron went with them, thinking, "Even
as my young ones were killed by them, just so will
I deal with these boys," and she took hold of them and
threw them down at the foot of the tiger. The tiger with
a growl crunched them uj). The bird said, "Now^ is the
wish of my heart fiilfilled," and flying up into the air
made straight for the Himalayas. On hearing what had
happened they started a discussion in the Hall of Truth,
saying, " Sirs, a heron, it is said, in the king's palace threw
16—2
244 THE HERON'S REVENGE
down before a tiger the boys who killed her young ones,
and when she had thus brought about their death, she
made off" The Master came and inquired what it was
the Brethren were discussing and said, "Not now only,
Brethren, but formerly also did she bring about the death
of those who killed her young ones*" And herewith he
related a legend of the past.
Once upon a time the Bodhisatta at Benares ruled his
kingdom with justice and equity. A certain heron in his
house carried messages for him. And so on just as before.
But the special point here is that in this case the bird,
having let the tiger kill the boys, thought, " I can no
longer remain here. I will take my departure, but
though I am going away I will not leave without telling the
king, but as soon as I have told him I will be off." And
so she drew nigh and saluted the king, and standing a
little way off said, "My lord, it was through your carelessness
that the boys killed my young ones, and under the influence
of passion I in revenge caused their death. Now I can no
longer live here." And uttering the first stanza she said :
Long" I held this house as mine,
Honour great I did receive.
It is due to act of thine
I am now compelled to leave.
The king on hearing this repeated the second stanza :
Should one to retaliate,
Wrong- with equal wrong- repay,
Then his anger should abate;
So, good heron, prithee stay.
Hearing this the bird spoke the third stanza :
Wronged can with wrong-doer ne'er
As of old he made at one:
Nought, 0 king can keep me here,
Lo! from henceforth I am gone.
THE LION AND THE BULL 245
The kiii<^, on hearinj^ this, spoke the fourth stanza:
Should they wise, not foolish be,
With the wTong-ed wrong-doer may
Live in peace and harmony:
So, good heron, prithee, stay.
The bird said, " As things are, 1 cannot stay, my lord,"
and saluting the king she flew up into the air and made
straight for tlie Himalayas.
K. D. (Syr.) vii., (Arab.) xii. The king and the bird Fanzah. Mbh. xiL ch. 139,
The bird Piljanl. The word translated ' heron ' is kuntani, which is given as a
synonym oi /coiica ^ boron' in i\\o Ab/tidhdnuppadlpikd 641; but it is probably a
corruption of Pujanl of the Mbh., a change which is possible only in Kharosthi script
(Franke), and implies a N.W. Indian locality for the jataka. llertel finds a distant
resemblance in P. (T.) i. 4, (B.) i. 6, where a crow takes revenge on a snake that eats
its young ones by stealing a gold band and hanging it over the snake's dwelling.
The owners come for it and kill the snake.
THE LION AND THE BULL
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as his son, and after
acquiring all the arts at Takkasilil, on his fathers death,
he ruled his kingdom righteously.
At that time a certain neatherd, who was tending cattle
in their sheds in the forest, came home and inadvertently
left behind him a cow that was in calf Between the
cow and a lioness sprang up a firm friendship. The two
animals became fast fi'iends and went about together.
So after a time the cow brought forth a calf and the
lioness a cub. These two young creatures also by force of
family ties became fast friends and wandered about to-
gether. Then a certain forester, after observing their
affection, took such wares as are produced in the forest
and went to J3enares and presented them to the king.
And when the king asked him, " Friend, have you seen
any unusual marvel in the forest i " he made answer.
246 THE LION AND THE BULL
" I saw nothing else that was wonderful, my lord, bnt I did
see a lion and a bull wandering about together, very
friendly one towards another/'
" Should a third animal appear," said the king, " there
will certainly be mischief Come and tell me, if you see
the pair joined by a third animal."
" Certainly, my lord," he answered.
Now when the forester had left for Benares, a jackal
ministered to the lion and the bull. When he returned
to the forest and saw this he said, " I will tell the king that
a third animal has appeared," and departed for the city.
Now the jackal thought, "There is no meat that I liave
not eaten except the flesh of lions and bulls. By setting
these two at variance, I will get their flesh to eat." And
he said, " This is the way he speaks of you," and thus
dividing them one from another, he soon brought about a
quarrel and reduced them to a dying condition.
But the forester came and told the king, " My lord, a
third animal has turned up." " What is it ? " said the king.
"A jackal, my lord." Said the king, "He will cause them
to quarrel, and will bring about their death. We shall find
them dead when we arrive." And so saying, he mounted
upon his chariot and travelling on the road pointed out
by the forester, he arrived just as the two animals had by
their quarrel destroyed one another. The jackal highly
delighted was eating, now the flesh of the lion, now that of
the bull. The king when he saw that they were both dead,
stood just as he was upon his chariot, and addressing his
charioteer gave utterance to these verses :
Noug-ht in common had this pair,
Neither wives nor food did share;
Yet behold how slanderous word,
Keen as any two-edg-ed sword,
THE QUAIL'S FRIENDS 247
Did devise with cuiiiiing- art
Friends of old to keep Jipart.
Thus did bull and lion tall
Prey to meanest beast of all :
So will all bed-fellows be
With this pair in misery,
If they lend a willing- ear
To tlie slanderer's whispered sneer.
But they thrive exceeding- well,
E'en as those in heaven that dwell,
Who to slander ne'er attend —
Slander parting- friend from friend.
The kinjj^ spoke these verses, and biddinj^ them ji^ather
together the mane, skin, claws, and teeth of the lion,
returned straight to his own city.
The frame story of P. i., in which «)iily the bull is killed, Hitop. ii., 8on». lx.
(ii. -27), K. D. (Syr.) i., (Arab.) v. Tib. T. xxxiii. first version. The second version
corresponds to Jat. 361, in which the \viles of the jackal are defeated, a.s also in
Julien -26.
THE QUAIL'S FRIENDS
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as a young elephant,
and growing uj) a fine comely beast, he became the leader
of the herd, with a following of eighty thousand elephants,
and dwelt in the Himalayas. At that time a quail laid
her eggs in the feeding-ground of the elephants. When
the eggs were ready to be hatched, the young birds broke
the shells and came out. Before their wings had grown,
and when they were still unable to fly, the Great Being
with his following of eighty thousand elephants, in ranging
about for food, came to this spot. On seeing them the
quail thought, "This royal elephant will trample on my
young ones and kill them. Lo ! I will implore his
righteous protection for the defence of my brood." Then
248 THE QUAIL'S FRIENDS
she raised her two wings and standing- before him repeated
the fii*st stanza :
Elephant of sixty years,
Forest lord amongst thy peers,
I am hut a puny hird,
Thou a leader of the herd;
With my wings I homage pay,
Spare my little ones, I pray.
The Great Being said, " O quail, be not troubled. I will
protect thy offspring. " And standing over the young
birds, while the eighty thousand elephants passed by, he
thus addressed the quail: "Behind us comes a solitary
rogue elephant. He will not do our bidding. When he
comes, do thou entreat him too, and so insure the safety
of thy offspring." And with these words he made off.
And the quail went forth to meet the other elephant, and
with both wings uplifted, making respectful salutation, she
spoke the second stanza :
Roaming over hill and dale
Cherishing thy lonely way,
Thee, 0 forest king, I hail,
And with wings my homage pay.
I am hut a wretched quail,
Spare my tender brood to slay.
On hearing her words, the elephant spoke the third
stanza :
I will slay thy young ones, quail;
What can thy poor help avail ?
My left foot can crush with ease
Many thousand birds like these.
And so saying, with his foot he crushed the young birds
to atoms, and staling over them washed them away in a
flood of water, and went off loudly trumpeting. The quail
sat do\Mi on a bough of a tree and said, " Then be off with
you and trumpet away. You shall very soon see what
I will do. You little know what a difference there is
I'LATi-: r
rilK (^I All. AM) IIIOK KRIKNDS
[.lil/dhll '-'I'u , thrrf .si-flirx. jiji. L'4!!. L'4'.t)
1 1
™
THE QUAIL'S FRIENDS 249
between strength of body and strenj^th of mind. Well !
I will teach you this lesson." And thus threatening him
she repeated the fourth stanza :
Power abused is not all g'aiii,
Power is often folly's bane.
Beast that didst my young- ones kill,
I will work thee niisehief still.
And so saying, shortly afterwards she did a good turn
to a crow, and when the crow, who was highly pleased,
asked, " What can I do for you ? " the quail said, " There is
nothing else, Sir, to be done, but I shall expect you to
strike with your beak and to peck out the eyes of this
rogue elephant." The crow readily assented, and the quail
then did a service to a blue fly, and when the fly asked,
" What can I do for you ? " she said, " When the eyes of
this rogue elephant have been put out by the crow, then
I want you to let fall a nit upon them." The fly agreed,
and then the quail did a kindness to a frog, and when the
frog asked what it was to do, she said, " When this rogue
elephant becomes blind, and shall be searching for water
to drink, then take your stand and utter a croak on the
top of a mountain, and when he has climbed to the top,
come down and croak again at the bottom of the ])re-
cipice. This much I shall look for at your hands." After
hearing what the quail said, the frog readily assented.
So one day the crow with its beak pecked out both the
eyes of the elephant, and the fly dropped its eggs u])on
them, and the elephant being eaten up with maggots was
maddened by the pain, and overcome with thirst wandered
about seeking for water to drink. At this moment the
frog standing on the top of a mountain uttered a croak.
Thought the ele])hant, "There must be water there," and
climbed u}) the mountain. Then the frog descended, and
250 QUEEN SUSSONDI
standing at the bottom croaked again. The ele])hant
thought, " There will be water there," and moved forward
towards the precipice, and rolling over fell to the bottom
of the mountain and was killed. When the quail knew
that the elephant was dead, she said, " I have seen the
back of mine enemy," and in a high state of delight
strutted over his body, and passed away to fare according
to her deeds.
p. (B.) I. 15, where the friends of the bird are a woodpecker, frog, and fly which
hums pleasantly in the elephant's ear, while the woodpecker pecks his eyes out. In
K. D. (Arab.) i. the fly does not occur.
QUEEN SUSSONDI
Once upon a time king Tamba reigned in Benares,
and his queen-consort named Sussondi was a woman of
surpassing beauty. At that time the Bodhisatta came to
life as a young Garuda. Now the Naga island was then
known as Seruma island, and the Bodhisatta lived on this
island in the abode of the Garudas. And he went to
Benares, disguised as a youth, and played at dice with
king Tamba. Remarking his beauty they said to Sussondi,
"Such and such a youth plays at dice with our king."
She longed to see him, and one day she adorned herself
and repaired to the dice-chamber. There taking her
stand amongst the attendants, she fixed her gaze on the
youth. He too gazed on the queen, and the pair fell in
love with one another. The Garuda king by an act of
supernatural power stirred up a storm in the city. The
people, through fear of the house falling, fled out of the
palace. By his power he caused it to be dark, and carry-
ing off the queen with him in the air, he made his way to
his own abode in Naga island. But no one knew of the
coming or going of Sussondi. The Garuda took his
QUEEN SUSSONDl 251
pleasure with lier, and still came to j)lay at dice with the
king. Now the king had a minstrel named Sagga, and
not knowing where the queen had gone, the king addressed
the minstrel and said, "Go now and explore every land
and sea, and discovei* wliat lias become of the queen."
And so savin*:: he bade him begone.
He took what was necessary for his journey, and
beginning the search from the city gate, at last came
to Bharukaccha. At that time certain merchants of
Bharukaccha were setting sail for the Golden Land, lie
approached them and said, "I am a minstrel. If you
remit my passage money, I will act as your minstrel.
Take me with you." They agreed to do so, and putting
him on board weighed anchor. When the ship was fairly
off, they called him and bade him make music for them.
He said, " I would make music, but if I do, the fish will be
so excited that your vessel will be wrecked." " If a mere
mortal," they said, "make music, there will be no excite-
ment on the })art of the fish. Play to us." " Then do not
be angry with me," he said, and tuning his lute and keeping
perfect harmony between the words of his song and the
accompaniment of the lute string, he made music for
them. The fish were maddened at the sound and splashed
about. And a certain sea monster leaping up fell upon
the ship and broke it in two. Hagga lying on a plank was
carried along by the wind till he reached a banyan tree in
the Naga island, where the Garuda king lived. Now queen
Sussondi, whenever the Garuda king went to play at dice,
came down from her place of abode, and as she was
wandering on the edge of the shore, she saw and recognised
the minstrel Sagga, and asked him how he got there. He
told her the whole story. And she comforted him and
said, " Do not be afraid," and embracing him in her arms.
252 QUEEN SUSSONDI
she carried him to her abode and laid him on a couch.
And when he was greatly revived, she fed him with heavenly
food, bathed him in heavenly scented-water, arrayed him
in heavenlv raiment, and adorned him with flowers of
heavenly pei'fume, and made him recline upon a heavenly
couch. Thus did she watch over him, and whenever the
Garuda king returned, she hid her lover, and so soon as
the king was gone, under the influence of j)assion she took
her pleasure with him. At the end of a month and a half
from that time some merchants, who dwelt at Benares,
landed at the foot of the banyan tree in this island, to get
fire-wood and water. The minstrel went on board ship
with them, and on reaching Benares, as soon as he saw
the king, while he was playing at dice, Sagga took his lute,
and making music recited the first stanza :
I scent the fragrance of the timira grove,
I hear the moaning of the weary sea:
Tamba, I am tormented with my love,
For fair Sussondi dwells afar from me.
On hearing this the Garuda king uttered the second
stanza ;
How didst thou cross the stormy main,
And Seruma in safety gain ?
How didst thou, Sagga, tell me, pray,
To fair Sussondi win thy way?
Then Sagga repeated three stanzas :
With trading-folk from Bharukaccha land
My ship was wrecked by monsters of the sea;
I on a plank did safely gain the strand,
When an anointed queen with gentle hand
Upbore me tenderly upon her knee.
As though to her a true son I might be.
She food and raiment brought, and as I lay
With love-lorn eyes hung o'er my couch all day.
Know, Tamba, well; this word is sooth I say.
THE BETRAYER BETRAYED 253
The Garuda, while the minstrel tlms spake, was filled
with regrets and said: "Thou<,^h I dwelt in the abode of
the Garudas, J failed to guard her safely. What is this
wicked woman to me?" So he brought her back and
presented her to the king and departed. And thenceforth
he came not there any more.
Variant of Jat. 327.
THE BETRAYER BETRAYED
Once upon a time in the reign of Brahmadatta, king
of Benares, the Bodhisatta was re-born as Sakka. At that
time a certain young brahmin of Benares acquired all the
liberal arts at Takkasila, and having attained to proficiency
in archery, he was known as the clever Little Archer.
Then his master thought, " This youth has acquired skill
equal to my own," and he gave him his daughter to wife.
He took her and wishing to return to Benares he set out
on the road. Half-way on his journey, an elephant laid
waste a certain place, and no man dared to ascend to that
spot. The clever Little Archer, though the people tried
to stop him, took his wife and climbed uj) to the entrance
of the forest. Then when he was in the midst of the
wood, the elephant rose up to attack him. The Archer
wounded him in the forehead with an arrow, which piercing
him through and through came out at the back of his
head, and the elephant fell down dead on the spot. The
clever Archer after making this })lace secure, went on
further to another wood. And there fifty robbers were
infesting tlie i-oad. Up to this spot too, though men tried
to stop him, he climbed till he found the regular place,
where the robbers killed the deer and roasted and ate
254 THE BETRAYER BETRAYED
the venison, close to the road. The robbers, seeing him
approach with his gaily attired wife, made a great effort
to capture him. The robber chief, being skilled in reading
a man's character, just gave one look at him, and recognising
him as a distinguished hero, did not suffer them to rise up
against him, though he was single-handed. The clever
Archer sent his Avife to these robbers, saying, "Go and bid
them give us a spit of meat, and bring it to me." So she
went and said, "Give me a spit of meat." The robber
chief said, " He is a noble fellow," and bade them give it
her. The robbers said, " What ! is he to eat our roast
meat ? " And they gave her a piece of raw meat. The
Archer, having a good opinion of himself, was wroth with
the robbers for offering him raw meat. The robbers said,
" What ! is he the only man, and are we merely women ? "
And thus threatening him, they rose up against him. The
Archer wounded and struck to the ground fifty robbers
save one with the same number of arrows. He had no
arrow left to wound the robber chief There had been
full fifty arrows in his quiver. With one of them he had
wounded the elephant, and with the rest the fifty robbers
save one. So he knocked do>\Ti the robber chief, and
sitting on his chest bade his wife bring him his sword in
her hand to cut off his head. At that very moment she
conceived a passion for the robber chief and placed the
hilt of the sword in his hand and the sheath in that of
her husband. The robber grasjiing the hilt drew out the
sword, and cut off the head of the Archer. After slaying
her husband he took the woman with him, and as they
journeyed together he enquired of her origin. " I am the
daughter," she said, "of a Avorld-famed professor at
Takkasila."
" How did he get you for his wife ? " he said.
THE BETRAYER BETRAYED 255
"My father," she said, "was so pleased at his having
acquired from hhn an art ec^ual to his own, that he gave
me to him to wife. And because I fell in love with you,
I let you kill my lawful husband."
Thought the robber chief, '* This woman now has killed
her lawful husband. As soon as she sees some other man,
she will treat me too after the same sort. I must get rid
of her."
And as he went on his way, he saw their path cut off'
by what was usually a poor little shallow stream, but
which was now flooded, and he said, "My dear, there is
a savage crocodile in this river. What are we to do?"
"My lord," she said, "take all the ornaments I wear,
and make them into a bundle in your upper robe, and
carry them to the further side of the river, and then come
back and take me across."
"Very well," he said, and took all her adornments,
and going down to the stream, like one in great haste,
he gained the other bank, and left her and fled.
On seeing this she cried, " My lord, you go as if you
were leaving me. Why do you do this ? Come back and
take me with you." And addressing him she uttered the
first stanza:
Since thou hast gained the other side,
With all my goods in bundle tied,
Return as quickly as may be
And carry me across with thee.
The robber, on hearing her, as he stood on the
further bank, repeated the second stanza:
Thy fancy, lady, ever roves
From well-tried faith to lighter loves,
Me too thou wouldst ere long betray,
Should T not hence flee far away.
256 THE BETRAYER BETRAYED
But when the robber said, "I will go further hence:
you stop where you are," she screamed aloud, and he lied
with all her adornments. Such was the fate that overtook
the poor fool through excess of passion. And being quite
helpless she drew nigh to a clump of cassia ]>lants and sat
there weeping. At that moment Sakka, looking down
upon the world, saw her smitten with desire and weeping
for the loss of both husband and lover. And thinking he
would go and rebuke her and put her to shame, he took
with him Matali and Pancasiklia\ and went and stood on
the bank of the river and said, " Matali, do you become
a fish, Pancasikha, you change into a bird, and I will
become a jackal. And taking a piece of meat in my
mouth, I will go and place myself in front of this woman,
and when you see me there, you, Matali, are to leap up
out of the water, and fall before me, and when I shall drop
the piece of meat I have taken in my mouth, and shall
spring up to seize the fish, at that moment, you, Pancasikha,
are to pounce upon the piece of meat, and to fly up into
the air, and you, Matali, are to fall into the water."
Thus did Sakka instruct them. And they said, " Good,
my lord." Matali was changed into a fish, Pancasikha
into a bird, and Sakka became a jackal. And taking a
piece of meat in his mouth, he went and placed himself in
front of the woman. The fish leaping up out of the water
fell before the jackal. The jackal dropping the piece of
meat he held in his mouth, sprang up to catch the fish. The
fish jumped up and fell into the water, and the bird seized
the piece of meat and flew up into the air. The jackal
thus lost both fish and meat and sat sulkily looking
towards the clump of cassia. The woman seeing this
said, "Through being too covetous, he got neither flesh
^ His charioteer and a. gandharva.
THE BETKAYEK BETRAYED 257
nor fish," and, as if slie saw the point of the trick, slie
laughed heartily.
The jackal, on hearing this, uttered the third stanza :
Who makes the cassia thicket ring"
With laug-hter, though none dance or sing,
Or clap their hands, good time to keep?
Fair one, laugh not, when thou shouldst weep.
On hearing this, she repeated the fourth stanza :
O silly jackal, thou must wish
Thou hadst not lost both flesh and fish.
Poor fool! well mayst thou grieve to see
What comes of thy stupidity.
Then the jackal repeated the fifth stanza:
Another's faults are plainly seen,
'Tis hard to see one's own, I ween.
3Iethinks thou too must count the cost.
When spouse and lover both are lost.
On hearing his words she spoke this stanza :
King jackal, 'tis just as you say,
So I will hie me far away.
And seek another wedded love
And strive a faithful wife to prove.
Then Sakka, king of heaven, hearing the words of this
vicious and unchaste woman, repeated the final stanza :
He that would steal a pot of clay
Would steal a brass one any day;
And thou who wast thy husband's bane
Wilt be as bad or worse again.
Thus did Sakka put her to shame and brought her
to repent, and then returned to his own abode.
Variant of J at. 318. P. (B.) iv. 8. It also forms an episode of Tib. T. xii.
p. 232. For the jackal and fish cf. Aesop, The Dog and his Shadow, Babr. 79,
Halm 233, Phacdr. i. 4, K. D. (Arab.) iv. See Ilausratli, Jacobs 58.
F. &T. 17
THE CAT AND THE COCK
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was king in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as a cock and Hved
in the forest with a retinue of many hundred cocks. Not
far away lived a she-cat : and she deceived by devices the
other cocks except the Bodhisatta and ate them: but
the Bodhisatta did not fall into her power. She thought,
"This cock is very crafty, but he knows not that I am
crafty and skilful in de\ace : it is good that I cajole him,
saying, ' I vdW be your wife,' and so eat him when he comes
into my power." She went to the root of the tree where
he perched, and praying him in a speech preceded by
praise of his beauty, she spoke the first stanza:
Bird with wings that flash so gaily, crest that droops so gracefully,
I will be your wife for nothing, leave the bough and come to me.
The Bodhisatta hearing her thought, " She has eaten
all my relatives; now she wishes to cajole me and eat me:
I will get rid of her." So he spoke the second stanza :
Xady fair and winning, you have four feet, I have only two:
Beasts and birds should never many: for some other husband sue.
Then she thought, " He is exceedingly crafty ; by some
device or other I will deceive him and eat him " ; so she
spoke the third stanza:
I will bring thee youth and beauty, pleasant speech and courtesy :
Honoured wife or simple slave-girl, at thy pleasure deal with me.
Then the Bodhisatta thought, "It is best to revile her
and drive her away," so he spoke the fourth stanza:
Thou hast drunk my kindred's blood, and robbed and slain them cruelly :
" Honoured wife ! " there is no honour in thy heart when wooing me.
I'l.ATi: 17
TIIH (AT AM) TITK (0( K
THE LANGUAGE OF ANIMALS 259
She was driven away and did not endure to look at
him again.
Jat. 448 is a similar fablo with the same title, in which a falcon fails to make
friends with a cock. Cf. Aesop (Halm 231), in which a fox tries to entice a cc»ck
dowrn from a tree. The fox is killed by a dog, the cock's companion. Jacobs (75)
supposes that there wa.s once a third character in the jataka, indicated in the
Bluirliut Stupii, pi. xLvii. 5, by an object at the loot of the tree, possibly the bells
of a dancing girl.
THE LANGUAGE OF ANIMALS
Once upon a time when a king named Senaka was
reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was Sakka. The king
Senaka was friendly with a certain naga-king. This naga-
king, they say, left the naga-world and ranged the earth
seeking food. The village boys seeing him said, "This
is a snake," and struck him with clods and other things.
The king, going to amuse himself in his garden, saw them,
and being told they were beating a snake, said, " Don't let
them beat him, drive them away " ; and this was done. So
the naga-king got his life, and when he went back to the
naga-world, he took many jewels, and coming at midnight
to the king's bed-chamber he gave them to him, saying,
" I got my life through you " : so he made friendship with
the king and came again and again to see him. He ap-
pointed one of his naga girls, insatiate in pleasures, to be
near the king and protect him : and he gave the king a
charm, saying, "If ever you do not see her, repeat this
charm." One day the king went to the garden with the
naga girl and was amusing himself in the lotus-tank. The
naga girl seeing a water-snake quitted her human shape
and made love with him. The king not seeing the girl
said, " Where is she gone ? " and repeated the spell : then
17—2
200 THE LANGUAGE OF ANIMALS
he saw her in her misconduct and struck her with a piece
of bamboo. She went in anger to the naga-world, and
when she was asked, "Why are you come?" she said,
" Your friend struck me on the back because I did not do
his bidding," shewing the mark of the blow. The naga-
king, not knowing the truth, called four naga youths and
sent them with orders to enter Senaka's bed-chamber and
destroy him like chaff by the breath of their nostrils.
They entered the chamber at the royal bed-time. As
they came in, the king was saying to the queen: "Lady,
do you know where the naga girl has gone ? " " King, I do
not." "To-day when we were bathing in the tank, she
quitted her shape and misconducted herself with a water-
snake : I said, ' Don't do that,' and struck her with a piece
of bamboo to give her a lesson : and now I fear she may
have gone to the naga-world and told some lie to my friend,
destroying his good-will to me." The young nagas hearing
tliis turned back at once to the naga-world and told their
king. He being moved went instantly to the king's
chamber, told him all and was forgiven: then he said,
" In this w ay I make amends," and gave the king a charm
giving knowledge of all sounds : " This, O king, is a price-
less spell : if you give anyone this spell you will at once
enter the fire and die." The king said, "It is well," and
accepted it. From that time he understood the voice
even of ants. One day he was sitting on the dais eating
solid food w ith honey and molasses : and a drop of honey,
a drop of molasses, and a morsel of cake fell on the ground.
An ant seeing this comes crying, " The king's honey -jar is
broken on the dais, his molasses-cart and cake-cart are
upset ; come and eat honey and molasses and cake." The
king hearing the cry laughed. The (lueen being near him
thought, " What has the king seen that he laughs ? " When
THE LANGUAGE OF ANIMALS 2(51
the kin<^ had eaten his solid food and bathed and sat down
cross-legged, a fly said to his wife, " Come, lady, let us enjoy
love." She said, "Excuse nie for a little, husband: they
will soon be bi-in«;ing perfumes to the king ; as he perfumes
himself some powder will fall at his feet: I will stay there
and become fi'agrant, then we will enjoy ourselves lying
on the king's back." The king hearing the voice laughed
again. The queen thought again, ''What has he seen that
he laughs ? " Again when the king was eating his su})|jer,
a lumj) of rice fell on the ground. The ants cried, "A
wagon of rice has broken in the king's palace, and there
is none to eat it." The king hearing this laughed again.
The queen took a golden spoon and helping him reflected,
" Is it at the sight of me that tlie king laughs ? " She went
to the bed-chamber with the king and at bed-time she
asked, "Why did you laugh, O king?" He said, "What
have you to do with why I laugh ? " but being asked again
and again he told her. Then she said, "Give me your
spell of knowledge." He said, "It cannot be given": but
though rei)ulsed she pressed him again.
The king said, " If I give you this spell, I shall die.'
"Even though you die, give it me." The king, being in
the power of womankind, saying, "Very well," consented
and went to the park in a chariot, saying, " I shall enter
the fire after giving away this spell. " At that moment,
Sakka, king of gods, looked down on the earth and seeing
this case said, "This foolish king, knowing that he will
enter the fire through womankind, is on his way ; I will
give him his life " : so he took Suja, daughter of the Asuras,
and went to Benares. He became a he-goat and made
her a she-goat, and resolving that the people should not
see them, he stood before the king's chariot. The king
and the Sindh horses yoked in the chariot saw him, but
262 THE LANGUAGE OF ANIMALS
none else saw him. For the sake of starting talk he was
as if making love with the she-goat. One of the Sindh
horses yoked in the chariot seeing him said, " Friend goat,
we have heard before, but not seen, that goats ai-e stupid
and shameless : but you are doing, with all of us looking
on, this thing that should be done in secret and in a
private place, and are not ashamed : what we have heard
before agrees with this that we see " : and so he spoke the
first stanza:
" Goats are stupid," say the sages, and the words are surely true :
This one knows not he's parading- what in secret he should do.
The goat hearing him spoke two stanzas :
Truly you're a stupid fool, you donkey ! let me make it plain,
With a bit your mouth is wrenched, your head is twisted with the rein.
When you're loosed, you don't escape, sir, that's a stupid habit too:
And that Senaka you carry, he's more stupid still than you.
The king understood the talk of both animals, and
hearing it he quickly sent away the chariot. The horse
hearing the goat's talk spoke the fourth stanza:
Well, Sir king of goats, you fully know my great stupidity:
But how Senaka is stupid, prithee do explain to me.
The goat explaining this spoke the fifth stanza :
He who his own special treasure on his wife will throw away,
Cannot keep her faithful ever and his life he must betray.
The king hearing his words said, "King of goats, yott
will surely act for my advantage : tell me now what is right
for me to do." Then the goat said, " King, to all animals
no one is dearer than self; it is not good to destroy oneself
and abandon the honour one has gained for the sake of
anything that is dear": so he spoke the sixth stanza:
A king, like thee, may have conceived desire
And yet renounced it if his life's the cost:
Life is the chief thing: what can man seek higher?
If life's secured, desires need ne'er be crossed.
THE THEFT OF A SMELL 263
So the Bodhisatta exhorted the kin^. The king,
dehghted, asked, " Kmg of goats, whence come you T'
" I am Sakka, O king, come to save you from death out
of pity for you." " King rjf gods, I })roniised to give her
the charm: what am I to do now?" "There is no need
for the ruin of both of you : you say, ' It is the way of the
craft,' and have her beaten with some blows; by this means
she will not get it." The king said, " Very well," and agreed.
The Bodhisatta after exhortation to the king went to his
own place. The king went to the garden, had the queen
summoned and then said, " Lady, will you have the charm ? "
" Yes, lord." " Then go through the usual custom." " What
custom V " A hundred stripes on the back, but you must
not make a sound." She consented through greed for the
charm. The king made his slaves take whips and beat her
on both sides. She endured two or three stripes and then
cried, "I dont want the charm." The king said, "You
would have killed me to get the charm," and so flogging
the skin ofi* her back he sent her away. After that she
could not bear to talk of it again.
For variants see Benfey in Orient, u. Ore. ii. 133 ff., Bin Marchen vm der
Thiersprache, Kuhn p. 81, and Frazer in Arcfuwol. Rer. i. 168 IF.
THE THEFT OF A SMELL
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta w as reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born in a brahmin family of
a village in Kasi: when he grew up he learned the arts
at Takkasila, and afterwards became an ascetic and lived
near a lotus-])ool. One day he went down into the pool
and stood smelling a lotus in full flower. A goddess who
264 THE THEFT OF A SMELL
was ill a hollow in a trunk of a tree alarming him spoke
the first stanza:
You were never g-iven that flower you smell, though its only a single
bloom ;
'Tis a species of larceny, reverend sir, you are stealing its perfume.
Then the Bodhisatta spoke the second stanza :
I neither take nor break the flower: from afar I smell the bloom.
I cannot teU on what pretence you say I steal perfume.
At the same moment a man was digging in the pool
for lotus-fibres and breaking the lotus-plants. The
Bodhisatta seeing him said, "You call a man thief if he
smells the flower from afar : why do you not speak to that
other man?" So in talk with her he spoke the third
stanza :
A man who digs the lotus-roots and breaks the stalks I see:
Why don't you call the conduct of that man disorderly?
The goddess, explaining why she did not speak to him,
spoke the fourth and fifth stanzas :
Disgusting like a nurse's dress are men disorderly :
I have no speech with men like him, but I deign to speak to thee.
When a man is free from evil stains and seeks for purity,
A sin like a hair-tip shews on him like a dark cloud in the sky.
So alarmed by her the Bodhisatta in emotion spoke
the sixth stanza:
Surely, fairy, you know me well, to pity me you deign:
If you see me do the like offence, pray speak to me again.
Then the goddess spoke to him the seventh stanza :
I am not here to serve you, no hireling folk are we:
Find, Brother, for yourself the path to reach felicity.
So exhorting him she entered her own abode. The
Bodhisatta entei*ed on high meditation and was born in
the Brahma-world.
THE LION IN BAD COMPANY 265
The jataka is an exaniplc of the rigid application of tlic second Connnandnient
of the Buddhists, not to take what is not given, l)iit may be a modification of
a less moral story. The closest parallel is in Itabelais, iii. ch. 37, in which a iM)rtcr
eats his bread outside a cook-shop to the smell of the roast meat, and the cook
demands payment. The disj.ute is decided by Heigny Joan, the fool, who makes the
porter ring a coin several times on the counter, and then declares that the cook is
paid with the sound of the money. Liebrecht {Zur Volhfkunde, 503) gives a very
similar Japanese variant. In Som. lxiii. (W. 87) a rich man promises to pay a
musician for his singing, but when the time for payment comes, he says, " You gave
a short-lived pleasure to my ears by playing on the lyre, and I gave a short-lived
pleasure to your ears by j^romising you money" ( = Julien 25, La Promesse vaine et
le vain Son).
THE LION IN BAD COMPANY
Once ui)on a time when Brabmadatta was reigninj? in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was a lion and hving with a
lioness had two chikh-en, a son and a daughter. The
son's name was Manoja. When he grew up he took a
young lioness to wife : and so they became five. Manoja
killed wild bufialoes and other animals, and so got flesh
to feed his parents, sister and wife. One day in his hunt-
ing ground he saw a jackal called Giriya, unable to run
away and lying on his belly. " How now, friend ? " he said.
"I wish to wait on you, my lord." "Well, do so." So he
took the jackal to his den. The Bodhisatta seeing him
said, "Dear Manoja, jackals are wicked and sinners, and
give wrong advice; don't bring this one near you": but
could not hinder him. Then one day the jackal wished
to eat horseflesh, and said to Manoja, " Sir, except horse-
flesh there is nothing we have not eaten; let us take a
horse." "But where are there horses, friend?" "At
Benares by the river bank." He took this advice and
went with him there when the horses bathe in the river ;
he took one horse, and throwing it on his back he came
with speed to the mouth of his den. His father eating
266 THE LION IN BAD COMPANY
the horseflesh said, "Dear, horses are kings' property,
kings have many stratagems, they have skilful archers to
shoot; lions who eat horseflesh don't live long, hence-
forward don't take horses." The lion not following his
father's advice went on taking them. The king, hearing
that a lion was taking the horses, had a bathing-tank
for horses made inside the town: but the lion still came
and took them. The king had a stable made, and had
fodder and water given them inside it. The lion came
over the wall and took the horses even from the stable.
The king had an archer called who shot like lightning,
and asked if he could shoot a lion. He said he could,
and making a tower near the wall where the lion came
he waited there. The lion came and, posting the jackal
in a cemetery outside, sprang into the town to take the
horses. The archer thinking "His speed is very great
when he comes," did not shoot him, but when he was going
away after taking a horse, hampered by the heavy weight,
he hit him with a sharp arrow in the hind quarters. The
arrow came out at his front quarters and flew in the air.
The lion yelled "I am shot." The archer after shooting
him twanged his bow like thunder. The jackal hearing
the noise of lion and bow said to himself, "My comrade
is shot and must be killed, there is no friendship with the
dead, I will now go to my old home in the wood," and so
he spoke to himself in two stanzas:
The bow is bent, the bowstring sounds amain;
Manoja, king- of beasts, my friend, is slain.
Alas, I seek the woods as best I may:
Such friends are naught; others must be my stay.
The lion with a rush came and threw the horse at the
den's mouth, falling dead himself. His kinsfolk came out
and saw him blood-stained, blood flowing from his wounds.
THP] OTTERS AND THE JACKAL 267
dead from followin<j: the wicked ; and bis father, mother,
sister and wife seeing him spoke foui* stanzas in order:
His fortune is not prosperous whom wicked folk entice;
Look at Manoja lying: there, through Giriya's advice.
No joy have mothers in a son whose comrades are not good :
Look at Manoja lying there all covered with his blood.
And even so fares still the man, in low estate he lies.
Who follows not the counsel of the true friend and the wise.
This, or worse than this, his fate
Who is high, but trusts the low:
See, 'tis thus from kingly state
He has fallen to the bow.
THE OTTERS AND THE JACKAL
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reignin<( in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was a tree-spirit by a river-bank.
A jackal, named Mayavi, had taken a wife and Hved in a
place by that river-bank. One day his mate said to him,
"Husband, a lon<,ang has come upon me: I desire to eat
a fresh rohita fish." He said, "Be easy, I will bring it
you," and going by the river he wrai)t his feet in creepers,
and went along the bank. At the moment, two otters,
Gambhiracarl and Anutiracari, were standing on the bank
looking for fish. Gambhiracarl saw a great rohita fish,
and entermg the water with a bound he took it by the
tail. The fish was strong and went away dragging him.
He called to the other, "This great fish will be enough
for both of us, come and aid me," speaking the first stanza :
Friend Anutiracari, rush to my aid, I pray:
I've caught a great tish: but by force he's carrying me away.
Hearing him, the other spoke the second stanza :
Gambhiracarl, luck to you! your grip be firm and stout,
And as a roc would lift a snake, I'll lift the fellow out.
268 THE OTTERS AND THE JACKAL
Then the two together took out the rohita fish, laid
him on the ground and killed him: but saying each to
the other, "You divide him," they quarrelled and could
not divide hun : and so sat down, leaving him. At the
moment the jackal came to the spot. Seeing him, they
both saluted him and said, " Lord of the grey grass-colour,
this fish was taken by both of us together: a dispute arose
because we could not divide him : do you make an equal
division and part it," speaking the third stanza:
A strife arose between us, mark! 0 thou of grassy hue,
Let our contention, honoured sir, he settled fair by you.
The jackal hearing them, said, declaring his own
strength :
I've arbitrated many a case and done it peacefully:
Let your contention, honoured sirs, be settled fair by me.
Having spoken that stanza, and making the division, he
spoke this stanza:
Tail, Anutiracari ; GambWracari, head:
The middle to the arbiter will properly be paid.
So having divided the fish, he said, " You eat head and
tail without quarrelling," and seizing the middle portion
in his mouth he ran away before their eyes. They sat
downcast, as if they had lost a thousand pieces, and spoke
the sixth stanza :
But for our strife, it would have long sufficed us without fail :
But now the jackal takes the fish, and leaves us head and tail.
The jackal was pleased and thinking " Now I will give
my mfe rohita fish to eat," he went to her. She saw him
coming and saluting him spoke a stanza:
Even as a king is glad to join a kingdom to his rule.
So I am glad to see my lord to-day with his mouth full.
I'l.ATi: rii
u^\JiK]S:m '
TIN-: (>|"|'KI{S AM) IIIK .FA( K \1.
{Jutitkii 4<Ht. /)/•(/ xn-iirs. /i. JtiT)
:
THE BRAHMIN AND THE SNAKE 2(59
Then she asked him about the means of attainment,
speakinji^ a stanza:
How, being- of the land, have you from water caught a fish ?
How did you do the feat, my lord? pray answer to my wish.
The Jackal, exjilaininji^ the means to her, spoke the
next stanza:
By strife it is their weakness comes, hy strife their means decay:
By strife the otters lost their prize: Mayavi, eat the prey.
Tib. T. XXXIV. Related are P. (T.) in. 4, (B.) iii. 2, where a partridge aiul hare
go to a cat to decide their dispute as to the ownersliip of a dwelUng. The cat
pretends to be deaf, asks them to come near, and kills them both. La Fontaine
IX. 9, L'Hutfre et les Plaideurs is the closest parallel, but it has not been traced
further back than Boileau (Ep. ii.), who learnt it from his father in his yoiitli. The
latter is said to have got it from an old Italian comedy. Very close also is Dods.
II. 49, The litigious Cats (who go to a monkey to divide a piece of chee.se). Regnier
in his edition of La Fontaine quotes Julien 74, where two goblins dispute as to the
possession of a magic bo.x, staff, and shoes. A man promises to divide them fairly,
but puts on tlie magic shoes and flies away with all the possessions. This is a
variant of King Putraka, Som. ill. (i. 13), where see Tawney's note. On magic
treasures, of. J at. 186, p. 149.
THE BRAHMIN AND THE SNAKE
Once upon a time a kino^ called Janaka was reigning
in Benares. At that time the Bodhisatta was born in a
brahmin family, and they called his name young Senaka.
When he grew up he learned all the arts of Takkasila, and
returning to Benares saw the king. The king set him in
the place of minister and gave him great glory. He taught
the king things temporal and s})iritual. Being a ])leasant
preacher of the law he established the king in the five
precepts, in alms-giving, in keeping the fasts, in the ten
ways of right action, and so established him in the path
270 THE BRAHMIN AND THE SNAKE
of virtue. Throughout the kingdom it was as it were the
time of the appearing of the Buddhas. On the fortnightly
fast the king, the viceroys and others would all assemble
and decorate the place of meeting. The Bodhisatta taught
the law in a decorated room in the middle of a deer-skin-
couch with the power of a Buddha, and his word was like
the preaching of Buddhas. Then a certain old brahmin
begging for money-alms got a thousand pieces, left them
in a brahmin family and went to seek alms again. When
he had gone, that family spent all his pieces. He came
back and would have his pieces brought him. The brahmin,
being unable to give them to him, gave him his daughter
to wife. The other brahmin took her and made his dwell-
ing in a brahmin village not far from Benares. Because
of her youth his wife was unsatisfied in desires and sinned
wdth another young brahmin. There are sixteen things
that cannot be satisfied: and what are these sixteen?
The sea is not satisfied with all rivers, nor the fire with
fuel, nor a king with his kingdom, nor a fool with sins, nor
a woman with three things, intercourse, adornment and
child-bearing, nor a brahmin with sacred texts, nor a sage
with ecstatic meditation, nor a novice with honour, nor
one free from desire with penance, nor the energetic man
with energy, nor the talker with talk, nor the politic man
with the council, nor the believer with serving the church,
nor the liberal man with giving away, nor the learned with
hearing the law, nor the four congregations' with seeing
the Buddha. So this brahmin woman, being unsatisfied
with intercourse, wished to put her husband away and do
her sin with boldness. So one day in her evil purpose she
lay down. When he said, " How is it, wife ? " she answered,
" Brahmin, I cannot do the work of your house, get me a
^ Brethren, Sisters, laymen and laywomen.
