ဇာတက-အဋ္ဌကထာ (တ)

CULL AK ALINGA- J ATAKA \ [1] " Open the gate^'' etc.—This story was told by the Master while living at Jetavana, about the admission of four female ascetics to the religious life. Tradition says that Licchavis of the ruling family to the number of seven thousand seven hundred and seven had their abode at Vesali. And all of them were given to argument and disputation. Now a certain Jain, skilled in maintaining five hundred diflferent theses, arrived at Vesali and met with a kind reception there. A female Jain too of a similar character also came to Vesali. And the Licchavi chiefs got up a disputation between them. And when they proved well matched as disputants, the Licchavis were struck with the notion that such a jjair would be sure to have clever children. So they arranged a marriage between them, and as the issue of this union in due course four daughters and a son were born. The daughters were named Sacca, Lola, Avavadaka, and Patacara, and the boy was called Saccaka. These five children when they reached years of discretion learned a thousand diffierent theses, five hundred from the mother and five hundred from the father. And the parents schooled their daughters after this manner: "If any layman refutes your thesis, you are to become his wives, but if a priest refutes you, you must take orders at his hands." After a time their parents died. And when they were dead, the Jain Saccaka lived on in the same place at Vesali, studying the lore of the Licchavis. [2] But his sisters took in their hands a branch of the rose-apple tree, and in the course of their wanderings from city to city for purposes of disputation, at last reached Savatthi. There they planted the rose-apple branch at the city gate and said to some boys who were there, "If any man, be he layman or priest, is equal to maintaining a thesis against us, let him scatter with his foot this heap of dust and trample under foot this branch." And with these words they went into the city to collect alms. Now the venerable Sariputta, after sweeping up wherever it was necessary, and putting water into the empty pots and tending the sick, later on in the day went into Savatthi for alms. And when he had seen and heard about the bough, he ordered the boys to throw it down and trample upon it. "Let those," said he, "by whom this bough has been planted, as soon as they have finished their meal, come and see me in the gable-chamber over the gate of Jetavana." 1 See R. Morris, Folklore Journal, iii. 61. J. III. 1 a,> So he went into the city, and when he had ended his meal, he took his stand in the chamber over the monastery gate. The female ascetics too, after going their rounds for alms, returned and found the branch had been trampled on. And when they asked who had done this, the boys told them it was Sariputta, and if they were anxious for a disputation, they were to go to the chamber over the gate of the monastery. So they returned to the city, and followed by a great crowd went to the gatetower of the monastery, and propounded to the priest a thousand different theses. The priest solved all their difficulties and then asked them if they knew any more. They replied, " No, my Lord." "Then I," said he, "will ask you something." "Ask on, my Lord," they said, "and if we know it, we will answer you." So the priest propounded just one question to them, and when they had to give it up, the priest told them the answer. Then said they, "We are beaten, the victory rests with you." V "What will you do now he asked. "Our parents," they replied, "admonished us thus: 'if you are refuted in disputation by a layman, you are to become his wives, but if by a priest, you are to receive orders at his hands'. — Therefore," said they, "admit us to the religious life." The priest readily assented and ordained them in the house of the Nun called Uppalavanna. And all of them shortly attained to Sainthood. Then one day they started this topic in the Hall of Truth, how that Sariputta proved a refuge to the four female ascetics, and that through him they all attained to Sainthood. When the Master came and heard the nature of their discourse, he said, "Not now only, but in former times too, Sariputta jiroved a refuge to these women. [3] On this occasion he dedicated them to the religious life, but formerly he raised them to the dignity of queen consort." Then he told them an old-world story. Once upon a time when Kalinga was reigning in the city of Dantapura in the Kalinga' kingdom, Assaka was king of Potali in the Assaka country. 'Now Kalinga had a fine army and was himself as strong as an elephant, but could find no one to fight with him. So being eager for a fray he said to his ministers : " T am longing to fight but can find no one to war with me." His ministers said, " Sire, there is one way open to you. You have four daughters of surpassing beauty. Bid them adorn themselves with jewels, and then seated in a covered carriage let them be driven to every village,town and royal city with an armed escort. And if any king shall be desirous of taking them into his harem, we will get up a fight with him." The king followed their advice. But the kings of the various countries, wherever they came, were afraid to let them enter their cities, but sent them presents and assigned them quarters outside the city walls. Thus they passed through the length and breadth of India till they reached Potali in the Assaka country. But Assaka too closed his gates against ^ On the Coromandel coast. No. 301. 3 them and merely sent them a present. Now this king had a wise and able minister named Nandisena, who was fertile in expedients. He thought to himself: "These princesses, men say, have traversed the length of India without finding any to fight for their possession. If this is the case, India is but an empty name. I myself will do battle with Kalinga. Then he went and bade the guards open the city gate to them, and spake the first stanza : Open the gate to these maidens thro' Nandisena's might, : King Aruna's^ sage lion, our city is guarded aright. [4] With these words he threw open the gate, and brought the maidens into the presence of king Assaka, and said to him, "Fear not. If there is to be a light, I will see to it. Make these fair princesses your chief queens." Then he installed them as queens by sprinkling them with holy water, and dismissed their attendants, bidding them go and tell Kalinga that his daughters had been raised to the dignity of queen-consorts. So they went and told him, and Kalinga said, "I presume he does not know how powerful I am," and at once set out with a great ai'my. Nandisena heard of his approach and sent a message to this "Let Kalinga effect; abide within his own marches, and not encroach upon ours, and the battle shall be fought on the frontiers of the two countries." On receiving this message, Kalinga halted within the limits of his own territory and Assaka also kept to his. At this time the Bodhisatta was following the ascetic life and was living in a hermitage on a spot lying between the two kingdoms. Said Kalinga, "These monks are knowing fellows. Who can tell which of us will gain the victory, and which will be defeated ? I will ask this ascetic." So he came to the Bodhisatta disguised, and sitting respectfully on one side, after the usual kindly greetings he said, "Your Reverence, Kalinga and Assaka have their forces drawn up each within his own territory, eager for a fight. Which of them will be victorious, and which will be defeated?" "Your Excellency," he replied, "the one will conquer, the other will be beaten. I can tell you no more. But Sakka, the King of Heaven, is coming here. I will ask him and let you know, if you come back again to-morrow." [5] So when Sakka came to pay his respects to the Bodhisatta, he put this question to him, and Sakka replied, "Reverend Sir, Kalinga will conquer, Assaka will be defeated, and such and such omens will be seen beforehand." Next day Kaliiiga came and repeated his question, and the Bodhisatta gave Sakka's answer. And Kaliiiga, without inquiring what ^ The scholiast says Aruna was the real name of the Assaka king. the omens would be, thought to himself: "They tell me I shall conquer," and went away quite satisfied. This report spread abroad. And when Assaka heard it, he summoned Nandisena and said, "Kaliiiga, they say, will be victorious and we shall be defeated. What is to be done 1 " "Sire," he replied, "who knows this? Do not trouble yourself as to who shall gain the victory and who shall suffer defeat." With these words he comforted the king. Then he went and saluted the Bodhisatta, and sitting respectfully on one side he asked, "Who, Reverend Sir, will conquer, and who will be defeated 1" "Kalinga," he replied, "will win the day and Assaka will be beaten." "And what, Reverend Sir," he asked, "will be the omen for the one that conquers, and what for the one that is defeated 1" "Your Excellency," he answered, "the tutelary deity of the conqueror will be a spotless white bull, and that of the other king a perfectly black bull, and the tutelary gods of the two kings will themselves fight and be severally victorious or defeated." On hearing this Nandisena rose up and went and took the king's allies —they were about one thousand number and in them great all of warriors —and them up a mountain led at hand and asked them close saying, "Would you sacrifice your lives for our king?" "Yes, Sir, we would," they answered. "Then throw youi'selves from this precipice," he said. They essayed to do so, when he stopped them, saying, "No more of this. Show yourselves staunch friends of our king and make a gallant fight for him." They all vowed to do so. And when the battle was now imminent, Kaliiiga came to the conclusion in his own mind tliat he would be victorious, and his army too thought "The victory will be ours." [6] And so they put on their armour, and forming themselves into separate detachments, they advanced just as they thought proper, and when the moment came for making a great efibrt, they failed to do so. But both the kings, mounted on horseback, drew nigh to one another with the intention of fighting. And their two tutelary gods moved before them, that of Kaliiiga in the shape of a white bull, and that of the other king as a black bull. And as these drew nigh to one another, they too made every demonstration of fighting. But these two bulls were visible to the two kings only, and to no one else. And Nandisena asked Assaka, saying, "Your Highness, are the tutelary gods visible to you?" "Yes," he answered, "they are." "In what guise?" he asked. "The guardian god of Kaliiiga appears in the shape of a white bull, while ours is in the form of a black bull and looks distressed." "Fear not Sire, we shall conquer and Kaliiiga will be defeated. Only No. 301. . 5 dismount from your well-trained Sindh horse, and grasping this spear, with your left hand give him a blow on the flank, and then with this body of a thousand men advance quickly and with a stroke of your weapon fell to the ground this god of Kaliiiga, while we with a thousand spears will smite him and so shall Kaliiiga's tutelary deity perish, and then shall Kalinga be defeated and we shall be victorious." "Good," said the king, and at a given signal from Nandisena he smote with his spear and his courtiers too smote with their thousand spears, and the tutelary god of Kalinga died then and there. Meanwhile Kalinga was defeated and fled. And at the sight all those thousand councillors raised a loud cry, saying, "Kalinga is fled." Then Kalinga with the fear of death upon him, as he fled, reproached that ascetic and uttered the second stanza : "Kalihgas bold shall victory claim. Defeat crowns Assakas with shame." [7] Thus did your reverence prophesy. And honest folk should never lie. Thus did Kalinga, as he fled, revile that ascetic. And in his flight to his own city he durst not so much as once look back. And a few days afterwards Sakka came to visit the hermit. And the hermit conversing with him uttered the third stanza : The gods from lying words are free, Truth should their chiefest treasure be. In this, great Sakka, thou didst lie ; Tell me, I pray, the reason why. On hearing this, Sakka spoke the fourth stanza Hast thou, O brahmin, ne'er been told Gods envy not the hero bold 1 The fixed resolve that may not yield, Intrepid prowess in the field, High courage and adventurous might For Assaka have won the fight. [8] And on the flight of Kalinga, king Assaka returned with his spoils to his own city. And Nandisena sent a message to Kalinga, that he was to forward a portion for the dowry of these four royal maidens. "Otherwise," he added, "I shall know how to deal with him." And Kalinga, on hearing this message, was so alarmed that he sent a fitting portion for them. And from that day forward the two kings lived amicably together. His discourse ended, the Master identified the Birth:— "In those days these young female ascetics were the daughters of king Kalinga, Sariputta was Nandisena and I myself was the hermit."