THE BRAHMIN AND THE SNAKE 271
luaid." " Wife, 1 have no money, what shall I give to get
her?" "Heek for money by begging for alms and so get
her." "Then, wife, get ready something for my journey."
She filled a skin-bag with baked meal and unbaked meal,
and gave tliem to him. The brahmin, going through
villages, towns and cities, got seven lmndi'e<l pieces, and
thinking, " This money is enough to buy slaves, male and
female," he was returning to his own village : at a certain
place convenient for water he opened his sack, and eating
some meal he went down to drink water without tying the
mouth. Then a black snake in a hollow tree, smelling the
meal, entered the bag and lay down in a coil eating the
meal. The brahmin came, and without looking inside
fastened the sack and putting it on his shoulder went his
way. Then a spirit living in a tree, sitting in a hollow of
the trunk, said to him on the way, " Brahmin, if you stop
on the way you w ill die, if you go home to-day your w ife
will die," and vanished. He looked, but not seeing the
spirit was afraid and troubled with the fear of death, and
so came to the gate of Benares weeping and lamenting.
It was the fast on the fifteenth day, the day of the
Bodhisattas preaching, seated on the decorated seat of
the law, and a multitude with perfumes and flowers and
the like in their hands came in troops to hear the preaching.
The brahmin said, "Where are ye going?" and was told,
"O brahmin, to-day wise Senaka })reaches the law with
sweet voice and the charm of a Buddha : do you not know ? "
He thought, "They say he is a wise preacher, and I am
troubled with the fear of death : wise men are able to
take away even great sorrow : it is right for me too to go
there and hear the law." So he went with them, and when
the assembly and the king among them had sat down
round about the Bodhisatta, he stood at the outside, not
272 THE BRAHMIN AND THE SNAKE
far from the seat of the law, with his mealsack on his
shoukler, afraid with the fear of death. The Bodhisatta
preached as if he Avere bringing down the heavenly Ganges
or showering ambrosia. The multitude became well
pleased, and making applause listened to the preaching.
Wise men have far sight. At that moment the Bodhisatta,
opening his eyes gracious with the five graces, surveyed
the assembly on every side and, seeing that brahmin,
thought, "This great assembly has become well pleased
and listens to the law, making applause, but that one
brahmin is ill pleased and weeps: there must be some
sorrow within him to cause his tears : as if touching rust
with acid, or making a drop of water roll from a lotus leaf,
I will teach him the law, making him free from sorrow
and well pleased in mind." So he called him, " Brahmin,
I am wise Senaka, now will I make thee free from sorrow,
speak boldly," and so talking with him he spoke the first
stanza ;
Thou art confused in thought, disturbed in sense,
Tears streaming- from thine eyes are evidence;
What hast thou lost, or what dost wish to gain
By coming hither? Give me answer plain.
Then the brahmin, declaring his cause of sorrow, spoke
the second stanza :
If I go home my wife it is must die,
If I go not, the yakkha said, 'tis I;
That is the thought that pierces crueUy:
Explain the matter, Senaka, to me.
The Bodhisatta, hearing the brahmin's words, spread
the net of knowledge as if throwing a net in the sea,
thinking, "There are many causes of death to beings in
this world: some die sunk in the sea, or seized therein
by ravenous fish, some falling in the Ganges, or seized by
THE BRAHMIN AND THE SNAKE 273
crocodiles, some falling from a tree or pierced by a thorn,
some struck by weapons of divers kinds, some by eatin«^
poison or han<2:inij^ or falling from a precii)ice or by extreme
cold or attacked by diseases of divers kinds, so they die:
now amonj:^ so many causes of death from which cause
shall this brahmin die if he stays on the road to-day, or
his wife if he ^oes home ? " As he ccmsidered, he saw the
sack on the brahmin's shoulder and tliou«^ht, " There must
be a snake who has j?one into that sack, and enterin«j: he
must have j^one in from the smell of the meal when the
brahmin at his breakfast had eaten some meal and gone
to drink water without fastening the sack's mouth: the
brahmin coming back after drinking water must have gone
on after fastening and taking up the sack without seeing
that the snake had entered : if he stays on the road, he
will say at evening when he rests, ' I will eat some meal,'
and opening the sack will put in his hand : then the snake
will bite him in the hand and destroy his life : this w ill be
the cause of his death if he stays on the road : but if he
goes home the sack w ill come into his wife's hand ; she will
say, ' I w ill look at the ware w ithin,' and opening the sack
put in her hand, then the snake will bite her and destroy
her life, and this will be the cause of her death if he goes
home to-day." This he knew by his knowledge of expedients.
Then this came into his mind, " The snake must be a black
snake, brave and fearless; when the sack strikes against
the brahmin's broadside, he shews no motion or quivering;
he shews no sign of his being there amidst such an assembly:
therefore he must be a black snake, brave and fearless " :
from his knowledge of expedients he knew this as if he
was seeing with a divine eye. So as if he had been a man
who had stood by and seen the snake enter the sack,
deciding by his knowledge of expedients, the Bodhisatta
18
F. &T.
274 THE BRAHMIN AND THE SNAKE
answering the brahmin's question in the royal assembly
spoke the third stanza:
First with many a doubt I deal,
Now my tongue the truth declares;
Brahmin, in your bag of meal
A snake has entered unawares.
So saying, he asked, " O brahmin, is there any meal in
that sack of yours ? " " There is, O sage." " Did you eat
some meal to-day at your breakfast time ? " " Yes, O sage."
" Where were you sitting ? " " In a wood, at the root of a
tree." " When you ate the meal, and went to drink water,
did you fasten the sack's mouth or not ? " "I did not, O
sage." "When you drank water and came back, did you
look in before fastening the sack?" "I fastened it without
looking in, O sage." " O brahmin, when you went to drink
water, I think a snake entered the sack owing to the
smell of the meal without your knowledge: such is the
case: therefore put down your sack, set it in the midst
of the assembly and opening the mouth, stand back and
taking a stick beat the sack with it: then when you see
:a black snake coming out with its hood spread and hissing,
jou will have no doubt " : so he spoke the fourth stanza :
Take a stick and beat the sack,
Dumb and double-tongued is he;
Cease your mind with doubts to rack;
Ope the sack, the snake you'll see.
The brahmin, hearing the Great Being's words, did so,
though alarmed and frightened. The snake came out
of the sack when his hood was struck with the stick, and
stood looking at the crowd.
When the question had been so answered by the
Bodhisatta, a certain snake-charmer made a mouth-band
for the snake, caught him and let him loose in the forest.
THE BRAHMIN AND THE SNAKE 275
The brahmin, comin<2: up to the king, saluted him and
made obeisance, and j)i'aising him spoke half a stanza:
Well won is Juiiaka the king's great gain,
That he wise Senaka doth see.
After praising the king, he took seven hundred pieces
from the bag and praising the Bodhisatta, he spoke a
stanza and a half wishing to give a gift in delight:
Art thou the All-seer, queller of what is vain?
Doth wisdom dread belong to thee?
These seven hundred pieces, see,
Take them all, I give them thee;
'Tis to thee I owe my life,
And the welfare of my wife.
Hearing this, the Bodhisatta spoke the eighth stanza :
For reciting poetry
Wise men can't accept a wage:
Rather let us give to thee.
Ere thou take the homeward stage.
So saying, the Bodhisatta made a full thousand pieces
to be given to the brahmin, and asked him, "By whom
were you sent to beg for money ? " " By my >\1fe, O sage."
" Is your wife old or young ? " " Young, O sage." " Then
she is doing sin with another, and sent you away thinking
to do so in security : if you take these pieces home, she
will give to her lover the pieces won by your labour:
therefore you should not go home straight, but only after
leaving the pieces outside the town at the root of a tree
or somewhere": so he sent him away. He, coming near
the village, left his pieces at the root of a tree, and came
home in the evening. His wife at that moment was seated
with her lover. The brahmin stood at the door and said,
"Wife." She recognised his voice, and putting out the
18—2
276 THE BRAHMIN AND THE SNAKE
lio^ht opened the door: when the brahmm came in, she
took the other and put him at the door : then comin<^ back
and not seeing anything in the sack she asked, " Brahmin,
what alms have you got on your journey?" "A thousand
pieces." "Where is it?" "It is left at such and such a
place: never mind, we will get it to-morrow." She went
and told her lover. He went and took it as if it were his
own treasure. Next day the brahmin went, and not seeing
the pieces came to the Bodhisatta, who said, "What is the
matter, brahmin ? " "I don't see the pieces, O sage." " Did
you tell your mfe?" "Yes, O sage." Knowing that the
wife had told her lover, the Bodhisatta asked, "Brahmin,
is there a brahmin who is a friend of your wife's ? " " There
is, O sage." "Is there one who is a friend of yours?'*
" Yes, O sage." Then the Great Being caused seven days'
expenses to be given him and said, " Go, do you two invite
and entertain the first day fourteen brahmins, seven for
yourself and seven for your wife : from next day onwards
take one less each day, till on the seventh day you in\ite
one brahmin and your wife one: then if you notice that
the brahmin your wife asks on the seventh day has come
every time, tell me." The brahmin did so, and told the
Bodhisatta, " O sage, I have observed the brahmin who is
always our guest." The Bodhisatta sent men with him to
bring that other brahmin, and asked him, " Did you take
a thousand pieces belonging to this brahmin from the
root of such and such a tree ? " "I did not, O sage." " You
do not know that I am the wise Senaka ; I will make you
fetch those pieces." He was afraid and confessed, saying,
" I took them." " What did you do ? " "I put them in such
and such a place, O sage." The Bodhisatta asked the first
brahmin, "Brahmin, will you keep your wife or take
another ? " " Let me keep her, O sage." The Bodhisatta
THE BRAHMIN'S REVENGE ON THE MONKEYS 277
sent men to fetch the pieces and the wife, and ^ave the
brahmin the pieces from the thief's hand; he punished
the other, removin*^ him from the city, punished also tlie
wife, and gave great honour to tlie brahmin, making him
dwell near himself
Variiiiit of two episodes in the life of Mahaushadha, Tih. T. viii. 144ff., which
is a variant of the Mahauminagga-jat. 546.
THE BRAHMIN'S REVENGE ON THE MONKEYS
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was king in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as a monkey, and lived
in the king's garden with a retinue of five hundred monkeys.
Devadatta' was also born as a monkey, and lived there
also with a retinue of five hundred monkeys. Then one
day wlien the king's family priest had gone to the garden,
bathed and adorned himself, one tricky monkey going
ahead of him sat above the gateway arch of the garden,
and let excrement fall on the priest's head as he went out.
When the priest looked up, he let it fall again in his mouth.
The priest turned back, saying in threat to the monkeys,
" Very well, I shall know how to deal with you," and went
away after washing. They told the Bodhisatta that he
had been angry and threatened the monkeys. He made
announcement to the thousand monkeys, "It is not well
to dwell near the habitation of the angry ; let the whole
troop of monkeys flee and go elsewhere." A disobedient
monkey took his own retinue and did not flee, saying,
" I will see about it afterwards. ' The Bodhisatta took his
1 Cousin of the Buddha. lie made a schism in the Order, and attempted to kill
Buddha. This tale was told when Devadatta was swallowed up by the earth, after
his last attempt on Buddha's life. Cf. also p. 281.
278 THE BRAHMIN'S REVENGE ON THE MONKEYS
o\^^l retinue and went to the forest. One day a female
slave pounding rice had put some rice out in the sun and
a goat was eating it: getting a blow with a torch and
running away on fire, he was rubbing himself on the wall
of a grass-hut near an elephant-stable. The fire caught
the grass-hut and from it the elephant-stable; in it the
elephants' backs were burnt, and the elephant doctors
were attending the elephants. The family priest was
always going about watching for an opportunity of catch-
ing the monkeys. He was sitting in attendance on the
king, and the king said, " Sir, many of our elephants have
been mjured, and the elephant doctors do not know how
to cm-e them ; do you know any remedy ? " "I do, great
king." " What is it ? " " Monkey's fat, great king." " How
shall we get it?" "There are many monkeys in the
garden." The king said, "Kill monkeys in the garden
and get their fat." The archers went and killed five
hundred monkeys with arrows. One old monkey fled
although wounded by an arrow, and though he did not
fall on the spot, fell when he came to the Bodhisatta's
place of abode. The monkeys said, " He has died when
he reached our place of abode," and told the Bodhisatta
that he was dead from a wound he had got. He came
and sat do\Mi among the assembly of monkeys, and spoke
these stanzas by way of exhorting the monkeys with the
exhortation of the wise, which is "Men dwelling near their
enemies perish in this way " :
Let not the wise man dwell where dwells his foe :
One night, two nights, so near will bring him woe.
A fool's a foe to all who trust his word:
One monkey brought distress on all the herd.
A foolish chief, wise in his own conceit,
Comes ever, like this monkey, to defeat.
THE MONKEY'S HEROIC SELF-SACRIFICE 279
A strong fool is not grood to g-uard tho herd,
Curse to his kindred, like the decoy-bird.
One strong and wise is good th(» herd to guard,
Like Indra to the Gods, his kin's reward.
Who virtue, wisdom, learning, doth possess,
His deeds hinisell' and other men will bless.
Therefore virtue, knowledge, learning, and himself let him regard,
Either be a lonely Saint or o'er the Hock keep watch and ward.
So the Bodhisatta, beconiinj^ king of monkeys, explained
the way of learning the Discipline.
Tib. T. XLiii., where "monkeys cooked in barley-uieal" are prescribed by the
doctor. In P. (B.) v. 10 monkeys are slanglitered for the same reason, and the
monkey-leader in carrying out his revenge goes to an ogre-haunted pool, and
escapes. This episode is a variant of Jat. 20 (see p. 2.3) and 55. In the variant
Jat. 140 tlie victims are crows, and crows' fat is prescribed for the elephants. In
Tib. T. V. a brahmin prescribes the fat of a superhuman being as part of a charm,
in order to bring about tlie death of the prince's wife, who is a fairy. The incident
of the goat and firing of the stable is the subject of Julien 33.
THE MONKEY'S HEROIC SELF-SACRIFICE
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as a monkey. When he
grew up and attained stature and stoutness, he was strong
and vigorous, and lived in the Himalaya with a retinue of
eighty thousand monkeys. Near the Ganges bank there
was a mango tree (others say it was a banyan), with
branches and forks, having a deep shade and thick leaves,
like a mountain-top. Its sweet fruits, of divine fragrance
and flavour, were as large as water-pots : from one branch
the fruits fell on the ground, from one into the Ganges
water, from two into the main trunk of the tree. The
Bodhisatta, while eating the fruit with a troop of monkeys,
thought, "Someday danger Avill come upon us owing to
the fruit of this tree falling on the water"; and so, not to
leave one fruit on the branch which grew over the water.
280 THE MONKEY'S HEROIC SELF-SACRIFICE
he made them eat or throw down the flowers at their
season from the time they were of the size of a chick-pea.
But notwithstanding, one ripe fruit, unseen by the eighty
thousand monkeys, hidden by an ant's nest, fell into the
river, and stuck in the net above the king of Benares, who
was bathing for amusement with a net above him and
another below. When the king had amused himself all
day and was going away in the evening, the fishermen,
who were drawing the net, saw the fruit and not knowing
what it was, shewed it to the king. The king asked,
"What is this fruit?" "We do not know, sire." "Who
will know ? " " The foresters, sire." He had the foresters
called, and learning from them that it was a mango, he
cut it with a knife, and first making the foresters eat of
it, he ate of it himself and had some of it given to his
seraglio and his ministers. The flavour of the ripe
mango remained pervading the king's whole body. Pos-
sessed by desire of the flavour, he asked the foresters
where that tree stood, and hearing that it was on a river
bank in the Himalaya quarter, he had many rafts joined
together and sailed upstream by the route shewn by the
foresters. The exact account of days is not given. In
due course they came to the place, and the foresters said
to the king, "Sire, there is the tree." The king stopped
the rafts and went on foot with a great retinue, and
having a bed prepared at the foot of the tree, he lay
down after eating the mango fruit and enjoying the
various excellent flavours. At every side they set a guard
and made a fire. When the men had fallen asleep, the
Bodhisatta came at midnight with his retinue. Eighty
thousand monkeys moving from branch to branch ate
the mangoes. The king, waking and seeing the herd of
monkeys, roused his men and calling his archers said,
I
THE MONKEY'S HEROIC SELF-SACRIFICE 281
"Surround these monkeys that eat the nianj^oes so that
they may not escape, and shoot them : to-morrow we will
eat mangoes with monkey's flesh." The archers obeyed,
saying, "Very well," and surrounding the tree stood with
arrows ready. The monkeys seeing them and fearing
death, as they could not escape, came to the Bodhisatta
and said, " Sire, the archers stand round the tree, saying,
'We will shoot those vagrant monkeys': what are we to
do ? " and so stood shivering. The Bodhisatta said, " Do
not fear, I will give you life " ; and so comforting the herd
of monkeys, he ascended a branch that rose up straight,
went along another branch that stretched towards the
Ganges, and springing from the end of it, he passed
a hundred bow-lengths and lighted on a bush on the
bank. Coming down, he marked the distance, saying,
"That will be the distance I have come": and cutting
a bamboo shoot at the root and stripping it, he said, " So
much will be fastened to the tree, and so much will stay
in the air," and so reckoned the two lengths, forgetting
the part fastened on his own waist. Taking the shoot he
fastened one end of it to the tree on the Ganges bank
and the other to his own waist, and then cleared the
space of a hundred bow-lengths with a speed of a cloud
torn by the wind. From not reckoning the part fastened
to his waist, he failed to reach the tree: so seizing a
branch firmly with both hands he gave signal to the
troop of monkeys, " Go quickly with good luck, treading
on my back along the bamboo shoot." The eighty
thousand monkeys escaped thus, after saluting the
Bodhisatta and getting his leave. Devadatta was then a
monkey and among that herd : he said, " This is a chance
for me to see the last of my enemy," so climbing up
a branch he made a spring and fell on the Bodhisatta's
282 THE MONKEY'S HEROIC SELF-SACRIFICE
back. The Bodhisatta's heart broke and ^reat j^ain came
on him. Devadatta having caused that maddening pain
went away: and the Bodhisatta was alone. The king
being awake saw all that was done by the monkeys and
the Bodhisatta : and he lay down thinking, '* This animal,
not reckoning his own life, has caused the safety of his
troop." When day broke, being pleased with the Bodhi-
satta, he thought, " It is not right to destroy this king of
the monkeys : I will bring him down by some means and
take care of him " : so turning the raft down the Ganges
and building a platform there, he made the Bodhisatta
come down gently, and had him clothed with a yellow
robe on his back and washed in Ganges water, made him
drink sugared water, and had his body cleansed and
anointed with oil refined a thousand times ; then he put
an oiled skin on a bed and making him lie there, he set
himself on a low seat, and spoke the first stanza :
You made yourself a bridge for them to pass in safety through:
Wliat are you then to them, monkey, and what are they to you?
Hearing him, the Bodhisatta instructing the king
spoke the other stanzas:
Victorious king, I guard the herd, I am their lord and chief.
When they were filled with fear of thee and stricken sore with grief.
I leapt a hundred times the length of bow outstretched that lies,
When I had bound a bamboo-shoot firmly around my thighs:
I reached the tree like thunder-cloud sped by the tempest's blast;
I lost my strength, but reached a bough : with hands I held it fast.
And as I hung extended there held fast by shoot and bough,
My monkeys passed across my back and are in safety now.
Therefore I fear no pain of death, bonds do not give me pain,
The happiness of those was won o'er whom I used to reign.
A parable for thee, 0 king, if thou the truth would'st read:
The happiness of kingdom and of army and of steed
And city must be dear to thee, if thou would'st rule indeed.
I'LATi: \lll
I'lIK M()NKK^'S Si:iJ-s.\( UllK K
{Jiltdhil \*^~. /Iirrr .vr(7/r.v. /<//
■2i',\. 2!i-'
il')
I
THE PRINCE AND HIS BliOTHEll 283
The JJodliisattii, thus instructing; and teachin*^ the
king, died. The king, calling his ministers, gave orders
that the monkey-king should have obsequies like a
king, and he sent to the seraglio, saying, ''Come to the
cemetery, as retinue for the monkey-king, with red gar-
ments, and dishevelled hair, and torches in vour hands."
The ministers made a funeral pile with a hundred waggon
loads of timber. Having prepared the Bodhisatta's ob-
sequies in a royal manner, they took his skull, and came
to the king. The king caused a shrine to be built at the
Bodhisatta's burial-j)lace, torches to be burnt there and
offerings of incense and flowers to be made ; he had the
skull inlaid with gold, and put in front raised on a spear-
point : honouring it with incense and flowers, he put it at
the king's gate when he came to Benares, and having the
whole city decked out he paid honour to it for seven
days. Then taking it as a relic and raising a shrine, he
honoured it with incense and garlands all his life ; and
established in the Bodhisatta's teaching he did alms and
other good deeds, and ruling his kingdom righteously
became destined for heaven.
In the Jdtakamdld xxvii. the incident of Devadatta's malice does not occur. The
monkey'B leap across the Ganges is illustrated in the Bharhut Stupa, pi. xxxiii. 4.
Cf. the note on Devadatta, p. 277.
THE ADVENTURES OF THE PRINCE AND
HIS BROTHER
Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as the son of his chief
queen. When he grew up, he learned all the arts at
Takkasila, and acquired a spell for the understanding of
284 THE PRINCE AND HIS BROTHER
all animals' cries. After listening duly to his teacher, he
returned to Benares. His father appointed him viceroy ;
but though he did so, he became anxious to kill him and
would not even see him.
A she-jackal Avith two cubs entered the city at night
by a sewer, when men were retired to rest. In the
Bodhisatta's palace, near his bedroom, there was a
chamber, where a single traveller, who had taken his
shoes off and put them by his feet on the floor, was lying
down, not yet asleep, on a plank. The jackal-cubs were
hungry and gave a cry. Their mother said in the speech
of jackals, "Do not make a noise, dears: there is a man in
that chamber who has taken his shoes off and laid them
on the floor : he is lying on a plank, but is not asleep yet :
when he falls asleep, I will take his shoes and give you
food." By the power of the spell the Bodhisatta under-
stood her call, and leaving his bedroom he opened a
window and said, "Who is there?" "I, your majesty,
a traveller." "Where are your shoes?" "On the floor."
" Lift them and hang them up." Hearing this the jackal
was angry with the Bodhisatta. One day she entered the
city again by the same way. That day a drunken man
went down to drink in a lotus-tank: falling in, he sank
and was drowned. He possessed the two garments he
was wearing, a thousand pieces in his under-garment, and
a ring on his finger. The jackal-cubs cried out for hunger,
and the mother said, "Be quiet, dears: there is a dead
man in this lotus-tank, he had such and such property:
he is lying dead on the tank-stair, I will give you his flesh
to eat." The Bodhisatta, hearing her, opened the window
and said, " Who is in the chamber ? " One rose and said,
" I." " Go and take the clothes, the thousand pieces
and the ring from the man who is lying dead in yonder
THE PRINCE AND HIS BROTHER 285
lotus-tank, and make the body sink so that it cannot rise
out of the water. ' The man did so. The jackal was an^ry
again: "The other day you prevented my children eating
the shoes ; to-day you })revent them eating the dead man.
Very well : on the third day from this a hostile king will
come and encomjjass the city, your father will send you
to battle, they will cut off your head : I will drink your
throat's blood and satisfy my enmity: you make yourself
an enemy of mine and I will see to it"; so she cried
abusing the Bodhisatta. Then she took her cubs and went
away. On the third day the hostile king came and en-
compassed the city. The king said to the Bodhisatta,
"Go, dear son, and fight him." "O king, I have seen
a vision: I cannot go, for I fear I shall lose my life."
"What is your life or death to me? Go." The Great
Being obeyed : taking his men he avoided the gate where
the hostile king was posted, and went out by another
which he had opened. As he went the whole city
became as it were deserted, for all men went out with
him. He encamped in a certain open space and waited.
The king thought, " My viceroy has emptied the city and
fled with all my forces : the enemy is lying all round the
city : I am but a dead man." To save his life he took his
chief queen, his family priest, and a single attendant
named Parantapa : with them he fled in disguise by night
and entered a wood. Hearing of his flight, the Bodhisatta
entered the city, defeated the hostile king in battle and
took the kingdom. His fixther made a hut of leaves on
a river bank and lived there on wild fruits. He and the
family priest used to go looking for wild fruits : the
servant Parantapa stayed with the queen in the hut.
She was Avith child bv the king : but owing to beins:
constantly with Parantapa, she sinned with him. One
286 THE PRINCE AND HIS BROTHER
day she said to liim, " If the king knows, neither you nor
I would live: kill him." "In what way?" "He makes
you carry his sword and bathing-dress when he goes to
bathe : take him otF his guard at the bathing- place, cut
off his head and chop his body to pieces with the sword
and then bury him in the ground." He agreed. One day
the priest had gone out for wild fruits: he had climbed
a tree near the king's bathing-place and was gathering
the fruit. The king wished to bathe, and came to the
water-side with Parantapa carrying his sword and bathing-
dress. As he was going to bathe, Parantapa, meaning to
kill him when off his guard, seized him by the neck and
raided the sword. The king cried out in fear of death.
The priest heard the cry and saw from above that Paran-
tapa was murdering him : but he was in great terror and
slipping down from his branch in the tree, he hid in a
thicket. Parantapa heard the noise he made as he
slipped doA^Ti, and after killing and burying the king he
thought, "There was a noise of slipping from a branch
thereabouts; who is there?" But seeing no man he
bathed and went away. Then the priest came out of his
hiding-place; knowing that the king had been cut in
pieces and buried in a pit, he bathed and in fear of his
life he pretended to be blind when he came back to the
hut. Parantapa saw him and asked what had happened
to him. He feigned not to know him and said, " O king,
I am come back with my eyes lost : I was standing by an
ant-hill in a wood full of serpents, and the breath of some
venomous serpent must have fallen on me." Parantapa
thought the priest was addressing him as king in ignor-
ance, and to put his mind at rest he said, " Brahmin, never
mind, I will take care of you," and so comforted him and
gave him plenty of wild fruits. From that time it was
THE PRINCE AND HIS imOTHER 287
Parantapa who gathered the fruits. Tlie queen bore a
son. As he was growing up, she said to Parantapa one
day at early morning when seated comfortably, "Some
one saw you when you were killing the king?" "No one
saw me : but I heard the noise of something slipping from
a bough : whether it was man or beast I cannot tell : but
whenever fear comes on me it must be from the cause of
the boughs creaking," and so in conversation with her he
spoke the first stanza :
Terror and fear fall on me even now,
For then a man or beast did shake a boug-h.
They thought the priest was asleep, but he was awake
and heard their talk. One day, when Parantapa had gone
for wild fruits, the priest remembered his brahmin-wife
and spoke the second stanza in lamentation:
3Iy true wife's home is near at hand: my love will make me be
Pale like Parantapa and thin, at quivering of a tree.
The queen asked what he was saying. He said, " I was
only thinking": but one day again he spoke the third
stanza :
My dear wife's in Benares : her absence wears me now
To pallor like Parantapa's at shaking- of a bough.
Again one day he spoke a fourth stanza :
Her black eye's glow, her speech and smiles in thought do bring
me now
To pallor like Parantapa's at shaking of a bough.
In time the young prince grew up and reached the
age of sixteen. Then the brahmin made him take a stick,
and going with him to the bathing-place oj^ened his eyes
and looked. "Are you not blind, brahmin?" said the
prince. " I am not, but by this means I have saved my
life: do you know who is your father?" "Yes." "That
288 THE PRINCE AND HIS BROTHER
man is not your father : your father was king of Benares :
that man is a servant of your house, he sinned with your
mother and in this spot killed and buried your father"; and
so saying he pulled up the bones and shewed them to him.
The prince grew very angry, and asked, "What am I to
do ? " " Do to that man what he did to your father here,"
and shewing him the whole matter he taught him in a few
days how to handle a sword. Then one day the prince
took sword and bathing-dress and said, " Father, let us go
and bathe." Parantapa consented and went with him.
When he went down into the water, the prince took his
top-knot in the left hand and the sword in the right, and
said, "At this spot you took my father by the top-knot
and killed him as he cried out: even so will I do to
you." Parantapa wailed in fear of death and spoke two
stanzas :
Surely that sound has come to you and told you what befell:
Surely the man who bent the bough has come the tale to tell.
The foolish thought that once I had has reached your knowledge now :
That day a witness, man or beast, was there and shook the bough.
Then the prince spoke the last stanza :
'Twas thus you slew ray father with trait'rous word, untrue;
You hid his body in the boughs: now fear has come to you.
So saying, he slew him on the spot, buried him and
covered the place with branches : then washing the sword
and bathing, he went back to the hut of leaves. He told
the priest how he had killed Parantapa : he censured his
mother, and saying, " What shall we do now ? " the three
went back to Benares. The Bodhisatta made the young
prince viceroy and doing charity and other good works
passed fully through the path to heaven.
See Frazer, The Language of Animals in Archaeol. Rev. i. 80 ff.
THE PANTHER AND THE GOAT
The Master told this tale while dwellinj^ in Jetavana,
concerning a certain she-j^oat. At one time the Elder
Mog«>allana lived in a dwelling with one door, in a moun-
tain enclosure, surrounded by hills. His covered walk
was close by the door. Some goatherds thought the
enclosure would be a good place for their goats, so they
drove them in and lived there at their pleasure. One day
they came in the evening, took all the goats, and went
away : but one she-goat had wandered far, and not seeing
the goats departing, she was left behind. As she was
going after them, a panther saw her, and thinking to
eat her stood by the door of the enclosure. She looked
all round, and saw the panther. " He is there because he
wishes to kill and eat me," she thought ; " if I turn and
run, my life is lost; I must play the man," and so she
tossed her horns, and sprang straight at him with all her
might. She escaped his grip, though he was quivering
with the thought of catching her: then running at full
speed she came up with the other goats. The Elder
observed how^ all the animals had behaved: next day
he went and told the Buddha, "So, lord, this she-goat
performed a feat by her readiness in device, and esca})ed
from the panther." The Master answered, " Moggallana,
the panther failed to catch her this time, but once before
he killed her though she cried out, and ate her." Then at
Moggallana's request, he told an old tale.
Once upon a time the Bodhisatta was born in a certain
village of the Magadha kingdom, in a wealthy family.
When he grew up, he renounced desires and adopted
the religious life, reaching the perfection of meditation.
F. 4 T. 19
290 THE PANTHER AND THE GOAT
After dwelling- long- in the Himalaya, lie came to Rajagaha
for salt and vinegar, and dwelt in a hut of leaves which he
made in a mountain enclosure. Just as in the intro-
ductory story, the goatherds drove their goats thither:
and in the same way, one day as a single she-goat was
going out later than the rest, a panther waited by the
door, thinking to eat her. When she saw him, she thought,
"My life is forfeit: by some means I must get him into
pleasant and kindly talk, and so soften his heart and save
my life." Beginning a friendly talk with him from some
distance, she approached and spoke the first stanza:
How fares it with you, uncle ? and is it well with you ?
My mother sends her kind regards : and I'm your friend so true.
Hearing her, the panther thought, "This baggage
would beguile me by calling me ' uncle ' : she does not
know how hard I am"; and so he spoke the second
stanza :
You've trod upon ray tail, miss goat, and done me injury:
And think you by saying- ' Uncle ' that you can go scot-free ?
When she heard him, she said, " O uncle, don't talk in
that way," and spoke the third stanza :
I faced you as I came, good Sir, you face me as you sit:
Tour tail is all hehind you: how could I tread on it?
He answered, "What do you say, she-goat? is there
any place where my tail might not be ? " and so he spoke
the fourth stanza :
As far as four great continents with seas and mountains spread,
My tail extends : how could you fail on such a tail to tread ?
The she-goat, when she heard this, thought, "This
wicked one is not attracted by soft words : I will answer
him as an enemy," and so she spoke the fifth stanza :
Tour villain's tail is long, I know, for I had warning fair:
Parents and brothers told me so: but I flew through the air.
THE GRATEFUL PARKOT 291
Then he said, " I know you came through the air : but
as you came, you si)()ilt my food by your way of coming,"
and so he spoke the sixth stanza :
The sight of you, miss goat, on high, the air a-flying through,
Frightened a herd of deer: and so iny food was spoilt t)y you.
Hearing- this, the goat in fear of death could bring no
other excuse, but cried out, " Uncle, do not commit such
cruelty; sjiare my life." But though she cried out, the
other seized her by the shoulder, killed her and ate her.
The ascetic saw the w^hole matter of the two animals.
Tib. T. XXIX. and p. Ixv, where Ralston compares the ftible of Tlie Wolf and the
Lamb (Phaedr. i. 1), Jacobs 62. The introductory tale has more resemblance to that
of the third goat in The Three Billygoats Gruff, Dasent's Popular Tales from the
Norse, xxxvii.
THE GRATEFUL PARROT
Once upon a time many myriads of parrots lived in
the Himalaya country on the banks of the Ganges in a
grove of fig-trees. A king of the parrots there, when the
fruit of the tree in which he dwelt had come to an end,
ate whatever was left, whether shoot or leaf or bark or
rind, and drank of water from the Ganges, and being very
happy and contented he kept Avhere he was. Owing to
his happy and contented state the abode of Sakka was
shaken. Sakka reflecting on the cause saw the parrot,
and to test his virtue, by his supernatural power he
withered u]> the tree, which became a mere stump per-
forated with holes, and stood to be buffeted by eveiy
blast of wind, and from the holes dust came out. The
parrot king ate this dust and drank the water of the
Ganges, and going nowhere else sat perched on the top
of the fig-stump, recking nought of wind and sun.
19—2
292 THE GEATEFUIi PARROT
Sakka noticed how very contented the ])aiTot Avas, and
said, " After hearing him speak of the virtue of friendship,
I will come and give him his choice of a boon, and cause
the fig-tree to bear ambrosial fruit." So he took the form
of a royal goose, and preceded by Suja' in the shape of
an A sura nymph, he went to the grove of fig-trees, and
perching on the bough of a tree close by, he entered into
conversation with the parrot and spoke the first stanza :
Wherever fruitful trees abound,
A flock of hungry birds is found:
But should the trees all withered he,
Away at once the birds will flee.
And after these words, to drive the parrot thence, he
spoke the second stanza :
Haste thee, Sir Redbeak, to be gone;
Why dost thou sit and dream alone?
Come tell me, prithee, bird of spring,
To this dead stump why dost thou cling?
Then the parrot said, "O goose, from a feeling of
gratitude, I forsake not this tree," and he repeated two
stanzas :
They who have been close friends from youth.
Mindful of goodness and of truth.
In life and death, in weal and woe
The claims of friendship ne'er forego.
I too would fain be kind and good
To one that long my friend has stood;
I wish to live, but have no heart
From this old tree, though dead, to part.
Sakka on hearing what he said was delighted, and
praising him wished to offer him a choice, and uttered
two stanzas:
■" Sakka's wife.
THE GRATEFUL PARROT 293
I know thy friendship and thy grateful love,
Virtues that wise men surely must approve.
I offer thee whate'er thou wilt for choice;
Parrot, what boon would most thy h«Mrt rejoice?
On hearing this, the king parrot making his choice
spoke the seventh stanza:
If thou, O g-oose, what most I crave wouldst give,
Grant that the tree I love, again may live.
Let it once more with its old vigour shoot,
Gather fresh sweetness and bear goodly fruit.
Then Sakka, granting the boon, si)oke the eighth
stanza :
Lo! friend, a fruitful and right noble tree,
Well fitted for thy dwelling-place to be.
Let it once more with its old vigour shoot.
Gather fresh sweetness and bear goodly fruit.
With these words Sakka quitted his present form, and
manifesting the supernatural power of himself and Suja,
he took up water from the Ganges in his hand and
dashed it against the fig-tree stump. Straightway the
tree rose up rich in branch and stem, and with honey-
sweet fruit, and stood a charming sight, like unto the
bare Jewel-Mount. The parrot king on seeing it was
highly pleased, and singing the praises of Sakka he spoke
the ninth stanza :
May Sakka and all loved by Sakka blessed be.
As I to-day am blest this goodly sight to see !
Sakka, after granting the parrot his choice, and causing
the fig-tree to bear ambrosial fruit, returned with Sujfita
to his own abode.
Mbh. XIII. ch. 5. There is no direct relationship between this and the jataka,
and no connexion between the verses (Franke).
THE GOBLIN'S GIFT
Once upon a time in the reign of Brahmadatta, king
of Benares, his queen-consort after falling into sin was
questioned by the king, and taking an oath she said, " If
I have sinned against you, I shall become a female
Yakkha with a face like a horse." After her death she
became a horse-faced Yakkha and dwelt in a rock-cave
in a vast forest at the foot of a mountain, and used to
catch and devour the men that frequented the road
leadin«- from the East to the Western border. After
serving Vessavana^ three years, it is said, she got leave
to eat people in a certain space, thirty leagues long by
five leagues broad. Now one day a rich, wealthy, hand-
some brahmin, accompanied by a large suite, ascended
that road. The Yakkha, on seeing him, with a loud neigh
rushed upon him, and his attendants all fled. With the
speed of the wind she seized the brahmin and threw him
on her back, and in entering the cave, through coming
into contact with the man, under the influence of passion
she conceived an affection for him, and instead of devour-
ing him she made him her husband, and they lived
harmoniously together. And thenceforth the Yakkha
whenever she captured men, also took their clothes and
rice and oil and the like, and serving him with various
dainty food she herself would eat man's flesh. And when-
ever she w ent away, for fear of his escaping, she closed the
mouth of the cave with a huge stone before leaving. And
while they were thus living amicably together, the Bodhi-
satta passing from his former existence was conceived in
1 The lord of Yakkhas.
THE GOBLINS GIFT 295
the womb of the Yakkha by the brahmin. After ten
months she «j:ave birth to a son, and filled with love for
the brahmin and her chihl, she fed them both. l>y and
by when the boy was jj^rown up, she put him also inside the
cave with his father, and elosed the door. Now one day
the Bodhisatta knowin<i^ she had *>^one away removed the
stone and let his father out. And when she asked on lier
return who had removed the stone, he said, "I did, mother:
we cannot sit in darkness." And through love f(n- her
child she did not say another word. Now one day the
Bodhisatta asked his father, sayin<^, "Dear father, your
mouth is different from my mother's ; what is the reason ? "
"My son, your mother is a Yakkha and lives on man's
flesh, but you and I are men." " If so, why do we live
here? Oome, we will go to the haunts of men." "My
dear boy, if we shall try to escai)e, your mother will kill
us both." The Bodhisatta reassured his father and said,
" Do not be afraid, dear father ; that you shall return to
the haunts of men shall be my charge." And next day
when his mother had gone away, he took his father and
fled. When the Yakkha returned and missed them, she
rushed forward with the swiftness of the wind and caught
them and said, "O brahmin, why do you run away? Is
there anything that you want here ? " " My dear," he said,
" do not be angrv with me. Your son carried me ofl' with
him." And without another word, owing to her love for
her child, she comforted them and making for her place
of abode she brought them back after a flight of some
days. The Bodhisatta thought, "My mother must have
a limited sphere of action. Suppose I were to ask her the
limits of si)ace over which her authority extends. Then
I will escape by going beyond this." So one day sitting
respectfully near his mother he said, " My dear, that which
296 THE GOBLIN'S GIFT
belongs to a mother comes to the chikh*en ; tell me now
what is the bomidary of our ground." She told him all
the landmarks, mountains and such like in all directions,
and pointed out to her son the space, thirty leagues long
and five leagues broad, and said, "Consider it to be so
much, my son." After the lapse of two or three days,
when his mother had gone to the forest, he put his father
on his shoulder and rushing on with the swiftness of the
wind, by the hint given him by his mother, he reached the
bank of the river that was the limit. The mother too,
when on her return she missed them, pursued after them.
The Bodhisatta carried his father into the middle of the
river, and she came and stood on the river bank, and
when she saw that they had passed beyond the limits of
her sphere, she stopped where she was, and cried, "My
dear child, come here with your father. What is my
offence ? In what respect do not things go well with you ?
Come back, my lord." Thus did she beseech her child
and husband. So the brahmin crossed the river. She
prayed to her child also, and said, " Dear son, do not act
after this sort : come back again." "Mother, we are men:
you are a Yakkha. We cannot always abide with you."
"And will you not return?" "No, mother." "Then if
you refuse to return — as it is painful to live in the world
of men, and they who know not any craft cannot live — I
am skilled in the lore of a wishing-jewel: by its power,
one can follow after the lapse of twelve years in the steps
of those that have gone away. This will prove a livelihood
to you. Take, my child, this invaluable charm." And
though overcome by such great sorrow, through love of
her child, she gave him the charm. The Bodhisatta, still
standing in the river, folded his hands tortoise-wise and
took the charm, and saluting his mother cried, " Good-bye,
THE GOBLIN'S GIFT 297
mother." The Yakkha said, "If you do not return, my
son, I cannot live," and she smote upon her l^reast, and
sti'aightway in sorrow for her son her heart was broken
and she fell down dead on the spot. The Bodhisatta,
when he knew his mother was dead, called to his father
and went and made a funeral ])ile and burned her body.
After extin<j;uishin«^ the flames, he made offerinjj^s of
various coloured flowers, and with weeping and lamenta-
tion returned with his father to Benares.
It was told the king, "A youth skilled in tracking
footstei)S is standing at the door." And when the king
bade him enter, he came in and saluted the king. "My
friend," he said, " do you know any craft ? " " My lord,
following on the track of one who has stolen any pro-
perty twelve years ago, I can catch him." "Then enter
my service," said the king. "I will serve you for a
thousand pieces of money daily." " Very well, friend, you
shall serve me." And the king had him paid a thousand
pieces of money daily. Now one day the family priest
said to the king, "My lord, because this youth does
nothing by the power of his art, we do not know whether
he has any skill or not : we will now test him." The king
readily agreed, and the ])air gave notice to the keepers of
the various treasures, and taking the most valuable jewels
descended from the terrace, and after groping their Avay
three times round the palace, they placed a ladder on the
top of the wall and by means of it descended to the out-
side. Then they entered the Hall of Justice, and after
sitting there they returned and again })lacing the ladder
on the wall descended into the harem. Coming to the
edge of a tank they thrice marched rightwise round it, and
then dropped their treasure in the tank, and climbed
back to the terrace. Next day there was a great outcry
298 THE GOBLIN'S GIFT
and men said, " Treasure has been stolen from the palace."