"TTiy gifts bestowed" etc. —This story the Master told while dwelling at Jetavana, about the Elder Auanda. The circumstances that suggested the story have been already given. "In former days too," the Master said, "wise men acted on the principle that one good turn deserves another." And hereupon he told them a story of the olden time. Once upon a time the Bodhisatta was king of Benares, and exercising his rule with justice and equity he gave alms and kept the moral law. And being minded to quell some disturbance on his frontier he set out with a large force, but being defeated he mounted his horse and fled till he reached a certain border village. Now there dwelt here thirty loyal subjects and they were gathered together very early, in the middle of the village, to transact the business of the place. And at this moment the king mounted on his mail-clad horse and splendidly equipped [9] rode into the place by the village gate. The people were and saying, terrified "What can this be?" fled every man to his own home. But there was one man who without going to his own house, came to welcome the king. And telling the stranger that the king, he heard, had come to the frontier, he inquired who he was and whether he was a royalist or a rebel. " I am for the king, Sir," he said. " Then come with me," he answered, and led the king to his home and made him sit down on his own seat. Then the man said to his wife, "My deai', bathe our friend's feet;" and when she had so done, he offered him the best food he could, and had a bed made ready for him, bidding him rest awhile. So the king lay down. Then his host took off the armour from the horse, turned him loose, gave him water to drink and grass to eat and rubbed him down with oil. Thus did he tend the king for three or four days, and the king said, " Friend, I am now oflf," and again he did all due service both to the king and his horse. The king after he had taken food, on leaving said, "I am called the Great Horseman. Our home is in the centre of the city. Should you come there on any business, stand at the door on the right hand and ask the porter where the Great Horseman dwells, and take him with you and come to our house." With these woi'ds he departed. Now the army, not seeing the king, remained encamped outside the town, but when they saw him, they came out to meet him and escorted him home. The king on entering the city stood at the entrance of the gate and calling the porter ordered the crowd to retire and said, " Friend, a certain man who lives in a frontier village will come here, anxious to see us, and will ask where the house of the Great Horseman is. Take him by the hand and bring him into our presence, and then you shall receive a thousand pieces of money." But when the man failed to come, the king inci'eased the tax on the village where he dwelt. But though the tax was raised, still he did not come. So the king increased the tax for the second and third time, and still he came not. Then the inhabitants of the villaore gathered together and said to the man " Sir, from the time the Horseman came to you, : [10] we have been so weighed down by the tax that we cannot lift up our head. Go and see the Great Horseman and persuade him to lighten our burden." "Well, I will go," he answered, "but I cannot go empty-handed. My friend has two sons : so get you ready ornaments and suits of clothes for them and for his wife and for my friend himself." " Very well," they said, and got everything ready for a present. So he took both this gift and a cake fried in his own house. And when he came to the door on the right hand he asked the porter where the house of the Great Horseman might be. The porter answered, " Come with me and I will shew you," and took him by the hand, and on ai-riving at the king's gate sent in word, " The porter has come and has brought with him the man who dwells in the border village." The king on hearing it, rose from his seat and said, " Let my friend and all that have come with him enter." Then he went forward to welcome him and embraced him, and after inquiring if his friend's wife and children were well, he took him by the hand, stepped on the dais and seated him on the royal throne beneath the white umbrella. And he summoned his chief consort and said, "Wash my friend's feet." So she washed his feet. The king sprinkled water from a golden bowl, while the queen washed his feet and anointed them with scented oil. Then the king asked, " Have you anything for us to eati" And he said, "Yes, my lord," and brought out cakes in a bag. The king received them in a golden dish, and showing great favour towards him he said, " Eat what my friend has bx-ought," and gave some to his queen and his ministers, and himself too ate of it. Then the stranger brought out his other gift. And the king to show that he accepted it put off his silken garments and put on the suit of clothes that he had brought him, [11] The queen also laid aside her silk dress and ornaments and put on the dress and ornaments he had brought her. Then the king served him with food fit for a king and bade one of his councillors, saying, "Go and see that his beard is trimmed after the fashion of my own, and let him bathe in scented water. Then dress him in a silken robe worth a hundred thousand pieces of money, and adorn him in royal style and briug him 8 The Jatcika. Book IV. here." This was done. And the king by beat of drum through the city gathered together his councillors, and throwing a thread of pure vermilion across the white umbrella, gave him the half of his kingdom. From that day they ate, drank and dwelt together and they became firm and inseparable friends. Then the king sent for the man's wife and family and had a house built for them in the city, and they ruled the kingdom in perfect harmony. So the courtiers waxed wroth and said to the king's son, " O prince, the king has given the half of his kingdom to a certain householder. He eats and drinks and dwells with him, and orders us to salute his children. What service he has done the king we know nob. What does the king mean? We feel ashamed. Do you speak to the king." He readily agreed to do so, and told every word to the king and said, " O great king, do not act thus." "My son," he answered, "do you know where I dwelt after I was defeated in battle V ' "I know not, my lord," he said. " I was living," said the king, " in this man's house, and when I had recovered my health I came back and reigned again. How then should I " not bestow honour on my benefactor % And then the Bodhisatta went on to say, " My son, whosoever giveth to one unworthy of his gift, and to the deserving giveth nought, that man when he falls into misfortune findeth no one to help him." And to point the moral he uttered these verses ; [12] Thy gifts bestowed upon or fool or knave. In sorest need would bring no friend to save: But grace or kindness to the good displayed In sorest need would bring thee timely aid. Boons to unworthy souls are spent in vain. Thy smallest service to the good is gain A noble action though it stands alone, Eenders the doer worthy of a throne As fruit abundant from the tiny seed. Eternal fame springs from a virtuous deed. [13] On hearing this neither the councillors nor the young prince had aught to say in answer. The Master, his discourse ended, thus identified the Birth: "At that time it was Ananda who dwelt in the frontier village, while I myself was king of Benares." 1 Compare No. 157, vol. ii.

No. 303. "0 monarch that erst" etc. This story the Master told while dwelling at Jetavana, about a courtier of the king of Kosala. The circumstances that suggested the story have been already related in the Seyyamsa^ Birth. On this occasion the Master said, "You are not the only one who got good out of evil: wise men of old also got good out of evil." And he told an old-world story. Once upon a time a minister in attendance on the king of Benares misconducted himself in the royal harem. The king after witnessing his offence with his own eyes banished him from the kingdom. How he took service with the king of Kosala, named Dabbasena, is all told in the Mahasilava^ Birth, But in the present story Dabbasena had the king of Benares seized while sitting on the dais in the midst of his councillors, and fastening him by a cord on the lintel of the door suspended him head downwards. The king cultivated feelings of charity towards the rebel prince, and by a process of complete absorption entered upon a state of mystic meditation, and bursting his bonds sat cross-legged in the air. The rebel prince was attacked with a burning pain in the body, and with a cry of "I burn, I burn," he rolled over and over on the ground. When he asked the reason of it, his courtiers replied, " It is because the king whom you suspend head downwards from the lintel of the door is such an innocent and holy man." Then said he, "Go quickly and release him." His servants went and found the king sitting cross-legged in the air, and came back and told Dabbasena. [14] So he went with all speed, and bowing before him asked his pardon and repeated the first stanza monarch that erst in thy kingdom didst dwell. Enjoying such bliss as few mortals have seen, How is it that lying midst tortures of Hell Thou still art so calm and so gracious of mien ? On hearing this the Bodhisatta repeated the rest of the stanzas : Of yore 'twas my one earnest prayer unto Heaven From the ranks of ascetics no more to be barred. But now that such glory to me has been given, why should the form of my visage be marred ? 1 No. 282, vol. ii. - No. 51, vol. i. 10 The Jdtaka. Book IV. The end is accomplished, my task is now done, The prince once my foe is no longer estranged, But now that the fame I so envied is won, O why should the form of my visage be changed i iWheu joy turns to sorrow, and weal becomes woe. Patient souls even pleasure may wring from their pain. But no such distinction of feeling they know. When the calm of Nirvana poor mortals attain. [15] On hearing this Dabbasena asked forgiveness of the Bodhisatta and said, " Rule over your own people and I will drive out the rebels from amongst you." And after punishing that wicked councillor he went his way. But the Bodhisatta handed over the kingdom to his ministers, and adopting the ascetic life of a Rishi he became destined to birth in the Brahma- world. When the Master had finished this discourse, he identified the Birth: "At that time Ananda was Dabbasena, and I myself was the king of Benares."

D ADD AR A- J AT AK A. " Daddara, who," etc. —This story the Master told while dwelling at Jetavana, about a certain choleric fellow. The circumstance has been already related before. On this occasion when a discussion had arisen in the Hall of Truth about the passionate nature of the man, the Master came up, and when in answer to his inquiry he was told by the Brethren the subject of their discourse, he sent for the man and asked, "Is it true. Brother, what they say, that you are passionate?" "Yes, my Lord, it is so," he replied. [16] Then the Master said, "Not now only. Brethren, but of old too this fellow was very choleric, and ^ Compare Lord Houghton's poem, "Pleasure and Pain." See the Fakeer as he swings on his iron, See the thin Hermit that starves in the wild Think ye no pleasures the penance environ, And hope the sole bliss by which pain is beguiled? No! in the kingdoms those spirits are reaching, Vain are our words the emotions to tell; Vain the distinctions our senses are teaching, For Pain has its Heaven and Pleasure its Hell! No. 304. 11 owing to his passionate temper wise men of former days though continuing to lead perfectly innocent lives as Naga princes, had to dwell three years on a filthy dimghill." And herewith he told an old story. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning at Benares, the Daddara Nagas dwelt at the foot of Mount Daddara in the Himalaya region and the Bodhisatta came to life as Mahadaddara, the son of Suradaddara, the king of that country, with a younger brotlier named Culladaddara. The latter was passionate and cruel, and went about abusing and striking the Naga maidens. The Naga king, on hearing of his cruelty, gave orders for his expulsion from the Naga world. But Mahadaddara got his father to forgive him and saved his brotlier from expulsion. A second time the king was wroth with him, and again he was induced to forgive him. But on the third occasion the king said, " You have prevented me from expelling this good-for-nothing fellow ; now both of you get you gone from this Naga world, and live for three years at Benares on a dunghill." So he drove them forth from the Naga country and they went and lived at Benai'es. And when the village boys saw them looking for their food in a ditch bounding the dunghill, they struck them and threw clods and sticks and other missiles at them, and crying out, "What have we here water lizards with big heads and tails like needles 1 " uttered other words of abuse. But Culladaddara, by reason of his fierce and passionate nature, being unable to put up with such disrespect said, "Brother, these boys are mocking us. They don't know that we are venomous serpents. I can't stand their contempt for us. I will destroy them by the breath of my nostril." And then addressing his brother, he repeated the first stanza : Daddara, who such an insult could bear ? "Ho! frog-eating stick-i'-the-mud," they cry: To think that these poor harmless creatures should dare A serpent with poisonous fang to defy [17] On hearing his words Mahadaddara uttered the rest of the stanzas An exile driven to a foreign shore Must of abuse lay up a goodly store; For where his rank and virtues none can know, Only the fool his pride would care to show. He who at home a "shining light" may be. Abroad must suffer men of low degree. So they dwelt there three years. Then their father recalled them home. And from that day their pride was abated. When the Master had brought his discourse to an end, he proclaimed the Truths and identified the Birth:— At the conclusion of the Truths the choleric Brother attained Fruition of the Third Path :— " At that time the choleric Brother was Culladaddara, and I myself was Mahadaddara."

SiLAViM AMSAN A- J ATAK A \ [18] "In sooth there is," etc.— This story the Master told while dwelling at Jetavana, about the rebuking of sin. The circumstances will be set forth in the Panlya Birth- in the Eleventh Book. The following is a brief summary of it. Five hundred Brethren living in Jetavana, at the close of the middle watch of the night, entered into an argument on the pleasures of sense. Now the Master through all the six divisions of night and day keeps a continual watch over the Brethren, even as a one-eyed man carefully guards his eye, a father his only sou, or a yak its tail. In the night time, with his supernatm-al vision regarding Jetavana, he beheld these Brethren, as it were, like robbers that had found their way into some great king's palace. And opening his perfumed chamber he summoned Anauda and bade him assemble the Brethren in the Home of the Golden Pavement, and prepare a seat for him at the door of the perfumed chamber. Ananda did as he was commanded and told the Master. Then the Master, sitting down on the seat prepared for him, addressed the Brethren collectively and said, " Brethren, wise men of old thought there was no such thing as secrecy in wrong-doing and so refrained from it," and he told them a story of the olden time. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life in a brahmin family, and when he was of age, he was taught science by a world-renowned professor of that city, being at the head of a class of five hundred students. Now his teacher had a grown-up daughter. And he thought " I will test the virtue of these youths and will give her : in marriage to him that most excels in virtue." So one day he thus addressed his pupils : " My friends, I have a grown-up daughter, and I intend to give her in marriage, but I must have proper dresses and ornaments for her. Do you then steal some without your friends discovering it, and bring them to me. Whatever no one has seen you take I will accept, but if you allow anything you bring to be seen, I shall refuse They assented, saying, " Very well," and from it." that day they stole dresses and ornaments without their friends' knowledge ^ See R. Morris, Folklore Journal, iii. 244. - No. 459, Vol. iv. No. 305. 13 and brought them to him. And the teacher arranged whatever each pupil brought in a separate place. But the Bodhisatta stole nothing. Then the teacher said, [19] "But you, my friend, bring me nothing." "True, Master," he replied. " Why is this, my friend] " he asked. " You accept nothing," he answered, " unless it is taken secretly. But I find there is no such thing as secrecy in wrong-doing." And to illustrate this ti'uth he repeated these two stanzas In sooth there is no act of sin, that in this world may hidden lie, That which the fool a secret deems, the spirits of the wood espy. Concealment nowhere may be found, nor can a void exist for me, E'en where no being is in sight, while I am there, no void can be. The Master, being pleased with his words, said, " Friend, there is no lack of wealth in my house, but I was anxious to marry my daughter to a virtuous man, and I acted thus to prove these youths. But you alone are worthy of my daughter." Then he adorned his daughter and gave her in marriage to the Bodhisatta, but to his other pupils he said, "Take back all that you brought me to your several homes again." Then the Master said, "It was thus. Brethren, that the wicked pupils by win this woman, while this one wise youth by his their dishonesty failed to virtuous conduct obtained her as his wife." And in his Perfect Wisdom he gave utterance to yet two other stanzas : Masters Bastard ^ and Low and Easy and Gay, With Bravo and Frail, for a wife, went astray But our Brahmin, well seen in the Law from his youth. Won a bride by his courage in holding the Truth. [20] The Master, having brought this solemn lesson to an end, declared the Truths and identified the Birth:— At the conclusion of the Truths these five hundred Brethren attained to Sainthood: "At that time Sariputta was the Teacher, and I myself was the Wise Youth."