The king pretending- ignorance summoned the Bodhisatta
and said, " Friend, much valuable treasure has been stolen
from the i)alace : we must trace it." " My lord, for one
who is able to follow the traces of robbers and recover
treasure stolen twelve years ago, there is nothing mar-
vellous in his recovering stolen property after a single day
and night. I will recover it ; do not be troubled." " Then
recover it, friend." "Very well, my lord," he said, and
went and saluting his mother's memory he repeated the
spell, still standing on the terrace, and said, " My lord, the
steps of two thieves are to be seen." And following in
the steps of the king and the priest he entered the royal
closet, and issuing thence he descended from the terrace,
and after thrice making a circuit of the palace he drew
near the wall. Standing on it he said, " My lord, starting
in this place from the wall I see footsteps in the air : bring
me a ladder." And having had a ladder placed for him
against the wall, he descended by it, and still following in
their track he came to the Hall of Justice. Then return-
ing to the palace he had the ladder planted against the
wall, and descending by it he came to the tank. Going
thrice rightwise round it he said, "My lord, the thieves
went down into this tank," and taking out the treasure, as
if he had deposited it there himself, he gave it to the king
and said, "My lord, these two thieves are men of dis-
tinction: by this way they climbed up into the palace."
The people snapped their fingers in a high state of
delight, and there was a great waving of cloths. The
king thought, " This youth, methinks, by following in their
steps knows the place where the thieves put the treasure,
but the thieves he cannot catch." Then he said, "You at
once brought us the property carried off by the thieves,
THE GOBLIN'S GIFT 21)9
but will you be able to catch the thieves and brinjj^ them
to us ? " " My lord, the thieves are liere : tliey are not far
off." "Who are they?" "Great kinjj^, let any one that
likes be the thief. From the time you recovered your
treasure, why should you want the thieves ? Do not ask
about that." " Friend, I pay you daily a thousand pieces of
money : brin^^ the thieves to me." " Sire, when the treasure
is recovered, what need of the thieves?" "It is better,
friend, for us to catch the thieves than to recover the
treasure." " Then, sire, I will not tell you, ' So and so are
the thieves,' but I will tell you a thing that happened long
ago. If you are wise, you will know what it means." And
hercAvith he told an old tale.
Once upon a time, sire, a certain dancer named Patala
lived not far from Benares, in a village on the river's
bank. One day he Avent into Ik^nares Avith his wife and
after gaining money by his singing and dancing, at the
end of the fete he procured some rice and strong drink.
On his way to his own village he came to the bank of the
river, and sat down watching the freshly flowing stream,
to drink his strong drink. When he was drunk and
unconscious of his Aveakness, he said, "I Avill fasten my
big lute about my neck and go doAvn into the river."
And he took his Avife by the hand and Avent doAvn into
the river. The AAater entered into the holes of the lute,
and then the Aveight of his lute made him begin to sink.
But when his Avife saw he was sinking, she let go of him
and went up out of the river and stood upon the bank.
The dancer Patala noAv rises and noAv sinks, and his belly
became SAvollen from sAvalloAving the Avater. So his Avife
tlnrnght, "My husband Avill now die: I Avill beg of him
one song, and by singing this in the midst of the people,
I shall earn my living." And saying, "My lord, you are
300 THE GOBLIN'S GIFT
sinking in the water: give me just one song, and I will
earn my living by it," she spoke this stanza:
0 Patala, by Gaug-es swept away,
Famous in dance and skilled in roundelay,
Patala, all hail! as thou art home along-,
Sing- me, I pray, some little snatch of song.
Then the dancer Patala said, "My dear, how shall
I give you a little song? The water that has been the
salvation of the people is killing me," and he spoke a
stanza :
Wherewith are sprinkled fainting- souls in pain,
1 straight am killed. My refug-e proved my bane.
The Bodhisatta in explanation of this stanza said:
"Sire, even as water is the refuge of the people, so also
is it with kings. If danger arises from them, who shall
avert that danger? This, sire, is a secret matter. I have
told a story intelligible to the wise: understand it, sire."
" Friend, I understand not a hidden story like this. Catch
the thieves and bring them to me." Then the Bodhisatta
said, " Hear then this, sire, and understand." And he told
yet another tale.
" My lord, formerly in a village outside the city gates
of Benares, a potter used to fetch clay for his pottery,
and constantly getting it in the same place he dug a deep
pit inside a mountain-cave. Now one day while he was
getting the clay, an unseasonable storm-cloud sprang up,
and let fall a heavy rain, and the flood overwhelmed and
threw down the side of the pit, and the man's head was
broken by it. Loudly lamenting he spoke this stanza :
That by which seeds do gi*ow, man to sustain.
Has crushed my head. My refug-e proved my bane.
" For even as the mighty earth, sire, which is the refuge
of the people, broke the potter's head, even so when a
THE GOBLIN'S GIFT 301
km<^, who like the ini«;hty earth is the refujj^e of the whole
world, rises up and plays the tliief, who shall avert the
danger? Can you, sire, recognise the thief hidden under
the guise of this story?" "Friend, we do not want any
hidden meaning. Say, ' Here is the thief,' and catch him
and hand him over to me."
Still shielding the king and without saying in words,
"Thou art the thief," he told yet another story.
In this very city, sire, a certain man's house was on fire.
He ordered another man to go into the house and bring
out his property. When this man had entered the house
and was bringing out his goods, the door was shut. Jilinded
with smoke and unable to find his way out and tormented
by the rising fiame, he remained inside lamenting, and
spoke this stanza:
That which destroys the cold, and parches grain.
Consumes my limbs. My refuge proves my hane.
"A man, O king, who like fire was the refuge of the
people, stole the bundle of jewels. Do not ask me about
the thief" "Friend, just bring me the thief" Without
telling the king that he was a thief, he told yet another
story.
Once, sire, in this very city a man ate to excess and
was unable to digest his food. Maddened with pain and
lamenting he spoke this stanza :
Food on which countless brahmins life sustain
Killed me outright. My refuge proved my bane.
"One, who like rice, sire, was the refuge of the people,
stole the ])roperty. When that is recovered, why ask
about the thief?" "Friend, if you can, bring me the thief"
To make the king conn)rehend, he told yet another story.
Formerly, sire, in this very city a wind arose and broke
a certain man's limbs. Lamenting he spoke this stanza :
302 THE GOBLINS GIFT
Wind that in June wise men by prayer would gain,
My limbs doth break. My refuge proved my bane.
"Thus, sire, did danger arise from his refuge. Under-
stand this story." "Friend, bring me the thief." To make
the king understand, he told him yet another story.
"Once upon a time, sire, on the side of the Himalayas
grew a tree with forked branches, the dwelling-place of
countless birds. Two of its boughs rubbed against one
another. Hence arose smoke, and sparks of fire were let
fall. On seeing this the chief bird uttered this stanza:
Flame issues from the tree where we have lain:
Scatter ye birds. Our refuge proves our bane.
"For just as, sire, the tree is the refuge of birds, so is
the king the refuge of his people. Should he play the
thief, who shall avert the danger ? Take note of this, sire."
"Friend, only bring me the thief" Then he told the king
yet another story.
In a village of Benares, sire, on the western side of a
gentleman's house was a river full of savage crocodiles,
and in this family was an only son, who on the death of
his father watched over his mother. His mother against
his will brought home a gentleman's daughter as his wife.
At first she shewed affection for her mother-in-law, but
afterwards when blest with numerous sons and daughters
of her own, she wished to get rid of her. Her own mother
also lived in the same house. In her husband s presence
she found all manner of fault with her mother-in-law, to
prejudice him against her, saying, "I cannot possibly
support your mother : you must kill her." And when he
answered, "Murder is a serious matter : how am I to kill
her?" she said, "When she has fallen asleep, we will take
her, bed and all, and throw her into the crocodile river.
Then the crocodiles will- make an end of her." "And
THE GOBLIN'S GIFT 303
where is your mother ?' he said. "She sleeps in the same
room as your mother." "Theu <j;o and set a mark on the
bed on whieh she hes, by fastenin<^ a rope on it." She did
so, and said, "I have j)ut a mark on it." The husband
said, "Excuse me a moment ; let the peo}>le go to bed
first." And he lay down pretending to go to sleep, and
then went and fastened the rope on his mother-in-laws
bed. Then he woke his wife, and they went together
and lifting her up, bed and all, threw her into the river.
And the crocodiles there killed and ate her. Next dav she
found out what had hapj)ened to her own mother, and
said, "My lord, my mother is dead, now let us kill yours."
"Very well then," he said, "we will make a funeral j)ile in
the cemetery, and cast her into the fire and kill her." So
the man and his wife took her while she was asleep to the
cemetery, and deposited her there. Then the husband
said to his wife, "Have you brought any fire?" "I have
forgotten it, my lord." "Then go and fetch it." "I dare
not go, my lord, and if you go, I dare not stay here : we
will go together." When they were gone, the old woman
was awakened by the cold wind, and finding it was a
cemetery, she thought, "They wish to kill me: they are
gone to fetch fire. They do not know how strong I am."
And she stretched a corpse on the bed and covered it
over with a cloth, and ran away and hid herself in a
mountain-cave in that same place. The husband and wife
brought the fire and taking the corpse to be the old
woman they burned it and went away. A certain robber
had left his bundle in this mountain-cave and coming
back to fetch it he saw the old woman and thought, "This
must be a Yakkha : my bundle is possessed by goblins,"
and he fetched a devil-doctor. The doctor uttered a spell
and entered the cave. Then she said to him, "I am
304 THE GOBLIN'S GIFT
no Yakklia ; come, we will enjoy this treasure together."
"How is this to be believed?" "Place your tongue on my
tongue."' He did so, and she bit a piece off his tongue
and let it drop to the ground. The devil-doctor thought,
" This is certainlv a Yakkha," and he cried aloud and fled
away, with the blood drip})ing from his tongue. Next
day the old woman put on a clean undergarment and took
the bundle of all sorts of jewels and went home. The
daughter-in-law on seeing her asked, "Where, mother, did
you get this?" "My dear, all that are burned on a
wooden pile in this cemetery receive the same." "My
dear mother, can I too get this?" "If you become like
me, you will," So without saying a word to her husband,
in her desire for a lot of ornaments to wear, she went
there and burned herself. Her husband next day missed
her and said, "My dear mother, at this time of day is
not your daughter-in-law coming?" Then she reproached
him saying, " Fie ! you bad man, how do the dead come
back?" And she uttered this stanza:
A maideD fair, with wreath upon her head,
Fragrant with sandal oil, by me was led
A happy hride within my home to reign :
She drove me forth. My refuge proved my hane.
"As the daughter-in-law, sire, is to the mother-in-law,
so is the king a refuge to his people. If danger arises
thence, what can one do ? take note of this, sire." " Friend,
I do not understand the things you tell me ; only bring
me the thief" He thought, "I will shield the king," and
he told yet another story.
Of old, sire, in this very city a man in answer to his
prayer had a son. At his birth the father was full of joy
and gladness at the thought of having got a son, and
cherished him. When the boy was grown up, he wedded
THE GOBLIN'S GIFT 305
him to a wife, and by and by he himself grew old and
could not undertake any work. So his son said, "You
cannot do any work : you must go from hence," and he
drove him out of the house. With great difficulty he
kept himself alive on alms, and lamenting he uttered this
stanza :
He for whose birth T longed, nor lonj^red in vain,
Drives me from home. My refuj^e proved my bane.
" Just as an aged father, sire, ought to be cared for by
an able-bodied son, so too ought all the people to be
protected by the king, and this danger now present has
arisen from the king, who is the guardian of all men. Know,
sire, from this fact that the thief is so and so." " I do not
understand this, be it fact or no fact : either bring me the
thief, or you yourself must be the thief " Thus did the
king again and again question the youth. So he said to
him, "Would you, sire, really like the thief to be caught?"
"Yes, friend." "Then I will proclaim it in the midst of
the assembly, So and So is the thief," "Do so, friend."
On hearing his words he thought, "This king does not
allow me to shield him: I will now catch the thief" And
when the i)eople had gathered together, he addressed
them and spoke these stanzas:
Let town and country folk assembled all g-ive ear,
Lo! water is ablaze. From safety cometh fear.
The plundered realm may well of king- and priest complain;
Henceforth protect yourselves. Your refug-e proves your bane.
When they heard what he said, the people thought,
"The king, though he ought to have protected others,
threw the blame on another. After he had with his own
hands placed his treasure in the tank, he went about
looking for the thief That he may not in future go on
playing the part of a thief, we will kill this wicked king."
F. i T. - 20
306 THE WISE GOAT AND THE JACKAL
So they rose up with sticks and clubs in their hands, and
then and there beat the king and the priest till they died.
But they sprinkled the Bodhisatta with the ceremonial
sprinkling and set him on the throne.
The story of the female yakkha forms an episode in Tih. T. xii. and the beginning
of Example xix. in SinJ. Cf. Clouston, i. 215 ff., Fairy hinds. For the two tales of
filial ingratitude, pp. 302 — 305, cf. the references on p. 314.
THE WISE GOAT AND THE JACKAL
Once upon a time in the reign of Brahmadatta, king
of Benares, many hundreds of wild goats dwelt in a
mountain-cave in a wooded district on the slopes of the
Himalayas. Not far from their place of abode a jackal
named Putimamsa with his wife Yeni lived in a cave.
One day as he was ranging about with his wife, he spied
those goats and thought, "I must find some means to
eat the flesh of these goats," and by some device he killed
a single goat. Both he and his wife by feeding on goat's
flesh waxed strong and gross of body. Gradually the
goats were destroyed. Amongst them was a wise she-goat
named Melamata. The jackal though skilful in devices
could not kill her, and taking counsel with his wife he
said, "My dear, all the goats have died out. We must
devise how to eat this she-goat. Now here is my plan.
You are to go by yourself, and become friendly with her,
and when confidence has sprung up between you, I will
lie down and pretend to be dead. Then you are to draw
nigh to the goat and say, ' My dear, my husband is dead
and I am desolate ; except you I have no relative : come,
let us weep and lament, and bury his body.' And with
these words come and bring her with you. Then I will
THE WISE GOAT AND THE JACKAL 307
sprinti^ up and kill her by a bite in the neck." She readily
a<:^reed and after making friends with the goat, when con-
fidence was established, she addressed her in the words
suggested by her husband. The goat replied, "My dear,
all my kinsfolk have been eaten by your husband.
I am afraid; 1 cannot come," "J)o not be afraid; what
harm can the dead do you?" "Your husband is cruelly-
minded; I am afraid." But afterwards being repeatedly
importuned the goat thought, "He certainly must be
dead," and consented to go with her. But on her way
there she thought, "Who knows what will ha])pen?"
and being sus])icious she made the she-jackal go in front,
keeping a sharp h)ok-out for the jackal. He heard the
sound of their steps and thought, " Here comes the goat,"
and put uj) his head and rolling his eyes looked about
him. The goat on seeing him do this said, " This wicked
wretch wants to take me in and kill me: he lies there
making a pretence of being dead," and she turned about
and fled. When the she-jackal asked why she ran away,
the goat gave the reason and spoke the first stanza :
Why thus does Putimainsa stare?
His look misliketh me:
Of such a friend one should beware,
And far away should flee.
With these words she turned about and made straight
for her own abode. And the she-jackal failing to stop her
was enraged with her, and went to her husband and sat
down lamenting. Then the jackal rebuking her spoke
the second stanza :
VenI, my wife, has lost her wit,
She boasts of friends that she has made;
Left in the lurch she can but sit
»
And grieve, by Mela's art betrayed.
20—2
308 THE WISE GOAT AND THE JACKAL
On hearing this the she-jackal spoke the tliird stanza :
You too, my lord, were hardly wise,
Aud, witless creature, raised your head,
Staring about with open eyes, '
Though feigning- to he dead.
But the she-jackal comforted Piitimamsa and said,
" My lord, do not vex yourself, I will find a way to bring
her here again, and when she comes, be on your guard
and catch her." Then she sought the goat and said,
" My friend, your coming proved of service to us ; for as
soon as you appeared, my lord recovered consciousness,
and he is now alive. Come and have friendly speech with
him," and so saying she spoke the fifth ^ stanza:
Our former friendship, g-oat, once more revive,
And come with well-filled howl to us, I pray,
My lord I took for dead is still alive,
With kindly greeting- visit liim to-day.
The goat thought, "This wicked wretch wants to take
me in. I must not act like an open foe ; I will find means
to deceive her," and she spoke the sixth stanza:
Our former friendship to revive,
A well-filled bowl I gladly give:
With a big escort I shall come;
To feast us well, go hasten home.
Then the she-jackal enquired about her followers, and
spoke the seventh stanza :
What kind of escort will you bring,
That I am bid to feast you well?
The names of aU remembering
To us, I pray you, truly tell.
The goat spoke the eighth stanza and said:
^ A stanaa not belonging to the Storj' of the Past is omitted.
THE UNGRATEFUL SON 309
Hounds! drey and Tan, and Four-eyed too,
With Janibuk form my escort true:
Go hurry home, and quick prepare:
For all abundance of good fare.
" Each of these," she added, " is accompanied by five
hundred dogs: so I shall appear with a jj^uard of two
thousand dogs. If they should not find food, they will
kill and eat you and your mate." On hearing this the
she-jackal was so frightened that she thought, " I have had
quite enough of her coming to us; I will find means to
stop her from coming," and she spoke the ninth stanza :
Don't leave your house, or else I fear
Your goods will all soon disappear:
I'll take your greeting- to my lord;
Don't stir: nay, not another word!
With these words she ran in great haste, as for her life,
and taking her lord with her, fled away. And they never
durst come back to that spot.
This jataka is of the same type as P. iv. 2, The Ass without Heart and Ears, in
which a jackal twice tempts an ass into tlie presence of a sick lion, who finally kills
it. Some snch fable as this appears to have been the basis of the jataka. The moral
given in both cases is, " keep guard over the avenues of the senses."
THE UNGRATEFUL SON
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king of
Benares, there was in a family of a certain village of Kasi
an only son named Vasitthaka. This man supi)orted his
parents, and after his mother's death, he sui)i)orted his
father as has been described in the introduction-. But
1 Maliya and Pingiya prtjbably refer to the colour of the dogs; Caturak.shiX, 'four-
eyed,' is one of Yama's dogs in the Rigveda x. U, 10 ; Jambuka is a spirit in the train
of Skanda.
'- In the introductory story the father provides his son with a wife, who pretends
to be fond of her father-in-law, but sets him at variance mth her husband.
310 THE UNGRATEFUL SON
there is this difference. When the woman said, "Look
there ! that is your father's doing ! I am constantly
begging him not to do this and that, and he only gets
angry ! " she went on, " My lord, your father is fierce and
harsh, for ever picking quarrels. A decrepit old man
like that, tormented with disease, is bound to die soon ;
and I can't live in the same house with him. He will die
of himself before many days are out ; well, take him to a
cemetery, and dig a pit, throw him in and break his head
with the spade; and when he is dead, shovel the earth
upon him, and leave him there." At last, by dint of this
dinning in his ears, said he, "Wife, to kill a man is a
serious matter: how can I do it?" "I will tell you of
a way," quoth she. — "Say on, then." — "Well, my lord, at
break of day, go to the place where your father sleeps;
tell him very loud, that all may hear, that a debtor of his
is in a certain village, that you went and he would not pay
you, and that if he dies the man will never pay at all ; and
say that you will both drive there together in the morning.
Then at the appointed time get up, and put the animals to
the cart, and take him in it to the cemetery. When you get
there, bury him in a pit, make a noise as if you had been
robbed, wound and wash your head, and return." "Yes,
that plan will do," said Vasitthaka. He agreed to her
proposal, and got the cart ready for the journey.
NoAv the man had a son, a lad of seven years, but wise
and clever. The lad overheard what his mother said. " My
mother," thought he, " is a wicked woman, and is trying to
persuade father to murder his father. 1 will prevent my
father from doing this murder." He ran quickly, and lay
down beside his grandsire. Vasitthaka, at the time sug-
gested by the wife, prepared the cart. " Come, father, let
us get that debt!" said he, and placed his father in the
THE UNGKATEFUL SON 311
cart. But the bov i^ot in first of all. Vasitthaka could
not prevent him, so he took him to the cemetery with them.
Then, placin<j: his father and his son to<^ether in a jilace
apart, with the cart, he ;j:ot down, took spade and basket,
and in a spot where he was hidden from them be<^an to dig
a square hole. The boy got down, and followed him, and
as though ignorant what was afoot, opened a conversation
by repeating the first stanza :
No bulbs are here, no herbs for cooking meet,
No catmint, nor no other plant to eat.
Then father, why this pit, if need be none,
Delve in Death's acre mid the woods alone?
Then his father answered by repeating the second
stanza :
Thy grandsire, son, is very weak and old,
Opprest by pain from ailments manifold:
Him will I bury in a pit to-day ;
In such a life I could not wish him stay.
Hearing this, the boy answered by repeating a half-
stanza :
Thou hast done sinfully in wishing this,
And for the deed, a cruel deed it is.
With these words, he caught the spade from his father's
hands, and at no great distance began to dig another ])it.
His father approaching asked why he dug that pit ; to
whom he made reply by finishing the third stanza :
I too, when thou art aged, father mine.
Will treat my father as thou treatest thine;
Following the custom of the family
Deep in a pit I too will bury thee.
To this the father replied by repeating the fourth
stanza :
What a harsh saying for a boy to say.
And to upbraid a father in this way!
To think that my own son sliould rail at me.
And to his truest friend unkind should be!
312 THE UNGRATEFUL SON
When the father had thus spoken, the wise lad recited
three stanzas, one by way of answer, and tAvo as a solemn
utterance :
I am uot harsh, my father, nor unkind,
Nay, I regard thee with a friendly mind:
But this thou dost, this act of sin, thy son
Will have no strength to undo again, once done.
Whoso, Vasittha, hurts with ill intent
His mother or his father, innocent,
He, when the body is dissolved, shall be
In hell for his next life undoubtedly.
Whoso with meat and drink, Vasittha, shall
. His mother or his father feed withal,
He, when the body is dissolved, shall be
In heaven for his next life undoubtedly.
The father, after hearing his son thus discourse,
repeated the eighth stanza:
Thou art no heartless ingrate, son, I see.
But kindly-hearted, 0 my son, to me;
'Twas in obedience to thy mother's word
I thought to do this horrid deed abhorred.
Said the lad, when he heard this, "Father, women,
when a wrong is done and they are not rebuked, again
and again commit sin. You must bend my mother, that
she may never again do such a deed as this." And he
repeated the ninth stanza:
That wife of yours, that ill-conditioned dame.
My mother, she that brought me forth — that same,
Let us from out our dwelling far expel,
Lest she work other woe on thee as well.
Hearing the words of his wise son, well pleased was
Yasitthaka, and saying, " Let us go, my son ! " he seated
himself in the cart with son and father and set off.
Now the woman too, this sinner, was happy at heart ;
THE UNGRATEFUL SON 313
for, thought she, this ill-hick is out of the house now. She
plastered the place with wet cowdung, and cooked a mess
of rice porridge. But as she sat watchin*; the road by
which they would return, she espied them coming. " There
he is, back with old ill-luck again ! " thought she, much in
anger. "Fie, good-for-nothing!" cried she, "what, bring
back the ill-luck you took away with you ! " Yasitthaka
said not a word, but unyoked the cart. Then said he,
"Wretch, what is that you say?" He gave her a sound
drubbing, and bundled her head over heels out of doors,
bidding her never darken his door again. Then he bathed
his father and his son, and took a bath himself, and the
three of them ate the rice porridge. The sinful woman
dwelt for a few days in another house.
Then the son said to his father: "Father, for all this
my mother does not understand. Now let us try to vex
her. You srive out that in such and such a village lives a
niece of yours, who will attend upon your father and your
son and you; so you will go and fetch her. Then take
flowers and perfumes, set off with your cart, and ride
about the country all day, returning in the evening." And
so he did. The women in the neighbours family told
his wife this;— "Have you heard," said they, "that your
husband has gone to get another wife in such a place ? "
"Ah, then I am undone!" quoth she, "and there is no
place for me left ! " But she would enquire of hei- son ; so
quickly she came to him, and fell at his feet, crying—" Save
thee I have no other refuge ! Henceforward 1 will tend
your father and grandsire as I would tend a beauteous
shrine! Give me entrance into this house once more!"
" Yes, mother," replied the lad, " if you do no more as you
did, I will; be in earnest!" and at his fathers coming
he repeated the tenth stanza:
314 THE TEN SLAVE-BRETHREN
That wife of yours, that ill-conditioned dame,
My mother, she that brought nie forth, — that same, —
Like a tamed elephant, in full control,
Let her return again, that sinful soul.
So said he to his father, and then went and summoned
his mother. She, being reconciled to her husband and the
husband's father, was thenceforward tamed, and endued
with righteousness, and watched over her husband and his
father and her son ; and these two, steadfastly following
their son's advice, gave alms and did good deeds, and
became destined to join the hosts of heaven.
This is a variant of a famous story, known as the Housse Partie. See Clouston,
II. 372 ff., The ungrateful Son ; Jacques de Vitry's Exempla (Folk Lore Soc, 1890),,
no. 288, with bibliographical note on p. 260. (Dr Rouse.)
In Jat. 417 a mfe sets her husband and mother-in-law at variance. The mother-
in-law is driven fi-om home, but her children are converted by Sakka, and take her
back. Cf the two tales of filial ingratitude in The goblin's Gift, pp. 302, 304.
THE TEN SLAVE-BRETHREN
Once upon a time, a king named Mahakamsa reigned
in Uttarapatha, in the Kamsa district, in the city of
Asitanjana. He had two sous, Kamsa and Upakamsa,
and one daughter named Devagabbha. On her birthday
the brahmins skilled in omens foretold of her: "A son
born of this girl will one day destroy the country and the
lineage of Kamsa." The king was too fond of the girl to
put her to death ; but leaving her brothers to settle it,
lived his days out, and then died. When he died Kamsa
became king, and Upakamsa was viceroy. They thought
that there would be an outcry were they to put their sister
to death, so resolved to give her in marriage to none, but
to keep her husbandless, and watch ; and they built a
single round-tower, for her to live in.
THE TEN SLAVE-BKETHREN 315
Now she had a serviiijj^-woinan named Naiidagopa, and
the woman's husband, Andliakavenlm, was the servant who
watched hei-. At that time a kin<>: named Mahasa<,^ara
reigned in Upper Madhura, and he had two sons, Sagara
and U])asagara. At their fathei's death, Sagara became
king, and Upasagara was viceroy. This kid was Upakaipsa's
friend, brought up together with him and trained by the
same teacher. But he intrigued in his brothers zenana,
and being detected, ran away to Upakanisa in the Kainsa
estate. Upakanisa introduced him to king Kamsa, and
the king had him in great honour.
Upasagara while waiting upon the king observed the
tower wliere dwelt Devagabbha ; and on asking who lived
there, heard the story, and fell in love with the girl. And
Devagabbha one day saw him as he went with Upakanisa
to wait upon the king. She asked who that was; and
being told by Nandagopa that it was Upasagara, son of the
great king Sagara, she too fell in love with him. T^pasagara
gave a present to Nandagopa, saying, "Sister, you can
arrange a meeting for me with Devagabbha." "Easy
enough," quoth Nandagopa, and told the girl about it.
She being already in love with him, agreed at once. One
night Nandagopa arranged a tryst, and brought Upasagara
ui) into the tower ; and there he stayed with Devagabbha.
And by their constant intercourse, Devagabbha con-
ceived. By and by Avhen the affair became known, the
two brothers questioned Nandagopa. She made them
promise her jiardon, and then told the ins and outs of
the matter. When they heard the story, they thought,
"We cannot put our sister to death. If she bears a
daughter, we will spare the babe also ; if a son, we w ill
kill him." And they gave Devagabbha to Upasagara to
wife.
316 THE TEN SLAVE-BRETHREN
When her full time was come, she gave birth to a
daughter. The brothers on hearing this were delighted,
and gave her the name of the Lady Afijana. And
they allotted to them a village for their estate, named
Govadclhamana. Upasagara took Devagabbha and lived
with her at the village of Govaddhamana.
Devagabbha was again with child, and that very day
Nandago})a conceived also. When their time was come,
they brought forth on the same day, Devagabbha a son
and Nandagopa a daughter. But Devagabbha, in fear
that her son might be put to death, sent him secretly to
Nandagopa, and received Nandagopa's daughter in return.
They told the brothers of the birth. " Son or daughter ? "
they asked. " Daughter," was the reply. " Then see that
it is reared," said the brothers. In the same way Deva-
gabbha bore ten sons, and Nandagopa ten daughters.
The sons lived with Nandagopa and the daughters with
Devagabbha, and not a soul knew the secret.
The eldest son of Devagabbha was named Yasudeva,
the second Baladeva, the third Candadeva, the fourth
Suriyadeva, the fifth Aggideva, the sixth Varunadeva,
the seventh Ajjuna, the eighth Pajjuna, the ninth Ghata-
pandita, the tenth Arhkura. They were well known as
the sons of Andhakavenhu the servitor, the Ten Slave-
Brethren.
In course of time they grew big, and being very strong,
and withal fierce and ferocious, they went about plunder-
ing, they even went so far as to plunder a present being
conveyed to the king. The people came crowding in the
king's court yard, complaining, " Andhakavenhu's sons, the
Ten Brethren, are plundering the land!" So the king
summoned Andhakavenhu, and rebuked him for per-
mitting his sons to i)lunder. In the same way complaint
THE TEN SLAVE-BKETIIKEN 317
was made three or four times, and tlie kinj,^ threatened
him. He being- in fear of his life craved the boon of safety
from the king, and tokl the secret, that how these were no
sons of Iiis, but of Ui)asagara. The king was ahirmed.
" How can we get hold of them ? " he asked his courtiers.
They rei)lie(l, "Sire, they are wrestlers. Let us hold a
wrestling match in the city, and when they enter the ring
we will catch them and i)ut them to death." So they
sent for two wrestlers, Canura and Mutthika, and caused
proclamation to be made throughout the city by beat of
drum, that on the seventh day there would be a wrestling
match.
The wrestling ring was prepared in front of the king's
gate ; there was an enclosure for the games, the ring was
decked out gaily, the flags of victory were ready tied.
The whole city was in a whirl; line over line rose the
seats, tier above tier. Canura and Mutthika went down
into the ring, and strutted about, jumping, shouting,
clapping their hands. The Ten Brethren came too. On
their w ay they plundered the washermen's street, and clad
themselves in robes of bright colours, and stealing perfume
from the perfumers' shops, and wreaths of flowers from
the florists, with their bodies all anointed, garlands upon
their heads, earrings in their ears, they strutted into the
ring, jumping, shouting, clai^ping their hands.
At the moment, Canura was walking about clapping
his hands. Baladeva, seeing him, thought, " I wont touch
yon fellow with my hand ! " so catching up a thick strap
from the elei)hant stable, jumping and shouting he threw
it round Canura s belly, and joining the two ends together,
brought them tight, then lifting him uj), swung him round
over his head, and dashing him on the ground rolled him
outside the arena. When Canura was dead, the king
318 THE TEN SLAVE-BRETHREN
sent for Miittliika. Up got Mutthika, jumping, shouting,
clap})ing his hands. Baladeva smote him, and crushed
in his eyes; and as he cried out — "I'm no wrestler! I'm
no wrestler ! " Baladeva tied his hands together, saying,
" Wrestler or no wrestler, it is all one to me," and dashing
him down on the ground, killed him and threw him outside
the arena.
Mutthika in his death-throes, uttered a prayer — " May
I become a goblin, and devour him ! " And he became
a goblin, in a forest called by the name of Kalamattiya.
The king said, " Take away the Ten Slave-Brethren." At
that moment, Vasudeva threw a wheel \ which lopped off
the heads of the two brothers^. The crowd, terrified, fell
at his feet, and besought him to be their protector. '
Thus the Ten Brethren, having slain their two uncles,
assumed the sovereignty of the city of Asitanjana, and
brought their parents thither.
They now set out, intending to conquer all India.
In a while they arrived at the city of Ayojjha, the seat
of king Kalasena. This they encompassed about, and
destroyed the jungle around it, breached the wall and
took the king prisoner, and took the sovereignty of the
place into their hands. Thence they proceeded to Dvara-
vati. Now this city had on one side the sea and on one
the mountains. They say that the place was goblin-
haunted. A goblin would be stationed on the watch, who
seeing his enemies, in the shape of an ass would bray as
the ass brays. At once, by goblin magic the whole city
used to rise in the air, and deposit itself on an island
in the midst of the sea ; when the foe was gone, it would
come back and settle in its own place again. This time,
1 A kind of weapon, especially the weapon of Vishnu in Brahmin mythology.
* I.e. the king and his brother.
THE TEN SLAVE-BKETllllEN 319
as usual, no sooner the ass saw those Ten 15rethi'en
coming*, than lie brayed with the bray of an ass. Uj) rose
the eity in the air, and settled uj)on the island. No city
could they see, and turned back ; then back came the
city to its own place again. They returned— a<^ain the
ass did as before. The sovereignty of the city of Dvaravati
they could not take.
So they visited Kanhadii)ayana\ and said: "Sir, we
have failed to capture the kingdom of Dvaravati ; tell ua
how to do it." He said: "In a ditch, in such a place,
is an ass walking about. He brays when he sees an
enemy, and immediately the city rises in the air. You
must clasp hold of his feet '^, and that is the way to
accomplish your end." Then they took leave of the
ascetic ; and went all ten of them to the ass, and falling
at his feet, said, " Sir, we have no helj) but thee ! When
we come to take the city, do not bray ! " The ass replied,
" I cannot help braying. J5ut if you come first, and four
of you bring great iron ploughs, and at the four gates
of the city dig great iron posts into the ground, and when
the city begins to rise, if you will fix on the post a chain
of iron fastened to the plough, the city will not be able to
rise." They thanked him ; and he did not utter a sound
while they got ploughs, and fixed the posts in the ground
at the four gates of the city, and stood waiting. Then the
ass brayed, the city began to rise, but those who stood at
the four gates with the four ploughs, having fixed to the
posts iron chains which were fastened to the j)l()ughs, the
city could not rise. Thereuj^on the Ten Brethren entered
the city, killed the king, and took his kingdom.
Thus they conquered all India, and in three and sixty
thousand cities they slew by the wheel all the kings of
1 A sa«re luentioued also in Jut. 530. - I.e. beseech him.
320 THE TEN SLAVE-BRETHREN
tliem, and lived at Dvaravati, dividing the kingdom into
ten shares. But they had forgotten their sister, the Lady
Anjana. So " Let us make eleven shares of it," said they.
But Amkura answered, "Give her my share, and I will
take to some business for a living; only you must remit
my taxes each in your own country." They consented,
and gave his share to his sister; and with her they
dwelt in Dvaravati, nine kings, while Ariikura embarked
in trade.
In course of time, they were all increased with sons
and with daughters ; and after a long time had gone by,
their parents died. At that period, they say that a man's
life was twenty thousand years.
Then died one dearly beloved son of the great King
Vasudeva. The king, half dead Avith grief, neglected
everything, and lay lamenting, and clutching the frame
of his bed. Then Ghatapandita thought to himself,
"Except me, no one else is able to soothe my brother's
grief; I will find some means of soothing his grief for
him." So assuming the appearance of madness, he paced
through the whole city, gazing up at the sky, and crying
out, " Give me a hare I Give me a hare ! " All the city was
excited : " Ghatapandita has gone mad ! " they said. Just
then a courtier named Rohineyya, went into the presence
of King Vasudeva, and opened a conversation with him by
reciting the first stanza :
Black Kaiihai, rise! why close the eyes to sleep? why lying there?
Thine own horn brother — see, the winds away his wit do bear,
Away his wisdom! Ghata raves, thou of the long black hair!
Up rose the king, and quickly came down from his
chamber; and proceeding to Ghatapandita, he got fast
1 The commentator says this is the family name of the king ( = Skt. Krishna).
Vasudeva is a secondary name, meaning, 'descendant of Vasudeva.'
THE TI]N SLAVE-BRETHREN 321
hold of him with both hands ; and speaking to him, uttered
the third ^ stanza :
111 maniac fashion, wliy do you pace Dvanika ail tiiroiij^fi,
And cry, "Hare, liare!" Say, wlio is tliere has talveii a hare from
you?
To these words of the king-, he only answered by
repeating the same cry over and over again. Ijut the
king recited two more stanzas;
Be it of gold, or made of jewels line,
Or bra.ss, or silver, as you may incline,
Shell, stone, or coral, I declare
I'll make a hare.
And many other liares there be, that range the woodland wide.
They shall be brought, I'll have them caught: say, which do you
decide ?
On hearing the king's w ords, the wise man replied by
repeating the sixth stanza :
I crave no hare of eartlily kind, but that within the moon 2;
0 bring him down, O Kesava ! I ask no other boon !
" Undoubtedly my brother has gone mad," thought the
king, when he heard this. In great grief, he repeated the
seventh stanza:
In sooth, my brother, you will die, if you make such a prayer,
And ask for what no man may pray, the moon's celestial hare.
Ghatapandita, on hearing the king's answer, stood
stock still, and said: "My brother, you know that if
a man prays for the hare in the moon, and cannot get
it, he will die ; then why do you mourn for your dead son ?
If, Kanha, this you know, and can console another's woe,
Why are you mourning still the son who died so long ago?"
Then he went on, standing there in the street — " And
I, brother, i)ray only for what exists, but you are mourning
1 A stanza versifying the previous sentence and not part of the tale is omitted.
- See note, p. 229.
F. &T. 21
322 THE TEN SLAVE-BRETHREN
for what does not exist." Then he instructed him by
repeating two more stanzas:
My son is born, let him not die! Nor man nor deity
Can Iiave that boon ; then wherefore pray for what can never be ?
Nor mystic charm, nor magic roots, nor herbs, nor money spent.
Can bring- to life again that ghost whom, Kaiiha, you lament.
The king, on hearing this, answered, "Yonr reminder
was good, dear one. You did it to take away my
trouble." Then in praise of Ghatapandita he repeated
four stanzas:
Men had I, wise and excellent to give me good advice:
But how hath Ghatapandita opened this day mine eyes!
Blazing was I, as when a man pours oil upon a Are ;
Thou didst bring water, and didst quench the pain of my desire.
Grrief for my son, a cruel shaft was lodged within my heart;
Thou hast consoled me for my grief, and taken out the dart.
That dart extracted, free from pain, tranquil, and calm I keep;
Hearing, 0 youth, thy words of truth, no more I grieve nor weep.
In this manner was Vasudeva consoled by Prince
Ghata.
After the lapse of a long time, during which he ruled
his kingdom, the sons of the ten brethren thought : " They
say that Kanhadipayana is possessed of the divine eye. Let
us put him to the test." So they procured a young lad,
and drest him up, and by binding a pillow about his belly,
made it appear as though he were with child. Then they
brought him into his presence, and asked him, " To what,
sir, will this girl give birth?" The ascetic perceived^ that
the time was come for the destruction of the ten royal
brothers; then, looking^ to see what the term of his own
life should be, he perceived that he must die that very
day. Then he said, "Young sirs, what is this man to you ? "
^ I.e. by his miraculous vision.
THE TP]N SLAVE-BRETHREN 323
"Answer us," they re|)lie(l persistently. He answered,
"This man on the seventli (hiy from now will brhi«; forth
a knot of acacia wood. With that he will destroy the line
of Vasudeva, even thouj^di ye should take the j)iece of
wood and burn it, and cast the ashes into the river."
"Ah, false ascetic!" said they, "a man can never brin*'
forth a child !" and they did the ro])e and strin<^ business,
and killed him at once. The kin<>^s sent for the youn**-
men, and asked them why they had killed the ascetic.
When they heard all, they were frightened. They set a
guard upon the man; and when on the seventh day he
voided from his belly a knot of acacia wood, they burnt
it, and cast the ashes into the river. The ashes floated
down the river, and stuck on one side by a })ostern gate ;
from thence sprung an eraka i)lant.
One day, the kings proposed that they should go and
disport themselves in the water. So to this postern ^^ate
they came ; and they caused a great pavilion to be made,
and in that gorgeous pavilion they ate and drank. Then
in sport they began to catch hold of hand and foot, and
dividing into two parts, they became very (juarrelsome.
At last one of them, finding nothing better for a club,
j)icked a leaf from the eraka i)lant, which even as he
plucked it became a club of acacia wood in his hand.
With this he beat many })eople. Then the others plucked
also, and the things as they took them became clubs, and
with them they cudgelled one another until they were
killed. As these Avere destroying each other, four only
Vasudeva, Baladeva, the lady Aiijana their sister, and the
family priest — mounted a chariot and fled away; the rest
perished, every one.
Now these four, fleeing away in the chariot, came to
the forest of Kalamattika. There Mutthika the Wrestler
21—2
324 THE TEN SLAVE BRETHREN
had been born, having become according to his prayer
a goblin. When he perceived the coming of Baladeva,
he created a village in that spot ; and taking the semblance
of a wrestler, he went jumping about, and shouting, "Who's
for a fight ? " snapping his fingers the while. Baladeva,
as soon as he saw him, said, " Brother, I'll try a fall with
this fellow." Vasudeva tried and tried his best to prevent
him ; but down he got from the chariot, and went up to
him, snapping his fingers. The other just seized him in
the hollow of his hand, and gobbled him up like a radish-
bulb. Vasudeva, perceiving that he was dead, went on all
night long with his sister and the priest, and at sunrise
arrived at a frontier village. He lay down in the shelter
of a bush, and sent his sister and the priest into the
village, with orders to cook some food and bring it to him.
A huntsman (his name was Jara, or Old Age) noticed the
bush shaking. " A pig, sure enough," thought he ; he
threw a spear, and pierced his feet. " Who has wounded
me?" cried out Vasudeva. The huntsman, finding that
he had wounded a man, set off" running in terror. The
king, recovering his wits, got up, and called the huntsman —
" Uncle, come here, don't be afraid ! " When he came —
"Who are you?" asked Vasudeva. "My name is Jara,
my lord." "Ah," thought the king, "whom Old Age
wounds w^ll die, so the ancients used to say. Without
doubt I must die to-day." Then he said, " Fear not.
Uncle; come, bind up my wound." The mouth of the
wound bound up, the king let him go. Great pains came
upon him; he could not eat the food that the others
brought. Then addressing himself to the others, Vasudeva
said : " This day I am to die. You are delicate creatures,
and will never be able to learn anything else for a
living; so learn this science from me." So saying, he
RAMA AND SITA 325
taujj^ht them a science, and let them go ; and then died
immediately.
Thus excepting the lady Afijana, they perished every
one, it is said.
A version of the tale vvliich became the legend of Vishnu's eighth avatar a.s
Krishn:^ given most fully in the Bhayarata Purcina ix. 24. See also VUhnu
Purdna iv. 15, and a summary in Dowson's CVa-sx Dirt, of Hindu Mi/thol., London,
1879. In the hralimin version the husband of Devaki ( ^Devagabbhfi) is Va.sudeva,
and his son Krishna ( = Kanha) h:us the epithet Vasudeva as in tiie jataka. Kanisa
is the cousin of Devaki, and learning that he will lose his life through a son he kills
all her children, until the seventh Bala-rama ( = Bala-deva) and Krishna the eighth
are miraculously preserved. The embryo of Krishna is transferred to Yasoda, wife
of Nanda the cowherd (Nandagopa), but Kanisa orders every vigorous infant to be
put to death, ^"anda flees and rears Krishna. This has been compared with
Herod's slaughter of the innocents. The wrestling-match of Krishna and his brother
with Cfinura and Mustika is given at length in Vishnu Pur. v. 20. One of Krishna's
sons was Pradyumna ( = rajjuna, a brother in the jataka). The mutual destruction
of the chiefs, caused by the eraka plant in the jataka, is due in the Hindu legend to
Krishna's prohibition of wine. He permits it to be drunk for one day, and a drunken
I)rawl ensues in which most of them perish. This version is referred to in Jat. 'A-2,
p. 3y.3. The death of Krishna is the same in both tales. In Buddhaghosha \\\i.
the legend is worked into the history of Buddha's family. There is confusion in the
name Andhakavenhu. It corresponds to Andhavrishni of the Puranas, where it is a
title of Krishna, "descendant of .\ndha (or Andhaka) and Vrishni," two ancestors of
Krishna according to his real birth. Yor the beginning of the story Dr Rouse
compares the story of Danae.
RAMA AND SITA
Once upon a time, at Benares, a great king named
Dasaratha renounced the ways of evil, and reigned in
righteousness. Of his sixteen thousand wives, the eldest
and (pieen-consort bore him two sons and a daughter ;
the elder son was named Rama-j)andita, or Rama the
Wise, the second was named Prince Lakkhana, or Lucky,
and the daughter's name was the Lady Sita^.
1 The name means " a furrow " : she was so called, according to brahmin legend,
because she sprang from a furrow which king Janaka nnide in ploughing for a
sacrifice to obtain progeny. The tale is no doubt an elaboration of a more primitive
idea.
326 RAMA AND SITA
In course of time, the queen-consort died. At her
death the king was for a long time crushed by sorrow, but
urged by his courtiers he performed her obsequies, and
set another in her place as queen-consort. She was dear
to the king and beloved. In time she also conceived, and
all due attention having been given her, she brought forth
a son, and they named him Prince Bharata.
The king loved his son much, and said to the queen,
" Lady, I offer you a boon : choose." She accepted the
offer, but put it off for the time. When the lad was seven
years old, she went to the king, and said to him, " My lord,
you promised a boon for my son. Will you give it me
now?" "Choose, lady," said he. "My lord," quoth she,
" give my son the kingdom." The king snapt his fingers
at her; "Out, vile jade!" said he angrily, "my other two
sons shine like blazing fires ; would you kill them, and ask
the kingdom for a son of yours ? " She fled in terror to
her magnificent chamber, and on other days again and
again asked the king the same. The king would not give
her this gift. He thought within himself: "Women are
ungrateful and treacherous. This woman might use a
forged letter or a treacherous bribe to get my sons
murdered." So he sent for his sons, and told them all
about it, saying : " My sons, if you live here some mischief
may befall you. Go to some neighbouring kingdom, or
to the woodland, and when my body is burnt, then return
and inherit the kingdom which belongs to your family."
Then he summoned soothsayers, and asked them the
limits of his owti life. They told him he would live yet
twelve years longer. Then he said, "Now, my sons, after
twelve years you must return, and uplift the umbrella of
royalty." They promised, and after taking leave of their
father, went forth from the palace weeping. The Lady
RAMA AND SITA 327
8ita said, "I too will go with my brotliers": she bade her
father farewell, and went forth weeping.
These tliree departed amidst a great company of
people. They sent the peoi)le back, and proceeded until
at last they came to Himalaya. There in a spot well-
watered, and convenient for the getting of wild fruits, they
built a hermitage, and there lived, feeding u})on the wild
fruits.
Lakkhana-pandita and Sita said to Rama-pandita,
"You are in place of a father to us; remain then in the
hermitage, and we will bring fruits, and feed you." He
agreed : thenceforward Rama-})andita stayed where he
was, the others brought the fruits and fed him.
Thus they lived there, feeding upon the wild fruit;
but King Dasaratha i)ined after his sons, and died in
the ninth year. When his obsequies were j^erformed, the
queen gave orders that the umbi-ella should be raised
over her son, Prince Bharata. But the courtiers said,
"The lords of the umbrella are dwelling in the forest,
and they would not allow it." Said Prince Bharata, " I
will fetch back my brother Rama-pandita from the forest,
and raise the royal umbrella over him." Taking the five
emblems of royalty \ he ])roceeded with a complete host
of the four arms- to their dwelling-place. Not far away
he caused camp to be pitched, and then with a few-
courtiers he visited the hermitage, at the time when
Lakkhana-pandita and Sita were away in the woods. At
the door of the hermitage sat Rama-pandita, undismayed
and at ease, like a figure of fine gold firndy set. The
prince api)roached him with a greeting, and standing on
one side, told him of all that had hai)pened in the
^ Sword, niiil)i'ell;i, diiuU'in, sli])pers, and fun.
' Elephants, cavalry, chariots, infantry.
328 RAMA AND SITA
kingdom, and falling at his feet along with the courtiers,
burst into weeping. Eama-pandita neither sorrowed nor
wept ; he shewed no change of feeling. When Bharata had
finished weeping, and sat down, towards evening the other
two returned with Avild fruits. Rama-pandita thought —
" These two are young : all-comprehensive wisdom like
mine is not theirs. If they are told on a sudden that our
father is dead, the pain Avill be greater than they can
bear, and who knows but their hearts may break. I will
find a device to persuade them to go down into the water,
and then tell them the news." Then pointing out to
them a place in front where there was water, he said,
" You have been out too long : let this be your penance —
go into that water, and stand there." Then he repeated
a half-stanza:
Let Lakkhana and Sita both into that pond descend.
One word sufficed, into the water they went, and
stood there. Then he told them the news by repeating
the other half-stanza:
Bharata says, king- Dasaratha's life is at an end.
When they heard the news of their father's death, they
fainted. Again he repeated it, again they fainted, and
when even a third time they fainted away, the courtiers
raised them and brought them out of the water, and set
them upon dry ground. When they had been comforted,
they all sat weeping and Availing togethei*. Then Prince
Bharata thought : " My brother Prince Lakkhana, and my
sister the Lady Sita, cannot restrain their grief to hear
of our father's death ; but Rama-pandita neither wails
nor weeps. I wonder what can the reason be that he
grieves not ? I will ask." Then he repeated the second
stanza, asking the question :
RAMA AND SITA 329
Say by what power thou grievest not, Kama, when grief should be?
Though it is said thy sire is dead grief overwhelms not thee!
Then Kaina-i)an(Iita explained the reason of his not
grieving by saying,
When man can never keep a thing, though loudly he may cry,
Why sliould a wise intelligence torment itself thereby?
The young in years, the older grown, the fool, and eke the wise,
For rich, for poor one end is sure : each man among them dies..
As sure as for the ripened fruit there comes the fear of fail,
So surely comes the fear of death to mortals one and all.
Who in the morning light are seen by evening oft are gone,
And seen at evening time, is gone by morning many a one.
If to a ff)Ol infatuate a blessing could accrue
When he torments himself with tears, the wise this same woiUd do.
By this tormenting of himself he waxes thin and pale;
This cannot bring the dead to life, and nothing tears avail.
Even as a blazing house may be put out with water, so
The strong, the wise, the intelligent, who well the scriptures know.
Scatter their grief like cotton when the stormy winds do blow.
One mortal dies— to kindred ties born is another straight :
Each creature's bliss dependent is on ties associate.
The strong man therefore, skilled in sacred text,
Keen-contemplating this world and the next.
Knowing their nature, not by any grief.
However great, in mind and heart is vext.
So to my kindred I will give, them will I keep and feed.
All that remain I will maintain : such is the wise man's deed.
In these stanzas he explained the Impermanence of
things.
When the company heard this discourse of Kama-
pandita, illustrating the doctrine of Impermanence, they
lost all their grief Then Prince Bharata saluted l?ama-
pandita, begging him to receive the kingdom of Benares.
"Brother," said Rama, "take Lakkhana and Sita with you,
and administer the kingdom yourselves." "No, my lord,
you take it." "Brother, my father commanded me to
330 RAMA AND SITA
receive the kingdom at the end of twelve years. If I go
now, I shall not carry out his bidding. After three more
years I ^^i\\ come." " Who will carry on the government
all that time ? " " You do it." " I will not." " Then until
I come, these slippers shall do it," said Rama, and doffing
his slippers of straw he gave them to his brother. So
these three persons took the slippers, and bidding the
wise man farewell, went to Benares with their great crowd
of followers.
For three years the slippers ruled the kingdom. The
courtiers placed these straw slippers upon the royal
throne, when they judged a cause. If the cause were
decided wrongly, the slippers beat upon each other, and
at that sign it was examined again; when the decision
was right, the slippers lay quiet.
When the three years were over, the wise man came
out of the forest, and came to Benares, and entered the
park. The princes hearing of his arrival proceeded with
a great company to the park, and making Sita the queen-
consort, gave to them both the ceremonial sprinkling.
The sprinkling thus j^erformed, the Great Being, standing
in a magnificent chariot, and surrounded by a vast
company, entered the city, making a solemn circuit right-
wise ; then mounting to the great terrace of his splendid
palace Sucandaka, he reigned there in righteousness for
sixteen thousand years, and then went to swell the hosts
of heaven.
The story of the Ramayana, in which a primitive feature appears to be preserved
in the relations of Rama and Sita as brother and sister, with the usual buddhist
modification of making one character a Bodhisatta. In the epic the three stay with
the sage Valmiki, and during the exile Sita is carried off to Ceylon by Riivana,
and recovered by Rama. Cf. II. Jacobi, Dan Rdmdyana, p. 84 (Bonn, 1893).
Sylvain Levi gives a Chinese buddhist version {Album Kern 279), and assumes, what
is surely very improbable, that the Buddhists transformed Sita from wife to sister.
In the Chinese version she is suppressed. On the incident of the slijipers cf.
THE WICKED STEP-MOTHER 331
Campbell, Popidar Tales of the West Highlands, ii. 159. "The kings had a
heritage at that time. Wlieii they did iii)t know how to split justice properly, the
judgnient-seat would hegin to kick, and the king's neck woiild take a twist when he
did not do justice iu> he ought."
THE WICKED STEP-MOTHER
Once upon a time, when 15rahmadatta was kin;^- of
Benares, tlie 15odhisatta was born as the son of his chief
queen ; and because his all-blessed countenance was like
a lotus full-blown, Paduma-Kumara they named him,
which is to say, the Lotus Prince. When he grew uj) he
was educated in all arts and accomplishments. Then his
mother departed this life ; the king took another consort,
and appointed his son viceroy.
After this the king, being about to set forth to quell a
rising on the frontier, said to his consort, "Do you, lady,
stay here, while I go forth to quell the frontier insur-
rection." But she replied, "No, my lord, here I will not
remain, but I will go with you." Then he shewed her
the danger which lay on the field of battle, adding to it
this : " Stay then here without vexation until my return,
and I will give charge to Prince Paduma, that he be
careful in all that should be done for you, and then I
will go." So thus he did, and departed.
When he had scattered his enemies, and pacified the
country, he returned, and pitched his camp without the
city. The Bodhisatta learning of his fathers return,
adorned the city, and setting a watch over the royal
palace, Avent forth alone to meet his ftither. The queen
observing the beauty of his appearance, became enamoured
of him. In takhig leave of her, the Bodhisatta said, "Can
I do anything for you, mother?" "Mother, do you call
332 THE WICKED STEPMOTHER
me?'' quoth she. She rose up and seized his hands,
saying. "Lie on my couch!" "Why?" he asked. "Just
until the king comes," she said, "let us both enjoy the
bhss of love!" "Mother, my mother you are, and you
have a husband Hving. Such a thing I have never before
seen, that a Avoman, a matron, should break the moral
law in the way of fleshly lust. How can I do such a deed
Avith you?" Twice and thrice she besought him, and
when he would not, said she, " Then you refuse to do as
I ask?"— "Indeed I do refuse."— "Then I will speak to the
king, and cause you to be beheaded." " Do as you will,"
answered the Great Being; and having shamed her he
left her. Then in fear she thought : " If he tell the king
first, there is no life for me ! I must get speech of him
first myself "' Accordingly leaving her food untouched
she donned a soiled robe, and made nail-scratches upon
her body; giving orders to her attendants, that when the
king should ask of the queen's whereabouts, he should be
told she w as ill, she lay down making a pretence of illness.
Now the king made solemn procession about the city
rightwise, and went up into his dwelling. When he saw
her not, he asked, "Where is the queen?" "She is ill,"
they said. He entered the state chamber, and asked her,
"What is amiss with you, lady?" She made as though
she heard nothing. Twice and yet thrice he asked, and
then she answered, "O great king, why do you ask? Be
silent : women that have a husband must be even as I am."
"Who has annoyed you?" said he. "Tell me quickly, and
I will have him beheaded." — " Whom did you leave behind
you in this city, when you went away?" — "Prince Paduma."
"And he," she went on, " came into my room, and I said.
My son, do not so, I am your mother : but say w hat I
would, he cried, None is king here but me, and I will take
THE WICKED STEPMOTHER 338
you to my dwelling-, and enjoy your love; tlien he seized
me by the liair of my head, and plucked it out again and
again, and as 1 would not yield to his will, he wounded
and beat me, and departed." The king made no investi-
gation, but fui'ious as a serpent, commanded his men, "Go
and bind Prince Paduma, and bring him tome!" They
Avent to his house, swarming as it were through the city,
and bound him and beat him, bound his hands fast behind
his back, j)ut about his neck the garland of red flowei-s,
making him a condemned criminal, and led him thither,
beating him the while. It was clear to him that this was
the queen's doing, and as he went along he cried out,
" Ho fellows, I am not one that has offended against the
king! I am innocent." All the city was a-bubble with
the news: "They say the king is going to execute Prince
Paduma at the bidding of a woman ! " They flocked
together, they fell at the prince's feet, lamenting with a
great noise, "You have not deserved this, my lord!"
At last they brovight him before the king. At sight of
him, the king could not restrain what was in his heart, and
cried out, "This felloAv is no king, but he plays the king
finely! My son he is, yet he has insulted the queen.
Away with him, down with him over the thieves' cliff,
make an end of him !" But the prince said to his father,
"No such crime lies at my door, father. Do not kill me
on a woman's word." The king would not listen to him.
Then all those of the royal seraglio, in number six-
teen thousand, raised a great lamentation, saying, "Dear
Paduma, mighty Prince, this dealing you have never
deserved ! " And all the warrior chiefs and great mag-
nates of the land, and all the attendant courtiei*s cried,
"My lord ! the i)i-ince is a man of goodness and virtuous
life, observes the traditions of his race, heir to the kingdom !
334 THE WICKED STEP-MOTHER
Do not slay him at a woman's word, without a hearing !
A kin"-'s duty it is to act with all circumspection." So
savin^^, they repeated seven stanzas:
No king- should punish an offence, and hear no pleas at all,
irot throughly sifting it himself in all points, great and small.
The warrior chief who punishes a fault before he tries,
Is like a man horn Wind, who eats his food all bones and flies.
Who punishes the guiltless, and lets go the guilty, knows
No more than one who blind upon a rugged highway goes.
He who all this examines well, in things both great and smaU,
And so administers, deserves to be the head of all.
He that would set himself on high must not all-gentle be
Nor aU-severe: but both these things practise in company.
Contempt the aU-gentle wins, and he that's all-severe has wrath:
So of the pair be weU aware, and keep a middle path.
Much can the angiy man, 0 king, and much the knave can say:
And therefore for a woman's sake thy son thou must not slay.
But for all they could say in many ways the courtiers
could not win him to do their bidding. The Bodhisatta
also for all his beseeching, could not persuade him to listen:
nay the king, blind fool, said—" Away! down with him over
the thieves' cliff*!" repeating the eighth stanza:
One side the whole world stands, my queen on the other all alone;
Yet her I cleave to: cast him down the cliff, and get you gone!
At these words, not one among the sixteen thousand
women could remain unmoved, while all the populace
stretched out their hands, and tore their hair, with lamenta-
tions. The king said, "Let these but try to prevent the
throwing of this fellow over the cliff'!" and amidst his
followers, though the crowd wailed around, he caused the
prince to be Seized, and cast down the precipice over
heels head-first. , . i,. .. .
Then owing to the magic power due to his practice ot
friendliness the deity of the hill comforted the prince.
THE WICKED STEP-MOTHER 335
saying", "Fear not, Paduma! ' and in both hands he cau<j^ht
him, pressed him to his heart, sent a divine thrill through
him, set him in the abode of the naj^as of the ei«^ht ranjLj;es,
within the hood of the naga-kin«^. The king received the
Bodhisatta into the abode of the nagas, and gave him
the half of his own glory and state. There for one year
he dwelt. Then he said, '' I would go back to the ways of
men." "Whither?" they asked. "To Himalaya, where I
will become an ascetic." The naga-king gave his consent ;
taking him, he conveyed him to the place where men go
to and fro, and gave him the requisites of an ascetic, and
went back to his own place.
So he proceeded to Himalaya, became a hermit-sage,
and cultivated the faculty of ecstatic bliss ; there he abode,
feeding upon fruits and roots of the woodland.
Now a certain wood-ranger, who dwelt in Benares,
came to that place, and recognised the Great ]5eing.
"Are you not," he asked, "the great Prince Paduma,
my lord?" "Yes, sir," he replied. The other saluted
him, and there for some days he remained. Then he
returned to Benares; and said to the king, "Your son,
my lord, has embraced the religious life in the region of
Himalaya, and lives in a hut of leaves. I have been
staying with him, and thence I come." " Have you seen
him with your own eyes?" asked the king. "Yes, my
lord." The king with a great host went thither, and on
the outskirts of the forest he pitched his camp; then with
his courtiers around him, went to salute the Great Being,
who sat at the door of his hut of leaves, in all the glory of
his golden form, and sat on one side ; the courtiers also
greeted him, and spoke i)leasantly to him, and sat on
one side. The Bodhisatta on his part invited the king to
share his wild fruits, and talked pleasantly with him.
336 THE WICKED STEP-MOTHER
Then said the king, " My son, by me you were cast do^^Ti
a deep precipice, and how is it you are yet alive ?" Asking
which, he repeated the ninth stanza :
As into hell-mouth, you were cast over a beetling- hill,
No succour— many palm-trees deep : how are you living- still ?
These are the remaining stanzas, and of the five, taken
alternately, three were spoken by the Bodhisatta, and two
by the king.
A naga mig-hty, full of force, born on that mountain land,
Caught me within his coils ; and so here safe from death I stand.
Lo! I wiU take you back, 0 prince, to my own home again:
And there— what is the wood to you ?— with blessing you shall reign.
As who a hook has swallowed, and draws it forth all blood,
Drawn forth, is happy: so I see in me this bliss and g-ood.
Why speak you thus about a hook, why speak you thus of gore,
Why speak about the drawing out? Come tell me, I implore.
Lust is the hook: iine elephants and horse by blood I shew;
These by renouncing I have drawn ; this, chieftain, you must know.
" Thus, O great king, to be king is nothing to me ; but
do you see to it, that you break not the Ten Royal Virtues,
but forsake evil-doing, and rule in righteousness." In
those words the Great Being admonished the king. He
with weeping and wailing departed, and on the way to his
city he asked his courtiers: "On whose account was it
that I made a breach with a son so virtuous?" they
replied, "The queen's." Her the king caused to be seized,
and cast headlong over the thieves' cliff, and entering his
city ruled in righteousness.
The theme of Phaedra and Hippolytus. In Schmidt xxxvi. the actors are the
wife and pupil of a brahmin teacher. Dr Rouse gives as Indian variants the Legend
of Puran Mai (MS. written by Ham Gharib Sharma, Chaturvaidya, collected by
W. Crooke), and Legend of Rup and Basant or Sit and Basant. In both of these
the queen falls in love with her step-son. Jat. 120 is closer to the story of Joseph.
A queen commits adultery with sixty-four footmen, and fails with tlie family priest.
Like Potiphar's wife she accuses him, but lie proves his innocence.
THE LOST CHARM
Once ii])()u a time, wlicn Bralunadatta was kinf>^ of
Benares, the family of his houseliold pi-iest was destroyed
by malaiial fever. One son only bi-oke throngh the walP
and escaped. He came to Takkasila, and under a world-
renowned teacher learnt the Vedas and the other arts.
Then he bade his teachei* farewell, and dej)arted, with the
intent to travel in different regions ; and on his travels he
arrived at a frontier village. Near to this was a great
villa<i:e of low-caste (Jandalas. Then the Hodhisatta abode
in this village, a learned sage. A chai-m he knew which
could make fruit to be gathei'ed out of due season. Early
of a morning he would take his carrying pole, forth from
that village he would go, until he reached a mango tree
which grew in the forest ; and standing seven foot ofl', he
would recite that charm, and throw a handful of water so
as to strike on that tree. In a twinkling down fall the
sere leaves, sprout forth the new, flowers blow and flowers
fall, the mango fruits swell out: but one moment — they
are ripe, they are sweet and luscious, they grow like fruit
divine, they dro}) from the tree ! The Great Being chooses
and eats such as he will, then fllls the baskets hung from
his ])ole, goes home and sells the fruit, and so finds a
living for wife and child.
Now the young brahmin saw the Great Being offer ripe
mangoes for sale out of season. " AYithout doubt," thought
he, " it must be by virtue of some charm that these are
^ So ill Jut. 178. It is noteworthy thut liorc tlic siinie means is used to outwit
the spirit of disease as is often taken to outwit the ghosts of the dead ; who might
be supposed to guard the door, Imt not the parts of tlie house where there was no
outlet (Dr Rouse.)
F. .% T. 22
338 THE LOST CHARM
grown. This man can teach me a charm which has no
price." He watched to see the manner in which the Great
Being procured his fruit, and found it out exactly. Then
he went to the Great Being's house at the time when he
was not yet returned from the forest, and making as
though he knew nothing, asked the wise man's wife,
"Where is the Teacher?" Quoth she, "Gone to the
woods." He stood waiting until he saw him come, then
went to him, and taking the pole and baskets from him,
carried them into the house and there set them. The
Great Being looked at him, and said to his wife, " Lady,
this youth has come to get the charm ; but no charm will
stay with him, for no good man is he." But the youth
w as thinking, " I will get the charm by being my teacher's
servant " ; and so from that time he did all that was to be
done in the house : brought wood, pounded the rice, did
the cooking, brought all that was needed for washing the
face, washed the feet.
One day when the Great Being said to him, "My son,
bring me a stool to support my feet," the youth, seeing no
other way, kept the Great Teacher's feet on his own thigh
all night. When at a later season the Great Being's wife
brought forth a son, he did all the service that has to be
done at a childbirth. The wife said one day to the Great
Being: — "Husband, this lad, well-born though he is, for
the charm's sake performs menial service for us. Let him
have the charm, whether it stays with him or no." To this
he agreed. He taught him the charm, and spoke after
this fashion : " My son, 'tis a priceless charm ; and you
w^ill get great gain and honour thereby. But when the
king, or his great minister, shall ask you who was your
teacher, do not conceal my name ; for if you are ashamed
that a low-caste man taught you the charm, and say your
THE LOST CHARM 339
teacher was a «»reat magnate of the bralimins, you will
have no fruit of the charm." "Why should 1 hide your
name?" quoth the lad. "Whenever I am asked, I shall
say it is you." Then he saluted his teacher, and from the
low-caste village he departed, ponderinj^ on the charm,
and in due time came to Benares. There he sold manj^oes,
and <j^ained much wealth.
Now on a day the keeper of the })ark presented to the
king a mango which he had bought frcmi him. The king,
having eaten it, asked whence he })rocured so fine a fruit.
"My lord," was the answer, "there is a young man who brings
mangoes out of season, and sells them : from him I pro-
cured it." "Tell him," says the king, "from henceforth to
bring the mangoes hither to me." This the man did ; and
from that time the young man took his mangoes to the
king's household. The king, inviting him to enter his
service, he became a servant of the king; and gaining
great wealth, by degrees he grew into the kings con-
fidence.
One day the king asked him, and said : — " Young man,
where do you get these mangoes out of season, so sweet
and fragrant and of fine colour? Does some naga or
garula give them to you, or a god, or is this the power of
magic?" "No one gives them to me, O mighty king!"
replied the young man, "but I have a priceless charm,
and this is the power of the charm." "Well then we
should like to see the power of the charm one of these
days." " By all means, my lord, I will shew it," quoth he.
Next day the king went with him into the ])ark, and asked
to be shewn this charm. The young man was willing, and
approaching a mango tree, stood at a distance of seven
foot from it, and repeated the charm, throwing water
against the tree. On the instant the mango tree had
22—2
340 THE LOST CHARM
fruit in the manner above described : a shower of mangoes
fell, a very storm; the company shewed great delight,
waving their kerchiefs ; the king ate of the fruit, and gave
him a great reward, and said, "Young man, who taught
you this charm so marvellous?" Now thought the young
man, "If I say a low-caste candala taught me, I shall be put
to shame, and they will flout at me ; I know the charm by
heart, and now I can never lose it ; w ell, I will say it was a
w orld-renowned teacher." So he lied, and said, " I learnt
it at Takkasila, from a teacher renowned the wide world
over." As he said the words, denying his teacher, that
very instant the charm was gone. But the king, greatly
pleased, returned with him into the city.
On another day the king desired mangoes to eat ; and
going into the park, and taking his seat upon a stone
bench, which was used on state occasions, he bade the
youth get him mangoes. The youth, willing enough, went
up to a mango tree, and standing at a distance of seven
foot from the tree, set about repeating the charm ; but
the charm would not come. Then he knew that he had
lost it, and stood there ashamed. But the king thought,
" Formerly this fellow gave me mangoes even in the midst
of a crowd, and like a heavy shower rained the fruit down.
Now there he stands like a stock : what can the reason
be ? " AVhich he enquired by repeating the first stanza :
Toung student, when I asked it you of late,
You broug-ht me mang-o fruit both small and great:
Now no fruit, brahmin, on the tree appears,
Thoug-h the same charm you still reiterate.
When he heard this, the young man thought to himself,
if he should say this day no fruit was to be had, the king
would be wroth; wherefore he thought to deceive him
with a lie, and repeated the second stanza:
THE LOST CHARM 341
The hour and inoinent suit not: so wait I
Fit junction of the planets in the sky.
Tile due eonj unction and the moment come,
Then will I bring- you mangoes i)lente<uisly.
"What is this," the k'm<r wondered. "The fellow said
nothing of })lanetarv conjunctions before!" To resolve
which questions, he repeated two stanzas :
You said no word of tinu's and seasons, nor
Of pinnctary junctions heretofore:
But mang-oes, fragrant, delicate in taste,
Of colour fine, you brought in plenteous store.
Aforetime, brahmin, you produced so well
Fruit on the tree by muttering- of your spell:
To-day you cannot, mutter as you may.
What means this conduct, I would have you tell?
Hearing this, the youth thought, " There is no deceiving
the king with lies. If, when the truth is told, he punishes
me, let him punish me : but the truth I will tell." Then he
recited two stanzas :
A low-caste num my teacher was, who taught
Duly and well the charm, and how it wrought:
Saying, " If you are asked my name and birth,
Hide nothing, or the charm will come to nought."
Asked by the Lord of Men, though well I knew,
Yet in deceit I said what was not true:
"A brahmin's spells," I lying said; and now.
Charm lost, my folly bitterly I rue.
This heard, the king thought within himself, "This
sinful man took no care of such a treasure ! When one
has a treasure so priceless, what has birth to do with it ?
And in anger he repeated the following stanzas :
Nimb, castor oil, or judas tree, whatever be the tree
Where he who seeks finds honeycombs, 'tis best of trees, thinks he.
Be it Khattiya, Brahmin, Vessa, he from whom a man learns right —
Sudda, Candala, Pukkusa — seems chiefest in his sights
1 These are the names of six castes: Kshatriya, Brahman, Vai^ya, ^udni, the four
castes familiar in Sanskrit books, together with two Candala and Pukka^a, both mixed
342 THE LOST CHARM
Punish the worthless churl, or even slay,
Hence hale him by the throat without delay.
Who having- gained a treasure with great toil.
Throws it with overweening- pride away!
The king's men so did, saying, "Go back to your
teacher, and win his forgiveness; then, if you can learn
the charm once more, you may come hither again, but if not,
never more may you set eyes on this country." Thus they
banished him.
The man was all forlorn. " There is no refuge for me,"
he thought, "excej^t my teacher. To him I will go, and
win his pardon, and learn the charm again." So lamenting
he went on his way to that village. The Great Being per-
ceived him coming, and pointed him out to his wife, saying,
"See, lady, there comes that scoundrel again, with his
charm lost and gone ! " The man approached the Great
Being, and greeted him, and sat on one side. " Why are
you here ? " asked the other. " O my teacher ! " the man
said, "I uttered a lie, and denied my teacher, and I am
utterly ruined and undone ! " Then he recited his trans-
gression in a stanza, asking again for the charms :
Oft he who tliinks the level g-round is lying- at his foot,
Falls in a pool, pit, precipice, trips on a rotten root ;
Another treads what seems a cord, a jet-hlack snake to find;
Another steps into the Are because his eyes are blind:
So I have sinned, and lost my spell; but you, 0 teacher wise,
Forg-ive ! and let me once ag-ain find favour in your eyes !
Then his teacher replied, "What say you, my son ? Give
but a sign to the blind, he goes clear of pools and what
castes and much despised. More about these castes, and the Buddliist system as con-
trasted with the Braliminical, may be seen in R. Pick's Sociale Gliederung im N.-O.
Indieii zu Biuldhds Zeit, Kiel, 1897. Fick denies that the Suddas were ever a real
caste (p. 202). For Cmuldla, see p. 203 ; for Pukkusa, p. 206 : both, in liis opinion,
non-Aryan subject races, serfs almost. The order of the list in our verse should
be noticed. The Jataka gives the Khattiyas, or Warriors, precedence over the
Brahmins. (Dr Rouse.)
THE PRINCE'S AVOOING 343
not; but I told it to you once, and what do you want here
now?" Then lie repeated the followin<j^ stanzas :
To you in rigrht diu* iiumiicr I did tell,
You in due niiinner ri^'-htiy learnt the spell,
Full willingly its nature I explained:
Ne'ei- had it left you, had you acted wtdl.
Who with nuK'h toil, O fool! hath learnt a spell
Full hard for those who now in this world dwell,
Then, foolish one! a living- g-ained at last,
Throws all away, because he lies will tell,
To such a fool, unwise, of lying- fain,
Ungrateful, who cannot himself restrain, —
Spells, quotha! mighty spells we give not him:
Go hence away, and ask me not again !
Thus dismissed by his teacher, the man thought, "What
is life to me ? " and plunging into the woods, died forlorn.
Variant of Tib. T. xx. The Magician's Pupil.
THE PRINCE'S WOOING AND THE THRONE
OF THE BUDDHAS
Once u]^on a time, in the kingdom of Kalinga, and in
the city of Danta})ura, reigned a king named Kalinga.
He had two sons, named Maha- Kalinga and Culla- Kalinga,
Kalinga the Greater and the Less. Now fortune-tellers
had foretold that the eldest son would reign after his
fathers death; but that the youngest would live as an
ascetic, and live by alms, yet his son would be an universal
monarch.
Time passed by, and on his father s death the eldest
son became king, the youngest viceroy. The youngest,
ever thinking that a son born of him was to be an
universal monarch, grew arrogant on that account. This
the king could not brook, so sent a messenger to arrest
Kalinga the Less. The man came and said, " l*rince, the
344 THE PllINCE'S WOOING
king wishes to have you arrested, so save your life." The
prince shewed the courtier charged with this mission his
own signet ring, a fine rug, and his sword: these three.
Then he said, "By these tokens^ you shall know my son,
and make him king. With these words, he sped away
into the forest. There he built him a hut in a pleasant
place, and lived as an ascetic u])on the bank of a river.
Now in the kingdom of 3Iadda, and in the city of
Sagala, a daughter was born to the King of Madda. Of
the girl, as of the prince, fortune-tellers foretold that she
should live as an ascetic, but her son was to be an
universal monarch. The Kings of India, hearing this
rumour, came together with one accord, and surrounded
the city. The king thought to himself, "Now, if I give
my daughter to one, all the other kings will be enraged.
I will try to save her." So with wife and daughter he fled
disguised away into the forest ; and after building him
a hut some distance up the river, above the hut of Prince
Kalinga, he lived there as an ascetic, eating what he could
pick up.
The parents, wishing to save their daughter, left her
behind in the hut, and went out to gather wild fruits.
While they were gone she gathered flowers of all kinds,
and made them into a flower-wreath. Now on the bank
of the Ganges there is a mango tree with beautiful flowers,
which forms a kind of natural ladder. Upon this she
climbed, and playing managed to drop the wreath of
flowers into the water I
^ The tokens are a familiar feature of folk-tales. We may compare the stoiy of
TheseiLs, with liis hither's sword and sandals : Pansanias, i. 27. 8. (L>r Rouse.)
^ Another familiar epi.sode in folk-tale.s, but of Protean form. It is commonly a
hair of the lady's head that falls. See Clouston, Popular Tales and Fictions, i. 241
(India), 251 (Egypt); North Indian Notes and Queries, ii. 704; Lai Behari Day,
Folk Tales of Bengal, No. 4. (Dr Rouse.)
AND THE THRONE OF THE BUDDHA8 345
One day, as J*i'ince Kalinj^a was coining out of the
river after a bath, this flower-wreath cau<j:ht in his hair.
He h)oke(l at it, and said, "Some woman made this,
and no full-<i^r()wn woman but a tender youn<< }^irl.
I must make search for her." So dee])ly in h)ve he
journeyed up the Ganges, until he heard her singing in
a sweet voice, as she sat in the mango tree. He ap-
proached the foot of the tree, and seeing her, said, " What
are you. fair lady ? " '* I am human, sir," she rej)lied.
"Come down, then," quoth he. "Sir, I cannot; I am of
the warrior caste." " So am I also, lady : come down ! "
"No, no, sir, that I cannot do. Saying will not make
a warrior; if you are so, tell me the secrets of that
caste." Then they repeated to each other these caste
secrets. And the princess came down, and they were
united one with the other.
When her parents returned she told them about this
son of the King of Kalinga, and how he came into the
forest, in all detail. They consented to give her to him.
While they lived together in ha})py union, the princess
conceived, and after ten months brought forth a son with
the signs of good luck and virtue ; and they named him
Kalinga. He grew u}), and learnt all arts and accomi)lish-
ments from his father and grandfather.
At length his father knew from conjunctions of the
stars that his brother was dead. So he called his son,
and said, " My son, you must not spend your Hfe in the
forest. Your father's brother, Kalinga the Greater, is
dead; you must go to Dantai)ura, and receive your
hereditary kingdom." Then he gave him the things he
had brought away with him, signet, rug, and sword, saying,
" My son, in the city of Dantapura, in such a street, lives
a courtier who is my very good servant. Descend into his
346 THE PRINCE'S WOOING
house and enter his bedchamber, and shew him these
three things and tell him you are my son. He will place
you ujion the throne."
The lad bade farewell to his parents and grandparents;
by the magic })ower of his virtue he passed through the
air, and descending into the house of that courtier entered
his bedchamber. "Who are vou?" asked the other. "The
son of Kalihga the Less," said he, disclosing the three
tokens. The courtier told it to the palace, and all those
of the court decorated the city and spread the umbrella
of royalty over his head. Then the family priest, who
was named Kalinga-bharadvaja, taught him the ten cere-
monies which an universal monarch has to perform, and
he fulfilled those duties. Then on the fifteenth day, the
fast-day, came to him from C-akkadaha the precious
Wheel of Emjiire, from the Uposatha stock the pre-
cious Elephant, from the royal Valaha breed the precious
Horse, from Vepulla the precious Jewel ; and the
precious wife, retinue, and prince made their appearance ^
Then he achieved sovereignty in the whole terrestrial
sphere.
One day, surrounded by a company which covered
six-and-thirty leagues, and mounted upon an elephant
all white, tall as a peak of Mount Kelasa, in great pomp
and splendour he went to visit his parents. But beyond
the circuit around the great bo-tree, the throne of victory
of all the Buddhas, which has become the very navel of
the earth, beyond this the elephant was unable to pass :
again and again the king urged him on, but pass he
could not.
1 For an account of the Cakhavatti (universal monarch), and the miracles at his
appearing, consult Hardy's Manual, 126 ft". See also Rhys Davids on the Questions
of Milinda, vol. I. p. 59 (he renders the last two treasurer and adviser), and
Buddluist Suttas, p. 257. (Dr Rouse.)
AND THE THRONE OF THE BUDDHA8 347
Hereupon tlie kinjj^'s chaplain, who was travelhng witli
the kin«i^, thou<;lit to himself, "In the air is no hindrance;
why cannot the kinjjf make his elej)hant «;() on ^ 1 will
go, and see." Then, descending;- from the air, he beheld
the throne of victory of all lUiddhas, the navel of the
earth, that circuit around the «;reat bo-tree. At that
time, it is said, for the space of a royal karisa was never
a blade of grass, not so big as a hare's whisker ; it seemed
as it were a smooth-spread sand bright like a silver ])late;
but on all sides were grass, creepers, mighty trees like the
lords of the forest, as though standing in reverent wise
all about with their faces turned towards the throne of
the bo-tree. When the brahmin beheld this spot of
earth, "This," thought he, "is the place where all the
Buddhas have crushed all the desires of the flesh ; and
beyond this none can pass, no not if he were 8akka
himself" Then ap])roaching the king, he told him the
quality of the bo-tree circuit, and bade him descend.
Pierced and pierced again by the king, this ele])hant
could not endure the pain, and so died ; but the king
knew not he was dead, and sat there still on his back.
Then Kalinga-bharadvaja said, "O great king! your
elephant is dead ; i)ass on to another."
By the magical power of the kings virtue, another
beast of the Uposatha breed a])peared and offered his
back. The king sat on his back. At that moment the
dead elejihant fell upon the earth.
Thereui)on the king came down fi'om the air, and
beholding the ])recinct of the bo-tree, and the miracle
that was done, he praised Bharadvaja, saying,
To Kfilinpfa-Miaraflva.iii king" Kaliiifra thus did say:
"All thou kiiow'st and understandest, and thou seest all alway."
NoAV the brahmin would not accept this ])raise; but
348 THE FOLLY OF GARRULITY
stancliiig- in his own humble place, he extolled the
Buddhas, and praised them.
The king, hearing the virtues of the Buddhas, was
delighted in heart ; and he caused all the dwellers in the
world to bring fragrant wreaths in plenty, and for seven
days he made them do worship at the circuit of the Great
Bo-tree.
Having in this manner done worship to the Great
Bo-tree, he visited his parents, and took them back with
him again to Dantapura; where he gave alms and did
good deeds, until he was born again in the Heaven of
the Thirty-Three.
This tale is said to have been told by the Buddha when Ananda caused a fruit of
the great bo-tree to be planted at the Jetavaua monastery, so that the people who
A\ished to reverence the Buddha might place their offerings there when he was
absent.
THE FOLLY OF GARRULITY
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king of
Benares, his family priest was tawny-brown and had lost
all his teeth. His wife committed sin with another brah-
min. This man was just like the other. The priest tried
times and again to restrain his wife, but could not. Then
he thought, "This my enemy I cannot kill with my own
hands, but I nmst devise some plan to kill him."
80 he came before the king, and said, "O king, your
city is the chiefest city of all India, and you are the chiefest
king : but chief king though you are, your southern gate
is unlucky, and ill put together." " Well now, my teacher,
what is to be done?" "You must bring good luck into it
and set it right." "What is to be done?" "We nmst pull
down the old door, get new and lucky timbers, do sacrifice
THE FOLLY OF GARRULITY 349
to the spirits that guard the city, and set up the new on
a lucky conjunction of the stars." "So do, then," said
the king.
At that time, the liodliisatta was a young man named
Takkariya, who was studying under this man.
Now the i)riest caused the old gate to be i)ulled down,
and the new was made ready; which done, he went and
said to the king, "The gate is ready, my lord: to-morrow
is an auspicious conjunction; before the morrow is over,
we nnist do sacrifice and set up the new gate." "Well, my
teacher, and what is necessary for the rite?" "My lord, a
great gate is possessed and guarded by great divinities.
A bralnnin, tawny-brown and toothless, of pure blood on
both sides, must be killed ; his flesh and blood must be
offered in sacrifice, and his body laid beneath, and the
gate raised upon it. This will bring luck to you and
your city^." "Very well, my teacher, have such a brahmin
slain, and set up the gate upon him."
The priest was delighted. "To-morrow," said he, "I
shall see the back of my enemy!" Full of energy he
returned to his home, but could not keep a still tongue
in his head, and said quickly to his wife, " Ah, you foul
hag, whom will you have now to take your jileasure with ?
To-morrow I shall kill vour leman and make sacrifice of
him." "Why will you kill an innocent man?" "The king
has commanded me to slay and sacrifice a tawny-bro\Mi
1 Human sacrifice at the founding of a building, or tlie like, must liave been common
in ancient times, so persistent are the traditions about it. For India, see C'rooke,
Iritr. to Pop. Rel. and F.-L. of N. India, p. 237 and Index. When the Ilooghly Bridge
was built in Calcutta, I remember how it was commonly said by the natives that the
builders had immured many young children in the foundations. For Greece it is
attested by modern folk-songs such as the Bridge of Arta (Bassow, Car in. Pop. Gr.
no. 512), and one which 1 lately wrote down in Cos from oral tradition (^published in
Folk-Lore for 1899). The sacrifice is meant to propitiate the spirits disturbed by the
digging. See Robertson Smith, Relujion of the Semites, p. 158. (Dr Rouse.)