" What is this egg-shaped fruit " e^c— This story was told by the Master while dwelling at Jetavana, about queen Mallika. One day, they say, there was a dispute at court between her and the king 2. Men still speak of it as the Harem Quarrel.' The king was so enraged that he ' 1 The Scholiast explains that these were the names of six leading disciples amongst those that yielded to temptation. * Pasenadi, king of Kosala. 14 Tlie Jataka. Booh IV. ignored her existence. Mallika thought " The Master, I fancy, knows not how- : angry the king is with me." But the Master knew all about it and resolved to make i^eace between them So early in the morning he put on his inner garment and taking his bowl and robes he entered Savatthi with a following of five hundred brethren and came to the palace gate. The king took his bowl from him, brought him into the house, and placing him on the seat prepared for him, pom-ed the Water of Donation on the hands of the Brotherhood with Buddha at their head, and brought them rice and cakes to eat. But the Master covered up his bowl with his hand and said, " Sire, where is the queen ? " What have you to do with her, Reverend Sir ? " he answered. " Her head is turned, she is intoxicated with the honour she enjoys." "Sire," he said, "after you yourself bestowed this honom- on the woman, it is wrong of you now to get rid of her, and not to put up with the offence she has committed against you." The king hearkened to the words of the Master and sent for the queen. " You ought," he said, " to live together [21] And she ministered to the Master. in peace," and singing the praises of the sweets of concord he went his way. And from that day they lived happily together. The Brethren raised a discussion in the Hall of Truth, how that the Master had reconciled the king and queen by a single w^ord. The Master, when he came, inquired what the Brethren were discussing, and on being told said, " Not now only. Brethren, hut formerly too I reconciled them by a single word of admonition." And he told an old story. Once upon 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 palace 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 crying, "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 unmarried he sent for her and raised her to the dignity of chief queen, and bestowed great honour upon her. Now she was dear and pleasing in the king's eyes. And one day the king sat eating jujubes in a golden dish. And the queen 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 and red of hue, lord, so pretty In a gold dish set before thee? Pray tell me, where they grew. And was wroth and said, " the king daughter of a greengrocer, you not recognise the jujubes, the special fruit dealer in ripe jujubes, do of your own family ? " And he repeated two stanzas : [22] Bare-headed and meanly clad, my queen, thou once didst feel no shame. To fill thy lap with the jujube fruit, and now thou dost ask its name ; Thou art eaten up with pride, my queen, thou findest no pleasure in life. Begone and gather thy jujubes again. Thou shalt be no longer my wife. ^ Beading rdjahgane na gacchati. With Fausbfill's text rujanganena, it must be •' She passed by way of the court." : No. 306. 15 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, king, for 'twas thou didst make her great. So the king at his word put up with the offence of the queen and And thenceforth they lived amicably restored her to her former position. together. The Master, his lesson ended, identified the Birth "At that time the king of : Kosala was king of Benares, Mallika was Sujata and I myself was the Minister."

PALASA-JATAKA\ [23] " Why, brahmin, though,^' etc. —The Master, when he was stretched upon the bed of death, told this story of the Elder Ananda. The venerable man, knowing that the Master on this very night at eventide would die, said to himself, " I am still under discipline and have duties to perform, and my Master is certainly going to die, and then the service I have rendered to him for five-and-twenty years will be fruitless." And so being overwhelmed with sorrow he leaned upon the monkey-head which formed the bolt of the garden store-room and burst into tears. And the Master, missing Ananda, asked the Brethren where he was, and on hearing what was the matter he sent for him and addressed him as follows "Ananda, thou hast laid up a store of merit. Continue to strive earnestly and thou wilt soon be free from human passion. Grieve not thyself Wherefore should the service thou hast rendered me prove fruitless now, seeing that thy former services in the days of thy sinfulness were not without their reward 1 Then he told a legend of the past. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta x*eigned in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life in the form of a Judas-tree sprite. Now at this time all the inhabitants of Benares were devoted to the worship of such deities, and constantly engaged in religious offerings and the like. * See R. Morris, Folklore Journal, iii. 355. 16 The Jataka. Booh IV. And a certain poor brahmin thought, " I too will watch over some divinity." So he found a big Judas-tree growing on high ground, and bysprinkling gravel and sweeping all round it, he kept its root smooth and free from grass. Then he px*esented it with a scented wreath of five sprays and lighting a lamp made an offering of flowers and perfume and incense. And after a reverential salutation he said, " Peace be with thee," and then went his way. On the next day he came quite early and asked after its welfare. Now one day it occurred to the tree-sprite, " This brahmin is very attentive to me. I will test him and find out why he thus worships me, and grant him his desire." So when the brahmin came and was sweeping about the root of the tree, the spirit stood near him disguised as an aged brahmin and repeated the first stanza [24] Why, brahmin, though thyself with reason blest. Hast thou this dull insensate tree addressed ? Vain is thy prayer, thy kindly greeting vain. From this dull wood no answer wilt thou gain. On hearing this the brahmin replied in a second stanza : Long on this spot a famous tree has stood. Meet dwelling-place for spirits of the wood "With deepest awe such beings T revere, They guard, methinks, some sacred treasure here. The tree-sprite on hearing these words was so pleased with the brahmin that he said, " O brahmin, I was born as the divinity of this tree. Fear not, I will grant you this treasure." And to reassure him, by a great manifestation of divine power, he stood suspended in the air at the entrance of his celestial mansion, while he recited two more stanzas O brahmin, I have marked thy act of love A pious deed can never fruitless prove. Lo ! where yon fig-tree casts its ample shade. Due sacrifice and gifts of old were paid. Beneath this fig a buried treasure lies, The gold unearth, and claim it as thy prize. [25] The spirit moreover added these words : " O brahmin, thou wouldst be weary, if thou hadst to dig up the ti'easure and carry it away with thee. Do thoxi therefore go thy way, and I will bring it to thy house and deposit it in such and such a place. Then do thou enjoy it all thy and give alms and keep the moral law." And after thus admonlife long, ishing the brahmin, the tree-sprite, by an exercise of divine power, conveyed the treasui'e into the brahmin's house. The Master here brought his lesson to an end and identified the Birth : " At that time Ananda was the Brahmin, and I myself was the Tree-sprite." No. 308. 17

JAVASAKUNA-JATAKA'. " Kindness as much" etc. This story was told by the Master while dwelling at Jetavana, about the ingi-atitude of Devadatta. He ended it by saying, "Not only now, but in former days did Devadatta show ingratitude," and with these words he told a story of the past. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as a woodpecker in the Himalaya country. [26] 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 was perched on a bough, saw the lion and asked him, food, as it saying, " Friend, what ails you 1 " 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 down 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 putting its head into the lion's mouth, it struck the end of the bone with its beak. The bone fell out and disappeared. And then the woodpecker drew out its head from the lion's 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 now put him to the test," and perching on a bough above the lion's head, it fell to conversing with him and uttered the first stanza : Kindness as mucla as in us lay. To thee, my lord, we once did show On us in turn, we humbly pray. Do thou a trifling boon bestow. 1 Compare Tibetan Tales, xxvii. p. 311: "The Ungrateful Lion." ^sop.- "The Wolf and the Crane." Jdtakavidld, No. 34 "The Woodpecker." : J. Ill, 2 18 TJie Jcltaka. Bool IV. 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 ; [27] From bitter thought and angry word refrain, But haste the presence of the wretch to shun. With these words the woodpecker flew away. The Master, his lesson ended, identified the Birth : " At that time Devadatta was the Lion, and I myself was the Woodpecker."

" Holi/ Teacher" etc. — The Master while residing at Jetavana told this story, about the Fraternity of Six Priests. It is related in detail in the Vinaya^. Here is a brief summary of it. The Master sent for the Six Priests and asked if it were true that they taught the law from a low seat 2, while their pupils sat on a higher seat. They confessed that it was so, and the Master in reproving these brethren for their want of respect for his law, said that wise men of old had to rebuke men for teaching even heretical doctrines while sitting on a low seat. Then he told them an old story. Once upon a time when Bralimadatta reigned in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as the son of a pariah woman, and when he was grown up, he established himself as a householder. And his wife being with child had a great longing for the mango fruit, and said to her husband, " My loi^d, I have a desire to eat mangoes." 1 See Oldenberg's Vinaya, iv. 203. (Suttavibhaiiga, Sekhiya, 68, 69.) 2 See Manu ii. 198 for the rule that the disciple must sit on a seat lower than his guru. No. 309. - 19 " My dear," he said, " there are no mangoes at this season, I will bring you some other acid fruit." *' My lord," said she, " if I can have a mango, I shall live. Otherwise I shall die." [28] He being infatuated about his wife thought, " Where in the world am I to get a mango " Now at this time there was a mango tree in the ? garden of the king of Benares, which had fruit on it all the year round. So he thought, " I will get a ripe mango there to appease her longings." And going to the garden by night he climbed i^p tlie tree, and stepped from one branch to another, looking for the fruit, and while he was thus engaged, the day began to break. Thought he, " If I shall come down now to go away, I shall be seen and seized as a thief. I will wait till it is dai'k." So he climbed up into a fork of the tree and remained there, perched upon it. Now at this time the king of Benares was being taught sacred texts by his chaplain. And coming into the garden he sat down on a high seat at the foot of the mango tree, and placing his teacher on a lower seat, he had a lesson from him. The Bodhisatta sitting above them thought, " How wicked this king is. He is learning the sacred texts, sitting on a high seat. The brahmin too is equally wicked, to sit and teach him from a lower seat. I also am wicked, for I have fallen into the power of a woman, and counting my life as nought, I am stealing the mango fruit." Then taking hold of a hanging bough, he let himself down from the tree, and stood before these two men and said, " O Great King, I am a lost man, and thou a gross fool, and this priest is as one dead." And being asked by the king what he meant by these words, he uttered the first stanza : Holy Teacher, Royal Scholar, lo the sinful deed I saw. ! Both alike from grace are fallen, both alike transgressed the law^. [29] The brahmin, on hearing this, repeated the second stanza : My food is pm'e rice from the hill. With a delicate flavoiu" of meat, For why should a sinner fulfil A rule meant for saints, when they eat? On hearing this the Bodhisatta recited two more stanzas — : Brahmin, go range the length and breadth of earth Lo suffering is found the common lot. ! Here marred by sin thy ruined life is worth Less than the fragments of a shattered pot. Beware ambition and o'ermastering gi-eed Vices like these to "Worlds of Suffering" lead. * The Scholiast in his explanation adds this verse True faith of yore prevailed on earth, False doctrine was a later birth. Then the king being pleased with his exposition of the law, [30] asked him of what caste he was. "I am a pariah, my lord," he said. " Friend," he replied, " had you been of a high caste family, I would have made you sole king. But henceforth I will be king by day, and you shall be king by night." And with these words he placed upon his neck the wreath of flowers with which he himself was adorned, and made him lord protector over the city. And hence is derived the custom for the lords of the city to wear a wreath of red flowers on their neck. And from that day forward the king abiding in his admonition paid respect to his teacher, and learned sacred texts from him, sitting on a lower seat. The Master, his lesson ended, identified the Birth : " At that time Ananda was the king, and I myself was the pariah."

"No thro7ie on earth" etc. The Master told this story while in residence at Jetavana, about a backsliding brother, who in going his rounds for alms at Savatthi caught sight of a beautiful woman, and thenceforth had grown discontented and lost all pleasure in the Law. So the Brethren brought him before the Blessed One. Said the Blessed One, " Is it true, Brother, what I hear, that you are discontented 1 " He confessed it was so. The Master on learning the cause of his discontent said, " Why, Brother, are you longing for the world, after taking orders in a religion that leads to Salvation ? Wise men of old when offered the dignity of family priest rejected it, and adopted the ascetic life." And he told them a story of the olden time. Once ujjon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was conceived in the womb of the brahmin wife of the king's chaplain, [31] and was born on the same day as the king's son. And when the king asked his ministers if any child had been born on the same day as his son, they said, "Yes, Sire, a son of your family priest." So the king had him brought and given into the charge of nurses to be carefully tended together with the young prince. And they both had the same ornaments to wear and had exactly the same things to eat and drink. No. 310. 21 And when they were grown np, they went together to Takkasila and as soon as they had attained proficiency in all the sciences they returned home. The king made his son viceroy and bestowed great honour upon him. From that time the Bodhisatta ate, drank, and lived with the prince, and there was a firm friendship between them. By and bye at the death of his father, the young prince ascended the throne and enjoyed great prosperity. Thought the Bodhisatta: "My friend now rules tlie kingdom; when he sees a fitting opportunity, he will certainly give me the office of his family priest. What have I to do with a householder's life ? I will become an ascetic and devote myself to solitude." So he saluted his parents and having asked their permission to take orders, he gave iip his worldly fortune and setting forth quite alone he entered the Himalaya country. There on a charming spot he built himself a hermitage, and adopting the religious life of an anchorite he developed all the Faculties and Attainments, and lived in the enjoyment of the pleasure of the mystic life. At this time the king remembered him and said, " What has become of my friend? He is nowhere to be seen." His ministers told him he had taken orders, and was living, they heard, in some delightful grove. The king asked the place of his abode, and said to a councillor named Sayha, " Go and bring my friend back with you. I will make him my chaplain." Sayha readily assented, and going forth from Benares in course of time reached a frontier village and taking up his abode there, he went with some foresters to the place where the Bodhisatta dwelt and found him sitting like a golden statue at the door of his hut. After saluting him with the usual compliments he sat at a respectful distance and thus addressed him : " Reverend Sir, the king desires your return, being anxious to raise you to the dignity of his family priest." [32] The Bodhisatta replied, " If I were to receive not merely the post of chaplain but all Kasi and Kosala, and the realm of India and the glory of a Universal Empii'e, I would refuse to go. The wise do not again take up the sins they have once abandoned any more than they would swallow the phlegm they have once raised." So saying he repeated these stanzas : iNo throne on earth should tempt me to my shame. No sea-girt realm, safe-guarded in the deep ; Accm'sed be the lust of wealth and fame That dooms poor man in "Suffering Worlds" to weep. Better through earth a homeless waif to stray, And bowl in hand to beg from door to door. Than as a king, to sinful lusts a prey. To bear a tyrant rule and vex the poor. ^ These stanzas occur again in Jataka 433. Thus did the Bodhisatta though again and again importuned by him reject his offer. And Sayha, being unable to prevail on him, saluted him, and returned and told the king of his refusal to come. [33] When the Master had brought his lesson to an end, he revealed the Truths and identified the Birth — At the conclusion of the Truths the back- : sliding Brother attained to fruition of the First Path. Many others too experienced like fruits of Conversion — " At that time Ananda was the king, : Sariputta was Sayha, and I myself was the family priest."

"Robber, arise" etc. —The Master, while dwelling in the Bamboo-Grove, told this story about the venerable Moggallana. When that elder was living near Rajagaha in a forest hut, a certain robber, after breaking into a house in a subiu'ban village, fled with his hands full of plunder till he came within the precincts of the elder's cell, and thinking that he should be safe there he lay down at the entrance of his hut of leaves. The elder noticed him lying there and suspecting his character said to himself, " It would be wrong for me to have any dealings with a robber." So coming out of his hut he told him not to lie there, and drove him away. The robber starting oft' fled with the greatest haste. And men with torches in their hands, following close upon the robber's track, came and saw the various spots marked by the presence of the robber and said, " It was this way the robber came. Here is where he stood. There he sat down. And that is the way he fled. He is not to be seen here." So they rushed about hither and thither, but at last had to return without finding him. On the next day early in the morning the elder went his round for alms in Rajagaha, and on coming back from his pilgrimage he went to the Bamboo-Grove and told the Master what had happened. The Master said, " You are not the only one, Moggallana, to suspect in a case in which suspicion is justified. Wise men of old suspected in like manner." And at the request of the elder he told a story of bygone times. [34] Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as a Nimb-tree spirit in a cemetery grove of that city. Now one day a robber having been guilty of an act of theft in an outlying hamlet of the city entered the cemetery grove. And at this time two old trees stood there, a Nimb-tree and a Bo-tree. The robber placed his stolen goods at the foot of this Nimb-tree and lay down there. No. 311. 23 Now in these days robbers that were caught were put to toi-ture by being impaled on a stake of the Nimb-tree. So the spirit of the Nimb-tree thought : " If people should come and capture this robber, they will cut off a branch and make a stake from this Nimb-tree and impale him on it. And in that case the tree will be destroyed. So I will drive the fellow away." Then addressing him, he repeated the first stanza : Robber, arise ! why sleepest thou ? For slumber 'tis no time, The king's men are upon thee, the avengers of thy crime. Moreover he added these words, "Get you gone, before the king's men take you." Thus did he frighten the robber away. And no sooner had he fled than the deity of the Bo-tree repeated the second stanza : And even if this robber bold red-handed they should take, To thee, Nimb-tree, woodland sprite, what difiereuce would it make ? The deity of the Nimb-tree on hearing this uttered the third stanza : Bo-tree, sure thou knowest not the secret of my fear; 1 would not have the king's men find that wicked robber here. They from my sacred tree, I know, straightway a branch would take. And to requite the guilty wretch, impale him on a stake. [35] And while the two sylvan deities were thus conversing together, the owners of the property, following on the trail of the robber, with torches in their hand, when they saw the place where he had been lying down said, " Lo ! the robber has just risen up and fled from this place. We have not got him yet, but if we do, we will come back and either impale him at the foot of this Nimb-tree, or hang him from one of its branches." And with these words rushing about hither and thither, and not finding the robber, they made And on hearing what they said the ofi". spirit of the Bo-tree uttered the fourth stanza : Beware a danger yet unseen: suspect before too late. The wise e'en in this present world look to a future state. The Master, when he had brought this lesson to an end, identified the Birth " At that time Sariputta was the hjpirit of the Bo-tree. I myself was the Nimbtree Spirit."

[36] " Should foolish ^outh," etc.— This story the Master told while residing at Jetavana, about an aged Brother. A young nobleman at Savatthi, tradition says, from a sense of the evil consequences of sinful desires, received ordination at the hands of the Master, and by devotion to the rite by which ecstasy may be induced, in no long time attained to Sainthood. By and bye on the death of his mother, he admitted his father and younger brother to orders, and they took up their abode at Jetavana. At the opening of the rainy season, hearing of a village retreat where the necessary robes were to be easily obtained^, they all three entered upon the Vassa residence there, and when it was ended they returned straight to Jetavana. The youthful Brother, when they came to a spot not far from Jetavana, told the novice lad to bring on the old man quietly, while he himself pushed on ahead to Jetavana to get ready their cell. The old priest walked slowly on. The novice repeatedly butted him, as it were, with his head, and dragged him along by force, crying, " Come on. Master." The elder said, " You are pulling me along against my will," and turning back he made a fresh start from the beginning. As they were thus quarrelling, the sun went down and darkness set in. The young Brother meanwhile swept out his hut, set water in the pots, and not seeing them coming, he took a torch and went to meet them. When he saw them coming, he asked what made them so late. The old man gave the reason. So he made them rest and brought them slowly on their way. That day he found no time to pay his respects to the Buddha. So on the next day, when he had come to pay his respects to Buddha, after he had saluted him and taken his seat, the Master asked, "When did you arrive?" "Yesterday, Sir." "You came yesterday and pay your respects to me only to-day 1 " " Yes, Sir," he answered, and told him the reason. The Master rebuked the elder: "Not now only does he act like this. Of old too he did just the same. Now it is you that are annoyed by him. Formerly he annoyed wise men." And at the Brother's request he told an old story. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta reigned in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life in a brahmin family in a town of the Kasi country. [37] When he was grown up, his mother died. And after due performance of her funeral rites, at the end of six weeks he gave away in alms all the money that was in the house, and taking his father and younger brother with him he put on the bark garment of somebody or other, and adopted the religious life of an ascetic in the Himalaya country. And there he dwelt in a pleasant grove, supporting himself by gleaning in the fields and living on roots and wild fruits. 1 Compare Mahdvagga, iii. 14. N'o. 312. 25 Now in the Himalaya, during the rainy season, when the rains are incessant, as it is impossible to dig up any bulb or root, or to get any wild fruits, and the leaves begin to fall, the ascetics for the most part come down from the Himalayas, and take up their abode amidst the haunts of men. And at this time the Bodhisatta, after living here with his father and younger brother, as soon as the Himalaya country began to blossom again and bear fruit, took his two companions and returned to his hermitage in the Himalayas. And at sunset when they were not far from his hut he left them, saying, " You can come on slowly, while I go forward and set the hermitage in order." Now the young hermit coming on slowly with his father kept butting him in the waist with his head. The old man said, "I do not like the way in which you are taking me home." So he turned back and started afresh from the same point. And while they were thus quarrelling, darkness set in. But the Bodhisatta as soon as he had swept out his hut of leaves, and got ready some water, took a torch and returned on the way back, and when he found them he asked why they had taken such a long time. And the boy ascetic told him what his father had done. But the Bodhisatta brought them quietly home, and having stowed safely away all the Buddhist requisites, he gave his father a bath, and washed and anointed his feet and shampooed his back. Then he set oiat a pan of charcoal and when his father had recovered from his fatigue, he sat near him and said, " Father, young boys are just like earthen vessels they are broken in a : moment, [38] and when they are once broken, it is impossible to mend them again. Old men should bear with them patiently, when they are abusive." And for the admonition of his father Kassapa, he repeated these stanzas : Should foolish youth in word or deed offend, 'Tis wisdom's part long-suffering to display; Quarrels of good men find a speedy end, Fools part asunder, like untempered clay. Men wise to learn, of their own sins aware, Friendshi}) can prove, that suffers no decay Such are a brother's burden strong to bear. And strife of neighbours skilful to allay. [39] Thus did the Bodhisatta admonish his father. And he from that time forward exercised self-restraint. The Master, having brought his lesson to an end, identified the Birth "At : that time the old priest was the father hermit, the novice was the boy hermit, and I myself was the son who admonished his father." 26 The Jataka. Book IV.

KHANTIVADI-JATAKA\ " Whoso cut off" etc. This story the Master, while dweUing at Jetavana, told about a wrathful Brother. The iucideut that gave rise to the story has been already described. The Master asked that Brother, saying, " Why after taking orders under the dispensation of the Buddha who knows not what wrath is, do you show anger ? Wise men in bygone days, though they suffered a thousand stripes, and had their hands and feet and ears and nose cut off, showed no anger against another." And he then told a story of the olden time. Once upon a time a king of Kasi named Kalabu I'eigned at Benares. At that time the Bodhisatta came to life in a brahmin family endowed with eighty crores of treasure, in the form of a youth named Kundakakumara. And when he was of age, he acquired a knowledge of all the sciences at Takkasila and afterwards settled down as a householder. On the death of his parents, looking at his pile of treasure he thought " My kinsmen who amassed this treasure are all gone without taking it with them : now it is for me to own it and in my turn to depart." Then he carefully selected persons, who by virtue of their almsgiving deserved it, and gave all his wealth to them, and entering the Himalaya country he adopted the ascetic life. There he dwelt a long time, living on wild fruits. And descending to the inhabited parts for the sake of procuring salt and vinegar he gradually made his way to Benares, where he took up his abode in the royal park. Next day he went his rounds in the city for alms, till he came to the door of the commander-in-chief. And he being pleased with the ascetic for the propriety of his deportment, brought him into the house [40] and fed him with the food prepared for himself. And having gained his consent he got him to take up his abode in the royal park. Now one day king Kalabu being inflamed with strong drink came into the park in gi-eat pomp, surrounded by a company of dancers. Then he had a couch spread on the royal seat of stone, and lay with his head on the lap of a favourite of the harem, while the nautch girls who were skilful in vocal and instrumental music and in dancing provided a musical entertainment — So great was his magnificence, like to that of Sakka, Lord of heaven — And the king fell asleep. Then the women said, "He for whose sake we are providing music, is gone to sleep. What need is there for us to sing ] " Then they cast aside their lutes and other musical instruments 1 See Jdtakamuld, No. 28 : "The Story of Kshantivadin." hither and thither, and set out for the garden, where tempted on by the flowers and fruit-bearing shrubs they were soon disporting themselves. At this moment the Bodhisatta was seated in this garden, like a royal elephant in the pride of his vigour, at the foot of a flowering Sal tree, enjoying the bliss of retirement from the world. So these women in wandering about came upon him and said, " Come hither, ladies, and let us sit down and liear somewhat from the priest who is resting at the foot of this tree, until the king awakes." Then they went and saluted him and sitting in a circle round about him, they said, "Tell us something worth hearing."So the Bodhisatta preached the doctrine to them. Meanwhile the royal favourite with a movement of her body woke up the king. And the king on waking up, and not seeing the women asked, "Where ai-e those wretches gone?" "Your Highness," she said, "they are gone away and are sitting in attendance on a certain ascetic." The king in a rage seized his sword and went ofi" in haste, saying, "I will give this false ascetic a lesson." Then those of the women that were most in favour, when they saw the king coming in a rage, went and took the sword from the king's hand and pacified him. Then he came and stood by the Bodhisatta and asked, "What doctrine are you preaching. Monk?" "The doctrine of patience, Your Majesty," he replied. "What is this patience?" said the king. "The not being angry, when men abuse you and strike you and revile you." Said the king, " I will see now the reality of your patience," [41] and he summoned his executioner. And he in the way of his ofiice took an axe and a scourge of thorns, and clad in a yellow robe and wearing a red garland, came and saluted the king and said, " What is your pleasure. Sire 1" "Take and drag off" this vile rogue of an ascetic," said the king, " and throwing him on the ground, with your lash of thorns scourge him before and behind and on both sides, and give him two thousand stripes." This was done. And the Bodhisatta's outer and inner skins were cut through to the flesh, and the blood flowed. The king again asked, "What doctrine do you preach, Monk?" "The doctrine of patience. Your Highness," he replied. "You fancy that my patience is only skin deep. It is not skin deep, but is fixed deep within my heart, where it cannot be seen by you, Sire." Again the executioner asked, " What is your pleasure. Sire?" The king said, "Cut off" both the hands of this false ascetic." So he took his axe, and placing the victim within the fatal circle, lie cut off both his hands. Then the king said, " OflT with his feet," and his feet were chopped off". And the blood flowed from the extremities of his hands and feet like lac juice from a leaking jar. Again the king asked what doctrine he preached. "The doctrine of patience, Your Highness," he replied. " You imagine, Sii'e, that my patience dwells in the extremities of my hands and feet. It is not there, but it is deep seated somewhere else." The king said, "Cut off" his nose and ears." The 28 The Jdtaha. Book IV. executioner did so. His whole body was now covered with blood. Again the king asked of his doctrine. And the asetic said, " Think not that my patience is seated in the tips of my nose and ears my patience is deep : seated within my heart." The king said, " Lie down, false Monk, and thence exalt your patience." And so saying, he struck the Bodhisatta above the heart with his foot, and betook himself off. When he was gone, the commander-in-chief wiped off the blood from the body of the Bodhisatta, [42] putting bandages^ on the extremities of his hands, feet, ears and nose, and then having gently placed him on a seat, he saluted him and sitting on one side he said, " If, Reverend Sir, you would be angry with one who has sinned against you, be angry with the king, but with no one else." And making this request, he repeated the first stanza : Whoso cut off thy nose and ear, and lopped oflf foot and hand. With him be wroth, heroic soul, but spare, we pray, this land. The Bodhisatta on hearing this uttered the second stanza : Long live the king, whose cruel hand my body thus has marred. Pure souls like mine such deeds as these with anger ne'er regard. And just as the king was leaving the garden and at the very moment when he passed out of the range of the Bodhisatta's vision, the mighty earth that is two hundred and forty thousand leagues in thickness split in two, like unto a strong stout cloth garment, and a flame issuing forth from Avici seized upon the king, wrapping him up as it were with a royal robe of scarlet wool. Thus did the king sink into the earth just by the garden gate and was firmly fixed in the great Hell of Avici. Aud the Bodhisatta died on that same day. And the king's servants and the citizens came with perfumes and wreaths and incense in their hands and performed the Bodhisatta's obsequies. And some said that the Bodhisatta had gone straight back to the Himalayas. But in this they said the thing that was not^ [43] A saint of old, as men have told. Great courage did display : That saint so strong to suffer wrong The Kasi king did slay. Alas ! the debt of vain regret That king will have to pay ; When doomed to dwell in lowest Hell, Long will he rue the day. These two stanzas were inspired by Perfect Wisdom. Mahdvagga, vi. 14. 5. No. 313. 29 The Master, his lesson ended, revealed the Truths and identified the Birth : At the conclusion of the Truths the choleric Brother attained fruition of the Second Path, while many others attained fruition of the First Path: "At that time Devadatta was Kalabu king of Kasi, Sariputta was the Commander-in-Chief, and I myself was the Ascetic, the Preacher of Patience."