350 THE FOLLY OF GARRULITY
brahmin, and to set up the city gate upon him. Your
leman is tawny-brown, and I mean to slay him and sacri-
fice him." She sent her paramour a message, saying,
" They say the king w ishes to slay a tawny-brown brahmin
in sacrifice ; if you would save your life, flee away in time,
and with you all they who are like you." So the man did:
the news spread abroad in the city, and all those in the
whole city who were tawny-brown fled away.
The priest, nothing aware of his enemy's fiight, went
early next morning to the king, and said, "My lord, in
such a place is a tawny-brown brahmin to be found ; have
him taken." The king sent some men for him, but they
saw none, and returning informed the king that he was
fled aw ay. " Search elsewhere," said the king. All over
the city they searched, but found none. " Search quickly!"
said the king. "My lord," they replied, "except your
family priest there is no such other." "A priest," quoth
he, "cannot be killed." "What do you say, my lord?
According to the priest, if the gate is not set up to-day,
the city will be in danger. When the priest explained
the matter, he said that if we let this day go by, the
auspicious moment will not come again until the end of
a year. The city w ithout a gate for a year, what a chance
for our enemies ! Let us kill some one, and sacrifice by
the aid of some other wise brahmin, and set up the gate."
"But is there another wise brahmin like my teacher?"
"There is, my lord, his pupil, a young man named
Takkariya ; make him your family priest and do the
lucky cei'cmony." The king sent for him, and did honour
to him, and made him priest, and commanded to do as
had been said. The young man went to the gate with
a great crowd following. In the king's name they bound
and brought the priest. The Great Being caused a pit to
THE FOLLY OF GARRULITY 351
be du<^ in tlic place wliere the <i,ate was to be set up, and
a tent to be i)lace(l over it, and with his teaclier entei'ed
into the tent. The teacher behohlin«^ the pit, and seeing
no escape, said to the Great Heing, "My aim had suc-
ceeded. Fool that 1 was, I could not keej) a still tongue,
but hastily told that wicked woman. J have slain myself
with my own weapon. Then he recited the first stanza :
I spoke in folly, as a froff niig-ht call
Upon a snake i' the forest : so 1 fall
Into this pit, Takkariyai. How true,
Words spoken out of season one must rue!
Then the other addressing him, recited this stanza :
The man who out of season speaks, will go
Like this to ruin, lamentation, woe :
Here you should hlanie yourself, now you must have
This delved pit, my teacher, for your grave.
To these words he added yet this: "O teaclier, not
thou only, but many another likewise, has come to misery
because he set not a watch upon his words." So saying,
he told him a story of the i)ast to prove it.
Once upon a time, they say, there Hved a courtesan
in Benares named Kali, and she had a brother named
Tundila. In one day Kali would earn a thousand pieces
of money. Now^ Tundila was a debauchee, a drunkard, a
gambler ; she gave him money, and whatever he got he
wasted. Do what she would to restrain him, restrain him
she could not. One day he was beaten at hazard, and
lost the very clothes he was clad in. AVrapi)iiig about
him a rag of loin-cloth, he re})aired to his sister s house.
But command had been oriven bv her to her serving-
maids, that if Tundila should come, thev were to give
him nothing, but to take him by the throat and cast him
^ The name here is feminine, as the scholiast notes without explanation.
352 THE FOLLY OF GARRULITY
out. And so they did: he stood by the threshokl, and
made his moan. Now a certain gild-merchant's son, who
used constantly to give Kali a thousand pieces of money,
on that day happened to see him, and says he, " Why are
you weeping, Tundila?" "Master," said he, "I have been
beaten at the dice, and came to my sister ; and the serv-
ing-maids took me by the throat and cast me out."
" Well, stay here," quoth the other, " and I will speak to
vour sister." He entered the house, and said, "Your
brother stands waiting, clad in a rag of loin-cloth. Why
do you not give him something to wear?" "Indeed," she
replied, " I will give nothing. If you are fond of him, give
it vourself " Now in that house of ill fame the fashion
was this : out of every thousand pieces of money received,
five hundred were for the w oman, five hundred were the
price of clothes, perfumes and garlands; the men who
visited that house received garments to clothe themselves
in, and stayed the night there, then on the next day they
put ofl'the garments they had received, and put on those
they had brought, and went their ways. On this occasion
the merchant's son put on the garments provided for him,
and gave his OAvn clothes to Tundila. He put them on,
and with loud shouts hastened to the tavern. But Kali
ordered her women that when the young man should
depart next day, they should take away his clothes.
Accordingly, Avhen he came forth, they ran up from this
side and that, like so many robbers, and took the clothes
from him, and stript him naked, saying, " Now, young sir,
be off*!" Thus they got rid of him. Away he went naked:
the people made sport of him, and he was ashamed, and
lamented, saying, " It is my own doing, because I could
not keep watch over my lips ! " To make this clear, the
Great Being recited the third stanza:
THE FOLLY OF GARRULITY 3.53
Why ask of Tundila how he should fare
At Kalika his sister's hands? now see!
My clothes are gone, naked am I and bare;
'Tis very Hke what happened late to thee.
Another i)cr.son relates this story. 15y carelessness of
the goat-herds, two rams fell a-tighting on a pasture at
Benares. As they were hard at it, a certain bird, a
fork- tail, thought to himself, " These two will crack their
polls and perish ; I must restrain them." 80 he tried to
restrain them by calling out — "Uncle, don't fight!" Not
a word he got from them : in the midst of the battle,
mounting first on the back, then on the head, he besought
them to stop, but could do nothing. At last he cried,
"Fight, then, but kill me first!" and placed himself
between the two heads. They went on butting away at
each other. The bird was crushed as by a pounder, and
came to destruction by his own act. To explain this
other tale the Great Being repeated the fourth stanza:
Between two figrhting- rams a fork-tail flew,
Though in the fray he had no part nor share.
The two rams' heads did crush him then and there.
He in his fate was very like to you !
Another. There was a tal-tree Avhicli the cow-herds
set great store by. The people of Benares seeing it sent
a certain man up the tree to gather fruit. As he was
throwing down the fruit, a black snake issuing forth from
an ant-hill began to ascend the tree; they who stood
below tried to drive him off striking at him with sticks
and other things, but could not. Then they called out to
the other, "A snake is climbing the tree !" and he in terror
uttered a loud crv. Those w^ho stood below seized a
stout cloth by the four corners, and bade him fall into
the cloth. He let himself drop, and fell in the midst of
the cloth between the four of them ; swift as the wind he
F. & T. . 23
354 THE FOLLY OF GARRULITY
came, and the men could not hold him, but j oiled their
four heads together and broke them, and so died. To
explain this story the Great Being recited the fifth
stanza :
Four meu, to save a fellow froui his fate,
Held the four comers of a cloth below.
They all fell dead, each with a hrokeu pate.
These meu were very like to you, I trow.
Others again tell this. Some goat-thieves who lived at
Benares having stolen a she-goat one night, determined to
make a meal in the forest : to prevent her bleating they
muffled her snout and tied her up in a bamboo clump.
Next day, on their way to kill her, they forgot the chopper.
"Now we'll kill the goat and cook her," said they; "bring
the chopper here ! " But nobody had one. " Without a
chopper," said they, "we cannot eat the beast, even if
we kill her : let her go ! this is due to some merit of hers."
So they let her go. Now it happened that a worker in
bamboos, who had been there for a bundle of them, left
a basket-maker's knife there hidden among the leaves,
intending to use it when he came again. But the goat,
thinking herself to be free, began playing about under
the bamboo clump, and kicking with her hind legs made
the knife drop. The thieves heard the sound of the
falling knife, and on coming to find out what it was, saw
it, to their great delight ; then they killed the goat, and
ate her flesh. Thus to explain how^ this she-goat was
killed by her own act, the Great Being recited the sixth
stanza :
A she-g'oat, in a hamhoo thicket hound.
Frisking about, herself a knife had found.
With that same knife they cut the creature's tlu'oat.
It strikes me you are very like that goat.
THE FOLLY OF GARRULITY 355
After recounting this, he explained, " liut they who are
moderate of speech, by watching their words have often
been freed from the fate of death," and then told a story
of fairies.
A hunter, we are told, who lived in Benares, being
once in the region of Himalaya, by some means or other
captured a brace of supernatural beings, a fairy and
her husband; and them he took and presented to the
king. The king had never seen such beings before.
"Hunter," quoth he, "what kind of creatures are these?"
Said the man, " My lord, these can sing with a honey-voice,
they dance delightfully: no men are able to dance or sing
as they can." The king bestowed a great reward on the
hunter, and commanded the fairies to sing and dance. But
they thought, "If we are not able to convey the full sense of
our song, the song will be a failure, they will abuse and hurt
us; and then again, those who speak much speak falsely":
so for fear of some falsehood or other they neither sang
nor danced, for all the king begged them again and again.
At last the king grew angry, and said, "Kill these creatures,
and cook them, and serve them up to me." This com-
mand he delivered in the words of the seventh stanza:
No gods are these nor heaven's musicianers,
Beasts brought by one who fain would fill his purse.
So for my supper let them cook me one,
And one for breakfast by the morrow's sun.
Then the fairy-dame thought to herself, "Now the
king is angry; without doubt he will kill us. Now it is
time to speak." And immediately she recited a stanza:
A hundred thousand ditties all sung wrong
All are not worth a tithe of one good song.
To sing ill is a crime; and this is why
(Not out of folly) fairy would not ti-y.
23—2
356 THE FOLLY OF GARRULITY
The king, pleased with the fairy, at once recited a
stanza :
She that hath spoken, let her go, that she
The Himalaya hill agraiii may see.
But let them take and kill the other one,
And for to-morrow's breakfast have him done.
But the other fairy thought, "If I hold my tongue,
surely the king will kill me; now is the time to speak";
and then he recited another stanza :
The kine depend upon the clouds i, and men upon the kine,
And I, 0 king"! depend on thee, on me this wife of ;j mine.
Let one, before he seek the hills, the other's fate divine.
When he had said this, he repeated a couple of
stanzas, to make it clear, that they had been silent not
from unwillingness to obey the king's word, but because
they saw that speaking would be a mistake.
0 monarch! other peoples, other ways:
'Tis very hard to keep you clear of blame.
The very thing w^hich for the one wins praise,
Another finds reproof for just the same.
Some one there is who each man foolish finds;
Each by imagination different still;
All different, many men and many minds,
No universal law is one man's will.
Quoth the king, "He speaks the truth; 'tis a sapient
fairy"; and much pleased he recited the last stanza:
Silent they were, the fairy and his mate:
And he who now did utter speech for fear,
Unhurt, free, happy, let him go his gait.
This is the speech brings good, as oft we hear.
Then the king placed the two fairies in a golden cage,
and sending for the huntsman, made him set them free in
the same place where he had caught them.
^ Because their food (grass etc.) depends on rain.
THE HAWKS AND THEIR FRIENDS 357
The Great IJeinjj;- added, "See, my teacher! In this
manner the fairies kei)t watch on their words, and by
speakinji^ at the right time were set free for tlieii* well
speaking; but you by your ill speaking have come to
great misery." Then after shewing him this parallel, he
comforted him, saying, "Fear not, my teacher; I will save
your life." "Is there indeed a way," asked the other,
"how you can save me?" He replied, "It is not yet the
proper conjunction of the planets." He let the day go
by, and in the middle watch of the night brought thithei-
a dead goat. "Go when you will, brahmin, and live," said
he, then let him go and never a soul the wiser. And he
did sacrifice with the flesh of the goat, and set up the gate
upon it.
The second stoiy is a variant of P. (T.) i. 3 &, where a jackal hoping for flesh
comes between two fighting rams and is killed. K. D. (S)t.) i. 3 ft, (Arab.) v. Cf. the
gathas of the tale in Julien 33 (variant of Jat. 404), "Lorsque deux beliers luttent
ensemble, les mouches et les fourmis perissent au milieu d'eux," and J. Grimm on
Reinhart Fuchs, p. cclxxvi. The story of the she-goat occurs in Zenobius, Proe.
Cent: I. 27, as an explanation of the proverb al^ ttjv fiaxaipav. A goat being
sacrificed by the Corinthians to Acraean Hera kicks and reveals the knife, which had
been mislaid. See Pischel in ZDMG. xlvii. 86.
THE HAWKS AND THEIR FRIENDS
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king of
Benares, certain men of the marches used to make a
settlement, wheresoever tliey could best find much meat,
dwelling in the forest, and killing for meat for themselves
and their families the game which abounded there. Not
far from their village was a large natural lake, and ui)on
its southward shore lived a Hawk, on the w est a she-hawk ;
on the north a Lion, king of the beasts ; on the east an
358 THE HAWKS AND THEIR FRIENDS
Osprey, king of the birds ; in the middle dwelt a Tortoise
on a small island. The Hawk asked the she-hawk to
become his wife. She asked him, " Have you any friend ? "
" No, madam," he replied. " We must have some one who
can defend us against any danger or trouble that may
arise, and you must find some friends." "Whom shall
I make friends with ? " " Why, with king Osprey who lives
on the eastern shore, and with the Lion on the north, and
with the Tortoise who dwells in the middle of this lake."
He took her advice and did so. Then the two lived
together (it should be said that on a little islet in the
same lake grew a kadamba tree, surrounded by the water
on all sides) in a nest which they made.
Afterwards there were given to them two sons. One
day, while the wings of the younglings Avere yet callow,
some of the country folk went foraging through the woods
all day and found nothing. Not wishing to return home
empty-handed, they went down to the lake to catch a fish
or a tortoise. They got on the island, and lay down
beneath the kadamba tree; and there being tormented
by the bites of gnats and mosquitoes, to drive these away,
they kindled a fire by rubbing sticks together, and made
a smoke. The smoke rising annoyed the birds, and the
young ones uttered a cry. " 'Tis the cry of birds ! " said
the country folk. " Up, make up the fire : we cannot lie
here hungry, but before we lie down we will have a meal
of fowls flesh." They made the fire blaze, and built it up.
But the mother bird hearing tfte sound, thought, " These
men wish to eat our young ones. We made friends to
save us from that danger. I will send my mate to the
great Osprey." Then she said, " Go, my husband, tell
the Osprey of the danger which threatens our young"
repeating this stanza:
THE HAWKS AND THEIR FRIENDS 359
The country churls build fires upon the isle,
To eat my young ones in a little while :
0 Hawk! to friend and comrade give the word,
My children's danger tell to every bird!
The cock-bird flew at all speed to the place, and gave
a cry to announce his arrival. Leave given, he came near
to the Osprey, and made his greeting. "Why have you
come?" asked the Osprey. Then the cock repeated the
second stanza:
O winged fowl! chiefest of birds art thou:
So, Osprey king, I seek thy shelter now.
Some country-folk a-hunting now are fain
To eat my young: be thou my joy again!
"Fear not," said the Osprey to the Hawk, and consoling
him he repeated the third stanza :
In season, out of season, wise men make
Both friends and comrades for protection's sake :
For thee, 0 Hawk! I will perform this deed;
The good must help each other at their need.
Then he went on to ask, " Have the churls climbed up
the tree, my friend ? " " They are not climbing yet ; they
are just piling wood on the fire." "Then you had better
go quickly and comfort my friend your mate, and say
I am coming." He did so. The Osprey went also, and
from a place near to the kadamba tree he watched for
the men to cUmb, sitting upon a tree-top. Just as one
of the boors who was climbing the tree had come near
to the nest, the Osprey dived into the lake, and from
wings and beak sprinkled water over the burning brands,
so that they were put out. Down came the men, and
made another fire to cook the bird and its young ; when
they climbed again, once more the Osprey demolished the
fire. So whenever a fire was made, the bird put it out,
and midnight came. The bird was much distressed : the
360 THE HAWKS AND THEIR FRIENDS
skin under liis stomach had become quite thin, his eyes
were blood-shot. Seeing him, the hen-bird said to her
mate, " My k)rd, the Osprey is tired out ; go and tell the
Tortoise, that he may have a rest." When he heard
this, the bird approaching the Osprey, addressed him in
a stanza :
Good help the good: the necessary deed
Thou hast in pity done for us at need.
Our young- are safe, thou living: have a care
Of thy own self, nor all thy strength outwear.
On hearing these words, loud as a lion's roar he
repeated the fifth stanza:
While I am keeping guard about this tree,
I care not if I lose my life for thee:
So use the good: thus friend will do for friend:
Tea, even if he perish at the end.
Then the Hawk said, "Rest awhile, friend Osprey,"
and then away to the Tortoise, whom he aroused. " What
is your errand, friend ? " asked the Tortoise. — " Such and
such a danger has come upon us, and the royal Osprey
has been labouring hard ever since the first watch, and is
very weary ; that is why I have come to you." With these
words he repeated the seventh stanza :
Even they who fall through sin or evil deed
May rise if friends will help them in their need.
My young in danger, straight I tly to thee:
0 dweller in the lake, come, succour me!
On hearing this the Tortoise repeated another stanza :
The wise man to a man who is his friend,
Both food and goods, even life itself, will lend.
For thee, 0 Hawk! I will perform this deed:
The good must help each other at theu- need.
His son, who lay not far off, hearing the words of his
father, thought, "I would not have my father troubled.
THE HAWKS AND THEIR FRIENDS 361
but I will do my father's part," and therefore he repeated
the ninth stanza :
Here at thy ease remain, 0 father iiiine,
And I thy son will do this task of thine.
A son should serve a father, so 'tis best;
I'll save the Hawk his yonng- ones in the nest.
The father Tortoise addressed his son in a stanza :
So do the gfood, my son, and it is true
That son for father service oug-ht to do.
Yet they may leave the Hawk's young- brood alone,
Perchance, if they see me so fully grown.
With these words the Tortoise sent the Hawk away,
adding, "Fear not, my friend, but go you before and
I will come presently after." He dived into the water,
collected some mud, and went to the island, quenched the
flame, and lay still. Then the countrymen cried, "Why
should we trouble about the young hawks? Let us roll
over this one-eyed Tortoise, and kill him ! He will bei
enough for all." So they plucked some creepers and
got some strings, but when they had made them fast in
this place or that, and torn their clothes to strips for the
purpose, they could not roll the Tortoise over. The
Tortoise lugged them along with him and plunged in
deep water. The men were so eager to get him that in
they fell after: splashed about, and scrambled out with
a bellyful of water. " Just look," said they : " half the
night one Osprey kept putting out our fire, and now this
Tortoise has made us fall into the water, and swallow it,
to our great discomfort. Well, we will light another fire,
and at sunrise we will eat those young hawks." Then
they began to make a fire. The hen-bird heard the
noise thev were makinu:, and said, "Mv husband, sooner
or later these men will devour our young and depart :
you go and tell our friend the Lion." At once he went
362 THE HAWKS AND THEIK FRIENDS
to the Lion, who asked him why he came at such an
unseasonable hour. The bird told him all from the be-
ginning, and repeated the eleventh stanza :
Mightiest of all the beasts, both beasts and men
Fly to the strongest when beset with fear.
My young ones are in danger; help me then:
Thou art our king, and therefore I am here.
This said, the Lion repeated a stanza :
Yes, I will do tliis service, Hawk, for thee:
Come, let us go and slay tliis gang of foes!
Surely the prudent, he who wisdom knows.
Protector of a friend must try to be.
Having thus spoken, he dismissed him, saying, "Now
go, and comfort your young ones." Then he Avent
forward, churning up the crystal water. When the
churls perceived him approaching, they were frightened
to death: "The Osprey," they cried, "put out our fire-
brands; the Tortoise made us lose the clothes we had
on: but now we are done for. This Lion will destroy
us at once." They ran this way and that : when the Lion
came to the foot of the tree, nothing could he see. Then
the Osprey, the Hawk, and the Tortoise came up, and
accosted him. He told them the profitableness of friend-
ship, and said, "From this time forth be careful never
to break the bonds of friendship." With this advice he
departed: and they also went each to his own place.
The hen-hawk looking upon her young, thought — "Ah,
through friends have my young been given back to me !"
and as she rejoiced, she spoke to her mate, and recited
six stanzas declaring the effect of friendship :
Get friends, a houseful of them without fail.
Get a great friend: a blessing he'll be found:
Vain strike the arrows on a coat of mail.
And we rejoice, our younglings safe and sound.
THE PRINCE WHO COULD NOT LAUGH 363
Through the kind help of their own friend, who stayed to take
their part,
The old birds chirp, the young: reply, with notes that charm the
heart.
The wise asks help at friend's or comrade's hand,
Lives happy with his go(Kls and brood of kind:
So I, my mate, and young, together stand,
Because our friend to pity was inclined.
A man needs king- and warriors for protection:
And these are Ills whose friendship is perfection:
Thou cravest happiness : he is famed and strong ;
He surely prospers to whom friends belong.
Even by the poor and weak, 0 Hawk, good friends must needs
be found:
By a friend's kindness we and ours, behold, are safe and sound.
The bird who wins a hero strong to play a friendly part,
As thou and I are happy. Hawk, is happy in his heart.
So she declared the quality of friendship in six stanzas.
And all this company of friends lived all their lives long
without breaking the bond of friendship, and then passed
away according to their deeds.
Cf. friendship among animals in Jat. 206, 357.
THE PRINCE WHO COULD NOT LAUGH
Once upon a time, there reigned a king Suruci in
Mithila. This king, having a son born to him, gave him
the name of Suruci-Kumara, or Prince Splendid. AVhen
he grew uj), he determined to study at Takkasila ; so
thither he went, and sat down in a hall at the city gate.
Now the son of the king of Benares also, whose name was
Prince Brahmadatta, went to the same place, and took
his seat on the same bench where Prince Suruci sat.
They entered into converse together, and became friends.
364 THE PRINCE WHO COULD NOT LAUGH
and went both together to the teacher. They paid the
fee, and studied, and ere long their education was com-
plete. Then they took leave of their teacher, and went
on their road together. After travelling thus a short
distance, they came to a stop at a place where the road
parted. Then they embraced, and in order to keep their
friendship alive they made a compact together: "If
I have a son and you a daughter, or if you have a son
and I a daughter, we will make a match of it between
them."
When they were on the throne, a son was born to king
Suruci, and to him also the name of Prince Suruci was
given. Brahmadatta had a daughter, and her name was
Sumedha, the Wise Lady. Prince Suruci in due time
grew up, went to Takkasila for his education, and that
finished returned. Then his father, wishing to mark dlit
his son for king by ceremonial sprinkling, thought to
himself, " My friend the king of Benares has a daughter
so they say : I will make her my son's consort." For this
purpose he sent an ambassade with rich gifts.
But before they had yet come, the king of Benares
asked his queen this question : " Lady, what is the worse
misery for a woman?" "To quarrel with her fellow-
wives." "Then, my lady, to save our only daughter the
Princess Sumedha from this misery, we will give her to
none but him that will have her and no other." So when
the ambassadors came, and named the name of his
daughter, he told them, " Good friends, indeed it is true
I promised my daughter to my old friend long ago. But
we have no wish to cast her into the midst of a crowd
of women, and we will give her only to one who will wed
her and no other." This message they brought back to
the king. But the king was displeased. "Ours is a
THE PRINCE WHO COULD NOT LAUGH 3G5
great kingdom," said he, "the city of Mithila covers seven
leagues, the measure of the wliole kingdom is three
hunch-ed leagues. Such a king should have sixteen
thousand women at the least." But Prince Suruci,
hearing the great beauty of Sumedhil, fell in love from
hearing of it only. So he sent word to his parents, saying,
" I will take her and no other : what do I want with
a multitude of Avomen ? Let her be brought." They did
not thwart his desire, but sent a rich present and a great
ambassade to bring her home. Then she was made his
queen-consort, and they were both together consecrated
by sprinkling.
He became king Suruci, and ruling in justice lived
a life of high happiness with his queen. But although
she dwelt in his palace for ten thousand years, never son
nor daughter she had of him.
Then all the townsfolk gathered together in the palace
courtyard, with upbraidings. " What is it ? " the king
asked. " Fault Ave have no other to find," said they, " but
this, that you have no son to keep up your line. You
have but one queen, yet a royal })rince should have
sixteen thousand at the least. Choose a company of women,
my lord : some worthy wife Avill bring you a son." " Dear
friends, what is this you say ? I passed my word I would
take no other but one, and on those terms I got her.
I cannot lie, no host of women for me." So he refused
their request, and they departed. But Sumedha heard
what Avas said. "The king refuses to choose him other
wives for his truth's sake," thought she ; " well, I Avill find
him some one." Playing the part of mother and Avife
to the king, she chose at her own Avill a thousand maidens
of the Avarrior caste, a thousand of the courtiers, a
thousand daughters of householders, a thousand of all
366 THE PRINCE WHO COULD NOT LAUGH
kinds of dancing girls, four thousand in all, and delivered
them to him. And all these dwelt in the palace for ten
thousand years, and never a son or daughter they brought
between them. In this way she three times brought four
thousand maidens, but they had neither son nor daughter.
Thus she brought him sixteen thousand wives in all.
Forty thousand years w^ent by, that is to say, fifty
thousand in all, counting the ten thousand he had lived with
her alone. Then the townsfolk again gathered together
with reproaches. "Wliat is it now?" the king asked.
"My lord, command your women to pray for a son."
The king was not unwilling, and commanded so to pray.
Thenceforward praying for a son, they worship all
manner of deities and offer all kinds of vows; yet no
son appeared. Then the king commanded Sumedha to
pray for a son. She consented. On the fast of the
fifteenth day of the month, she took upon her the eight-
fold sabbath vows\ and sat meditating upon the virtues
in a magnificent room upon a pleasant couch. The
others were in the park, vowing to do sacrifice with
goats or kine. By the glory of Sumedha's virtue Sakka's
dwelling place began to tremble. Sakka pondered, and
understood that Sumedha prayed for a son; well, she
should have one. " But I cannot give her this or that
son indifferently; I will search for one which shall be
suitable." Then he saw a young god called Nalakara,
the Basket-weaver. He was a being endowed with merit,
who in a former life lived in Benares, when this befell him.
At seed-time as he was on his way to the fields he per-
ceived a Pacceka Buddha'. He sent on his hinds, bidding
1 The eight slldni : against taking life, theft, impurity, lying, intoxicating liquors,
eating at forbidden hours, worldly amusements, unguents and ornaments. The first
five are always binding on lay-disciples. The others are assumed on the fast-days.
2 One who has attained the enlightenment of a Buddha, but does not preach.
THE PRINCE WHO COULD NOT LAUGH 367
them sow the seed, but himself turned back, and led the
Pacceka JJuddha home, and ^hyq him to eat, and then
conducted him ajj^ain to the Gan<j^es bank. He and his son
together made a hut, trunks of fig-trees for the foundation
and reeds interwoven for the walls ; a door he put to it,
and made a })ath for walking. There for three mcjnths
he made the Pacceka Buddha dwell ; and after the rains
were over, the two of them, father and son, put on him
the three robes and let him go. In the same manner
they entertained seven Pacceka Buddhas in that hut, and
gave them the three robes, and let them go their ways.
So men still tell how these two, father and son, turned
basket-weavers, and hunted for osiers on the banks of the
Ganges, and whenever they spied a Pacceka Buddha did
as we have said. When they died, they were born in the
heaven of the Thirty-Three, and dwelt in the six heavens
of sense one after the other in direct and in reverse
succession, enjoying great majesty among the gods.
These two after dying in that region were desirous of
winning to the upper god-world. Sakka perceiWng that
one of them would be the Tathagata, went to the door
of their mansion, and saluting him as he arose and came
to meet him, said, "Sir, you must go into the world of
men." But he said, " O king, the world of men is hateful
and loathsome ; they who dwell there do good and give
alms longing for the world of the gods. What shall I
do when I get there?" "Sir, you shall enjoy there all
that can be enjoyed in the world of gods ; you shall dwell
in a palace made with stones of price, five and twenty
leagues in height. Do consent." He consented. When
Sakka had received his promise, in the guise of a sage
he descended into the king's park, and shewed himself
soaring above those women to and fro in the air, while he
368 THE PRINCE WHO COULD NOT LAUGH
chanted, " To whom shall I give the blessing of a son, who
craves the blessmg of a son?" "To me, Sir, to me!"
thousands of hands Avere uplifted. Then he said, " I give
sons to the virtuous : what is your virtue, what your life
and conversation?" They drew down their uplifted
hands, saying, "If you would reward virtue, go seek
Sumedha." He went his ways through the air, and stayed
at the windoAV of her bedchamber. Then they went and
told her, saying, "See, my lady, a king of the gods has
come down through the air, and stands at your bed-
chamber window, offering you the boon of a son !" With
great pomp she proceeded thither, and opening the window,
said, "Is this true. Sir, that I hear, how you offer the
blessing of a son to a virtuous woman ? " " It is, and so
I do." "Then grant it to me." "What is your virtue,
tell me ; and if you please me, I grant you' the boon."
Then declaring her virtue she recited these fifteen
stanzas.
I am king- Ruci's consort-queen, the first he ever wed;
With Suruci ten thousand years my wedded life I led.
Suruci king of Mithila, Videha's chiefest place,
I never lightly held his wish, nor deemed him mean or hase,
In deed or thought or word, behind his back, nor to his face.
If this be true, 0 holy one, so may that son be given:
But if my lips are speaking lies, then burst my head in seven.
The parents of my husband dear, so long as they held sway,
And while they lived, would ever give me training in the Way.
My passion was to hurt no life, and willingly do right:
I served them with extremest care unwearied day and night.
If this be true, etc.
No less than sixteen thousand dames my fellow-wives have been:
Yet, brahmin, never jealousy nor anger came between.
At their good fortune I rejoice; each one of them is dear;
My heart is soft to all these wives as though myself it were.
If this be true, etc.
THE PRINCE WHO COULD NOT LAUGH 300
Slaves, niesseng-ers, and servants all, and all about the place,
I give them food, T treat them well, with cheerful pleasant face.
If this be true, etc.
Ascetics, brahmins, any man who begrg-ing- here is seen,
I comfort all with food and drink, my hands all wa><lien dean.
If this be true, etc.
The eiffhth of either fortnight, the fourteenth, fifteenth days,
And the especial fast I keep, I walk in holy ways.
If this be true, 0 holy one, so may that son be given:
But if my lips are speaking lies, then burst my head in seven.
Indeed not a hundred verses, nor a thousand, could
suffice to sing the praise of her virtues: yet Sakka
aUowed her to sing her own praises in these fifteen
stanzas, nor did he cut the tale short though he had much
to do elsewhere; then he said, "Abundant and marvellous
are your virtues"; then in her praise he recited a couple
of stanzas: '
All these gi-eat virtues, glorious dame, 0 daughter of a king-.
Are found in thee, which of thyself, 0 lady, thou dost sing.
A warrior, born of noble blood, all g-lorious and wise,
Videha's rig-hteous emperor, thy son, shall soon arise.
When these words she heard, in great joy she recited
two stanzas, putting a question to him :
Unkempt, with dust and dirt begrimed, high-poised in the sky,
Thou speakest in a lovely voice that pricks me to the heart.
Art thou a mighty god, 0 sage and dwellst in heaven on high ?
0 tell me whence thou comest here, 0 tell me who thou art!
He told her in six stanzas :
Sakka the Hundred-eyed thou seest, for so the gods me call
When they are wont to assemble in the heavenly judgment hall.
When women virtuous, wise, and good here in the world are
found.
True wives, to husband's mother kind even as in duty bound,
When such a woman wise of heart and good in deed they know.
To her, though woman, they divine, the gods themselves will go.
F. & T. 24
370 THE PRINCE WHO COULD NOT LAUGH
So lady, thou, through worthy hfe, through store of good deeds
done, ■
A priueess born, all happiness the heart can wish, hast won.
So thou dost reap thy deeds, princess, by glory on the earth.
And after in the world of gods a new and heavenly birth.
0 wise, 0 blessed! so live on, preserve thy conduct right:
Now I to heaven must return, delighted with thy sight.
"I have business to do in the world of gods," quoth
he, " therefore I go ; but do thou be vigilant." With this
advice he departed.
In the morning time, the god Nalakara came down
and was conceived. When she discovered it, she told the
king, and he did what was necessary for a woman in her
stated At the end of ten months she brought forth
a son, and they gave him Maha-panada to his name.
All the people of the two countries came crying out,
"My lord, we bring this for the boy's milk-money," and
each dropt a coin in the king's courtyard: a great heap
there was of them. The king did not wish to accept this,
but they would not take the money back, but said as they
departed, "When the boy grows up, my lord, it will pay
for his keep."
The lad was brought up amid great magnificence ; and
when he came of years, aye, no more than sixteen, he was
perfect in all accomplishments. The king thinking of his
son's age, said to the queen, "My lady, when the time
comes for the ceremonial sprinkling of our son, let us
make him a fine palace for that occasion." She was quite
willing. The king sent for those who had skill in divining
the lucky place for a building^, and said to them : " My
1 See Jat. 151, p. 131. There was a ceremony called garhharahsana which pro-
tected against abortion (Biihler, Ritual-LUteratur, in Grundriss der indo-arisch.
Philologie, p. 43). (Dr Rouse.)
* Cf. Jat. 257, p. 198.
THE PRINCE WHO COULD NOT LAUGH 371
friends, get a master-mason, and build me a i)alace not
far from my own. This is for my son, whom we are about
to consecrate as my successor." They said it was well,
and proceeded to examine the surface of the ground.
At that moment Sakka's throne became hot. Perceiving
this, he at once summoned Vissakamma\ and said, "(io,
my good Vissakamma, make for Prince Maha-])anrida
a palace half a league in length and breadth and five
and twenty leagues in height, all with stones of ])rice."
Vissakanmia took on the shape of a mason, and ap-
proaching the workmen said, " Go and eat your breakfast,
then return:" Having thus got rid of the men, he struck
on the earth with his staff; in that instant up rose a
palace, seven storeys high, of the aforesaid size. Now
for Maha-panada these three ceremonies were done
together: the ceremony for consecrating the palace, the
ceremony for spreading above him the royal umbrella,
the ceremony of his marriage. At the time of the
ceremony all the people of both countries gathered
together, and spent seven years a-feasting, nor did the
king dismiss them : their clothes, their ornaments, their
food and their drink and all the rest of it, these things
were all provided by the royal family. At the seven
years' end they began to grumble, and king Suruci asked
why. '' O king," they said, " while we have been revelling
at this feast seven years have gone by. When will the
feast come to an end ? " He answered, " My good friends,
all this while my son has never once laughed. So soon
as he shall laugh, we mil disperse again." Then the
crowd went beating the drum and gathered the tumblers
and jugglers together. Thousands of tumblers were
gathered, and they divided themselves into seven bands
^ The celestial architect.
24—2
372 THE PRINCE WHO COULD NOT LAUGH
and danced ; but they could not make the prince laugh.
Of course he that had seen the dancing of dancers divine
could not care for such dancers as these. Then came
two clever jugglers, Bhandu-kanna and Pandu-kanna,
Crop-ear and Yellow-ear, and said they, "We will make
the prince laugh." Bhandu-kanna made a great mango
tree, which he called Sanspareil, grow before the palace
door: then he threw up a ball of string, and made it
catch on a branch of the tree, and then up he climbed
into the Mango Sanspareil. Now the Mango Sanspareil
they say is Vessavana's mango ^ And the slaves of
Vessavana took him, as usual, chopt him up limb-meal
and threw down the bits. The other jugglers joined the
pieces together, and poured water upon them. The man
donned upper and under garments of flowers, and rose
up and began dancing again. Even the sight of this did
not make the prince laugh. Then Pandu-kanna had
some fire-wood piled in the courtyard and went into the
fire with his troop. When the fire was burnt out, the
people sprinkled the pile with water. Pandu-kanna
with his troop rose up dancing with upper and under
garments of flowers. When the people found they could
not make him laugh, they grew angry. Sakka, perceiving
this, sent down a divine dancer, bidding him make prince
Maha-panada laugh. Then he came and remained poised
in the air above the royal courtyard, and performed what
is called the Half-body dance: one hand, one foot, one
eye, one tooth, go a-dancing, throbbing, flickering to and
fro, all the rest stone still. Maha-panada, when he saw
this, gave a little smile. But the crowd roared and roared
with laughter, could not cease laughing, laughed them-
1 The juggling trick here described is spoken of by mediaeval travellers. See
Yule's Marco Polo, vol. i. p. 308 (ed. 2). (Dr Rouse.)
A LOST FRIEND FOUND BY A SONG 373
selves out of their wits, lost control of their limbs, I'olled
over and over in the royal courtyard. Tliat was the end
of the festival. The rest of it^
Great Pauiida, iiiig-hty king:,
With his palace all of g-old,
must be explained in the Maha-i)anada IJirthl
King- Maha-i)anrida did good and gave alms, and at his
life's end went to the world of gods.
Cf. Griinin 4, Anm., One who went out to learn irhntfear teas. Sakka's inability
to give a son unconditionally resembles the beginning of Tib. T. ix. He appeals to
Brahma, but all he can do is to induce a god, whose life is coming to an end, to g.j
and be born, lus he does also in the Kusa-Jataka, p. 429. Similarly in Jat. 220
Sakka is unable to make a man with all four virtues (p. 187).
A LOST FllIEND FOUND BY A SONG
Once upon a time, in the realm of Avanti, and the city
of Ujjeni, reigned a great king named Avanti. At that
time, a Candala village lay outside Ujjeni, and there the
Great Being was born. Another person was born the son
of his mother's sister. The one of these two was named
Citta, and the other Sambhuta.
These two when they grew up, having learnt what is
called the art of sw eeping in the Candala breed, thought
one day they would go and shew oft* this art at the city
gate. So one of them shewed oft* at the north gate, and
one at the east. Now in this city were two women wise in
the omens of sight, the one a merchant's daughter and the
other a family priest's. These went forth to make merry
in the ])ark, having ordered food to be brought hard and
soft, garlands and perfumes; and it so happened that one
went out by the northern gate and one the eastern.
Seeing the two young Candalas shewing their art, the
1 This is merely a short summary.
374 A LOST FRIEND FOUND BY A SONG
girls asked "Who are these?" Candalas, they were
informed. "This is an evil omen to see!" they said,
and after washing their eyes with perfumed water, they
returned back. Then the multitude cried, "O \i\e outcasts,
you have made us lose food and strong drink which would
have cost us nothing!" They belaboured the two kins-
men, and did them much misery and mischief When they
recovered their senses, up they got and joined company,
and told each the other what woe had befallen him,
weeping and wailing, and wondering what to do now. "All
this misery has come upon us," they thought, "because
of our birth. We shall never be able to play the part of
Candalas : let us conceal our birth, and go to Takkasila
in the disguise of young brahmins, and study there."
Having made this decision, they went thither, and fol-
lowed their studies in the law under a far-famed master.
A rumour was blown abroad over India, that two young
Candalas were students, and had concealed their birth.
The wise Citta was successful in his studies, but Samb-
huta not so.
One day a villager invited the teacher, intending to
offer food to the brahmins. Noav it happened that rain
fell in the night, and flooded all the hollows in the road.
Early in the morning the teacher summoned wise Citta,
and said, " My lad, I cannot go, do you go with the young
men, and pronounce a blessing, eat what you get for your-
self and bring home what there is for me." Accordingly
he took the young brahmins, and went. While the young
men bathed, and rinsed their mouths, the people prepared
rice porridge, which they set ready for them, saying, " Let
it cool." Before it was cool, the young men came and sat
down. The people gave them the water of offering, and
set the bowls in front of them. Sambhuta's wits were
A LOST FRIEND FOUND BY A SONG 375
somewhat muddled, and imaj^iniiig it to V)e cool, took up
a ball of the rice ami put it in his mouth, but it burnt him
like a red-hot ball of metal. In his pain he for<i^ot his
part altojj:ether, and ^lancin<^ at wise Oitta, he said, in the
Candala dialect, "Hot, ain't it?" The other forgot himself
too, and answered in their manner of speech, "Spit it out,
spit it out." At this the youn<^ men looked at each other,
and said, "What kind of language is this?" Wise Citta
pronounced a blessing.
AVhen the young men came home, they gathered in
little knots and sat here and there discussing the words
used. Finding that it was the dialect of the Candalas,
they cried out on them, "O vile outcasts ! you have been
tricking us all this while, and pretending to be brahmins!"
And they beat them both. One good man drove them
out, saying, "Away! the blot's in the blood. Be off! Go
somewhere and become ascetics." The young brahmins
told their teacher that these two were Candalas.
The pair went out into the woods, and there took up
the ascetic life, and after no long time died, and were born
again as the young of a doe on the banks of the Neraiijara.
From the time of their birth they always went about
together. One day, when they had fed, a hunter espied
them under a tree ruminating and cuddling together, very
hapj)y, head to head, nozzle to nozzle, horn to horn. He
cast a javelin at them, and killed them both by one blow.
After this they were born as the young of an osprey,
on the bank of Nerbiulda. Thei'e too, when they grew
up, after feeding they would cuddle together, head to
head and beak to beak. A bird snarer saw them, caught
them together, and killed them both.
Next the wise Citta was born at Kosambi, as the son
of a family priest ; the wise Sambhiita was born as the
376 A LOST FRIEND FOUND BY A SONG
son of the king of Uttarapaficala. From their name-days
they could remember their former births. But Sambhuta
was not able to remember all without breaks, and all he
could remember was the fourth or Candala birth ; Oitta
however remembered all four in due order. When Citta
was sixteen years old, he went away and became an ascetic
in Himalaya, and developed the Faculty of the religious
ecstasy, and dwelt in the bliss of ecstatic trance. Wise
Sambhuta after his father's death had the Umbrella
spread over him, and on the very day of the umbrella
ceremony, in the midst of a great concourse, made a
ceremonial hymn, and uttered two stanzas in aspiration.
When they heard this, the royal wives and the musicians
all chanted them, saying, "Our king's own coronation
hymn ! " and in course of time all the citizens sang it, as
the hymn which their king loved. Wise Citta, in his
dwelling place in Himalaya, wondered whether his brother
Sambhuta had assumed the Umbrella, or not. Perceiving
that he had, he thought, "I shall never be able to instruct
a young ruler ; but when he is old, I will visit him, and
persuade him to be an ascetic." For fifty years he went
not, and by that time the king was increased with sons
and daughters; then by his supernatural power, he went,
and alighted in the park, and sat down on the seat of
ceremony like an image of gold. Just then a lad was
picking up sticks, and as he did so he sang that hymn.