LOHAKUMBHI- JATAKA \ " Due share of tvealth," etc. This story the Master, while living at Jetavana, told concerning a king of Kosala. The king of Kosala of those days, they say, one night heard a cry uttered by four inhabitants of Hell the syllables du, sa, na, so, one from each of the four. In a previous existence, tradition says, they had been princes in Savatthi, and had been guilty of adulteiy. After misconducting themselves with their neighbours' wives, however carefully guarded they might be, and indulging their amorous propensities, their evil life had been cut short by the Wheel of Death, near Savatthi. They came to life again in Four Iron Cauldrons. After being tortured for sixty thousand years they had come up to the top, and on seeing the edge of the Cauldron's mouth they thought to themselves, " When shall we escape from this misery ? " And then all four uttered a loud cry, one after another. The king was terrified to death at the noise, and sat waiting for break of day, unable to stir. At dawn the brahmins came and inquired after his health. The king replied, " How, my Masters, can I be well, [44] who to-day have heard four such terrible cries." The brahmins waved their hands-. "What is it, my Masters?" said the king. The brahmins assure him that the sounds are ominous of great violence. " Do they admit of remedy, or not I " said the king. " You might say not," said the brahmins, "but we are well-trained in these matters. Sire." "By what means," said the king, "wiJl you avert these evils?" "Sii'e," they replied, " there is one gi'eat remedy in our power, and by offering the fourfold "Then be quick," said sacrifice 2 of every living creature we will avert all evil." the king, " and take all living creatures by fours men, bulls, horses, elephants, down to quails and other birds and by this fourfold sacrifice restore my peace of mind." The brahmins consented, and taking whatever they required, they dug a sacrificial pit and fastened their numerous victims to their stakes, and were highly excited at the thought of the dainties they were to eat, and the wealth they would gain, and went about backwards and forwards, saying, " Sir, I must have so and so." The queen Mallika came and asked the king, why the brahmins went about so delighted and smiling. The king said, " My queen, what have you to do with this ? You are intoxicated with your own glory, and you do not know how wretched I am." "How so. Sire?" she replied. "I have heard such awful noises, my queen, and when 1 asked the brahmins what would be the result of 1 Compare Buddlmghosha's Parables, No. 15 "Story of the Four Thuthe's Sons." : King Pasenadikosala in this story was meditating the sin of David against Uriah the Hittite, and was deterred from his purpose by the awful vision related in this Jataka. See also Tumour's Mahxhvanso, i. iv. 18. A king in a dream sees his soul cast into the Lohakumbhi Hell. 2 Possibly to avert the evil omen. * See Colebrooke's Essays, i. 348. my hearing these cries, they told me I was threatened with danger to my kingdom or my property or my life, but by ofiering the fourfold sacrifice they would restore my peace of mind, and now in obedience to my command, they have dug a sacrificial pit and are gone to fetch whatever victims they require." The queen said, " Have you, my lord, consulted the chief brahmin in the Deva-world as to the origin of these cries ? " " Who, lady," said the king, " is the chief brahmin in the Deva-world ? " " The Great Gotama," she replied, " the Supreme Buddha.' " Lady," he said, " I have not consulted the Supreme Buddha." " Then go," she answered, " and consult him." The king hearkened to the words of the queen and after his morning meal he mounted his state chariot and drove to Jetavana. Here after saluting the Master he thus addressed him " Reverend Sir, in the night season I heard four cries : and consulted the brahmins about it. [45] They undertook to restore my peace of mind, by the fourfold sacrifice of every kind of victim, and are now busy preparing a sacrificial pit. What does the hearing of these cries betoken to me?" " Nothing whatever," said the Master. " Certain beings in Hell, owing to the agony they sufier, cried aloud. These cries," he added, "have not been heard by you alone. Kings of old heard the same. And when they too, after consulting their brahmins, were anxious to offer sacrifices of slain victims, on hearing what wise men had to say, they refused to do so. The wise men explained to them the nature of these cries, and bade them let loose the crowd of victims and thus restored their peace of mind." And at the request of the king he told a story of bygone days. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born in a brahmin family, in a certain village of Kasi. And when he was of mature years, renouncing the pleasures of sense and embracing the ascetic life he developed the supex'natural powers of mystic meditation, and enjoying the delights of Contemplation took up his abode in a pleasant grove in the Himalaya country. The king of Benares at this time was fearfully alarmed by hearing those four sounds uttered by four beings who dwelt in Hell. And when told by brahmins in exactly the same way that one of three dangers must befall him, he agreed to their pi'oposal to put a stop to it by the fourfold sacrifice. The family priest with the help of the brahmins provided a sacrificial pit, and a great crowd of victims was brought up and fastened to the stakes. Then the Bodhisatta, guided by a feeling of charity, regarding the world with his divine eye, when he saw what was going on, said, " I must go at once and see to the well-being of all these creatui'es." And then by his magic power flying up into the air, he alighted in the garden of the king of Benares, and sat down on the royal slab of stone, looking like an image of gold. The chief disciple of the family priest approached his teacher and asked, "Is it not written, Master, in our Vedas that there is no happiness for those who take the life of any creature?" The priest replied, "You are to bring here the king's property, and we shall have abundant dainties to eat. Only hold your peace." And with these words he drove his pupil away. [46] But the youth thought, No. 314. 31 " I will have no part in this matter," and went and found the Bodhisatta in the king's garden. After saluting him in a friendly manner he took a seat at a respectful distance. The Bodhisatta asked him saying, "Young man, does the king rule his kingdom righteously?" "Yes, Reverend Sir, he does," answered the youth, " but he has heard four cries in the night, and on inquiring of the brahmins, he has been assured by them that they would restore his peace of mind, by offering up the fourfold sacrifice. So the king, being anxious to recover his happiness, is preparing a sacrifice of animals, and a vast number of victims has been brought up and fastened to the sacrificial stakes. Now is it not right for holy men like yourself to explain the cause of these noises, and to rescue these numerous victims from the jaws of death 1" "Young man," he replied, "the king does not know us, nor do we know the king, but we do know the origin of these cries, and if the king were to come and ask us the cause, we would resolve his doubts for him." "Then," said the youth, "just stay here a moment. Reverend Sir, and I will conduct the king to you." The Bodhisatta agreed, and the youth went and told the king all about it, and brought him back with him. The king saluted the Bodhisatta and sitting on one side asked him if it wei-e true that he knew the origin of these noises. " Yes, Your Majesty," he said. " Then tell me, Reverend Sir." " Sire," he answered, " these men in a former existence were guilty of gross misconduct with the carefully guarded wives of their neighbours near Benares, and therefore were re-born in Four Iron Cauldrons. Where after being tortured for thirty thousand years in a thick corrosive liquid heated to boiling point, they would at one time sink till they struck the bottom of the cauldron, and at another time I'ise to the top like a foam bubble', but after those years they found the mouth of the cauldron, and looking over the edge they all four desired to give utterance to four complete stanzas, but failed to do so. And after getting out just one syllable each, they sank again in the iron cauldrons. [47] Now the one of them that sank after uttering the syllable ^du' was anxious to speak as follows: — Due share of wealth we gave not ; an evil life we led We found no sure salvation in joys that now are fled. And when he failed to utter it, the Bodhisatta of his own knowledge repeated the complete stanza. And similarly with the rest. The one that uttered merely the syllable ' sa ' wanted to repeat the following stanza : Sad fate of those that suffer ! ah ! when shall come release ? Still after countless ajons. Hell's tortures never cease. * See Milindapahha, 357. 32 The Jdtaka. Booh IV. And again in the case of the one that uttered the syllable * im,' this was the stanza he wished to repeat : N'ay endless are the sufferings to which we're doomed by fate; The ills we wrought upon the earth 'tis ours to expiate. And the one that uttered the syllable 'so' was anxious to repeat the following : shall I passing forth from hence, attain to human birth, *S'oon And richly dowered with virtue rise to many a deed of worth. [48] The Bodhisatta, after reciting these verses one by one, said, " The dweller in Hell, Sire, when he wanted to utter a complete stanza, through the greatness of his sin, was unable to do it. And when he thus experienced the result of his wrong-doing he cried aloud. But fear not ; no danger shall come nigh you, in consequence of hearing this cry." Thus did he I'eassure the king. And the king proclaimed by beat of his golden drum that the vast host of victims was to be released, and the sacrificial pit destroyed. And the Bodhisatta, after thus providing for the safety of the numerous victims, stayed there a few days, and then returning to the same place, without any break in his ecstasy, was born in the world of Brahma. The Master, having ended his lesson, identified the Birth : " Sariputta at that time was the young priest, I myself was the ascetic."