Wise Citta called him to approach ; he came up with an
obeisance, and waited. Citta said to him, "Since early
morning you have been singing that hymn; do you know
no other?" — "Oh yes, sir, I know many more, but these
are the verses the king loves, that is why I sing no
others." — "Is there any one who can sing a refrain to the
king's hymn?"— "No, sir."— "Could you?"— "Yes, if I am
A LOST FRIEND FOUND BY A SONG 377
taught one." — "Well, when the kin<i; ehants these two
verses, you sing this by way of a third," and he recited
a hymn. "Now," said he, "go and sing this before the
king, and the king will be pleased witli you, and make
much of you for it." The lad went to his mother quickly,
and got himself di-est up spick and span; then to the
kin<r's door, and sent in word that a lad would sing him
a refrain to his hymn. The king said, " Let him approach."
When the lad had come in, and saluted him, quoth the
king, " They say you will sing me an answering refrain to
my hymn?" "Yes, my lord," said he, "bring in the whole
court to hear." As soon as the court had assembled, the
lad said, "Sing your hymn, my lord, and I will answer with
mine." The king repeated a pair of stanzas :
Every good deed bears fruit or soon or late,
No deed without result, and nothing vain:
I see Sambhilta niig-hty grown and great,
Thus do his virtues hear him fruit again.
Every good deed hears fruit or soon or late,
No deed without result, and nothing vain.
Who knows if Citta also may be great.
And like myself, his heart have brought him gain ?
At the end of this hymn, the lad chanted the third
stanza :
Every good deed bears fruit or soon or late,
No deed without result, and nothing vain.
Behold, my lord, see Citta at thy gate,
And like thyself, his heart has brought him gain.
On hearing this the king repeated the fourth stanza:
Then art thou Citta, or the tale didst hear
From him, or did some other make thee know?
Thy hymn is very sweet: I have no fear;
A village aud a bounty^ I bestow.
1 Lit. a hunilred (pieces of money): or (with the scholiast) "A huudred villages I
do bestow."
378 A LOST FRIEND FOUND BY A SONG
Then the lad repeated the fifth stanza:
I am not Citta, but I heard the thing-.
It was a sage laid on me this command —
Go and recite an answer to the king",
And be rewarded by his grateful hand.
Hearing this, the king thought, " It must be my brother
Citta; now 111 go and see him"; then he laid his bidding
upon his men in the words of these two stanzas :
Come, yoke the royal chariots, so finely wrought and made:
Gird up with girths the elephants, in necklets brig-ht arrayed.
Beat drums for joy, and let the conchs be blown,
Prepare the swiftest chariots I own:
For to that hermitage I will away,
To see the sage that sits within, this day.
So he spoke ; then mounting his fine chariot, he went
swiftly to the park gate. There he checked his chariot,
and approached wise Citta with an obeisance, and sat
down on one side ; greatly pleased, he recited the eighth
stanza :
A precious hymn it was I sang so sweet
While thronging multitudes around me pressed;
For now this holy sag-e I come to greet
And all is joy and g-ladness in my breast.
Happy from the instant he saw wise Citta, he gave all
necessary directions, bidding prepare a seat for his brother,
and repeated the ninth stanza:
Accept a seat, and for your feet fresh water: It is right
To offer g-ifts of food to guests: accept, as we invite.
After this sweet invitation, the king repeated another
stanza, offering him the half of his kingdom :
Let them make glad the place where thou shalt dwell,
Let throng's of waiting women wait on thee;
oQ let me shew thee that I love thee well,
And let us both kings here together be.
A LOOT FRIEND FOUND BY A SONG 379
When he had heard these words, wise Citta discoursed
to him in six stanzas:
Seeing- the fruit of evil deeds, O king".
Seeing what profit deeds of g<K>dness bring,
I fain would exercise stern self-control.
Sons, wealth, and cattle cannot charm my soul.
Ten decades has this mortal life, which each to each succeed :
This limit reached, man withers fast like to a broken reed.
Then what is pleasure, what is love, wealth-hunting what to me?
What sons and daughters? know, O king, from fetters I am free.
For this is true, I know it well — death will not pass me by:
And what is love, or what is wealth, when you must come to die ?
The lowest race that go upon two feet
Are the Camla^liis, meanest men on earth,
When all our deeds were ripe, as guerdon meet
We both as young Candfilas had our birth.
Candalas in Avanti laud, deer by Neranjara,
Ospreys by the Nerbudda, now brahmin and Khattiya.
Havinj^ thus made clear his mean births in time past,
here also in this birth he declared the impermanency of
things created, and recited four stanzas to arouse an
effort :
Life is but short, and death the end must be:
The ag-ed have no hiding where to flee.
Then, 0 Paflcala, what I bid thee, do:
All deeds which grow to misery, eschew.
Life is but short, and death the end must] be:
The aged have no hiding where to flee.
Then, O Pailcala, what I bid thee, do:
All deeds whose fruit is misery, eschew.
Life is but short, and death the end must be:
The aged have no hiding where to flee.
Then, 0 Paiicfila, what I bid thee, do:
All deeds that are with passion stained eschew.
Life is but short, and death the end must be:
Old age will sap our strength, we cannot flee.
Then, 0 Paflcala, what I bid thee, do:
All deeds that lead to lowest hell, eschew.
380 A LOST FRIEND FOUND BY A SONG
The king rejoiced as the Great Being spoke and
repeated three stanzas :
True is that word, 0 Brother! which you say,
You like a holy saint your words dictate:
But my desires are hard to cast away
By such as I am; they are very great.
As elephants deep sunken in the mire
Cannot climb out, althoug-h they see the land:
So, sunken in the sloug-h of strong- desire
Upon the Brethren's Path I cannot stand.
As father or as mother would their son
Admonish, good and happy how to grow:
How happiness after this life is won
Tell me, and by which way I ought to go.
Then the Great Being said to him:
O.lord of men! thou canst not cast away
These passions which are common to mankind:
Let not thy people unjust taxes pay.
Equal and righteous ruling let them find.
Send messengers to north, south, east, and west
The brahmins and ascetics to invite:
Provide them food and drink, a place to rest,
Clothes, and all else that may be requisite.
Give thou the food and di-ink which satisfies
Sages and holy brahmins, full of faith :
Who gives and rules as well as in him lies
Will go to heaven all blameless after death.
But if, surrounded by thy womankind
Thou feel thy passion and desire too strong.
This verse of poetry then bear in mind
And sing it in the midst of all the throng:
No roof to shelter from the sky, amid the dogs he lay.
But mother nursed him as she walked: but he's a king to-day.
Such was the Great Beings advice. Then he said,
"I have given you my counsel. And now do you become
an ascetic or not, as you think fit ; but I will follow up the
KING SIVI 381
ripening of my own deeds." Then he rose ui) in the air,
and shook off the dust of his feet over him, and departed to
Himalaya. And the king saw it, and was greatly moved ;
and relinquishing his kingdom to his eldest son, he called
out his army, and set his face in the direction of Himalaya.
When the Great Being heard of his coming, he went with
his attendant sages and received him, and ordained him
to the holy life, and taught him the means of inducing
mystic ecstasy. He developed the Faculty of mystical
meditation. Thus these two together became destined for
Brahma's world.
See Leumann in Vienna Or. J.\. Ill flF., who discusses three Jain versions. It
is essentially a folktale of two friends, who discover each other by means of a
refrain, and may once have stood in a vedic purana or itihasa. Damayanti similarly
sends out messengers who repeat a verse in order to discover her lost husband ^.'ala,
Mbh. III. ch. 53-79, and king Arindama in Jat. 529, p. 420. Cf. the legend of Blondel,
the minstrel of Richard III, who discovered him imprisoned by the Emperor in
the castle of Diirrenstein.
KING SIVI
Once upon a time, when the mighty King Sivi reigned
in the city of Aritthapura in the kingdom of Sivi, the Great
Being was born as his son. They called his name Prince
Sivi. When he grew^ up, he went to Takkasila and studied
there; then returning, he proved his knowledge to his
father the king, and by him was made viceroy. At his
father's death he became king himself, and, forsaking the
ways of evil, he kept the Ten Royal Virtues and ruled in
righteousness. He caused six alms-halls to be builded, at
the four gates, in the midst of the city, and at his own
door. He was munificent in distributing each day six
hundred thousand pieces of money. On the eighth, four-
teenth, and fifteenth days he never missed visiting the
alms-halls to see the distribution made.
382 KING SIVI
Once on the day of the full moon, the state umbrella
had been uplifted early in the morning, and he sat on
the royal throne thinking over the gifts he had given.
Thought he to himself, "Of all outside things there is
nothing I have not given ; but this kind of giving does
not content me. I want to give something which is a
part of myself Well, this day when I go to the alms-hall,
I vow that if any one ask not something outside me, but
name what is part of myself,— if he should mention my
very heart, I will cut open my breast with a spear, and as
though I were drawing up a water-lily, stalk and all, from
a calm lake, I will pull forth my heart dripping with
blood-clots and give it him : if he should name the flesh
of my body, I will cut the flesh off" my body and give it,
as though I were graving with a graving tool: let him
name my blood, I will give him my blood, dropping it in
his mouth or filling a bowl with it : or again, if one say, I
can't get my household work done, come and do me a
slave's part at home, then I will leave my royal dress and
stand without, proclaiming myself a slave, and slave's
work I will do : should any men demand my eyes, I will
tear out my eyes and give them, as one might take out
the pith of a palm-tree." Thus he thought within him :
If there be any human gift that I have never made,
Be it my eyes, I'll give it now, all firm and unafraid.
Then he bathed himself with sixteen pitchers of per-
fumed water, and adorned him in all his magnificence,
and after a meal of choice food he mounted upon an
elephant richly caparisoned and went to the alms-hall.
Sakka, perceiving his resolution, thought, "King Sivi
has determined to give his eyes to any chance comer who
may ask. Will he be able to do it, or no?" He deter-
mined to try him ; and, in the form of a brahmin old and
KING SIVI 383
blind, he posted himself on a high place, and when the
king came to his alms-hall he stretched out his hand and
stood crying, "Long live the king!" Then the king drove
his elephant towards him, and said, 'What do you say,
brahmin ? " Sakka said to him, " O great king ! in all the
inhabited world there is no si)ot where the fame of your
munificent heart has not sounded. I am blind, and you
have two eyes." Then he repeated the first stanza, asking
for an eye:
To iisk ail eye the old man conies from far, for I have none:
0 give me one of yours, I pray, then we shall each have one.
When the Great Being heard this, thought he, " Why
that is jiLst what I was thinking in my palace before I
came! What a fine chance! My heart's desire will be
fulfilled to-day; I shall give a gift which no man ever
gave yet." And he recited the second stanza:
Who taught thee hitherward to wend thy way,
0 mendicant, and for an eye to pray?
The chiefest portion of a man is this,
And hard for men to part with, so they say.
(The succeeding stanzas are to be read two and two,
as may easily be seen.)
Sujampati among the gods, the same
Here among men called Maghava by name,
He taught me hitherward to wend my way,
Begging, and for an eye to urge my. claim.
'Tis the all-chiefest gift for which I pray.
Give me an eye! 0 do not say me nay!
Give me an eye, that chiefest gift of gifts,
So hard for men to part with, as they say!
The wish that brought thee liitherward, the wish that did arise
Within thee, be that wish fulfilled. Here, brahmin, take my eyes.
One eye thou didst request of me: behold, I give thee two!
Go with good sight, in all the people's view;
So be thy wish fulfilled and now come true.
384 KING SIVI
So much the king said. But, thinking it not meet that
he should root out his eyes and bestow them there and
then, he brought the brahmin indoors with him, and sitting
on the royal throne, sent for a surgeon named Sivaka.
"Take out my eye," he then said.
Now all the city rang with the news, that the king
wished to tear out his eyes and give them to a brahmin.
Then the commander-in-chief, and all the other officials,
and those beloved of the king, gathered together from
city and harem, and recited three stanzas, that they might
turn the king from his purpose :
0 do not g"ive thine eye, my lord; desert us not, 0 king"!
Give money, pearls and coral give, and many a precious thing":
Grive thoroug-hbreds caparisoned, forth be the chariots rolled,
0 king-, drive up the elephants all fine with cloth of g-old:
These give, 0 king- ! that we may all preserve thee safe and sound,
Thy faithful people, with our cars and chariots ranged around.
Hereupon the king recited three stanzas:
The soul which, having sworn to give, is then unfaithful found,
Puts his own neck within a snare low hidden on the ground.
The soul which, having sworn to give, is then unfaithful found,
More sinful is than sin, and he to Yama's house is bound.
That which is asked I give, and not the thing he asketh not,
This therefore which the brahmin asks, I give it on the spot.
Then the courtiers asked, "What do you desire in
giving your eyes?" repeating a stanza:
Life, beauty, joy or strength— what is the prize,
0 king, which motive for your deed supplies ?
Why should the king of Sivi-laud supreme
For the next world's sake thus bestow his eyes?
The king answered them in a stanza :
In giving thus, not glory is my goal.
Not sons, not wealth, or kingdoms to control:
This is the good old way of holy men;
Of giving gifts enamoured is my soul.
KING SIVI 385
To the Great Beinj^j's words the courtiers answered
nothing ; so the Great Being adch-essed Sivaka the surgeon
in a stanza:
A friend and comrade, Sivaka, art thou :
Do as I bid thee— thou hast skill enow-
Take out my eyes, for this is my desire,
And in the beggar's hands bestow them now.
But Sivaka said, " Bethink you, my lord ! to give one's
eyes is no light thing."— " Sivaka, I have considered; don't
delay, nor talk too much in my presence.' Then he
thought, " It is not fitting that a skilful surgeon like me
should pierce a king s eyes with the lancet," so he pounded
a number of simi)les, rubbed a blue lotus with the powder,
and brushed it over the right eye : round rolled the eye,
and there was great pain. " Reflect, my king, I can make
it all right."— "Go on, friend, no delay, please." Again
he rubbed in the powder, and brushed it over the eye;
the eye started fi-om the socket, the pain was worse than
before. "Reflect, my king, I can still restore it."— "Be
quick with the job !" A third time he smeared a shari)er
powder, and applied it : by the drug's power round went
the eye, out it came from the socket, and hung dangling
at the end of the tendon. " Reflect, my king, I can yet
restore it again."— "Be quick." The pain was extreme,
blood was trickling, the king's garments were stained with
the blood. The king s women and the courtiers fell at
his feet, crying, "My lord, do not sacrifice your eyes!'
loudly they wept and Availed. The king endured the i)ain,
and said, "My friend, be quick." "Very well, my lord,"
said the physician; and with his left hand grasping the
eyeball took a knife in his right, and severing the tendon,
laid the eye in the Great Being's hand. He, gazing with
his left eye at the right and enduring the pain, said,
F. & T.
386 KING SIVI
"Brahmin, come here." When the brahmin came near,
lie went on — " The eye of omniscience is dearer than this
eye a hundred fold, aye a thousand fold: there you have
my reason for this action," and he gave it to the brahmin,
who raised it and i)laced it in his own eye socket. There
it remained fixt by his power like a blue lotus in bloom.
When the Great Being with his left eye saw that eye in
his head, he cried — "Ah, how good is this my gift of an
eye!" and thrilled straightway with the joy that had arisen
within him, he gave the other eye also. Sakka placed this
also in the place of his own eye, and departed from the
king's palace, and then from the city, with the gaze of the
multitude upon him, and went away to the world of gods.
In a short Avhile the king's eyes began to grow; as
they grew, and before they reached the top of the holes,
a lump of flesh rose up inside like a ball of wool, filling
the cavity; they were like a doll's eyes, but the pain
ceased. The Great Being remained in the palace a few
days. Then he thought, "What has a blind man to do
with ruling ? I will hand over my kingdom to the courtiers,
and go into my ])ark, and become an ascetic, and live as
a holy man." He summoned his courtiers, and told them
what he intended to do. " One man," said he, " shall be
with me, to wash my face, and so forth, and to do all that
is proper, and you must fasten a cord to guide me to the
retiring places." Then calling for his charioteer, he bade
him prepare the chariot. But the courtiers would not
allow him to go in the chariot ; they brought him out in
a golden litter, and set him down by the lake side, and
then, guarding him all around, returned. The king sat in
the litter thinking of his gift.
At that moment Sakka's throne became hot; and he
pondering perceived the reason. " I will offer the king a
KING SIVI 3«7
boon," thought he, "and make his eye well again." 80 to
that place he came; and not far off' from the Great Being,
he walked u]) and down, up and down.
"Who is that?" cried the Great 15eing, when he heard
the sound of the footsteps. 8akka repeated a stanza :
Sakka, the king of gods, am I ; to visit thee I came :
Choose thou a boon, 0 royal sage ! whate'er thy wish may name.
The king rei)lied with another stanza :
AVealth, strength, and treasure without end, these I have left
behind :
0 Sakka, death and nothing more I want: for I am blind.
Then Sakka said, "Do you ask death, King Sivi, be-
cause you wish to die, or because you are blind?" —
"Because I am blind, my lord."— "The gift is not every-
thing in itself, your majesty, it was made with a view to
the future. Yet there is a motive relating to this visible
world. Now you were asked for one eye, and gave two ;
make an Act of Truth about it." Then he began a stanza:
0 warrior, lord of biped kind, declare the thing that's true:
If you the truth declare, your eye shall be restored to you.
On hearing this, the Great Being replied, " If you wish
to give me an eye, 8akka, do not ivy any other means,
but let my eye be restored as a consequence of my gift."
Sakka said, "Though they call me Sakka, king of the
gods, your majesty, yet I cannot give an eye to anyone
else; but by the fruit of the gift by thee given, and by
nothing else, your eye shall be restored to you." Then
the other repeated a stanza, maintaining that his gift was
well given:
Whatever sort, whatever kind of suitor shall draw near.
Whoever comes to ask of me, he to my heart is dear:
If these my solemn words be true, now let my eye appear!
•J5— 2
388 KING SIVI
Even as he uttered the words, one of his eyes grew up
in the socket. Then he repeated a couple of stanzas to
restore the other :
A brahmin came to visit me, one of my eyes to crave:
Unto that hrahmin mendicant the pair of them I gave.
A greater joy and more delight that action did afford.
If these my solemn words he true, he the other eye restored!
On the instant appeared his second eye. But these
eyes of his were neither natural nor divine. An eye
given by Sakka as the brahmin, cannot be natural, we
knoAv; on the other hand, a divine eye cannot be pro-
duced in anything that is injured. But these eyes are
called the eyes of the Attainment of Truth. At the
time when they came into existence, the whole royal
retinue by Sakka's power was assembled ; and Sakka
standing in the midst of the throng, uttered praise in a
couple of stanzas :
0 fostering King of Sivi land, these holy hymns of thine
Have gained for thee as bounty free this pair of eyes divine.
Through rock and wall, o'er hill and dale, whatever bar may be,
A hundred leagues on every side those eyes of thine shall see.
Having uttered these stanzas, poised in the air before
the multitude, Avith a last counsel to the Great Being that
he should be vigilant, Sakka returned to the world of
gods. And the Great Being, surrounded by his retinue,
Avent back in great pomp to the city, and entered the
palace called Candaka, the Peacock's Eye. The news
that he had got his eyes again spread abroad all through
the Kingdom of Sivi. All the people gathered together
to see him, with gifts in their hands. " Now all this multi-
tude is come together, " thought the Great Being, " I shall
l)raise my gift that I gave." He caused a great pavilion
to be put up at the palace gate, where he seated himself
KING SIVI r 389
upon the royal throne, with the white umbrella spread
above him. Then the di'um was sent beating about the
city, to collect all the trade guilds. Then he said, "O
people of Sivi ! now you have beheld these divine eyes,
never eat food without giving sometliing away!" and he
repeated four stanzas, declaring the Law:
Who, if he's asked to srive, would answer no,
Althoug-h it be his best and choicest prize?
People of Sivi thronged in concourse, ho!
Come hither, see the gift of God, my eyes!
Through rock and wall, o'er hill and dale, whatever bar may be,
A hundred leagues on every side these eyes of mine can see.
Self-sacrifice in all men mortal living.
Of all things is most fine :
I sacrificed a mortal eye; and giving.
Received an eye divine.
See, people! see, give ere ye eat, let others have a share.
This done with your best will and care.
Blameless to heaven you shall repair.
In these four verses he declared the Law; and after
that, every fortnight, on the holy day, even every fifteenth
dav, he declared the Law in these same verses without
cessation to a great gathering of people. Hearing which,
the people after giving alms and doing good deeds,
attained to heaven.
The form of the tale of Sivi, in which tlie king gives his flesh to save a dove from
Indra (Sakka) disguised as a hawk, occurs in P. (T.) in. 7, Mbh. in. ch. 13y, LSI,
Som. VII. 88 (i. 45), Schmidt p. 17. A buddhist origin of it, as Franke says, is neither
provable nor probable. Som. has a variant of buddhist form (a jataka), The holy
Boar Lxxn. (ii. 176). In the Jdtnkanifild ii. and AfadCimi-Cataka iv. 4 (34), ed.
Feer, tlie king, after having distributed all his wealth, h;is nothing to give to small
creatures, so slashes his body and exposes it to the mosquitoes. Sakka then appears
as a vulture, and the king off'ers his body. Thereupon Sakka becomes a brahmin and
demands the king's eyes. The tale of the king's eyes occurs, as in this jatakit, in
Car. Pit. viii., and is referred to in the Questions of Milinda iv. 1. 42 (tr. p. 179).
A Jain version is given in J. J. Meyer's Hindu Tales 301, London, 1909. It is
illustrated on the Bharhut Stupa, pi. xlviii. 2. Illustrations of both tales were found
by the Prussian Turfan expeditions (1906 — 7) in the caves of a rock temple.
THE EVILS OF STRONG DRINK
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 Avhen 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 intoxi-
cated 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 this were
poison they would die, but after a short sleep they go
aAvay 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 i)artridges and
cocks 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 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,
THE EVILS OF STRONG DRINK 391
" I will drink this licjuor with the ascetic." So he filled
a reed-pipe with it, and takin<^ it together with some rpast
meat he came to the hut of leaves and said, "Holy sir,
taste this liquor," and they both drank it and ate the
meat. So from the fact of this drink having been dis-
covered by Sura and Varuna, it was called by their names
(surd and varum). 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 offered him
the drink. The king drank it two or three times and got
intoxicated. This lasted him onlv one or two davs. 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 live
hundred jars," he gave them everything they asked for.
So they stored the liquor in the five hundred jare, and. to
392 THE EVILS OF STRONG DRINK
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 oft' the cats' ears, noses, teeth and tails.
The king's officers came and told the king, "The cats
have died from drinking the liquor." 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 jiutting 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
Avhite umbrella raised over it, and surrounded by his
courtiers, he began to drink. Then Sakka, the king of
the gods, 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 ajar 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:
THE EVILS OF STRONG DRINK 393
Who art thou, Being from on high,
Whose form emits bright rays of hght.
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, wlio thou art declare,
And what within thy jar may be,
That thus appearing in mid air.
Thou fain wouldst sell thy wares to me.
Then Sakka said, " Hearken then to me," and, ex-
poundin<5 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, 0 king, this jar of mine,
Full to the brim of strongest wine^ —
And after drinking this, I ween,
Andhakavenhu's mighty race,
Roaming along the shore, were seen
To fall, each by his kinsman's mace.
Buy then etc.
The Asuras made drunk with wine
Fell from eternal heaven, O king.
With all their magic power divine:
Then who would taste the accursed thing?
Buy then etc.
Nor curds nor honey sweet is here,
But evermore remembering
What's stored within this rounded sphere,
Buy, prithee, buy my jar, 0 king.
^ 19 stanzas describing tlie evil effects of strong drink are omitted.
394 THE EVILS OF STRONG DRINK
On hearinu: this the king, recognizing the misery
caused by (h'ink, was so pleased with Sakka that he
sang his praises in tAvo stanzas :
No parents had I sage to teach, hke 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 kine,
And these ten cars with steeds of purest blood,
For thou hast counselled me to mine own good.
Sakka on hearing this revealed his godhead and
made himself known, and standing in the air he repeated
two stanzas:
These hundred slaves, 0 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 version in Jdtakamdld xvii. does not give the legend of the origin of strong
drink. Like this tale it retains the puranic version of the destruction of the
sons of Andhakavenhu (tlie ten slave brethren) by strong drink, as against the form
of the story in Jat. 454, p. 323.
THE WHITE SIX-TUSKED ELEPHANT
Once u]ion a time ei^ht thousand royal ele])]iants. by
the exercise of sii])ernatural ])owers niovin<( throu<^h 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, witli red feet and
face. By and by, when ji^rown uj), he was eighty-ei<j:ht
hands high, one hundred and twenty hands long. He had
a trunk like to a silver rope, fifty-eight hands long, and
tusks fifteen hands in circumference, thirty hands 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 Cullasubhadda and
Mahasubhadda. The king elephant, with his herd num-
bering 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 breadth. Next to this, and en-
circling it, was a thicket of inire 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 elei)hants can stand in.
was a thicket of red paddy. Next, at the edge of the
water, was a grove of small shrubs, abounding in delicate
and fragrant blossoms of blue, yellow, red and Avhite. So
390 THE WHITE SIX-TUSKED ELEPHANT
these ten thickets were each a league in extent. Next
came a thicket of various 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. 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 Com-
mentary— 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 uj)on 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.
THE WHITE SIX-TUSKED ELEPHANT 31i7
And the tree was furnished with ei*^ht thousand shoots
and stood forth in all its beauty, like to the bare Jewel
Mount. But on the west side of lake (Jhaddanta, in the
Golden Mount, was a <!^olden cave, twelve leagues in
extent. (Jhaddanta the elephant kinjj^, with his foUowinj^
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 minded to disport himself in the Siil
grove, and going thither he struck with his frontal globe
a Sal tree in full bloom. At that moment CuUasubhadda
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 CuUasubhadda, "He
let fall on the wife dear to him flowers and pollen and
fresh stalks and leaves, but on my person he dropi)ed 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 C'haddanta 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
thev too came out of the water and stood before the
Great Being. Then the eight thousand elei)hants entered
the lake and, disporting themselves in the water, i)lucked
various flowers fi'om the lake, and adorned the (ireat
Being as if it had been a silver shrine, and afterwards
adorned the queen elephants. Then a certain elei)hant.
398 THE WHITE SIX-TUSKED ELEPHANT
as he swam about the lake, oathered 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 fore-
head and presented the flower to the chief elepliant,
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, Cullasubhadda offered the wild fruits
she had got to the pacceka buddhas, and she put up a
prayer to this effect : " Hereafter, when I pass hence, may
I be re-born as the 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 a poisoned arrow to wound and slay
this elephant. 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 chief 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 sick. The king said,
" Where is Subhadda ? " And hearing that she was sick, •
THE WHITE 8IX-TU8KED ELEPHANT 399
he entered the royal closet and sitting on the bed he
stroked her back and uttered the first stanza :
Lurg-e-eyed and peeiioss one, my qut'eii, so pule, to ffrief a prey,
Like wreutli that's trampled under foot, why fadest thou away ?
On hearing this she si)oke 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 w^orld a mortal may aspire,
Whate'er they want is mine to grant, I give thee 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. 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'll 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.
400 THE WHITE SIX-TUSKED ELEPHANT
The queen, on hearing this, addressed them and spoke
another stanza :
Ye hunters bold, assembled here,
Unto my words, I pray, give ear:
Dreaming, methougrht an elephant I saw.
Six-tusked 1 and white without a flaw:
His tusks I crave and fain would have;
Nought else avails my life to save.
The hunters, on hearing this, replied :
Ne'er did our sires in times of old
A six-tusked elephant behold :
Tell us what kind of beast might be
That which appeared in dreams to thee.
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 a food basket, big in the knee and ribs,
thick-bearded, with yellow teeth, disfigured with scars,
head and shoulders above all, 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 permission 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:
1 The Scholiast explains rhabUmnn (Sanskrit shadi-ishana), six-tusked, as
didbhanna-visana, six-coloured tusks, perhaps more completely to identify the hero
of the story with the Buddha. The halo of the Buddha was of six-coloured rays.
THE WHITE SIX-TUSKED ELEPHANT 401
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,
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.
Souuttara 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.
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, 0 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. This was not
merely seen by me in a vision, but the prayer that I
offered uj) will be fulfilled. Do thou go and fear not."
And so saying she reassured him. And he agreed to her
F. A T. -"
402 THE WHITE SIX-TUSKED ELEPHANT
words and said, "So be it, lady; but first make it clear
to me and tell me where is his dwelling-place," and en-
quiring 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.
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 g"oodly 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, "Well, 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, the size of a hogshead measure; we
need 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 and brought
and offered them to her. Having provided everything
THE WHITP] SIX-TUSKED ELEPHANT 403
requisite for the journey, to«*:ether with fire-drills 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 size.
And Sonuttara, havin<»- completed his arrangements,
arrived on the seventh day and stood respectfully in the
presence of the (lueen. Then she said, "Friend, all ap-
pliances for your journey are completed : take then this
sack." And he being a stout knave, as strong as five
elej)hants, caught up the sack as if it had been a bag of
cakes, and j)lacing it on his hips, stood as it were with
em})ty hands. Cullasubhadda gave the provisions to the
hunter s attendants and, telling the king, dismissed Sonut-
tara. And he, with an obeisance to the king and queen,
descended from the i)alace and, })lacing his goods in a
chariot, set out from the city with a great retinue, and
j)assing 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 kusa 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 })ierced with
an auger. Then, })ursuiiig his way, he fashioned a ladder
26—2
404 THE WHITE SIX-TUSKED ELEPHANT
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. Then he
spread a dry i)lank 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 moun-
tains. 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
descended and fastened the rope on the peg below. The4
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 Cliff*:
THE WHITE SIX-TUSKED ELEPHANT 405
The hunter hearing, unahirnied,
Set forth with bow and quiver armed,
And crossing o'er seven mountains vast
Reached noble Golden Cliff at last.
Gaining the goblin-haunted height,
What cloud-shaped mass bursts on his sight?
A royal banyan 'tis whose roots
Support eight thousand spreading shoots.
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 continues the regular story: the hunter, it is
said, after seven j^ears, seven months and seven days,
having reached the dwelUng-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 ])repared a
lot of kusa-grass. 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 to}) of stones like mortars he fixed
posts, and fitted them with weights and ropes and si)read
planks over them. Next he made a hole of the size of an
406 THE WHITE SIX-TUSKED ELEPHANT
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 mig-hty shaft the wretch let fly.
The wounded beast loud roared withfpain,
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, sage's guise
And deemed inviolate by the wise.)
The Great Being, 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,
The yellow dress deserves not he.
But one that's free from sinful taint.
Endued with truth and self-restraint,
And firmly fixed in righteousness.
Deserves to wear the yellow dress.
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 commentator adds this to make it clear that the verses that follow are part
of the narrative, and not spoken by characters in the talc. Similarly on p. 405.
THE WHITE SIX-TUSKED ELEPHANT 4u7
Then the hunter told him and uttered this stanza :
The kiiiff of Kfisi's favoured iiueen
Subhadda told nie she had seen
Thy form in dreams, "and so," said she,
"I want his tusks; g-o, l)rinff them me."
Hearin<i^ this, and reeo<^nizin«^ that this was the work
of Cullasubhad(hi, he bore his sufferings patiently and
thought, "She does not want my tusks; she sent him
because she wished to kill me," and, to illustrate the
matter, he uttered a couple of stanzas :
Rich store of goodly tusks have I,
Rehes of my dead ancestry.
And this well knows that NVTathful dame,
'Tis at my life the wretch doth aim.
Rise, hunter, and or ere I die,
Saw off these tusks of ivory:
Go hid the shrew be of g-ood 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 eighty-eight
hands high, like a mountain, was not thrown dow n. Hence
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
Kelasa peak. Then he inserted his foot into his mouth,
and striking the fleshy ])art of it with his knee, he climbed
down from the beast's forehead and thrust the saw into
his mouth. The Great Being suffered 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 (ireat Being letting the
408 THE WHITE SIX-TUSKED ELEPHANT
blood drop from his mouth, resigning himself to the
agony, asked, saying, " Sir, cannot you cut them 1 " 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 oft' 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, 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.
When he was gone, the herd of elephants not finding
their enemy came back.
And with them also came Subhadda, and they all then
and there with weeping and lamentation betook them to
the pacceka buddhas who had been so friendly to the
Great Being, and said, "Sirs, he who supi)lied 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 hundred 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
THE THREE WISE BIRDS 409
homage to the ])acceka buddhas, raised it aloft on a pyre
and burned it. The pacceka buddhas all tlirou<rh the
night rehearsed scri])ture texts in the cemetery. The
eight thousand elephants, after extinguislun<^^ the flames,
first batlied and then, witli Subhadda at their head,
returned to their place of abode.
And Sonuttai-a within seven days reached Benares
with his tusks.
Now in offering 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 Avith six
different coloured rays on her jewelled fan, and, i)lacing
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
jrreat sorrow that she could not endure it, but her heart
then and there was broken and that very day she died.
Feer in Journ. As. 1895, N. S. v. p. 31 ff. gives a study of this jataka comparing
it with Jat. 72, 122, 267, 4.5"), Jdtalcamald xxxi, and five versions. See a description
of the mountain climbing in The Earliest Rock-Climb by Mrs Rhys Davids, Alpine
Jourii. May 1891 {JPTS. 1897—1901, p. SOflF.). It is illustrated on the Bharhut
Stupa, pi. XXVI. 6.
THE THREE WISE BIRDS
Once upon a time Brahmadatta ruled in Benares and
had no heir, and his ])rayer 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
410 THE THREE WISE BIRDS
the grounds 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
heai-t, 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 ow fs egg, another is
a maynah bird's, and the third is a parrot's." " Pray are
there eggs of three different birds in one nest ? " " 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, " Watch care-
fully 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
THE THREE AVISE lURDS 411
courtier likewise, after ji^etting the Imntsnian to examine
it, and hearing; it was a hen bird, went to the kin«jj and
announced to him tlie birth of a (hiu<j:hter. The kinjjc was
delighted, and jLi^ave to him also much treasure and sayin<^,
"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 ])arrot's eg<^ 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 U]) in the houses of the three
courtiers with all the ceremony due to princes. The king
spoke 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 Avishes to ask
you a question. When shall he come and ask it ? The
minister came and bowing to Vessantara delivered the
message. Vessantara sent for the coui'tier 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 ? " 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
412 THE THREE WISE BIRDS
throiiiih the citv 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 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 magni-
ficent pavilion surrounded by a great retinue and sent
word to a courtier to conduct Vessantara 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 he blest —
To one that's fain o'er men to reig-n, what course of life is best?
Vessantara, without answering the question directly,
reproved the king for his carelessness and spoke the
second stanza:
Kainsa my sire, who Kasi won, so careless long- ago,
Urged me his son, though full of zeal, still greater zeal to shew.
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.
THE THREE WISE BIRDS 413
'Tis thus that Good Fortune and Luck, when asked, this answer
have told,
"I delight in a man from jealousy free, energetic and bold."
Ill luck, ever wrecking good fortune, delighteth in men of ill deeds.
The hard-hearted creatures in whom a spirit of jealousy breeds.
To all, 0 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, 0 thou that o'er Kasi dost reign.
Will destroy root and branch his foes, and to greatness wUl surely
attain.
For Sakka himself, 0 king, in energy wearieth not;
In virtue he firmly hath stood, through energy such is his lot.
Gandharvas, the fathers, and gods, are refreshed by such zeal of a king.
And spirits appearing stand by, of his vigour and energy 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 w in bliss for a friend or to work grievous ill for a foe.
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 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.
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
414 THE THREE WISE BIRDS
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:
Kundulini, of kshatriya birth, couldst thou resolve my quest,
To one that's fain o'er men to reign, what course of Ufe 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 me ? ' 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 a 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.
Thou thyself, 0 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 ovennuch
speed,
For the fool that so acts without doubt will live to repent of the
deed.
To wrath one should never give way, nor let it due bounds overflow;
It has led to the ruin of kings and the proudest of houses laid low.
Betray none, in that thou art lord, to aught that is useless and vain,
Nor become thou to women and men the cause of their sorrow and
pain.
THE THREE WI8E BIRDS 41 r.
When a king from all caution is 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 full of sulfering and woe.
Thus did Kundalini also teach tlie kiii«; his duty in
eleveu stanzas. The king- was dcHghted and addi-essinj^
his courtiers asked them, sayin<^, " What is to be j^iven to
my daughter as a reward for her having spoken thus?"
'• The office of treasurer, Sire." " Well then, I grant her
the post of treasurer," and he a])pointed Kundalini to the
vacant post. Thenceforth she held the office and acted
for the king. Here ends the story of the question of
Kundalini.
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 enter-
tained 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 fathers 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 owl, 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 attentively, and I will
tell you all," and like a man i)lacing a purse containing
416 THE THREE WISE BIRDS
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, 0 mighty lord, the next is said to be.
The power of counsel third in rank of these, 0 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.
Of all these powers that one is best, as power of wisdom 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 mth 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 will 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.
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 ten stanzas :
Unto thy parents, warrior king, do righteously; and so
By following a righteous life to heaven thou, sire, shalt go....
THE THREE WISE IHKDS 417
After uttering ten stafizas about tlie way of ri<>fl)teous-
ness, still further adnionisliing the king he spoke the
concluding stanza:
Herein is the text of thy duty, to tetich thee the wiiy thou shoiildst ffo :
Follow wisdom and ever be liappy, the Truth in its fuhiess to know.
Thus did the Great Being, as tliough 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 ai)i)lause. The
king was delighted and addressing his councillors asked,
'' How ought my son, wise Jambuka, with a beak like the
fresh fruit of the rose-apple, to be rewarded for liaving
spoken thus?" "With the post of commander-in-chief,
Sire." " Then 1 offer him this post," he said, and api)ointed
him to the vacant office, and thenceforth in the position of
connnander-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 birds 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 peoi)le in the moral law, he said,
"Execute justice," and he had righteous judgment in-
scribed on a golden plate and disappeared in the forest.
And his admonition continued in force forty thousand
years.
See On Talking Birds in Hindu Fiction {Windisch Festschrijl, p. 349), by
M Bloomfiekl, wlu. does not recognise the owl lus a tiilkiiig bird. Cf. the talking
parrot, above, pj). 74, 167; the "heron," p. 243, is probably a kind of sparrow
(pujanl). The goose, p. 117, belongs rather to the talking animals of fable.
F. iT. :>7
A KING FINDS HIS FRIEND THROUGH A SONG
Once upon a time, the Magadha king reigned in
Rajagaha. 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 appear-
ance 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 offering 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 under-
stood that this day his dear friend Arindama would become
king in Benares, and that he would offer him the ])ost 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, assembled
together and saying, " 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
A KING FINDS HIS FRIEND 419
stop])in<^ at the i)ark ^ate it stood there, ready for anyone
to mount upon it. The Bodhisatta lay, with his outer
robe wrai)ped about his head, on the royal slab of stone,
while the lad Sonaka sat near him. On hearing the sound
of musical instruments Sonaka thouglit, " Here comes the
festal car for Arindama. To-day he will be made king and
he will offer me the post of conunander. Jkit verily I jjave
no desire for rule : when he is gone away, 1 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 chai)lain clasping 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 rightwise 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 su})er-
natural insight by reflecting on the impermanence of all
things he attained to the state of a i)acceka buddha, and
at this very instant his characteristic as a layman vanished,
and the marks of an ascetic became visible, and making
the solemn utterance, "There is no more re-birth for
me," he set out for the cave of Nandamala. And the
Great Being after the lapse of forty years remembered
27—2
420 A KING FINDS HIS FRIEND
Sonaka and said, " Where in the Avorld can Sonaka be ? "
And time after time calling him to mind 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 someone 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 expres-
sion 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.
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 pacceka buddha
Sonaka thought, "King Arindama is anxious to see me.
I will go and explain to him the misery of desires and the
blessing of Renunciation, and will shew 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 i)ark 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
THROUGH A SONG 421
son<^ and never sing anything else? Do you not know
any other song ? " "I know others, lioly Sir, but this is
our kings favourite song, and so I constantly sing it."
"Has any one been found to sing a refrain to this song?"
"No, Sir." "I will teacli you one and then you can go
and sing the refrain before the king." "Yes, Sir." So he
taught him the I'ef'rain "The thousand give" and tlie rest
of it, and when the boy had mastered it, 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? Be off with you as quick as you
can." " Very 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 he 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, ])repared 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 :
422 A KING FINDS HIS FRIEND
A thousand crowns for one that sees my friend and playmate dear,
A hundred lo! I give if one of Sonaka sliould hear.
(Then the Master, to make it clear that the boy with
liis hair dressed in five knots sang a refrain to the song
begun by the king, in his state as perfect Buddha
repeated two Hues:)
Then up and spake that little hoy — 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 :
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.
Filled with the Arhat's holy calm, when human passion dies.
The king then started in full 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.
All passionless, in saintly bliss, 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 wi'etched 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.
Nay rather wretched those who right neglect and practise ill.
For 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
THROUGH A SONG 423
way witli him, declared his name and family and spoke
this stanza:
As king- of Kusi T am known, Ariiidania my name.
Since eominf,' here. Sir, hast thou met with au^'lit deserving blame?
Then the pacceka buddlia 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 blessing-s of poor homeless monk I ever count it one,
In store-room jar or granaiy he 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 all his days
He eats his food, desires extinct, 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.
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.
Thus did the pacceka buddha 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 :
424 A KING FINDS HIS FRIEND
Thy many blessings thou mayst praise but what am I to do
Who Avorldly 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 pacceka buddha answered him :
Wlio 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 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 shrine 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 fell 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, 0 king, give heed.
Thy fame for good or ill will grow according to thy deed.
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.
Thus in his v»isdom infinite did Sonaka the seer
Instruct the king, and then in space straightway did disappear.
(This stanza was uttered by the Master as Buddha.)
THROUGH A SONG 425
And the Bodhisatta stood gazin^: on him as he passed
through the air, so h)ng as he remained within the range
of his vision, but when he had i)asse(l out of sight, he was
greatly agitated and thought, "This brahmin, hjw-bom^
feUow that he is, after scattering the dust from his feet
u])on my head, tliough I am sprung fi-om an unbroken
line of nobles, has disappeared in tlie sky: T must to-day
renounce the world and become a religious. So in his
desire to join the religious and give uj) his kingdom he
repeated a couj)le of stanzas:
Where are my charioteers, despatched a worthy king to find?
I would not longer reig-n ; henceforth my crown I have resigned.
To-morrow 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 him 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 (luickly 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 w^as he.
Full sixty thousand villages I once did claim as mine,
Take them, my son, to thee henceforth my kingdom I resign.