MAMSA-JATAKA'. "For one who is asking," etc. This was a story told by the Master, while living at Jetavana, as to how the Elder Sariputta prociu-ed dainty fare for some sick Brothers under medical treatment. The story goes that certain of the Brethren at that time at Jetavana, after taking oil as a pm-gative, wished for some dainty food. Those who ministered to them in their sickness went into Savatthi to fetch some dainties, but after going their round for alms in a street in the Cooks' quarters, had to come back without getting what they wanted. Later on in the day the Elder was going into the town for alms and meeting these Brethren asked them why they had returned so soon. They told him ^ See R. Morris, Folklore Journal, iii. 242. No. 315. 33 what had haj)pened. " Come then with me," said the Elder, [49] and took them to the very same street. And the people there gave him a full measure of dainty fare. The attendants brought the food to the sick Brethren, and they partook of it. So one day a discussion was started in the Hall of Truth how that when some servants were leaving a town, without being able to get dainty fiire for their sick masters, the Elder took them with him on his round for alms in a street in the Cooks' quarters, and sent them home with abundant dainties. The Master came up and inquired the nature of their discussion, and on being told what it was he said, Not now only. Brethren, did Sariputta alone obtain food. " Formerly also wise men who had a soft voice and knew how to speak pleasantly obtained the same." And then he told a tale of the olden time. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta reigned in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as the son of a wealthy merchant. Now one day a certain deer-stalker had taken venison, and filling his cart with the meat, ret\;rned to the city with the intention of selling it. At this time four sons of rich merchants who were living in Benares sallied out of the city, and meeting at some cross roads they sat down and conversed with one another about whatever they had seen or heard. One of these youths on seeing the cart full of meat proposed to go and get a piece of venison from the hunter.The others bade him go and try. So he went up to the hunter, and "Hi, Sirrah, give me a piece of said, meat." The hunter replied, " A man who begs somewhat from another ought to speak with a gentle voice you shall receive a piece of meat : appropriate to your manner of speech." Then he uttered the first stanza : For one who is asking a favour, my friend, thy language is coarse in its tone. Such language deserves coarse fare in return, so I offer thee mere skin and bone. Then one of his companions asked him what language he had used in begging for a piece of meat. " I said, Hi, Sirrah ! " he replied. " I too," said the other, " will beg of him." [50] Then he went to the hunter and said, " O elder bi-other, give me a piece of venison." The hunter answered, " You shall receive such a piece as the words you have spoken deserve," and he repeated the second stanza : The name of a brother a strong link is found, to join those akin to each other. As thy kind words suggest the gift I should make, so a joint I present to my brother. And with these words he took up and threw him a joint of venison. Then a third youth inquired with what words the last had begged for the meat. "I addressed him as brother," he replied. "Then I too will beg of him," he said. So he went to the hunter and cried, "Dear father, give me a piece of venison." The hunter replied, "You shall receive a J. III. 3 34 The Jataka. Booh IV. piece suitable to the words you have spoken," and he repeated the third stanza : As a parent's fond heart to pity is moved, the cry of " Dear father " to hear. So I too respond to thy loving appeal, and give thee the heart of the deer. And with these words he picked up and gave him a savoury piece of meat, heart and all. Then the fourth of the youths asked the third youth, with what words he had asked for the venison. " Oh I called him Dear ' father,' " he answered. " Then I too will beg a piece," said the other, and he went to the hunter and said, " My friend, give me a piece of meat." Said the hunter, " According to the words you have spoken, shall you receive." And he repeated the fourth stanza : A world without friends, I venture to think, a wilderness siirely must be. In that title of friend all that's dear is implied, so I give all the deer unto thee. Moreover he said, " Come, friend, I will convey all this cartful of meat to your house." [51] So this merchant's son had the cart driven to his house, and he went and unloaded the meat. And he treated the hunter with great hospitality and respect, and sending for his wife and son he took him away from his cruel occupation, and settled him on his own estate. And they became inseparable friends, and all their life long lived amicably together. The Master, having ended his lesson, identified the Birth " At that time : Sariputta was the Hunter, and I myself was the Merchant's Son who had all the venison given to him."

S ASA- J ATARAX " Seven red fish" etc. — This story was told by the Master while living at Jetavana, about a gift of all the Buddhist requisites. A certain landowner at Savatthi, they say, provided all the requisites for the Brotherhood with Buddha at its head, and setting up a pavilion at his house door, he invited all the ^ See R. Morris, Folk-Lore Journal, ii. 336 and 370. Jutakamdld, No. 6. On the wide-spread prevalence of the legend of the Hare in the Moon, see T. Harley's Moon-Lore, p. 60. No. 316. 35 company of priests with thfiir chief Buddha, seated them on elegant seats prepared for them, and offered them a variety of choice and dainty food. And saying, " Come again to-morrow," he entertained them for a whole week, and on the seventh day he presented Buddha and the live hundred priests under him with all the requisites. At the end of the feast the Master, in returning thanks, said, " Lay Brother, you are right in giving pleasure and satisfaction by this charity. For this is a tradition of wise men of old, who sacrificed their lives for any beggars they met with, and gave them even their own flesh to eat." And at the request of his host he related this old-world legend. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta 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 ou the third side a border-village. The hare had three friends a monkey, a jackal and an otter. These four wise creatures lived together [52] and each of them got his food on his own hunting-ground, and in the evening they again came together. 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, aud 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 practice, 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, catching more fish. The otter scenting the buried dug up the sand till he came upon them, and fish, pulling them out cried aloud thrice, " Does any one own these fish 1 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 1" and not finding an owner, he put on his neck the rope for lifting the pot, and grasping the spits and the 36 The Jataka. Booh IV. lizard with his teeth, he brought and laid them in his own lair, thinking, " In due season I will devour them," and so lay down, [53] 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 Bodhisatta in due time came out, intending to broM'^se on the kuQa 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 oil or 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 dwelling-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 priestly duties." The otter replied, "Very well, I will give you some food," and as he conversed with him he repeated the first stanza : Seven red fish I safely brought to land from Ganges flood, 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 bye." 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 : [54] A lizard and a jar of curds, the keeper's evening meal. Two spits to roast the flesh withal I wrongfully did steal: Such as I have I give to thee O 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 bye." 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 gi-eenwood 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 bye." 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 I have never granted before, but you shall not break the moral law by taking No. 316. 37 animal life. Go, friend, and when you have piled together logs of wood, and kindled a fire, come and let me know, [55] and I will sacrifice myself by falling into the midst of the flames, and when my body is roasted, you shall eat my flesh and fulfil all your priestly duties." And in thus addressing him the hare uttered the fourth stanza : Nor sesame, nor beans, 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 tlie Bodhisatta. Rising from his bed of ku^a grass and coming to the place, he thrice shook himself that if there were any insects within his coat, they might escape death. Then oflfering 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 Bodhisatta 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 i-oaring. Then said Sakka to the Bodhisatta, " O wise hare, be thy virtue known throughout a whole eeon." 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 ku9a grass, in the same wooded pai't of the jungle, Sakka returned to his own place in heaven. [56] And these four wise creatures dwelt happily and harmoniously together, fulfilling the moral law and observing holy days, till they departed to fare according to their deeds. The Master, when he had ended his lesson, revealed the Truths and identified the Birth — At the conclusion of the Truths the householder, who gave as a free- : gift all the Buddhist requisites, attained fruition of the First Path: "At that time Ananda was the otter, Moggallana was the jackal, Sariputta the monkey, and I myself was the wise hare."

" Weep for the living" etc. — The Master while in residence at Jetavana told this story of a certain landowner who dwelt at Savatthi. On the death of his brother, it is said, he was so overwhelmed with grief that he neither ate nor washed nor anointed himself, but in deep affliction he used to go to the cemetery at daybreak to weep. The Master, early in the morning casting his eye upon the world and observing in that man a capacity for attaining to the fruition of the First Path, thought, " There is no one but myself that can, by telling him what happened long ago, assuage his grief and bring him to the fruition of the First Path. I must be his Refuge." So nest day on returning in the afternoon from his round of alms-begging, he took a junior priest and went to his house. On hearing of the Master's arrival, the landowner ordered a seat to be prejjared and bade him enter, and saluting him he sat on one side. In answer to the Master, who asked him why he was grieving, he said he had been sorrowing ever since his brother's death. Said the Master, " All compound existences are impermanent, and what is to be broken is broken. One ought not to make a trouble of this. Wise men of old, from knowing this, did not grieve, when their brother died." And at his request the Master related this legend of the past. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was reborn in the family of a rich mei'chant, worth eighty crores. When he was come of age, his parents died. And on their death a brother of the Bodhisatta managed the family estate. [57] And the Bodhisatta lived in' dependence on him. By and bye the brother also died of a fatal disease. His relations, friends and companions came together, and throwing up their arms wept and lamented, and no one was able to control his feelings. But the Bodhisatta neither lamented nor wept. Men said, " See now, though his bx'other is dead, he does not so much as pull a wry face :he is a very hard-hearted fellow. Methinks he desired his brother's death, hoping to enjoy a double portion." Thus did they blame the Bodhisatta. His kinsfolk too reproved him, saying, " Though your brother is dead, you do not shed a tear." On hearing their words he said :"In your blind folly, not knowing the Eight Worldly Conditions, you weep and cry, Alas my brother is dead,' but I too, and you also, ' ! will have to die. Why then do you not weep at the thought of your own death? All existing things are transient, and consequently no single compoxmd is able to remain in its natural condition. Though you, blind fools, in your state of ignorance, from not knowing the Eight Wox-ldly No. 317. 39 Conditions, weep and lament, why should I weep?" And so saying, he repeated these stanzas : Weep for the living rather than the dead All creatures that a mortal form do take, Four-footed beast and bird and hooded snake. Yea men and angels all the same path tread. Powerless to cope with fate, rejoiced to die. Midst sad vicissitude of bliss and pain. Why shedding idle tears should man complain. And plunged in sorrow for a brother sigh? Men versed in fraud and in excess grown old. The untutored fool, e'en valiant men of might. If worldly-wise and ignorant of right, Wisdom itself as foolishness may hold. [58] Thus did the Bodhisatta teach these men the Truth, and delivered them all from their sorrow. The Master, after he had ended his religious exposition, revealed the Truths and identified the Birth — At tlie conclusion of the Truths the landowner attained : to fruition of the First Path :— "At that time the wise man who by his religious exposition delivered people from their sorrow was I myself."

" 'Twas the joyous time^^ etc. — This was a story told by the Master at Jetavana, about a Brother who was tempted by thoughts of the wife he had left. The — circumstances that led up to the story will be set forth in the Indriya Birth i. The Master, addressing this Brother, said, " Once before, through her, you had your head cut oif." And then he related a legend of the past. [59] Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born in a village of Kasi in the home of a certain householder, under the star of a robber. When he grew up to be a man, he 1 No. 423. gained his living by robbery, and his fame was blazed abroad in the world, as a bold fellow and as strong as an elephant. And no man could catch him. One day he broke into a rich merchant's house and carried off much treasure. The townsfolk came to the king and said, "Sire, a mighty robber is plundering the city: have him arrested." The king ox'dered the governor of the city to seize him. So in the night the governor posted men here and there in detachments, and having effected his capture with the money upon him, he reported it to the king. The king bade the governor cut off his head. Then the governor had his arms tightly bound behind him, and having tied a wreath of red kanavera flowers about his neck and sprinkled brickdust on his head, had him scourged with whips in every square, and then led to the place of execution to the music of the harsh-sounding drum. Men said, " This rapacious robber who loots our city is taken," and the whole city was greatly moved. At this time there lived in Benares a courtezan named Sama, whose price was a thousand pieces of money. She was a favourite of the king's, and had a suite of five hundred female slaves. And as she stood at an open window on the upper floor of the palace, she saw this robber being led along. Now he was comely and gracious to look upon, and stood forth above all men, exceedingly glorious and god-like in appearance. And when she saw him being thus led past, she fell in love with him and thought within herself, " By what device can I secure this man for my husband 1 " " This is the way," she said, and sent by the hand of one of her female attendants a thousand pieces of money to the governor, and "Tell him," she said, "this robber is Sama's brother, and he has no other refuge except in Sama. And ask him to accept the money and let his prisoner escape."[60] The handmaid did as she was told. But the governor said, " This is a notorious robber, I cannot let him go free after this sort. But if I could find another man as a substitute, I could put the robber in a covered carriage and send him to you." The slave came and reported this to her mistress. Now at this time a certain rich young merchant, who was enamoured of Sama, presented her every day with a thousand pieces of money. And that very day at sunset her lover came as usual to her house with the money. And Sama took the money and placed it in her lap and sat weeping. And when she was asked what was the cause of her sorrow, she said, " My lord, this robber is my brother, though he never came to see me, because people say I follow a vile trade when I sent a message to the : governor he sent word that if he were to receive a thousand pieces of money, he would let his prisoner go free. And now I cannot find any one to go and take this money to the governor." The youth for the love he bare her said, "I will go." "Go, then," said she, "and take with you the money you brought me." So he took it and went to the house of the governor. The governor hid the young merchant in a secret place,and had the robber conveyed in a close carriage to Sama. Then he thought, "This robber is well known in the country. It must be quite dark first. And men are retired to rest, I will have the man executed." then, when all And so making some excuse for delaying it awhile, when people had retired to rest, he sent the young merchant with a large escort to the place of execution, and cutting ofi" his head with a sword impaled his body, and returned into the city. Thenceforth Sama accepted nought at any other man's hand, but passed all her time, taking her pleasure with this robber only. The thought occurred to the robber : " If this woman should fall in love with any one else, she will have me too put to death, and take her pleasure with him. She is very treacherous to her friends. I must no longer dwell here, but make haste to escape." "When he was going away, [61] he thought, "I will not go empty-handed, but will take some of the ornaments belonging to her." So one day he said to her, " My dear, we always stay indoors like tame cockatoos in a cage. Some day we will disport ourselves in the garden." She readily assented and prepared every kind of food, hard and soft,and decked herself out with all her ornaments, and drove to the garden with him seated in a close carriage. While he was disporting himself with her, he thought, " Now must be the time for me to escape." So under a show of violent afiection for her, he entered into a thicket of kanavera bushes, and pretending to embrace her, he squeezed her tUl she became insensible. Then throwing her down he spoiled her of all her ornaments, and fastening them in her outer garment he placed the bundle on his shoulder, and leaping over the garden wall made oflf. And when she had recovered consciousness, rising up she went and asked her attendants, what had become of her young lord. " We do not know, lady." "He thinks," she said, "I am dead, and must in his alarm have run away." And being distressed at the thought, she returned thence to her house, and said, " Not till I have set eyes on my dear lord, will I restupon a sumptuous couch," and she lay down upon the ground. And from that day she neither put on comely garments, nor ate more than one meal, nor affected scents and wreaths and the like. And being resolved to seek and recover her lover by every possible means, she sent for some actors and gave them a thousand pieces of money. On their asking, "What are we to do for this, lady?" She said, "There is no place that you do not visit. Go then to every village, town and city, and gathering a crowd around you, first of all sing this song in the midst of the people,"— teaching the actors the first stanza, — "And if," said she, " when you have sung this song, my husband shall be one of the crowd, he will speak to you. [62] Then you may tell him I am quite well, and bring him back with you. And should he refuse to come, send me a message." 42 The Jataka. Book IV. And giving them their expenses for the journey, she sent them off. They started from Benares, and calling the people together here and there, at last arrived at a border-village. Now the robber, since his flight, was living here. And the actors gathered a crowd about them, and sang the first stanza : 'Twas the joyous time of spring, Bright with flowers each shrub and tree. From her swoon awakening Sama lives, and lives for thee. The robber on hearing this drew nigh to the actor, and said, " You say that Sama is alive, but I do not believe it." And addressing him he repeated the second stanza : Can fierce winds a mountain shake? Can they make firm earth to quake ? But alive the dead to see Marvel stranger far would be [63] The actor on hearing these words uttered the third stanza Sama surely is not dead. Nor another lord would wed. Fasting from all meals but one, She loves thee and thee alone. The robber on hearing this said, "Whether she be alive or dead, I don't want her," and with these words he repeated the fourth stanza : Sama's fancy ever roves From tried faith to lighter loves: Me too Sama would betray. Were I not to flee away. The actors came and told Sama how he had dealt with them. And she, full of regi'ets, took once more to her old course of life. The Master, when his lesson was ended, revealed the Truths and identified the Birth : At the conclusion of the Truths the worldly-minded Brother attained to fruition of the First Path "At that time this Brother was the rich merchant's : son, the wife he had left was Sama, and I myself was the robber."

[64] ''Happy life" etc. — This was a story told by the Master while living in the Badarika Monastery near Kosambi, regarding the elder Rahula. The introductory story has been already related in full in the Tipallattha Birth i. Now when the Brethren in the Hall of Truth were setting forth the praises of the venerable Rahula, and speaking of him as fond of instruction, scrupulous and patient of rebuke, the Master came up and on hearing from them the subject of their discourse said, " Not now only, but formerly also Rahula possessed all these virtues." And then he told them a legend of the past. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born in a brahmin family. And when he grew up, he studied all the arts at Takkasila, and giving up the world devoted himself to the ascetic life in the Himalaya country, and developed all the Faculties and Attainments. There enjoying the pleasures of ecstatic meditation he dwelt in a pleasant grove, whence he journeyed to a frontier village to procure salt and vinegar. The people, on seeing him, became believers, and built him a hut of leaves in a wood, and providing him with all that a Buddhist requires, made a home for him there. At this time a fowler in this village had caught a decoy partridge, and putting it in a cage carefully trained and looked after it. Then he took it to the wood, and by its cry decoyed all the other jjartridges that came near. The partridge thought " Through me many of my kinsfolk come : by their death. This is a wicked act on my part." So it kept quiet. Wheii its master found it was quiet, he struck it on the head with a piece of bamboo. The partridge from the pain it suffered uttered a cry. And the fowler gained a living by decoying other partridges through it. Then the partridge thought : " Well, suppose they die. There is no evil intention on my part. Do the evil consequences of my action affect me ] When I am quiet, they do not come, but when I utter a cry, they do. And all that come this fellow catches and puts to death. Is there any sinful act here on my part, or is there not % " Thenceforth the only thought of the partridge is, "Who verily may resolve my doubt?" [65] and it goes about seeking for such a wise man. Now one day the fowler snared a lot of partridges, and filling his basket with them he came to the Bodhisatta's hermitage to beg a draught of water. And putting down the cage near the Bodhisatta, he drank some water and lay down on the sand and fell 1 No. 16, Vol. i. 44 The Jataka. Book IV. asleep. The partridge observing that he was asleep thought, " I will ask this ascetic as to my doubt, and if he knows he will solve my diflficulty." And as it lay in its cage, it repeated the first stanza in the form of a question Happy life I lead all day, Food abundant falls to me: Yet I'm in a parlous way, What's my futiu-e state to be ? The Bodhisatta solving this question uttered the second stanza : If no evil in thy heart Prompts to deed of villainy, Shouldst thou play a passive part. Guilt attaches not to thee. The partridge on hearing this uttered the third stanza " Lo ! our kinsman " : thus they cry, And in crowds they flock to see. Am I guilty, should they die? Please resolve this doubt for me. [66] On hearing this, the Bodhisatta repeated the fourth stanza : If no sin lurks in the heart, Innocent the deed will be. He who plays a passive part From all guilt is counted free. Thus did the Great Being console the partridge. And through him the bird was freed from remorse. Then the fowler waking up saluted the Bodhisatta and took up his cage and made off. The Master, having ended his lesson, identified the Birth : "At that time Rahula was the part.ridge, and I myself was the ascetic."

"He might give," etc. This story was told by the Master, while residing at Jetavana, with regard to a certain landowner. According to the story he went to a village with his wife to get in a debt, and seizing a cart in satisfaction for what was due to him he deposited it with a certain family, intending to fetch it later on. While on the road to Savatthi, they came iii sight of a mountain. The wife asked him, " Suppose this mountain were to become all gold, would you give me some of it?" "Who are you?" he replied, "I would not give you a jot." "Alas!" she cried, "he is a hard-hearted man. Though the mountain should become i^ure gold, he would not give me an atom." And she was highly displeased. When they drew nigh to Jetavana, feeling thirsty, they went into the monastery, and had some water to drink. [67] At daybreak the Master seeing in them a capacity for Salvation, sat in a cell of his Perfumed Chamber, looking out for their arrival, and emitted the six-coloured rays of Buddhahood. And after they had quenched their thirst, they came to the Master and respectfully saluting him sat down. The Master, after the usual kindly greetings, asked them where they had been. " We have been. Reverend Sir, to call in a debt." " Lay Sister," he said, " I hope your husband is anxious for your good and ready to do you a kindness." " Reverend Sir," she replied, " I am very affectionate to him, but he has no love for me. To-day when I asked him, on catching sight of a mountain, 'Supposing it were all pure gold, would you give me some?' he answered, 'Who are you ? I would not give you a jot.' So hard-heai-ted is he." " Lay Sister," said the Master, " he talks like this. But whenever he calls to mind your virtues he is ready to give you lordship over all." " Tell us about it, your Reverence," they cried, and at their request he related this legend of the past. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was his minister, rendering him all due service. One day the king saw his son, who acted as his viceroy, coming to pay his respects to him. He thought to himself, "This fellow may do me wrong, if he gets an opportunity." So he sent for him and said, "As long as I live, you cannot dwell in this city. Live somewhere else, and at my death bear rule in the kingdom." He agreed to these conditions, and bidding his father farewell he started from Benares with his chief wife. On coming to a fi'ontier village, he built himself a hut of leaves in a wood, and stayed there, supporting life on wild roots and fruit. By and bye the king died. The young viceroy, from his observation of the stars, knew of his father's death, and as he journeyed to Benares, a mountain came into sight. His wife said to him, "Supposing, Sir, yonder mountain were turned into pure gold, would you give me some of iti" "Who are you?" he cried, "I would not give you an atom." She thought: "Through my love for him I entered this forest, not having the heart to desert him, and he speaks to me thus. [68] He is very hard-hearted, and if he becomes king, what good will he do me 1 " And she was sore at heart. On reaching Benares he was established on the throne and raised her to the dignity of chief queen. He merely gave her titular rank, but beyond this he paid her no respect or honour, and did not even recognize her existence. Thought the Bodhisatta, " This queen was helpmeet to the king, not counting the pain, and dwelt with him in the wilderness. But he, taking no count of this, goes about, taking his pleasure with other women. But I will bring it about that she shall receive lordship over 46 The Jdtaka. Booh IV. all." And with this thought he went one day and saluting her said, " Lady, we do not receive from you so much as a lump of rice. Why are you so hard-hearted, and why do you thus neglect us 1 " " Friend," she replied, "if I myself were to receive aught, I would give it you, but if I get nothing, what am I to give ? What, pray, is the king likely to give me ? On the road here, when asked, If yonder mountain were all pure ' gold, would you give me anything?' he answered, 'Who are you? I would give you nothing.' " " Well, could you repeat all this before the king % " he said. "Why should I not, friend?" she answered. "Then when I stand in the king's presence," he said, " I will ask and you shall repeat it." " Agreed, friend," she said. So the Bodhisatta, when he stood and paid his respects to the king, asked the queen, saying, " Are we not, lady, to receive aught at your haads?" "Sir," she answered, "when I get anything, I will give you something. But, pray, what is the king likely to give me now? When we were coming from the forest, and a mountain came into sight, I asked him, If yonder mountain were all pui-e gold, would ' you give me some of it ? ' ' Who are you ? ' he said, 'I will give you nothing.' And in these words he refused what it was easy to give." [69] To illustrate this, she repeated the first stanza : He might give at little cost What he would not miss, if lost. Golden mountains I bestow; He to all I ask says "No." The king on hearing this uttered the second stauza : When you can, say "Yes, I will," When you cannot, promise nil. Broken promises are lies Liars all wise men despise. The queen, when she heai-d this, raising her joined hands in respectful salutation, repeated the third stanza : Standing fast in righteousness. Thee, O prince, we humbly bless. Fortune may all else destroy; Truth is still thy only joy. [70] The Bodhisatta, after hearing the queen sing the praises of the king, set forth her virtues and repeated the fourth stanza Known to fame as peerless wife. Sharing weal and woe of life. Equal she to either fate, Fit with even kings to mate. The Bodhisatta in these words sang the praises of the queen, saying, "This lady, your majesty, in the time of your adversity, lived with you and shared your sorrows in the forest. You ought to do her honour." The king, at his words, called to mind the queen's virtues and said, " Wise Sir, at your words I am reminded of the queen's virtues," and so saying he gave all power into her hand. Moreover he bestowed great power upon the Bodhisatta. " For it was by you," he said, " I was reminded of the queen's virtues." The Master, having ended his lesson, revealed the Truths and identified the Birth: —At the conclusion of the Truths, the husband and wife attained to fruition of the First Path "At that time this landowner was the kiug of Benares, : this lay sister was the queen, and I myself was the wise councillor."