To-morrow 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 spiked hook in hand,
Take them, my sou, I give them thee as ruler of tlie land.
» On a bnihinin being called hlita-jacco see Buddhiat India by R. Davids, p. 60
426 A KING FINDS HIS FRIEND |
To-moiTOw one may die, who knows ? I'll be ordained to-day ;
Lest, like the foolish crow, I fall 'neath passion's banefnl sway.
Lol 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.
To-morrow 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,
Each driven by mailed charioteers, all armed mth bow in hand,
Take them, my son, I give them thee, as ruler of the land.
To-morrow 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 kine so red, with bulls on every hand.
Take them, my son, I give them thee as ruler of the laud.
To-morrow 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 laud.
To-morrow 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,"
1 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.
2 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 unlucky boy,
Instal him in my palace there all pleasures to enjoy —
With maids whose hands caressing him with gleaming gold are
bright,
Like Sakka midst his nymphs divine, he'll ever take delight.
1 This and the two following stanzas are spoken by the young prince.
2 This and the two following stanzas are spoken by king Arindama.
3 The commentary explains eohara as a " monster fish " or " whirlpool."
THE UGLY BlUDECiKOOM 427
Then brought they prince Dig-hfivu to the palace, home of joy,
And seemg him these maidens fair addressed the royal boy.
"Art thou a god, or baril divine, or Sakka known to fame,
Dispensing alms in every town ? We fain would learn thy name."
No god am I, nor bard divine, nor Sakka known to fame,
But heir to king of Kasi, prince Dlghavu is my name.
So cherish me and happy be: each one as wife I claim.
Then thus unto Dighavu, their liege 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 thai; 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.
And having so spoken they all sounded their niusical
instruments and all manner of song and dance took [)lace,
and so great was his glory that the prince intoxicated by
it forgot all about his father, but exercising his rule w ith
justice he fared according to his deeds. But the Bodhi-
satta developed the supernatural faculty resulting ft-om
Meditation and passed away to the Brahma world.
Car. Pit. III. 5. Tlie episode of the prince chosen king by the festal car occurs
in Jat. 445, 539, and K. D. (Arab.) xvili. The king's Son and his Companions, in
whicli also occurs the events of Jat. 4. Parallels to the discovery of a lost frientl by
means of a refrain are given on p. 381.
THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
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 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
428 THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
that the realm would utterly perish. The king- opened
his window and said, "Under my rule no man worketh
inicpiity. Wherefore do ye reproach me ? " " True, sire,"
they answered, "no one worketh inic^uity, 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, Avhat 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 Avere 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
1 Natakam seems to be used in this passage of a band of dancing girls, like the use
of (cco^os 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 (•ulla-iuajjldiiui-mahd-sllam. The women are no doubt in
some way attached to the king's court or members of his harem : otherwise he could
scarcely look upon a son born to any of them as his heir. As to the licentious
observances connected 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. m. Ch. iv. p. 600.
THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM 429
are not to relax your efforts. The queen eonsort, Silavatl,
is a virtuous woman. Send her out into the streets. A son
will be born to her." Tlie king readily assented, and j)ro- /
claimed by beat of drum that on the seventh day from
that time the i)eoi)le were to assemble and tlie 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 tlie
streets. By the power of her virtue the abode of Sakka
manifested signs of heat. Sakka, considering wliat this
might mean, found that the queen was anxious for a son
and thought, " I must grant her a son," and, while
wondering whether there was anyone in the world of gods
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 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 Avith 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 majesty that was in him no
man could stand before him, and as the queen stepi)ed
430 THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
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 Avith 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, w as 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 alone : now
there are two of us. I will go my rounds and bring home
some husked rice. Do you meanwhile lie down on this
heaj) of sticks." And so saying, he gently 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 w hat it shall be." " Then grant me,
sire, a son." " Not merely one, lady. I w ill grant you two.
One of them shall be wise but ugly, the other shall be
handsome but a fool. Which of them will you have
first?" "The wise one," she answered. "Good," said
he, and he presented her with a piece of kusa-grass,
THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM r.u
a heavenly robe and sandal-wood, the Hower of tlie
coral-tree and a Kokanada lute. Then he traus|>orted
her into the king's bedehand)er and laid her down on the
same couch with the king, and touched her person^ with
his thumb, and at that moment the Bodhisatta was con-
ceived. And Sakka straightway returned to his own abode.
The wise queen knew that she had conceived. Then the
king, waked, and seeing her said, "Who brought you here?"
" Sakka, sire." " Why ! with my own eyes I saw an aged
brahmin carry you off. Why do you deceive me?" " Believe
me, sire, Sakka took me with him to the world of gods."
" Lady, I do not believe you." Then she shewed 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 shewed
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 ])erformed the ceremony
due to her state ^. In ten months' time she gave birth
to a son. Giving him no other name, they called him
merely after the grass, Kusa. About the time that })rince
Kusa could run alone, a second heavenly being was con-
ceived. To him they gave the name of Jayampati. The
boys w^ere brought up with great state. The Bodhisatta
was so wise that, without learning aught fi'om his teacher,
he by his own ability attained to proficiency in all liberal
arts. So when he was sixteen years old, the kinjr beins:
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
1 ndbhim. 2 ggg ^jte 1, p. 131.
432 THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
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 ? '
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
w orld 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
and himself fashioned it into the figure of a woman.
Verily the purposes of Bodhisattas succeed. The figure
w as 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 })laced in our royal chamber." 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
THE UGLY BKIDEGliOOM 433
to stretch forth his liand towards it, and he said, "Sire,
standing in your royal cluiniber is a noble daughter of the
gods: I dare not approach lier." "Friend," he said, "go
and fetch the golden image," and being clmrged a second
time he brought it. The prince ordered the image 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 mother,
saying, " When I find a woman like this, I w ill take her to
wife." His mother summoned her councillors and ad-
dressed them, saying, "Friends, our son is possessed of
great merit and is the gift of Hakka; he must find a
princess worthy of him. Do you then have this fignre
placed in 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 Avhat-
ever 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
bathing-i)lace, and step back and stand on one side to
listen to what all such as pass by had to say. The peo])le
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 councillors said, "If
there were any girl like it here, they would say, * This is
F. y T. 28
434 THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
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 off 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. From her person
stream 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 lamj). The whole chamber is one
blaze of light. Now she had a humpbacked nurse, who,
Avlien 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 bathing-place saw 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 dis-
grace 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
broken. 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
Ls fairer than this image ? " "I mean Pabhavati, the Madda
king's daughter. This image is not worth a sixteenth
fraction of her." Glad at heart, they sought the entrance
THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
435
to the palace, and Iiad themselves announced to the kin«;,
sending in word that kingOkkaka's emissaries were standing
at his door. The king arose from his seat and, standing
up, ordered them to be admitted. On enteriuir tliev
saluted the king and said, "Sire, our king inquires after
your health,' and meeting with a hospitable recej)tion,
when asked why they had come, they replied, " Our king
has a son, the bold prince Kusa : tlie 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 ottered him the image. He gladly agreed,
thinking an alliance with so noble a king would be an
auspicious one. Then the envoys said, "Sire, we cannot
tarry here: we will go and tell our king that we have
secured the hand of the i)rincess, 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
are anxious to see our daughter-in-law." He readily
assented and sent for his daughter. Pabhavati, magnifi-
cently dressed and surrounded by a band of her atten-
dants, 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. 1 must
devise some scheme." Addressing the Madda kinji' she
28—2
436 THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
said, "My daughter-in-law is quite worthy of my son:
howbeit we have an hereditary observance in our family.
If she Avill abide by this custom, we will take her to be his
bride." "What is this observance of yours?" "In our
family a wife is not allowed to see her husband by day-
light 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 a vast 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 Avho had daughters
sent them to the court of king Kusa, and all who had
sons, desiring Mendship with him, sent their sons to be
his pages. The Bodhisatta had a large 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 person 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 dis-
guised 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
I
THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM 437
proclaimed an elci)haiit-festival and said to Pabhavati,
"Come, we will <^() and see your lord's elephants." Takinji^
her there, she j)ointed out this and that elephant by name.
Then, as Pabhavati was walkin;^- 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 ap])eased her by rubbing her back. A second
time the king was anxious to see her, and, disguised as a
groom in the horse-stable, just as before, he struck her
with a ])iece 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 pro-
cession 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, "I have got a husband not un-
worthy of me," and she was highly elated. But that very
day the Great Being, disguised as an elephant-keeper, Avas
seated behind Jayampati, and gazing at Pabhavati as
much as he would, in the joy of his heart he disported
himself bv sresticulatino: 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 him was an elephant-keeper, a very ill-conducted
fellow, who gesticulated at me witli his hands. Whv do
438 THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
they let such an ugly, ill-omened creature sit behind the
king?" "Tt 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 ? No 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 Avhether 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 after-
wards 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 of the lotus-pond. When she saw the ]>ond covered
with five kinds of lotus, she longed to bathe and went
down to the water's edge with her maidens. While dis-
porting herself she saw that lotus and stretched forth her
hand, eager to pluck it. Then the king, putting aside the
lotus-leaf, took her by the hand, saying, " I am king Kusa."
THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM 430
On seeing his face she cried, "A ^^oblin is catchiajj^ hold of
me," and then and there swooned away. 80 the kin<A let
iro her hand. On recoverin<^ consciousness she thoiiicht,
" Kin<^ 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 elei)hant
and made game of me. What have I to do with such an
ugly, hideous husband? If 1 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 })Ower 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 uj)
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, con-
tinued to live with his brother. Now^ one day in this
house they baked some very dainty cakes, and the Bodhi-
satta was away in the forest ; so putting aside a cake for
him thev distributed and ate the rest. At that moment a
pacceka buddha came to the door for alms. The Bodhi-
sattas sister-in-law thought she Avould bake another cake
for young master and took and gave his cake to the
pacceka buddha, and at that very instant he returned from
440 THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
the forest. So she said, " My lord, do not be angry, but
I have given your portion to the pacceka buddha." 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 champak flower, and
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
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. You 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,
THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM 441
verily, are im])iire-nundc(l ci'eatures," and slie filled a
golden bowl with all manner of dainty food, and saying,
"This is for vou to eat on the journev," she took leave
of him. Taking it he made a rightwise circuit thrice
round his mother, and cried, " If I live, I will see you
again,"' and so withdrew to the roval chamber. Then he
girded himself with the five sorts of weai)ons and putting
a thousand ])ieces of money in a bag he took his bowl of
food and a Kokanada lute and leavinji: the citv 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 u]) another fifty
leagues, and so in the course of a single day he accom-
plished a journey of a hundred leagues. In the evening
he bathed and then entered the citv of Sagala. No
sooner did he set foot in the place than Pabhavati by
the power of his majesty 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 oflfered
him a bed. While he was asleep, she prei)ared 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
tliere 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 un-
strapping his lute he played and sang, thinking that all
442 THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
who dwelt in the city should hear the sound of it.
Pabhavati, as 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 Avill 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 he asked
if he should make some vessels, and when the potter
answered, " Yes, do so," he ])laced a lump of clay on the
wheel and turned it. When once it was turned, it went
on swdftly till mid-day. After moulding all manner of
vessels, great and small, he began making one specially
for Pabhavati with various figures on it. Verily the
purposes of Bodhisattas succeed. He resolved that
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 were all present to receive
them. Then the potter gave Pabhavati the vessel which
the Great Being had made specially for her. Taking
THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM US
it she at once rec()<»nised her own likeness and that of
the lmnij)backe(l nurse and knew it coukl be the handi-
work of no one but kin<^ Kusa, and bein«^ anj^ry she said.
"I do not want it: give it to tliose tliat wish for it."' Tlien
her sisters perceiving tliat she was in a rage hiuglied 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 ])ieces of money to the Bodhi-
satta 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 Pabha-
vati," 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), 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 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 Pabhavati, and in this case also no one recog-
nised 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
444 THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
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?" "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 oftered 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 recognised 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. 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 vou 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
THE UGLY BKTDECROOM 445
and said, "Henceforth you are to have food for me and
my daujj^hters cooked by your a})i)rentice, and to brinj^
mine to me yourself, but your ai)prentice is to bring
theirs to my dau«»;hters. ' The cook went and tohl him.
On hearin*^ it he thought, " Now is my desire fulfilled :
now shall I be able to see Pabhavati.' Being i)leased
he returned the thousand })ieces of money to the cook
and next day he prei)are(l and sent dishes of food to the
king and himself climbed up to the ])alace where dwelt
Pabhavati, taking the food for the king's 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 1 hold
my i)eace, he will think I api)rove 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 rei)eated
the second stanza :
Kusa, for thee by day and nig-ht
To bear this burden is not right.
Haste back, pray, to KusavatI;
Thy ug-ly form I'm loth to see.
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.
0 soft-eyed maiden, fair Pabhavati,
AVhat 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.
44(5 THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
When he had thus spoken, she thought, " I revile him,
ho})ing to rouse a feeling- of resentment in hhn, but he
as it were tries to conciliate me by his words. Suppose
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." Pabha-
vati 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 anyone that king Kusa
has come." The humpback henceforth brought and ate
the portion of the princess and gave her own portion to
PabhavatI. 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 Pabhavatl's closet and
clashing the dishes together and groaning aloud he fell
all of a heap 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
fi'om 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:
THE UGLY BlUDEOROOM 447
111 luck is his that ever craves, to lind his wishes spuriiefi,
As tlion, 0 king", dost I'oiully woo with love still imretunied.
But because he was madly in love with her, however
much he was abused and reviled by her, he shewed no
resentment but rei)eated 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 relentin<!^,
she spoke in a firm voice, as if minded to drive him away,
and rei)eated this stanza :
As well to dig throug-h 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 tliou, so soft to outward view,
No word of welcome though I've come from far thy love to sue.
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, 0 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 per-
tinacious 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 consulted 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.
On hearing his words she said, "One cannot shame
him. What is it to me whether he runs away or not ? "
448 THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
and shutting the door she refused to shew 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. 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 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.
THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM 449
Necklace of gokl I'll grive to thee,
On coming' to Knsavati,
If slender-limbed PabhavutI
Shonld 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.
On hearing his words she said, "Get you gone, my
lord: in a very few days I will i)at her in your power.
You shall see how energetic I can be." So saying she
decided on her course of action, and going to Pabhavati
she made as if she would clean her room and not leaving
a bit 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 endear-
ment 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 i)ushed her inside
the room, and being herself outside she closed the door
and stood clinging to the cord which jmlled the door to.
Pabhavati, being unable to get at her, stood by the door,
abusing her, and spoke another stanza :
F. i T. '^^
450 THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
This humpbacked slave without a doubt,
For speaking- such a word,
Deserves to have her tong-ue 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 pro-
claimed 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 heig-ht.
Great glory his, so do whate'er is pleasing- in his sig-ht.
Esteem him not, Pabhavati, by outward form or heig-ht.
Great wealth is his, so do whate'er is pleasing- in his sig-ht.
Esteem him not, Pabhavati, by outward form or heig-ht.
Great power is his, so do whate'er is pleasing- in his sig-ht.
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.
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.
THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM 451
Hearing what she said, Pabhfivati threatened the
hum})l)ack, saying, " Crook-baek, you roar too loud. If
I cateh hold of you, I will let you know you liave a
mistress." She replied, " In niy 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 loud
voice she cowed her. And saying, " Let no one hear of
this," Pabhavati pacified the hunchback. And the Bodhi-
satta 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
thouirht, "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 returned 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? See hoAv 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
eftect and invested the city. On hearing the message,
king Madda was alarmed and took counsel witli his
ministers, saying, " What are we to do ? " Then his
29—2
452 THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
ministei*s made answer, "Sire, these seven kings have
come for Pabhavati. If you refuse to give her, they
^>ill break do^^^l 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. As she has cast off the chief king in all
India, let her receive the reward due to her return home.
I Avill 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 will,
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 in fear of death and rising
from her seat she went, accompanied by her sisters, to her
mother s state chamber.
She came into her mother's presence and saluting her
broke into these lamentations:
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 charnel ground though covered up the vultures soon will find
And with their talons rend and tear and scatter to the wind.
THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM 453
These arms whose linger 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 will 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 iulmi of Kiisi 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, ca,st in an ample mould.
Encircled with a cincture gay, wrought of the purest gold.
Cut off and by proud kings in some lone forest flung aside,
A wolf will seize and carry off where'er he's fain to hide.
Dogs, wolves, jackals and whatsoe'er are kno\Mi 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.
Then beg my bones and burn them in some sequestered way.
And make a garden near and plant a kanikara tree,
And when at winter's close it blooms, mother, recalling me.
Point to the flower and say, "Just such was fair Pabhavati."
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 i)alace.
The queen-mother, on hearing of his arrival, arose from
her throne and overwhelmed with sorrow came into the
presence of the king.
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 to make her understand 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
45-t THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
hearing what he had to say, Avent to her daughter and
lamenting spoke thus:
Thou didst not hearken to my voice, when I desired thy good,
To-day thou sink'st to Yania's realm, thy body stained with blood.
Such fate doth eveiy 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,
AVith 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 like this be found?
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.
Then Pabhavati thought, " My mother's tongue is not
equal to proclaiming 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 ?
THE UGLY BUIDEGUOOM 455
Heariiij^ this Pabhavati thou^jjht, " My mother does not
believe me. She does not know he lias 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 i)ointing to
him she repeated this stanza:
Good mother, look at yonder cook, with loins girt np rig-ht well,
He stoops to wash his pots and pans, where royal maidens dwell.
Then Kusa, they say, thought, "To-day my hearts
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 mothei-
upbraiding her spoke this stanza:
Art thou base-born or wouldst thou deigrn, a maid of royal race,
To take a slave for thy true 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.
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.
456 THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
Thus was the glory of the Great Being })raised by her
in six stanzas. Then her mother thought, "She is not
speaking in terror. It must be so," and beHeving 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?" "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 alniig-hty 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 with folded
hands he acknowledged his offence, and repeated this
stanza :
In that we failed to recog-nise
Your majesty in this disg-uise.
If, Sire, to thee offence we g"ave.
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, and he spoke this
stanza :
Go, silly gii-1, thy pardon from the great king Kusa crave,
His wrath appeased he may he pleased perhaps thy life to save.
THE UGLY BTITDEGROOM 457
On heariiijL!^ the words of her father, she went to him,
aceompanied by her sisters and her handmaids. Standinj^
just as he was in his workman's dress, he saw her eomin<^
towards liim and tliou<j;ht, "To-day I will break down
Pabhavati's pride and lay her low at my feet in the
mud," and, pourinjj^ on the j^round all the water he had
brou<2^ht there, he trampled on a spaee as big as a
threshinj^-tloor, making it one mass of mud. She drew
nigh and fell at his feet and grovelling in the mud asked
his forgiveness.
Then she spoke these stanzas :
My days and iiig-hts apart from thee, 0 king, have passed away:
Behold I stoop to kiss thy feet. From anger cease, I pray.
I promise thee, if thou to me a g-racious ear shouldst lend,
Never again in anght T do will I my lord offend.
But if thou shouldst my prayer refuse, my father then will slay
And send his daughter, limh by limb, to warrior kings a prey.
On hearing this the king thought, "If I were to tell
her, ' This is for vou 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, Pabhavati.
Hearken, 0 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 Pabhavati.
Kusa, swelling with princely pride at seeing as it
were a handmaid of Hakka, king of the gods, in attendance
upon him, thought, "AVhile I am still alive, shall others
come and carrv off mv bride ? ' and rousing himself,
lion-like, in the })alace-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
458 THE UGLY BRIDEGROOM
I take them alive, go bid them put horses to my chariots,"
and he rei)eated the followinj;- stanza :
Go, quickly yoke my well-trained steeds to many a painted car,
And watch me swiftly 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 round 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 will 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."
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 Pabha-
vati 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 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 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
^ Elephants, cavalry, chariots and infantry.
THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS 4.39
coming- here be without good result T^abhavati has seven
younger sisters, (laughters of king Madda. I will bestow
them in maiTiage on these seven ])rinces," and he rei)eated
this stanza :
These daug-hters seven, like heavenly nymphs, are very fair to see,
Give them, one each, to these seven kings, thy sons-in-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 will.
So he had them all beautifully attired and gave them
in marriage, one to each king.
A. Lang in his introduction to Cupid and Psyche, London, 1887, gives seven
features of tlie tale of Beduti/ and the Beast. (1) The youngest daughtei^'s beauty
awakens jealousy, (2) marriage to a husband who must not be looked upon,
(3) jealousy of elder sisters, (4) husband disappears when his prohibition is
neglected, (5) search for husband, (6) jealousy of husband's mother, who sets the
heroine dangerous tasks, (7) reconciliation with Cupid. Of these only one occurs in
the present tale, and Lang admitted that the essential features might occur to the
human fiincy anywhere. The Pali tale has passed into Sinhalese, Kusa Jdtaiuiya
(Engli.sh by T. Steele, 1871), into Tibetan, Tih. T. ii., also Schmidt, p. 91, and,
according to Benfey, into Mongolian. In the Tibetan the kusa-grass becomes a
box of kusa-wood containing medicine sent by Indra to make the queen conceive.
The episode of the golden image is not in the Tibetan, and may be an addition. It
occurs in Jat. 328, p. 235, and its vai'iant Tib. T. ix. For variants of the European tale
see Lang (sis above) and Custom and Myth, Benf Kl. Schr. ii. 3, 232 ff., Ralston in
Tib. T. introd. xxxvii. ff., Clouston i. 205 ff., and App. v. On the mj-th in classical
art see R. Pagenstecher, Eros und Psyche, Heidelberg, 1911.
THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS ^
1. *' The piece of meat." One day when the Bodhi-
satta was going to the play-hall, a hawk carried off a
piece of flesh from the slab of a slaughterhouse and flew
up into the air ; some lads, seeing it, determined to make
' In this birth (Jat. 546) the Bodhisatta is born as the sage Mahosadha, At the age
of seven he builds a mansion for children to play in, and the king wishes to see him.
This is prevented through the jealousy of the king's ministers, until he has been
tested by the following problems. He afterwards becomes the king's minister, over-
comes his rivals, who slander him, and saves the king from the attiicks and plots of
his enemies.
460 THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS
him drop it and pursued him. The hawk flew in different
directions, and they, looking* up, followed behind and
wearied themselves, flinging stones and other missiles and
stumbling over one another. Then the sage said to them,
" I will make him drop it," and they begged him to do so.
He told them to look ; and then himself without looking
up ran with the SAviftness of the wind and trod upon the
haAvk's shadow and then clapping his hands uttered a loud
shout. By his power that shout seemed to pierce the
bird's belly through and through and in its terror it
dropped the flesh; and the Great Being, knowing by
watching the shadow that it was dropped, caught it in
the air before it reached the ground. The people seeing
the marvel, made a great noise, shouting and clapping
their hands. The minister, hearing of it, sent an account
to the king telling him how the sage had by this means
made the bird drop the flesh. The king, when he heard
of it, asked Senaka whether he should summon him to the
court. Senaka reflected, "From the time of his coming
I shall lose all my glory and the king will forget my
existence, — I must not let him bring him here " ; so in envy
he said, " He is not a sage for such an action as this, this
is only a small matter " ; and the king being impartial, sent
word that the minister should test him further where
he was.
2. "The cattle." A certain man who dwelt in the
village of Yavamajjhaka bought some cattle from another
village, intending to plough when the rains had fallen,
and brought them home. The next day he took them
to a field of grass to graze and rode on the back of one
of the cattle. Being tired he got down and sat on the
ground and fell asleep, and meanwhile a thief came and
carried ofl* the cattle. When he woke he saw not his
THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS 4G1
cattle, but as he gazed on every side he belield the tliief
running away. Jumping up he shouted, "AVliere are you
taking my cattle?" "They are my cattle, and 1 am
carrying them to the place which I wish."' A great crowd
collected as they heard the dispute. When tlie sage heard
the noise as they passed by the door of the hall, he sent
for them both. AVhen he saw their behaviour he at once
knew which was the thief and which the real owner. But
though he felt sure, he asked them what they were
(luarrelling about. The owner said, " I bought these cattle
from a certain person in such a village, and I brought
them home and put them in a field of grass. This thief
saw that I was not watching and came and carried them
off. Looking in all directions T caught sight of him and
pursued and caught him. The people of such a village
know that I bought the cattle and took them." The thief
rejilied, " This man speaks falsely, they were born in my
house." The sage said, "I will decide your case fairly;
will you abide by my decision ? " and they promised so to
abide. Then thinking to himself that he must win the
hearts of the people he first asked the thief, " AVhat have
you fed these cattle with, and what have you given them
to drink ? " " They have drunk rice-gruel and have been
fed on sesame flour and kidney beans. ' Then he asked
the real owner, who said, " My lord, how could a poor man
like me get rice-gruel and the rest ? I fed them on grass."
The pandit caused an assembly to be brought together
and ordered panic seeds to be brought and ground in a
mortar and moistened with water and given to the cattle,
and they forthwith vomited only grass. He shewed this
to the assembly, and then asked the thief, "Art thou the
thief or not?" He confessed that he was the thief He
said to him, " Then do not commit such a sin henceforth."
402 THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS
But the Bodhisatta's attendants carried the man away and
cut off his hands and feet and made him heli)less. Then
the saiie addressed him with words of good counsel, "This
suffering has come ui)on thee only in this present life, but
in the future life thou wilt suffer great torment in the
different hells, therefore henceforth abandon such prac-
tices *'; he taught him the five commandments. The
minister sent an account of the incident to the king, who
asked Senaka, but he advised him to wait, " It is only an
affair about cattle and anybody could decide it." The
king, being impartial, sent the same command. (This is
to be understood in all the subsequent cases, — we shall
give each in order according to the list.)
3. "The necklace of thread ^" A certain poor woman
had tied together several threads of different colours and
made them into a necklace, which she took off from her
neck and placed on her clothes as she went down to
bathe in a tank which the sage had caused to be made.
A young woman who saw this conceived a longing for it,
took it up and said to her, " Mother, this is a very beautiful
necklace, how much did it cost to make? I will make
such a one for myself May I put it on my own neck and
ascertain its size ? " The other gave her leave, and she put
it on her neck and ran off. The elder woman seeing it
came quickly out of the water, and putting on her clothes
ran after her and seized hold of her dress, crying, " You
are running away with a necklace which I made." The
other replied, " I am not taking anything of yours, it is the
necklace which I wear on my neck " ; and a great crowd
collected as they heard this. The sage, while he played
with the boys, heard them quarrelling as they passed by
the door of the hall and asked what the noise was about.
1 Thisis Jat. 110.
THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS 403
When he heard tlie cause of the (luarrel he sent for them
both, and having- known at once by lier countenance which
was the thief, he asked them wliether they would abide by
his decision. On their both a<;Teeing to do so, he asked
the thief, "AVhat scent do you use for this necklace?"
She replied, " I always use sahha^ainhdraka to scent it
with." Now this is a scent compounded of all scents.
Then he asked the other, who replied, " How shall a poor
woman like me get sahbasainhdraka^. I always scent it
with perfume made of j)u/aitgu flowers." Then the sage
had a vessel of water brought and put the necklace in it.
Then he sent for a j^erfume-seller and told him to smell
the vessel and find out what it smelt of He directly
recognised the smell of the pniahffu fiower, and quoted
the stanza which has been already given in the first book :
" Sabbasamharaka 'tis not; only the kahgu smells;
Yon wicked woman told a lie; the truth the gammer tells."
The Great Being told the bystanders all the circum-
stances and asked each of them respectively, "Art thou
the thief? Art thou not the thief?" and made the guilty
one confess, and fi'om that time his wisdom became known
to the people.
4. "The cotton thread." A certain woman who used
to watch cotton fields was watching one day and she took
some clean cotton and spun some fine thread and made it
into a ball and placed it in her lap. As she went home
she thought to herself, "I will bathe in the great sages
tank," so she placed the ball on her dress and went down
into the tank to bathe. Another woman saw it, and con-
ceiving a longing for it took it up, saying, "This is a
beautiful ball of thread; pray did you make it yourself?"
So she lightly snapj)ed her fingers and put it in her lap as
if to examine it more closely, and walked off with it. (This
464 THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS
is to be told at full as before.) The sa<^e asked the thief,
" When you made the ball what did you put inside ? " She
replied, " A cotton seed." Then he asked the other, and
she replied, "A timbaru seed." When the crowd had
heard what each said, he untwisted the ball of cotton and
found a timbaru seed inside and forced the thief to confess
her guilt. The great multitude were highly pleased and
shouted their applause at the way in which the case had
been decided.
5. "The son." A certain woman took her son and
went down to the sage s tank to wash her face. After she
had bathed her son she laid him in her dress and having
washed her own face went to bathe. At that moment a
female goblin saw the child and wished to eat it, so she
took hold of the dress and said, " My friend, this is a fine
child, is he your son ? " Then she asked if she might give
him suck, and on obtaining the mother s consent, she took
him and played with him for a while and then tried to run
off with him. The other ran after her and seized hold of
her, shouting, " Whither are you carrying my child ? " The
goblin replied, "Where did you get a child? this is mine."
As they wrangled they passed by the door of the hall, and
the sage, hearing the noise, sent for them and asked what
was the matter. When he heard the story, although he
knew at once by her red unwinking eyes that one of them
was a goblin, he asked them whether they would abide by
his decision. On their promising to do so, he drew a line
and laid the child in the middle of the line and bade the
goblin seize the child by the hands and the mother by the
feet. Then he said to them, " Lay hold of it and pull ; the
child is hers who can pull it over." They both pulled, and
the child, being pained while it was pulled, uttered a loud
cry. Then the mother, with a heart Avhich seemed ready
THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS 465
to burst, let the child go and stood weepinj::. The saj^e
asked the multitude, " Is it the heart of the mother which
is tender towards the child or the heart of her who is not
the mother? " They answered, " The mother's heart." " Is
she the mother who kept hold of the child or she who let
it go ?" They replied, " She who let it go." " Do you know
who she is who stole the child?" "We do not know,
O sage." " She is a goblin, — she seized it in order to eat
it." When they asked how he knew that he re])lied,
" I knew her by her unwinking and red eyes and by her
casting no shadow and by her fearlessness and want of
mercy." Then he asked her what she was, and she con-
fessed that she was a goblin. "Why did you seize the
child?" "To eat it." "You blind fool," he said, "you
committed sin in old time and so were born as a goblin ;
and now you still go on committing sin, blind fool that
you are." Then he exhorted her and established her in
the five precepts and sent her away; and the mother
blessed him, and saying, " May'st thou live long, my lord,"
took her son and went her way.
6. "The black ball." There was a certain man who
was called (^lakala, — now he got the name gola 'ball'
from his dwarfish size, and Mia from his black colour.
He worked in a certain house for seven years and obtained
a wife, and she was named Dighatala. One day he said to
her, "W^ife, cook some sweetmeats and food, we will ])ay a
visit to your j)arents. ' At first she opposed the plan,
saying, "What have I to do with parents now?" but after
the third time of asking he induced her to cook some
cakes, and having taken some provisions and a present he
set out on the journey with her. In the course of the
journey he came to a stream which was not really deep,
but they, being both afraid of water, dared not cross it and
F. i; T. 30
466 THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS
stood on the bank. Now a poor man named Dlghapitthi
came to that place as he walked along the bank, and
when they saw him they asked him whether the river was
deep or shallow. Seeing that they were afraid of the water
he told them that it was very deep and full of voracious
fish. " How then will you go across it ? " "I have struck
uj) a friendship with the crocodiles and monsters that live
here, and therefore they do not hurt me." " Do take us
with you," they said. When he consented they gave him
some meat and drink ; and when he finished his meal he
asked them which he should carry over first. " Take our
friend first and then take me," said Golakala. Then the
man placed her on his shoulders and took the provisions
and the present and went down into the stream. When
he had gone a little way, he crouched down and walked
along in a bent posture. Golakala, as he stood on the
bank, thought to himself, "This stream must indeed be
very deep; if it is so difficult for even such a man as
Dighapitthi, it must be impassable for me." When the
other had carried the woman to the middle of the stream,
he said to her, " Lady, I will cherish you, and you shall live
bravely arrayed with fine dresses and ornaments and men-
servants and maid-servants ; what will this poor dwarf do
for you? listen to what I tell you." She listened to his
words and ceased to love her husband, and being at once
infatuated with the stranger, she consented, saying, "If
you will not abandon me, I will do as you say." So when
they reached the opi^osite bank, they amused themselves
and left Golakala, bidding him stay where he was. While
he stood there looking on, they ate up the meat and drink
and departed. When he saw it, he exclaimed, " They have
struck up a friendship and are running away, leaving me
here." As he ran backwards and forwards he went a little
THP] NINETEEN PROBLEMS 407
way into the water and then drew back a^^ain in fear, and
then in his anger at their conduct, he made a desperate
leap, saying, " Let me live or die," and when (jnce fairly in,
he discovered how shallow the water was. So he crossed
it and pursued him and shouted, "You wicked thief, whither
are you carrying- my wife 'i " The other replied, '• Plow is
she your wife? she is mine"; and he seized him by the
neck and whirled him round and threw him off. The
other laid liold of JJighatalas hand and shouted, "Stop,
where are you going? you are my wife whom 1 got after
working for seven years in a house"; and as he thus
disputed he came near the hall. A great crowd collected.
The Great Being asked what the noise was about, and
having sent for them and heard what each said he asked
whether they would abide by his decision. On their both
agreeing to do so, he sent for Dighapitthi and asked him
his name. Then he asked the wife's name, but he, not
knowing what it was, mentioned some other name. Then
he asked him the names of his parents and he told them,
but when he asked him the names of his wife's parents he,
not knowing, mentioned some other names. The Great
Being put his story together and had him removed. Then
he sent for the other and asked him the names of all in
the same way. He, knowing the truth, gave them correctly.
Then he had him removed and sent for Dighatala and
asked her what her name was and she gave it. Then he
asked her her husband's name and she, not knowing, gave
a wrong name. Then he asked her her parents' names
and she gave them correctly, but when he asked her the
names of her liusband's parents' names, she talked at
random and gave wrong names. Then the sage sent for
the other two and asked the multitude, " Does the woman's
story agree with Dighapitthi or Golakala?" They replied,
30—2
468 THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS
"With Golakala." Then he pronounced his sentence,
"This man is her husband, the other is a thief"; and
when he asked him he made him confess that he had
acted as the thief
7. "The chariot." A certain man, who was sitting in
a chariot, alighted from it to wash his face. At that
moment Sakka Avas considering and as he beheld the sage
he resolved that he would make known the power and
wisdom of Mahosadha the embryo Buddha. So he came
down in the form of a man, and followed the chariot
holding on behind. The man who sat in the chariot asked,
" Why have you come ? " He replied, " To serve you." The
man agreed, and dismounting from the chariot went aside
at a call of nature. Immediately Sakka mounted in the
chariot and went off at speed. The owner of the chariot,
his business done, returned; and when he saw Sakka
hurrying away with the chariot, he ran quickly behind,
crying, "Stop, stop, where are you taking my chariot?"
Sakka replied, "Your chariot must be another, this is
mine." Thus wrangling they came to the gate of the hall.
The sage asked, " What is this ? " and sent for him : as he
came, by his fearlessness and his eyes which winked not,
the sage knew that this was Sakka and the other was the
owner. Nevertheless he enquired the cause of the quarrel,
and asked them, " Will you abide by my decision ? " They
said, " Yes." He Avent on, " I will cause the chariot to be
driven, and you must both hold on behind : the owner will
not let go, the other will. ' Then he told a man to drive
the chariot, and he did so, the others holding on behind.
The OA\Tier went a little way, then being unable to run
further he let go, but Sakka went on running with the
chariot. When he had recalled the chariot, the sage said
to the people : " This man ran a little way and let go ; the
THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS 409
othei- ran out with the chariot and came back witli it, vet
there is not a drop of sweat on his body, no pantin<^, he is
fearless, his eyes wink not this is Sakka, kin<j;- of the gods."
Then he asked, ''Are you king of the gods?" "Yes."
"Why did you come here?" "To spread the fame of
your wisdom, O sage!" "Then," said lie, "don't do that
kind of thing again." Now Sakka revealed his power by
standing j)oised in the air, and praised the sage, saying,
" A wise judgment this ! " So he went to his own place.
Then the minister unsummoned went to the kinjr, and
said, "O great king, thus was the Chariot Question re-
solved: and even Sakka was subdued by him; why do
you not recognise superiority in men?" The king asked
Senaka, " What say you, Senaka, shall we bring the sage
here?' Senaka replied, "That is not all that makes a
sage. Wait awhile: I will test him and find out."
8. " The pole." So one day, with a view of testing the
sage, they fetched an acacia pole, and cutting oft' about a
span, they had it nicely smoothed by a turner, and sent it
to the village of East Yavamajjhaka, with this message:
"The people of Yavamajjhaka have a name for wisdom.
Let them find out then which end is the top and which
the root of this stick. If they cannot, there is a fine of a
thousand pieces." The people gathered together but could
not find it out, and they said to their gildmaster, "Perhaps
Mahosadha the sage would know; send and ask him.''
The gildmaster sent for the sage from his playground, and
told him the matter, how they could not find it out but
perhaps he could. The sage thought in himself, "The
king can gain nothing from knowing which is the top and
which is the root; no doubt it is sent to test me." He
said, " Bring it here, my friends, I will find out." Holding
it in his hand, he knew which was the top and which the
470 THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS
root ; yet to please the heart of the people, he sent for a
pot of water, and tied a string round the middle of the
stick, and holding it by the end of the string he let it
down to the surface of the water. The root being heavier
sank first. Then he asked the people, " Is the root of a
tree heavier, or the top?" "The root, wise sir!" "See
then, this part sinks first, and this is therefore the root."
By this mark he distinguished the root fi'om the top. The
people sent it back to the king, distinguishing which was
the root and which was the top. The king was pleased,
and asked, w^ho had found it out ? They said, " The sage
Mahosadha, son of the gildmaster Sirivaddhi." " Senaka,
shall we send for him?" he asked. "Wait, my lord," he
replied, "let us try him in another way."
9. "The head." One day, two heads were brought,
one a woman's and one a mans; these were sent to be
distinguished, with a fine of a thousand pieces in case of
failure. The villagers could not decide and asked the
Great Being. He recognised them at sight, because, they
say, the sutures in a man's head are straight, and in a
woman's head they are crooked. By this mark he told
w hich w as which ; and they sent back to the king. The
rest is as before.
10. "The snake." One dav a male and a female snake
ft/
were brought, and sent for the villagers to decide which
was which. They asked the sage, and he knew at once
when he saw them; for the tail of the male snake is thick,
that of the female is thin ; the male snake's head is thick,
the female's is long; the eyes of the male are big, of the
female small, the head of the male is rounded, that of
the female cut short. By these signs he distinguished
male from female. The rest is as before.
11. "The cock." One day a message was sent to the
THE NINETEEN PliOBLExMS 471
people of the villa<i^e of East Yavamajjliakti to this etl'ect;
"Send us a bull white all over, with horns on his legs, and a
hump on the head, which utters his voice at three times
unfailingly; otherwise there is a fine of a thousand pieces."
Not knowing one, they asked the sage. He said: "The
king means you to sentl him a cock. This creature has
horns on his feet, the spurs; a hump on his head, the
crest; and crowing thrice utters his voice at three times
unfailingly. Then send him a cock such as he describes."
They sent one.
12. "The gem." The gem which Sakka gave to King
Kusa was octagonal. Its thread was broken, and no one
could remove the old thread and put in a new. One day
they sent this gem, with directions to take out the old
thread and to put in a new; the villagers could do neither
the one nor the other, and in their difficulty they told the
sage. He bade them fear nothing, and asked for a drop
of honey. With this he smeared the two holes in the gem,
and twisting a thread of wool, he smeared the end of this
also with honey, he pushed it a little way into the hole,
and put it in a place where ants were passing. The ants
smelling the honey came out of their hole, and eating
away the old thread bit hold of the end of the woollen
thread and pulled it out at the other end. When he saw-
that it had passed through, he bade them present it to the
king, Avho was pleased when he heard how the thread had
been put in.
1 3. " The calving." The royal bull was fed up for some
months, so that his belly swelled out, his horns were washed,
he was anointed with oil, and bathed with turmeric, and
then they sent him to the village of P]ast Yavamay haka, with
this message: "You have a name for wisdom. Here is the
kings royal bull, in calf; deliver him and send him back
472 THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS
with the calf, or else there is a fine of a thousand pieces,"
The villagers, perplexed what to do, applied to the sage ;
who thought fit to meet one question with another, and
asked, "Can you find a bold man able to speak to the
king?"' "That is no hard matter," they replied. 80 they
summoned him, and the Great Being said—" Go, my good
man, let your hair down loose over your shoulders, and go
to the palace gate weeping and lamenting sore. Answer
none but the king, only lament ; and if the king sends for
you to ask why you lament, say. This seven days my father
is in labour and cannot bring forth ; O help me ! tell me
how I mav deliver him ! Then the king will say, What
madness ! this is impossible ; men do not bear children.
Then you must say, If that be true, how can the people of
East Yavamajjhaka deliver your royal bull of a calf?" As
he was bidden, so he did. The king asked who thought of
that counter-quip ; and on hearing that it w as the sage
Mahosadha he was pleased.
14. " The boiled rice." Another day, to test the sage,
this message was sent: "The people of East Yavamajjhaka
must send us some boiled rice cooked under eight
conditions, and these are— without rice, without water,
without a pot, Avithout an oven, without fire, without
firewood, without being sent along a road either by
woman or man. If they cannot do it, there is a fine of
a thousand pieces." The peojjle perplexed applied to the
sage; who said, "Be not troubled. Take some broken
rice, for that is not rice; snow, for that is not water;
an earthen bowl, which is no pot ; chop up some wood
blocks which are no oven ; kindle fire by rubbing, instead
of a jjroper fire; take leaves instead of firewood; cook
your sour rice, put it in a new vessel, press it well down,
put it on the head of a eunuch, who is neither man nor
THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS 473
woman, leave the main road and go alonj^ a footpath,
and take it to the king." They did so; and the king was
pleased when he heard by wlioni the question had been
solved.
15. "The sand." Another day, to test the sage, they
sent this message to the villagers: "The king wishes to
amuse himself in a swing, and the old rope is broken ;
you are to make a rope of sand, or else pay a fine of
a thousand pieces." They knew not what to do, and
appealed to the sage, who saw that this was the place for
a counter-question. He reassured the people ; and send-
ing for two or three clever speakers, he bade them go tell
the king: "My lord, the villagers do not know whether the
sand-rope is to be tliick or thin ; send them a bit of the
old rope, a span long or four fingers ; this they will look
at and twist a rope of the same size." If the king replied,
"Sand-rope there never was in my house," they were to
reply, "If your majesty cannot make a sand-rope, how can
the villagers do so?" Thev did so; and the king was
pleased on hearing that the sage had thought of this
counter-quip.
K). "The tank." Another day, the message was : "The
king desires to disport him in the water ; you must send
me a new tank covered with water lilies of all five kinds,
otherwise there is a fine of a thousand pieces." They told
the sage, who saw that a counter-quip was wanted. He
sent for several men clever at speaking, and said to them :
"Go and play in the water till your eyes are red, go to the
palace door with wet hair and wet garments and your
bodies all over mud, holding in your hands roi)es, staves,
and clods; send word to the king of your coming, and
when you are admitted say to him. Sire, inasmuch as your
majesty has ordered the i)eople of East Yavamajjhaka
\
474 THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS {
to send you a tank, we brought a great tank to suit your
taste ; but she being used to a Hfe in the forest, no sooner
saw the town with its walls, moats, and watch-towers, than
she took fright and broke the ropes and oif into the
forest : we pelted her with clods and beat her with sticks
but could not make her come back. Give us then the
old tank which your majesty is said to have brought from
the forest, and we will yoke them together and bring
the other back. The king will say, I never had a tank
brought in from the forest, and never sent a tank
there to be yoked and bring in another! Then you
must say. If that is so, how can the villagers send you
a tank ?" They did so ; and the king was pleased to hear
that the sage had thought of this.
17. "The park." Again on a day the king sent a
message. " I wish to disport me in the park, and my park
is old. The people of Yavamajjhaka must send me a new
park, filled with trees and flowers." The sage reassured
them as before, and sent men to speak in the same
manner as above.
1 8 ^ Then the king was pleased, and said to Senaka :
"Well, Senaka, shall we send for the sage?" But he,
grudging the other's prosperity, said, "That is not all
that makes a sage; wait." On hearing this the king
thought, "The sage Mahosadha was wise even as a
child, and took my fancy. In all these deep tests and
counter-quips he has given answers like a Buddha. Yet
Senaka will not let me summon such a sage as this
to my side. What care I for Senaka? I will bring the
man here." So wifh a great following he set out for the
village, mounted upon his royal horse. But as he went
the horse put his foot into a hole and broke his leg; so
J Thisis Jat. 111.
THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS 475
the king turned back from that phice to the town. Then
Senaka entered the presence and said: "Sire, did you go
to the village of Yavaniajjhaka to bring the sage back?"
"Yes, sage." said the king. "Sire," said Senaka, "you make
me as one of no account. I begged you to wait awliile ;
but off you went in a hurry, and at the outset your royal
horse broke his leg." The king had nothing to say to
this. Again on a day he asked Senaka, "Shall we send
for the sage, Senaka?" "If so, your majesty, don't go
yourself but send a messenger, saying, O sage ! as I was
on my w ay to fetch you my horse broke his leg : send us
a mule or something more excellent. If he takes the
first alternative he Avill come himself, if the second he will
send his father. Then will be a problem to test him."
The king sent a messenger with this message. The sage
on hearing it recognised that the king wished to see him-
self and his father. So he w^ent to his father, and said,
greeting him, " Father, the king wishes to see you and me.
You go first with a thousand merchants in attendance ;
and when you go, go not empty-handed, but take a sandal-
wood casket filled with fresh ghee. The king will speak
kindly to you, and offer you a households s seat ; take it
and sit down. When you are seated, I will come ; the king
mil speak kindly to me and offer me such another seat.
Then I will look at you ; take the cue and say, rising from
your seat. Son Mahosadha the wise, take this seat. Then
the question will be ripe for solution." He did so. On
arriving at the palace door he caused his arrival to be made
known to the king, and on the king s invitation, he entered,
and greeted the king, and stood on one side. The king
spoke to him kindly, and asked where was his son the
wise iNIahosadha. " Coming after me, my lord." The king
was pleased to hear of his coming, and bade the fiither
47(3 THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS
sit in a suitable place. He found a place and sat there.
Meanwhile the Great Being dressed himself in all his
splendour, and attended by the thousand youths he came
seated in a magnificent chariot. As he entered the town
he beheld an ass by the side of a ditch, and he directed
some stout fellows to fasten up the mouth of the ass so
that it should make no noise, to put him in a bag and
carry him on their shoulders. They did so ; the Bodhisatta
entered the city with his great company. The people could
not praise him enough. "This," they cried, "is the wise
Mahosadha, the merchant Sirivaddhaka's son; this they say
is he, who was born holding a herb of virtue in his hand ;
he it is who knew the answers to so many problems set to
test him.'" On arriving before the palace he sent in word
of his coming. The king was pleased to hear it and said,
" Let my son the wise Mahosadha make haste to come in."
So with his attendants he entered the palace and saluted
the king and stood on one side. The king delighted to
see him spoke to him very sweetly, and bade him find
a fit seat and sit down. He looked at his father, and his
father at this cue uprose from his seat and invited him to
sit there, which he did. Thereupon the foolish men who
were there, Senaka, Pukkusa, Kavinda, Devinda, and others,
seeing him sit there, clapped their hands and laughed
loudly and cried, " This is the blind fool they call wise ! He
has made his father rise from his seat, and sits there himself!
Wise he should not be called surely." The king also was
crestfallen. Then the Great Being said, "Why, my lord!
are you sad?" "Yes, wise sir, I am sad. T was glad to
hear of you, but to see you I am not glad." "Why so?"
" Because you have made your father rise from his seat,
and sit there yourself." "What, my lord! do you think
that in all cases the sire is better than the sons?" "Yes,
THE NINETEEN PROIUjEMS 477
sa<^e." "Did you not send word to me to bring you a
mule or something more excellent i " 80 saying he
rose up and looking towards the young fellows said,
"Bring in the ass you have brought." Placing this ass
before the king he went on, "Sire, what is the price of
this ass?" The king said, " If it be serviceable, it is worth
eight kahapanas." " But if he get a mule colt out of a
thorobred Sindh mare, what will the ])rice of it be?" "It
will be })riceless." "Why do you say that, my lord^ Have
you not just said that in all cases the sire is better
than the sons? By your own saying the ass is worth
more than the mule colt. Now have not your wise men
clapt their hands and laughed at me because they did
not know that ? What wisdom is this of your wise men !
where did you get them?" And in contempt for all
four of them he addressed the king in this stanza of the
First Book:
You smile, and think that the sire is better than the son, 0 excellent
king-. Then is yon creature better than the mule ; the ass is the mule's
sire.
After this said, he went on, "My lord, if the sire is
better than the son, take my sire into your service ; if the
son is better than the sire, take me." The king was
delighted ; and all the company cried out applauding and
praising a thousand times — "Well indeed has the wise
man solved the question." There was cracking of fingers
and waving of a thousand scarves: the four were crest-
fallen.
Now no one knows better than the Bodhisatta the value
of parents. If one ask then, why he did so : it was not to
throw contempt on his father, but when the king sent
the message, send a mule or something more excellent,
he did thus in order to solve that problem, and to
478 THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS
make his wisdom to be recognised, and to take the shine
out of the four sages.
The king was pleased; and taking the golden vase filled
with scented water, poured the water upon the merchant s
hand, saying, " Enjoy the village of East Yavamajjhaka
as a gift fi'om the king. — Let the other merchants," he
went on, "be subordinate to this." This done he sent
to the mother of the Bodhisatta all kinds of ornaments.
Delighted as he was at the Bodhisatta's solution of the
Ass Question, he wished to make the Bodhisatta as his own
son, and to the father said, "Good sir, give me the Great
Being to be my son." He replied, " Sire, very young is he
still ; even yet his mouth smells of milk : but when he is
old, he shall be with you." The king said however, "Good
sir, henceforth you must give up your attachment to the
boy; from this day he is my son. I can support my
son, so go your ways." Then he sent him away. He did
obeisance to the king, and embraced his son, and throw-
ing his arms about him kissed him upon the head, and
gave him good counsel. The boy also bade his father
farew ell, and begged him not to be anxious, and sent him
away.
The king then asked the sage, whether he would take
his meals inside the palace or without it. He thinking
that with so large a retinue it were best to have his meals
outside the palace, replied to that effect. Then the king
gave him a suitable house, and providing for the main-
tenance of the thousand youths and all, gave him all that
was needful. From that time the sage attended upon
the king.
19. Now the king desired to test the sage. At that
time there was a precious jewel in a crow's nest on a palm-
tree which stood on the bank of a lake near the southern
THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS 479
^'
ate, and the image of this jewel was to be seen reflected
upon the lake. They told the king that there was a
jewel in the lake. He sent for Senaka, saying, "They tell
me there is a jewel in the lake; how are we to get it?"
Senaka said, " The best way is to drain out the water."
The king instructed him to do so; and he collected a
number of men, and got out the water and mud, and dug
up the soil at the bottom — but no jewel could he see.
But when the lake was again full, there was the reflexion
of the jewel to be seen once more. Again Senaka did the
same thing, and found no jewel. Then the king sent for
the sage, and said, "A jewel has been seen in the lake, and
Senaka has taken out the w ater and mud and dug up the
earth without finding it, but no sooner is the lake full
than it appears again. Can you get hold of it?" He
replied, " That is no hard task, sire, I will get it for you."
The king was pleased at this promise, and with a great
following he went to the lake, ready to see the might of
the sage's knowledge. The Great Being stood on the
bank, and looked. He perceived that the jewel was not
in the lake, but must be in the tree, and he said aloud,
"Sire, there is no jewel in the tank." "What! is it not
visible in the water?" So he sent for a pail of water, and
said, "Now, my lord, see — is not this jewel visible both in
the pail and the lake?" "Then where can the jewel be?"
" Sire, it is the reflexion which is visible both in the lake
and in the pail, but the jewel is in a crow's nest in this
palm-tree; send up a man and have it brought down."
The king did so: the man brought down the jewel, and
the sage put it into the kings hand. All the people
api)lauded the sage and mocked at Senaka — "Here's a
precious jewel in a crow's nest up a tree, and Senaka
makes strong men dig out the lake ! Surely a wise man
480 THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS
should be like Mahosadha." Thus they praised the
Great Being; and the king being delighted with him,
gave him a necklace of pearls fi'om his own neck, and
strings of pearls to the thousand boys, and to him and his
retinue he granted the right to wait upon him without
ceremony.
A study of the type of tale in which such problems occur is given by Benfey in his
essay Die kluge Dime (Kl. Schr. ii. 1. 156 ff.). The most important variants are Tib. T. ^
vn. VIII, The Story of Ahikar in Sj-riac, Arabic, etc. (edited by F. C. Conybeare, J. R.
Harris, and A. Smith Lewis, 2nd ed. Cambridge, 1913), and the Life of Aesop. The
following parallels to the problems strengthen Benfey's view that the tale is of Indian
origin. Cf. Introd. p. 6, and the problems in Jat. 257, p. 207.
2. The same means are used to convict the dogs in Jat. 22, p. 28, and to
convict a rogue in Tib. T. viii, cf Problem 6.
5. Solomon's judgment, 1 Kings iii. 16. In Tib. T. vii. two men dispute the
possession of a pair of boots. Visakha gives one to one man and the other to the
other. The real owner says, " why should the boots be separated ? " and the other,
" what good is one boot to me ? "
6. Tib. T. VIII, but there the conviction of the rogue is brought about by making
the disputants vomit.
7. The Bodhisatta by saying that the owner will not let go tricks Sakka into
reveaUng himself.
8. Tib. T. viL and viii.
10. Tib. T. VIII, where the male snake is unable to endure stroking with the
leaf of a cotton plant.
11. A riddle of the same type as 14.
12. In the Mohammedan legends of the visit of Bilqis, Queen of Sheba, to
Solomon, one of the problems which she gives to the king is to thread a diamond.
This is done by a worm creeping through the jewel. (Weil, Biblical Legends of the
Mussulmans^ London, 1846.)
13. Tib. T. VIII. This, like 15, 16, 17, is answered by a counter-quip, another
impossibility being retorted on the proposer. Two such occur in Ahikar, where the
kino' of Egypt proposes to build a castle between earth and heaven (also in Life of
Aesop), and when he requires a broken millstone to be sewn up.
14. Tib. T. VIII. This is a riddle which resembles the enigma given in two
forms by the scholiast on Plato, Rep. v. 479 c. The first form is :
Aii/o? Tty i(TTiv, COS dvtjp re kovk nvrjp
opvi6a KOVK. opviQ^ l8<ov re kovk Idav
eVl ^vXov re kov ^vXov KaQrjpitvrjv
\i6oi T( KOV \i6(^ ^akoi T( kov^oXoi.
The answer being "a eunuch aimed at a bat, which he saw imperfectly sitting upon
a reed, with a pumice-stone and missed him." (Jowett and Campbell.)
THE NINETEEN PROBLEMS 481
Cf. the Icgeiitl of the whiying of Namuci by Indra in the ^atapatha Brahmana,
XII. 7, 3. Indra had sworn t^j Nanuici, "not l)y (hiy nor by ni{,dit will I nlay thee,
not with stick, not with bow, not with dry, not with wet." But he slow him with a
thunderbolt of foam. "It was not dry nor moist, with this Indrl^ when nif,'ht wa.s
growing bright, and the sun was not arisen, cut oflF the head of Namuci, the Asura."
15. Tib. T. VIII, a counter-quii), b\it in Ahikar the sage makes five cables by
boring five holes in the east wall of the palace, and scattera saud in the rays
Of light.
16, 17. Combined in one in Tib. T. viii. Given as tasks to be actually performed
in Jat. 220, pp. 184, 186.
18. Tib. T. VIII, is fuller and has more point. The king had sent a mule to be
taken care of, and it was carried off. When the king maintains that the father is
better than the son, Mahosadha offers him an ass in place of the mule.
19. Tib. T. VIII. In Julien 46 a fool thinks that he sees gold in a pool, and
dives for it several times. His father shews him that it is reflected from a bird in
a tree, which has the gold in its mouth.
ADDENDA
Page 176. See a more accurate form of the Jewish variant in the article on Ben
Siru in the Jeicish Encyclopedia, by Dr L. Ginzberg, who shews that the author of
the commentary on the Alphabet of Ben Sira drew it from some version of Kardak
and Dimnah.
Page 409. Cf. also, Ueber den Bodhisattva ah Elephant rnit sechs Hauzdhnen,
J. !S. Speyer, ZDMG., 1903, pp. 305 ff".
F. & T 31
INDEX
Titles of the tales are in italics
Abhidlianappadipiku 245
Abortion, protection against 131, 370, 431
Act of Truth 17, 24, 69, 387
Adasamukha 197, 198
Adventures (The) of the Prince and his
Brother 283
Aelian 36, 139
Aesop 4, 6, 8, 25, 34, 36, 39, 118, 141, 156,
171, 176, 180, 215, 220, 224, 257, 259;
life of 480
Aggideva 316
Ahikar, Story of 6, 480
Ajjuna 316
Alambara, drum of the Titans 213
Arnkura 316
Anaka, dium 213
Ananda, king of the fishes 30, 214
Andhakavenhu, slave 316; race of 325,393
Androcles and the lion 139
Afijana, daughter of Devagabbha 316
Anutiracarl, otter 267
Archery, marvellous 147
Arindama, prince, discovers his friend
through a song 381, 418
Aristophanes 36
Asadisa, prince 145
Asitailjana, city 314
Ass (The) in the Lion's Skin 155
Asuras, see Titans
Aulus Gellius 139
Avadana-^'ataka 389
Avalokitei^vara 166
Ayojjha, city 318
Babrius 25, 34, 39, 118, 141, 156, 220,
224, 257
Babylon 7
Baladeva 316, 325
Balariima 325
Beal, S. 166, 176
Beauty and the Beast 459
Benares 16, and often
Benfey, T. 1, 2, 30, 32, 92, 158, 210, 229,
263, 459, 480
Berekhyah ha-Naqdan 221
Bergmann, B., Nom. Streifereien 229
Betrayer (The) Betrayed 253
Bhagavata Parana 325
Bhandukanna, juggler 372
Bharata, brother of Kama 326
Bharhut Stupa 5, 32, 47, 70, 149, 173, 259,
283, 409
Bharukaccha (Broach) 251
Bhimasena 99
Bidpai, fables of 10
Bilad, story of 92, 145
Bilqis, queen of Sheba 480
Birds adopted as children 1G7, 410
Blondel discovers King Richard 381
Bloomfield, M., on talking birds 417
Boileau 269
Boro-Boedoer 167
Brahmadatta 13, and often
Brahmin (The) and the Acrobat 176
Brahmin (The) and the Snake 269
Brahminh (The) Revenge on the Monkeys 277
Brahmin's (The) Spell 63
Buddha, in the Jataka 3 ; interprets dreams
79; rejects superstition of sneezing 115;
attempt on his Hfe 277; throne of 346;
six-coloured rays 400
Buddhaghosha's Parables 17, 120, 222,
243, 325
Biihler, G., Kitual-Litteratur 370
INDEX
483
Cakkadaha, wheel of empire 346
Cakkavatti 346
Campbell, J. F., Popular Tales of the
W. Highlands 331
Candadeva 316
Caudaka, palace 388
Canura (Canura), wrestler 317
Cariya Pitaka 9, 176, 220, 389, 427
Castes, six 341 ; caste secrets 345 ; low
caste disguised 374; low-born brahmin
425
Cat (The) and the Cock 258
Cento novelle antiche 52
Ceylon 164
Chaddanta-jataka 22, 395; lake 395
Chalmers, Sir R., Lineage of the Proud
King 98
Charm to raise the dead 130; of subduing
the world 193 ; to recall a Niiga 259 ;
to understaud all sounds 260; to under-
stand animals' cries 283; to ward off
ill-luck 240 ; wishing jewel 296; to
exorcise Yakkhas 303; for gathering
fruit out of season 337 ; Vedabbha 47
Chattapani 183
Chaucer, Pardoner's Tale 9, 52
Choice {The) of a Husband 168
Citta and Sambhuta 373
Cittakuta, mount 178
Cittalata 186
Clouston, Popular Tales and Fictions 17,
45, 52, 70, 118, 168, 210, 218, 243
Cock's flesh, luck in eating 216
Cold (The) Half of the Month 20
Coleman, C, Mythology of the Hindus 428
Conceited (The) Mendicant 233
Conjunction of planets 48, 341, 349, 357
Converted (The) Miser 92
Cophetua and beggar-maid 223
Cowell, E. B. 10, 36
Crab (The) and the Elephant 211
Crab Tarn 211
Crane (The) and the Crab 36
Crocodile (The) and the Monkey 174
CuUasubhadda, elephant 397
Cunninrj (The) Jackal 123
Cupid and Psyche 459
Dadhivahana 152
Damayanti sends messengers to discover
her husband 381
Danae 325
Dantapura, city 343, 345
Dasaratha, father of llama 325 ; dies 327 ;
father of Adasamukha 199
Dasent, Popular tales from tlie Norse 291
Davids, C. A. F. lUiys 63, 409
Davids, T. W. Rhys 156, 197, 346, 425
Defeating the King of Death 191
Devadatta 277, 281, 283
Devagabbha, mother of the ten slave-
brethren 314, 325
Devaki 325
Dhammaddhaja, priest 183
Dhammapada 183
Dighatala 465
Dighavu, prince 420
Discontented (The) Ox 29
Divine eye 217, 322, 388
Divyavadana 166
Dodsley's Fables 180, 197, 269
Dog's teaching 29
Douce, Illustrations of Shakespeare 229
Dreams interpreted 78 ff.
Dubois and Beauchamp, Hindu Manners
and Customs 428
Dvaravati, magic city 318
Edenhall, luck of 219
Elephant of uposatha stock 346
Elephant-trainer^ s (The) Luck 215
Eros and Psyche 459
Evils (The) of strong Drink 390
Exorcism 113, 303
Eye, evil 153, 374; divine 217, 322, 388
Feast (The) for the Dead 20
Feer, L. 409
Fick, Die soc. Gliederung im nord-o. Indien
13, 342
Five-sprayed garland 20, 153
Flight (The) of the Beasts 230
Folly (The) of Garrulity 348
Foolhardy (The) Crow 169
Foolhardy (The) Jackal 124
Foolish (The) Crows 126
Foolish (The) Friend 44
Foicler (The) and the Quails 32
484
INDEX
Francke, 0. 4, 240, 293, 389
Frazer, Sir J. G. 84, 263, 288
Friendship of animals 141, 171, 357
Gamani-canda 200
Gambhiracari, otter 267
Gaming 250, 351; circle 68; dice 251
Garudas 250
Gaster, M. 92
Gesta Eomanorum 78, 118, 139, 168, 243
Ghatapandita 316
Ghatikfira's house, miracle of 25
Gildmaster 13; Gildmaster Little 13 ff.
Gipsy tales 218
Giriya, jackal 265
Goblin (The) City 164
Goblins, see Yakkhas
Goblin's (The) Gift 294
Golakala, dwarf 465
Golden (The) Goose 117
Golden image, sent to discover a bride
235, 237, 433
Golden Land 251
Goss, L. A. 185
Grateful (The) Animals 72
Grateful beasts 78, 120
Grateful (The) Elephant 134
Grateful (The) Mouse 118
Grateful (The) Parrot 291
Great (The) Dreams 78
Ch-eat King Goodness 52
Greedy (The) Jackal caught 128
GrifEs, Japanese Fairy World 176
Grimm's Tales 102, 155, 164, 210, 218,
373; Deutsche Mythologie 229; on Eein-
hart Fuchs 357
Griinwedel, Buddhist Art in India 5
Guilty (The) Dogs 26
Hand, spread, to avert evil eye 153
Hardy, Manual of Buddhism 149, 346
Hare in the moon 25, 229, 321
Hare's (The) Self-sacrifice 225
Harley, Moon Lore 229
Hartland, E. S., Science of Fairy Tales
219
Haughty (The) Slave 39
Hausrath 32, 30, 141, 156, 257
Hawks (The) and 'heir Friends 357
Herodotus 32, 72, 136
Herondas 181
Heron's (The) Revenge 243
Hero's (The) Tasi:s 183
Hesiod 1, 136, 243
Hippoclides 32
Hitopade^a 34, 247
Hiuen Thsang 229
Horace 25, 156, 220
Housse partie 314
Hypocritical (The) Jackal 115
Impermanence (The) of icorldly Joys 234
Incomparable (The) Archer 145
Indasamanagotta 140
Ingratitude punished 158
Iron counteracts magic 319
Jackal (The) and the Crow 219
Jackal (The) betrayed by his Howl 143
Jackal's (The) spell 193
Jacobi, H. 330
Jacobs, J. 5, 6, 32, 45, 63, 118, 127, 156,
171, 180, 221, 224, 257, 259, 291
Jains 2, 92, 168, 381, 389
Jambuka, dog 309; parrot 411
Japanese variants 176, 265
Jara, huntsman 324
Jason and the Hero's Tasks 1
Jatakamala 9, 224, 229, 283, 389, 394,
409
Jayampati, prince 437
Joseph and Potiphar's wife 336
Judas (The) Tree 196
Judgments (I'he) of King Mirror-face 198
Jiilg, Mong. Marchen 459
Julien, Contes et apologues indiens 34, 36,
122, 180, 215, 247, 265, 269, 279, 357,
481
Kalaka, captain 183
Kalamattiya, goblin 318
Kalasena, king of Ayojjha 318
Kaievala 134
Krdi, courtesan 351
Kalilah and Dimnah 10, 15, 34, 39, 78, 92,
108, 127, 129, 145, 180, 215, 240, 245,
247, 250, 257, 357, 427
Kalinga, king and kingdom 343
INDEX
485
Kamsa, king 314, 325
Kanlia, name of Gliatapanclita 321
Kanhadipfiyana, sage 319, 32'2
Eannamun^a lake 153
Karandavyfiha IGfi
Kathilsaritsagara, sec Somadeva
King (The) and the Fruit-girl 221
King (The) and the Stick-gatherer 16
King, chosen by festal car 418; of birds
and of quadrupeds 30; of fishes 30, 214
King (A) finds his Friend through a Song
418
King Makhddeva's grey Hairs 18
King Sivi 381
King's {A) life saved by Spelh 240
Kluge (Die) Dime 480
Krishna legend 213, 325
Knndalini, maynah bird 411
Kusa, prince 431
La Fontaine 9, 171, 269
Lakkhana, brother of Rama 325
Lang, A. 1, 191, 459
Language (The) of Animals 259
Lessing, Fables 221
Leumann 381
L6vi, S. 330
Licbrecht, Zur Volkskunde 265
Lion (The) and the Bull 245
Lion {The) in bad Company 265
Little {The) Gildmaster 13
Loquacious (The) Brahmin 109
Lost {The) Charm 337
Lost {A) Friend found by a Song 873
Lucian 156
Luck, in sneezing 112 ; spread hand 153 ;
things gnawed by mice unlucky 180 ; in
eating cock's flesh 216; of Edenhall
219; of swords 112; bad to see a Can-
dala 374; bird of ill omen 172; lucky
conjunction of planets 47, 341, 349, 357;
place for a building 198, 370. See also
Charms
Lucky (The) Sneeze 112
Madda, king of Madda 434
Magic circle 118; razor-axe, drum, milk-
bowl 150; gem 150; treasures 2G9 ;
city 318 ; horse 106
Magic (The) Treasures 149
MahSbharata 9, 17, 25, 34, 45, 111, 116,
134, 240, 245, 293, 381, 389
Mahapingala, king 191
Mahiisagara 315
Mahasubhadda, elephant 3!)7
Mahaummagga-jataka 7, 210, 277, 459
Mahavastu 149, 176
Mahosadha, sage 459
Maitreya 1G6
Majjhima Nikaya 19
Makhadeva, king 18
Mango-trick 372
Manoja, lion 265
Marco Polo 372
Marie de France 221
Martin (St) of Tours 185
Matali, charioteer of Sakka 256
Mathura 167
Mayavl, jackal 267
Melamata, goat 306
Message sent on an arrow 149; carried by
birds 243
Meyer, J. J., Hindu Tales 168, 389
Midrash Eabba 7, 30
Miklosich, Mundarten der Zigeuner 218
Milinda, questions of 346, 389
Miracles, four in this era 25; when a
universal monarch appears 346
Mithila 368
Moggallana 289
Mongoose (The) and the Snake 141
Monkeys (The) and the Ogre 23
Monkey's (The) heroic Self-sacrifice 279
Morris, E., Death's Messengers 19
Munika, pig 29
Mutthika (Mustika), wrestler 817
Naga island 165, 250
Nagas, sacrifice to 126, 169 ; assume
different shapes 259 ; naga-realm 385
Najakapaua, Keed-water 23
Nalakfira 366
Namuci, slain by Indra 481
Nanda, slave 39 ; cowherd 325
Nandii, brahmin's daughter 117
Nandagopa 315
Nandanifila cave 419
Nandana 186
486
INDEX
Nandavati, brahmin's daughter 117
Narada and Sivi 134
Nimi, king, in puranas 19
Xiuctcen (The) Problems 459
O'Connor, Foliitales from Tibet 176
Okkaka, king 427
Oknos 84
Oldenberg, H. 178
Oldest (The) of the Animals 34
Ordeal of fire 69
Otters (The) and the Jackal 267
Owl (The) as King 213
Pabhavati, princess 434
Pacceka Buddha 190, 306, 398, 401, 419
Paduma, prince 158, 331
Pagenstecher, E., Eros und Psyche 459
Pajjana 816, 325
Pallas, P. S., Reise 229
Pancajana, demon slain by Krishna 213
Pancasikha, gandharva 256
Panchatantra 2, 9, 25, 34, 39, 41, 45, 78,
92, 108, HI, 116, 118, 122, 127, 129, 130,
141, 142, 143, 156, 158, 162, 164, 173,
176, 180, 182, 215, 229, 230, 245, 247,
250, 257, 269, 279, 309, 357, 389 ; Kash-
mirian origin 156 ; Pahlavi version 9
Pandukanna 372
Panther (The) and the Goat 289
Parantapa, slave 285
Pasenadi, king 92, 223
Patala, musician 299
Pausanias 84, 344
Peacock's (The) Wooing 30
Penny-wise (The) Monkey 144
Perfections, ten 24, 27 ; attainment of
truth 388
Persia, relations with India and Greece 6 ff .
Pet (The) Elephant 140
Phaedra and Hippolytus 336
Phaedrus 39, 180, 220, 224, 257, 291
Pigeon (The) and the Crow 41
Pingala, courtesan 239
Pischel 357
Plato 156, 176, 480
Polygnotus, painting by 84
Potiphar's wife 336
Potthapada 167
Pradyumna 325
Prayer in previous existence fulfilled 318,
324, 401, 439
Priest (The) in Horse- trappings 156
Prince Five-weapons 59
Prince (The) who could not laugh 363
Prince's (The) Wooing and the Throne of
the Buddhas 343
Problems, see Questions
Prognostication, gift of 240
Promptuarium Exemplorum 221
Piitimamsa, jackal 306
Qnail's (The) Friends 247
Queen Sussondi 250
Questions, answered by Adasamukha 200;
by the three wise birds 412 ff. ; by
Mahosadha 459 ff.
Rabelais 265
Radha, parrot 167
Eahu 62
Rajagaha, city 290, 418
Rama and Sltd 325
Ramayana 36, 71 ; Buddhist version of 330
Bash (The) Magician 129
Eeinhart Fucbs 357
Riddles 480
Ring as token 16, 345
Ritson, Fairy Tales 219
Bobbers (The) and the Treasure 47
Robert of Normandy 72
Rohineyya, courtier 320
Rouse, W. H. D. 134, 153, 185, 212, 337,
342, 344, 349
Ruhaka, priest 156
Sabbadatha, jackal 194
Sabbamitta, king 391
Sacrifices 79, 87, 169, 366; at monkey's
tomb 283; feast for the dead 20; to
nagas 126, 169 ; to mountain spirit 161 ;
to tree spirit 208; to yakkhas 63, 169;
to spirits of a city 349 ; human 349
Sagala, city 435
Sagara, son of Mahasagara 315
Sage and Fool (Dsan-lun, ed. Schmidt)
389, 459
Sagga, minstrel 251
INDEX
487
Saketa Sn
Sakka induces a god to be born 367 ;
reproves miserliness 94 ; his throne
grows hot or is shaken m5, 226, 291,
366, 371, 429
Sakuntala 17
Salzberger, Die Salomo-Sage 7
Sarakhya Aphorisms 240
Sammillabhasini 235
Samyutta Nikaya 63, 396
Sanchi Tope 149
Safijiva, brahmin 130
Satapatha Briihmana 481
Saturn devours his children 243
Savatthi 391
Savitthaka, crow 170
Schnurmaun, I. N. 176
Scott, Sir W. 72
Senaka, king of Benares 259 ; minister 269,
460
Seneca 139, 181
Seruma island 250
Shakspere 223, 229
Silavati, queen 427
Simhilsanadvatriin^ika 41
Sindibad, Book of 306
Sita, sister of Rama 325
Sitting in mid-air 17, 22, 98, 151, 846,
367, 420
Sivaka, surgeon 384
Sivi, king 134, 381
Slippers rule a kingdom 330
Smith, W. Robertson 349
Sneezing, unlucky 112
Solomon, Judgment of 7, 480; and Bilqis
480
Somadeva 15, 25, 39, 78, 108, 116, 127,
129, 156, 164, 169, 180, 182, 215, 230,
247, 2G5, 269, 389
Sonaka, pacceka buddha 419
Sonuttara, hunter 400
Sophocles 72
Spells, see Charms
Steele and Temple, Wideawake Stories 218
SteriUty, ceremonies to remove 428
Stolen [The) Jewels 103
Stolen (The) Ploughshares 180
Story of the Present 3, 71, 78, 93, 112,
169, 238, 243, 289, 309
Strong drink 325; discovery of 390; tvila
of 393 ; used in sacrifice 120
Stupid (The) Monkeys 45
Subbadda, queen 398
Sudhammacarl, Precedents of 109
Suja or Sujata, wife of Sakka, daughter
of Titans 261, 292
^ukasaptati 70, 168, 182
Sulpicius SeveruB 185
Sumedha 364, 366
Sundarinanda, brahmin's daughter 117
Suriyadeva 316
Suruci, prince 363
Sussondi, queen 250
Sword of knowledge 62
Tamba, king 250
Takkasila 60, 99, 129, 131, 141, 145, 168,
215, 245, 253, 263, 269, 283, 381
Tantrfikhyayika 2
Tar-baby Story 63
Tawney, C. H. 59, 283 ; see also Somadeva
Tell-tale (The) Parrot 167
Ten (The) Slave-brethren 314
Testing (The) of Virtue 238
Tevijja-Sutta 180
Theft (The) of a Smell 263
Theocritus 36
Theseus 344
Three (The) Fishes 111
Three (The) ivise Birds 409
Tibetan Tales 9, 29, 32, 36, 51, 78, 116,
164, 210, 218, 224, 233, 237, 247, 257,
269, 277, 279, 291, 306, 343, 373, 459,
480, 481
Titans, re-birth as 62; made drunk 393;
Sujfi daughter of 261, 292
Too-clever (The) Merchant 107
Tortoise (The) and the Geese 178
Treacherous (The) Chameleon 121
Treasure, buried 40, 118, 209; magic 155;
from the sky 48
Tristram and Ysoude 70
Tundila 351
Tutl-nameh 168
Two (The) good Kings 131
Tylor, E. B. 115
Udana 197
488
INDEX
Ugly (The) Bridegroom 427
Uhland, Luck of Edenhall 219
Ujjeni, city 373
Unasked-for Advice 229
Ungrateful (The) Son 309
Universal monarch 346
Upasagara, son of Mahiisagara 315
Upakanisa 314
Valaha horse 164, 166, 346
Valiant (The) Dwarf 99
Value (The) of a Brother 70
Varuna, ascetic 390
Varunadeva 316
Vasitthaka 309
Vasudeva, ancestor of Krishna 320
Vasudeva, eldest of the ten slave-brethren
316, 320, 325; see Krishna
Vedabbha charm 47
Vedas 21, 337; three 20, 99, 145, 193, 198,
240
VenI, jackal 306
Vepulla jewel 346
Vessantara, owl 410
Vessavana, king of yakkhas 294; mango
of 372
Vetalapancavirnsatika 9, 22, 130, 169
Vinaya 36, 143
Viraka, crow 169
Vi^akha 480
Vishnu, sec Krishna
Vishnu Purana 19, 213, 325
Vissakamma 371
Vitry, Jacques de, Exempla 314
Volsunga Saga 59
Weil, Biblical Legends 480
Werner, A., Tar-baby Story 63
Wheel, weapon of Vasudeva (Vishnu) 318,
319 ; of Empire 346
White (The) six-tusked Elephant 395
Wicked (The) Step-mother 331
Wise (The) Goat and the Jackal 306
Wishing-cup (The) 218
Wishing-jewel, to trace footsteps in the
air 296
Wolf's (The) Sabbath 220
Woodpecker (The) and the Lion 223
Woodpecker (The), Tortoise, and Antelope
171
Yakkhas eat human flesh 56, 165, 294,
464 ; horse- faced 294 ; change their
shape 164; sacrifices to 63, 169
Yasapani, king 183
Yasoda 325
Yavamajjhaka, village 460 ff.
Zenobius 357
CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY J. B. PEACE, M.A., AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY
AA 000 656 297 9
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
Los Angeles
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I \k: Scitiiiday Review.
Supplement, 19 May 1917.
INDIAN MORALITIES.
58 01106 5793
" Sacred Tales of India." By D. N. Neogi. Macmillan
28. net.
" Jataka Tales." By H. T. Francis and E. J. Thomas
Cambridge University Press. 7s. 6d. net.
" The Way to Nirvana." By L. de la Valine Poussii
(Professeur a I'Universit^ de Gand). Cambridgt
University Fresc. 4s. 6d. net.
" Hindu Mind Training." By An Anglo-Saxon Mother
Longmans. 10s. 6d. net.
(Reviewed by Bishop Frodsuam.)
A\'\'HOLESOME desire for more accurate know-
ledg-e with regard to India is another of the
many consequences of this war. If the whole truth
must be told, the avcrag-e Englishman has known very
little accurately of the subject of the Indian system of
morals, except what he may have gathered from " The
Light of Asia ", or, in worse case, from the lubrications
of a host of so-called theosophists. Sir EdwHfn 'Arnold
notoriously breathed into the Hindu religious stories a
spirit alien to Indian thought, while, like a famous
Irish barrister, theosophists seem to speak most
persuasively when they are least fettered by facts.
Perhaps Sir Rabindranath Tagore has done more than
any living man to bring into this countrv' a more
accurate conception of Indian mentality with regard
to the philosophic hypotheses upon which the Indians
have erected for themselves a moral superstructure
very different, it must be allowed, from that conceived
in the minds of a large majority of Western peoples.
-4uqs uaaq pi:q o[uudu .u<jjio43 ^„^^o.. j.^.. _.»..„,. . .
-3jnsE3[d 'juBjiiuq u sb qDuaj,j aqj jo Bapi' HHsJL
•;8U "sg
■pioiiJV -qSnoos^v ji\[0£ &q ^/sMopnTj^ qouaij ^^
•;8u 'ig ■8so.Tpi^[
'Aie-^o'e-j/i ua^aH Ag ./sSuiqx Il^ras }o ivumo£ y ,,
•^au -SQ
•^lq^:^SIIOo -^uBaSjas 'S 'K ^ff .."saAi^oadsja,! ^ou^-il,.
HSnONH QNV HONH^J
•S^Hqujoiu
uerpuj ui ^sojojui ajjoAoad oj Suiq^aujos op |[iA\"'i3dso.o
IBuoi:jBonp3 UB SB papjB^OJ »q iouubd ;i ji '>{ooq siq^
SS31 3q4 3uo\; -snonujadns si 4U&UJLU03 \^ |[ijs JopV.w
sa\ojS sJouiuKaui Ji^q; u33AV.)3q j[nJS 3q; suid^sa's [bioos
puB S3DBJ 4u»J3yip o} SuiJSuopq ajdoad Aq pasn aq
o; suioo sp.iOAv uaqA\ og •, jpAv sb uiiq oi J§uo[3q abuj
SJaqio ! uiiq oj Suopq i . 'joq o^ uBaui ^CjqBqojd pjnoAs
. puBqsnq aj^ , •ju^jajyip jBq.uauios aq pfnoAv a\3ia
s^uBuiOAv UBusuq3-uou aq; ;na 'ajH liAp s.punqsnq
jaq JO ajou juBuiiuop aqj ojui jjosjaq paSjaui asiAvjaqjo
puB auiBujns s.puuqsnq joq ua>[Bi suq aqs :iBqi jdui
aq} asiu^oaj 04 (ois) s-osuJ^ja aqs uaqu AvaiA s^ubuio.u
UHn';iJii'~\ ain >;i it>ii t
TT~vilir^\\ i-^mr^ t.^
MC^T— V^"^ 'VT*
A WHOLESOME desire for more accurate know-
ledge with regard to India is another of the
many consequences of this war. If the whole truth
must be told, the average Englishman has known very
little accurately of the subject of the Indian system of
morals, except what he may have gathered from " The
Light of Asia ", or, in worse case, from the lubricjitions
of a host of so-called theosophists. Sir Edwnn' Arnold
notoriously breathed into the Hindu religious stories a
spirit alien to Indian thought, while, like a famous
Irish barrister, theosophists seem to speak most
persuasively when they are least fettered by facts.
Perhaps Sir Rabindranath Tagore has done more than
any living man to bring into this country- a more
accurate conception of Indian mentality with regard
to the philosophic hypotheses upon which the Indians
have erected for themselves a moral superstructure
very different, it must be allowed, from that conceived
in the minds of a large majority of Western peoples.
Messrs. Francis and Thomas have rendered their
countrymen good service by editing the " Jataka "
or Buddhist rebirth stories, and it is not a
little interesting to notice that they have applied
to the Buddhist scriptures the methods of his-
torical criticism so familiar to the students of
the Bible. The question of authenticity has been
considered. Once it was assumed quite generally
that the stories of the multitudinous reincarna-
tions of Gautama were Buddhistic in origin. Now
it is quite plain that the bulk are pre-Buddhistic
and have their versions in lands far .separated from
India. The methods adopted for their transference
from Hinduism to Buddhism appear to have been a
very simple matter. It was not necessary even to
make the actors Buddhists. "The one feature
necessary for the story is that the Bodhisatta m some
character should appear. When the tale itself con-
tained no instance of a wise person who could play
the part of the Bodhisatta, modification was necessan.- ;
though this is often done by making the Bodhisatta a
divinity or a sage who witnesses the events and recited
the gathas, the verses with which the tale concludes ".
As a matter of fact, Buddhism took over the Hindu
doctrine of rebirth and karma, but moralised it. Re-
birth becomes dependent upon something else than
sacrifices and self-torture. The "Jataka" trdes
emphasise the necessity for good actions based upon
the moral principles inculcated by -Prince Gautama.
Technicallv the " Jataka " do not contain the essence,
of Buddhism, which is that the disciple must not seek
to accumulate merit, but to win insight. They are
intended for the moral instruction of the unconverted
and as stepping-stones towards freedom from all the
trammels of thought and action, which is the true goal
of the Noble Path. The conception common in Eng-
land of reincarnation being desirable in itself 'S forogn
to Indian minds. To put it briefly, the Buddhist
believes in transmigration, and transmigration he
dreads. His moral philosophy is combined with moral
discipline in order that he may escape from discipline.
The morals of the "Jataka" are far removed from
the Ultima Thule of Buddhism, but Messrs. Francis
and Thomas have done well in rendering 't Possible for
their countrymen to read this part of the Buddhist
scriptures for themselves. From one point of v.exV
their wwk is of an encyclopedic character, from
another it is thoroughly human composition. 1 he^
have retold stories of the world's childhood in such
vigorous prose that the children upon w-hom the
ends of the world are come will read with avidity ^^hat
thev have written. Adults, who for their sins have
sat' at the feet of German professors of comparative
philosophies, can picture how two Berlin pundits would
LUedited the "Jataka " tales. They will be proud
that two Cambridge men have wn ten with s^ich
lucidity and vet with such deep scholarship. \\ h>
should the English have_ been so 1-? .bemused ,^>
German methods as to mistake tureiditv for deoth?
/
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