KUTIDtJSAKA-JATAKA. [71] ''Monkey, in feet" etc. — This was a story told by the Master while dwelling at Jetavana, about a young disciple who burnt down the hut of leaves of the elder Mahakassapa. The incident that led to the story originated in Rajagaha. At that time, they say, the elder was living in a cell in the forest near Rajagaha. Two young novices ministered to his wants. The one of them was serviceable to the elder, the other was ill-behaved. Whatever was done by his comrade, he makes as if it were done by himself For instance, when the other lad had placed water to rinse the mouth, he goes to the elder and saluting him, says, "Sir, the water is ready. Please to rinse your mouth." And when his companion had risen betimes and swept out the elder's cell, as soon as the elder appears, he knocks things about hither and thither, and makes as if the whole cell had been swept out by himself. The dutiful disciple thought, " This ill-behaved fellow claims whatever I do just as if he had done it himself I will expose his cunning behaviour." So when the young rogue had returned from the village and was sleeping after his meal, he heated water for the bath, and hid it in a back room, and then put merely a small quantity of water in the boiler. The other lad on waking went and saw the steam rising up and thought, " No doubt our friend has heated the water and put it in the bath-room." So going to the elder he said, " Sir, the water is in the bath-room. Please, take your bath." The elder went with him to take a bath, and finding no water in the bath-room asked where the water was. The lad went hastily to the heating chamber and let down a ladle into the empty boiler. The ladle struck against the bottom of the empty vessel, and gave forth a rattling sound. (Thenceforth the boy was known by the name of " Rattle- Ladle.") At this moment the other lad fetched the water from the back room, and said, " Sir, please take your bath." The elder had his bath, [72] and being now aware of Rattle- Ladle's misconduct, when the boy came in the evening to wait upon him, he reproached him and said, " When one that is under religious vows 48 The Jdtaha. Book IV. has done a thing himself, then only has he the right to say, 'I did that.' Otherwise it is a deliberate lie. Henceforth be not guilty of conduct like this." The boy was wroth with the elder, and next day refused to go into the town with him to beg for alms. But the other youth accompanied the elder. And Rattle-Ladle went to see a family of the elder's retainers. When they inquired where the elder was, he answered that he remained at home ill. They asked what he ought to have. He said, " Give me so and so," and took it and went to a place that he fancied, and ate it and returned to the hermitage. Next day the elder visited that family and sat down with them. The people said, "You are not well, are you ? Yesterday, they say, you stopped at home in your cell. We sent you some food by the hand of such and such a lad. Did your Reverence partake of it " The elder held his peace, and when he had finished his meal, '? returned to the monastery. In the evening when the boy came to wait upon him, the elder addressed him thus " You went begging. Sir, in such and such a family, and in such and : such a village. And you begged, saying, The elder must have so and so to eat.' ' And then, they say, you ate it yourself. Sixch begging is highly improper. See that you are not guilty of such misconduct again." So the boy for ever so long nursed a grudge against the elder, thinking, "Yesterday merely on account of a little water he picked a quarrel with me. And now being indignant because of my having eaten a handful of rice in the house of his retainers, he quarrels with me again. I will find out the right way to deal with him." And next day, when the elder had gone into the city for alms, he took a hammer and broke all the vessels used for food, and setting fire to the hut of leaves, took to his heels. While still alive he became a preta in the world of men, and withered away till he died and was born again in the Great Hell of Avici. And the fame of his evil deed spread abroad amongst the people. So one day some Brethren came from Rajagaha to Savatthi, and after putting away their bowls and robes in the Common Room they went and saluting the Master sat down. The Master conversed pleasantly with them and asked whence they had come. "From Rajagaha, Sir." "Who is the teacher that preaches there 1 " he said. " The Great Kassapa, Sir." " Is Kassapa quite well. Brethren ?" he asked. "Yes, Reverend Sir, the elder is well. But a youthful member of the fraternity was so angry on account of a reproof he gave him, that he set fire to the elder's hut of leaves, and made ofi"." [73] The Master, on hearing this, said, " Brethren, solitude is better for Kassapa than keeping company with a fool like this." And so saying he repeated a stanza in the Dhammapada To travel with the vulgar herd refuse. And fellowship with foolish folk eschew; Thy peer or better for a comrade choose Or else in solitude thy way pursue. Moreover he again addressed the Brethren and said, " Not now only. Brethren, did this youth destroy the hut and feel wroth with one that reproved him. In former times too he was wroth." And he then told them a legend of the past. Once vipon a time when Brahmadatta reigned in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as a young singila 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 fir.st stanza No. 321. 49 Monkey, in feet and hands and face So like the human form, Why buildest thou no dwelling-place, To hide thee from the storm ? The monkey, on hearing this, replied with a second stanza In feet and hands and face, O bird. Though close to man allied, Wisdom, chief boon on him conferred, To me has been denied. 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. [74] 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 creatui'e, through dwelling in a place that is sheltered from the rain, despises me. I will not suifer him to rest quietly in this nest." Accordingly, 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 himself off. The Master, having ended his lesson, identified the Birth — " At that time : the youth that fii'ed the hut was the monkey, and I myself was the singila bird."

DADDABHA-J ATAKA ^ ^^ From the spot where," etc. This story was told by the Master, when he dwelt at Jetavana, about some heretics. These heretics, they say, in various places near Jetavana, made their beds on thorns, suffered the five-fold forms of fire penance, and practised false asceticism of many different kinds. Now a number of the Brethren, after going their rounds for alms in Savatthi, on their' way back to Jetavana saw these heretics undergoing their pretended austerities, and came and asked the Master, [75] " Is there. Sir, any virtue in these heterodox priests in taking upon them these practices ? " The Master said, " There is no 1 See Tibetan Tales, xxii. p. 296, "The Flight of the Beasts." R. Morris, Folk-Lore Journal, Vol. iii. 121. J. III. 4 50 The Jdtaka. Book IV. virtue, Brethren, nor any special merit in it. When it is examined and tested, it is like a path over a dunghill, or like the noise the hare heard." " We do not know, Sir, what that noise was. Tell us. Holy Sir." So at their request he told them an old-world legend. Once upon a time when Brahraadatta 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 I'ipe vilva fruit fell on a palm leaf. At the sound of it, the hare thought " This solid earth is collapsing," and starting up he fled, : without so much as looking behind him. Another hare saw him scampei^ing off, as if frightened to death, and asked the cause of his panic flight. " Pray, don't ask me," he said. The other hare cried, " Pray, Sir, what is it ? " and kept running after him. Then the hare stopped a moment and without looking back said, " The earth here is breaking up." 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 buflalo, 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. [76] 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 by them. And if I don't make a great effort, they will all perish. I will save their lives." So with 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 elephants 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, 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 No. 322. 51 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 1 " 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 1 ' 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 corning to an end, and ran away. [77] 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 liim. Until I return, do you stay here." Then placing 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, show us the place you meant." " 1 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 dreadful soimd," and so saying, he repeated the first stanza From the spot where I did dwell Issued forth a fearful ' thud ; What it was I could not tell, Nor what caused it understood. After hearing what the hare said, the lion went to the foot of the vilva tree, and saw the spot where the hare had been lying beneath the shade of the palm 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 Bodhisatta at that time, all the beasts would have rushed into the sea and perished. It was all owing to the Bodhisatta that they escaped death. Alarmed at sound of fallen fruit A hare once ran away, The other beasts all followed suit Moved by that hare's dismay. They hastened not to view the scene, But lent a wilUng ear To idle gossip, and were clean Distraught with foolish fear. [78] They who to Wisdom's calm delight And Virtue's heights attain, Though ill example should invite. Such panic fear disdain. These three stanzas were inspired by Perfect Wisdom. The Master, having ended his lesson, identified the Birth : " At that time I myself was the lion."

" Such is the qualiti/," etc. —This story was told by the Master, while dwelling in the Aggalava shrine near Alavi, concerning the regulations to be observed in the building of cells ^. The introductory story has been already set forth in the Manikantha Bii-th^, but on this occasion the Master said, " Is it true. Brethren, that you Uve here by your importunity in asking and begging for alms ? " And when they answered " Yes," he reproved them and said, " Wise men of old, when offered their choice by the king, though they were longing to ask for a pair of single-soled shoes, through fear of doing violence to their sensitive and scrupulous nature, did not venture to say a word in the presence of the people, but spoke in private." And so saying he told them an old-world legend. [79] Once upon a time in the Kampillaka kingdom, when a Pancala king was reigning in a North Paiicala city, the Bodhisatta was born into a brahmin family, in a certain market town. And when he was grown up, he acquired a knowledge of the arts at Takkasila. Afterwards taking orders as an ascetic and dwelling in the Himalaya country, he lived for a long time by what he could glean —feeding on wild fruits and i-oots. ^ See Siittavibhahga vi. 1. 2 No. 253, Vol. ii. No. 323. 53 And wandering iato the haunts of men for the purpose of procuring salt and vinegar, he came to a city of North Paiicala and took up his abode in the king's garden. Next day he went into the city to beg alms, and came to the king's gate. The king was so pleased with his deportment and behaviour that he seated him on the dais and fed him with food worthy of a king. And he bound him by a solemn promise and assigned him a lodging in the gai'den. He lived constantly in the king's house, and at the end of the rainy season, being anxious to return to the Himalayas, he thought, " If I go upon this journey, I must get a pair of single-soled shoes' and a parasol of leaves. I will beg them of the king." One day he came to the gai'den, and finding the king sitting there, he saluted him and resolved he would ask him for the shoes and parasol. But his second thought was, " A man who begs of another, saying, Give me so and so,' is apt to weep. And ' the other man also when he refvises, saying, 'I have it not,' in his turn weeps." And that the people might not see either him or the king weeping, he thought, "We will both weep quietly in some secret place." So he said, " Great King, I am anxious to speak with you in private." The royal attendants on hearing this departed. Thought the Bodhisatta, "If the king should refuse my prayer, our friendship will be at an end. So I will not ask a boon of him." That day, not venturing to mention the subject, he said, " Go now, Great King, I will see about tliis matter by and bye." Another day on the king's coming to the gai-den, saying, as before, fir.st this and then that, he could not frame his request. And so twelve years elapsed. Then the king thought, [80] " This priest said, I wish to speak in ' private,' and when the courtiex's are departed, he has not the courage to speak. And while he is longing to do so, twelve years have elapsed. After living a religious life so long, I suspect, he is regretting the world. He is eager to enjoy pleasures and is longing for sovereignty. But being unable to frame the word ' kingdom,' he keeps silent. To-day now I will offer him whatever he desires, from my kingdom downwards." So he went to the garden and sitting down saluted him. The Bodhisatta asked to speak to him in private, and when the courtiers had departed, he could not utter a word. The king said, " For twelve years you have asked to speak to me in private, and when you have had the opportunity, you have not been able to say a word. I offer you everything, beginning with my kingdom. Do not be afraid, but ask for whatever you please." " Great King," he said, " will you give me what I want 1 ^ See Mahdvagga, v. 1. 28. Shoes with more than a single lining were not to be worn by the Brethren, except when they had been cast off by others. 54 The Jdtaka. Book IV. " Yes, Reverend Sir, I will." " Great King, when I go on my journey, I must have a pair of singlesoled shoes and a parasol of leaves." "Have you not been able. Sir, for twelve years to ask for such a trifle " as this 1 "That is so, Great King." " Why, Sir, did you act thus t " "Great King, the man who says 'Give me so and so,' sheds tears, and the one who refuses and says ' I have it not,' in his turn weeps. If, when I begged, you should have refused me, I feared the people might see us mingling our tears. This is why I asked for a secret interview." Then from the beginning he repeated three stanzas Such is the quality of prayer, king, 'Twill a rich gift or a refusal bring. Who beg, Paiicala lord, to weep arc fain, They who refuse are apt to weep again. Lest people see us shed the idle tear, My prayer I whisper in thy secret ear. [81] The king, being charmed with this mark of I'espect on the part of the Bodhisatta, granted him the boon and spoke the fourth stanza : Brahmin, I offer thee a thousand kine, Red kine, and eke the leader of the herd ; Hearing but now these generous words of thine, I too in turn to generous deed am stirred. But the Bodhisatta said, " I do not. Sire, desire material pleasures. Give me that only which I ask for." And he took a pair of single-soled .shoesand the parasol of leaves, and exhorted the king to be zealous in religionand to keep the moral law and observe fast days. And though the king begged him to stay, he went off to the Himalayas, where he developed all the Faculties and Attainments, and was destined to birth in the Brahma-world. The Master, having ended his lesson, identified the Birth: "At that time Ananda was the king, and I myself was the ascetic." No. 324. 55

CAMMASATAKA- JATAKA \ [82] " The kindly beast" etc.— This, story was told by the Master while living at Jetavana, about a mendicant priest who wore a leather jerkin^. Both his upper and under garment, it is said, were of leather. One day sallying out of the monastery, he went his rounds in Savatthi for alms, till he came to the fightingground of the rams. A ram on seeing him drew back, desiring to butt him. The mendicant thought, "He is doing this, as an act of respect for me," and himself did not draw back. The ram came on with a rush and striking him on the thigla felled him to the ground. This case of imaginary salutation was blazed abroad in the Congregation of the Brethren. The matter was discussed by them in the Hall of Truth, as to how the leather-coated mendicant fancied he was being saluted and met with his death. The Master came and inquired the subject of their discussion and on being told what it was said, "Not now only. Brethren, but of old too this ascetic imagined he was being saluted and so came by his death," and he then related to them an old-world legend. Once upon 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 going 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 himself 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 creature thou, Famous above all other beasts, I vow ! [83] At this moment a wise merchant sitting in his stores, to restrain the mendicant, uttered the second stanza Brahmin, be not so rash this beast 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 speaking, the ram came on at full speed, and striking the mendicant on the thigh,knocked him down. He ^ See R. Morris, Folk-Lore Journal, iii. 248. 2 Mahdvagga, viii. 28. 2. 56 The Jdtaka. Book IV. was maddened with the pain and as he 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. [84] Thus lamenting he there and then came by his death. The Master, his lesson ended, thus identified the Birth: "The man in the leather coat of to-day was the same then as now. And I myself was the wise merchant."

GODHA-JATAKA\ " One that plays" eic— This story was told by the Master, while Hving at Jetavana, with regard to a certain cheating rogue. The introductory story has been already given in full. But on this occasion they brought the Brother to the Master and exposed him, saying, "Holy Sir, this Brother is a cheat." The Master said, " Not now only, but formerly also he was a rogue." And then he told an old-world story. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as a young lizard, and when he grew up and was lusty and sti'ong, he dwelt in a forest. And a cei'tain wicked ascetic built a hut of leaves, and took up his abode near him. The Bodhisatta, in ranging about for food, saw this hut of leaves and thought to himself, 1 Compare No. 277, vol. ii. No. 325. 57 "This hut must certainly belong to some holy ascetic," and he went there and after saluting the holy man returned to his own place of abode. Now one day this false ascetic ate some savoury food prepared in the house of one of his retainers, and asked what meat it was. On hearing that it was lizard-flesh, he became such a slave to his love of dainties that he thought, " I will kill this lizard that so constantly keeps coming to my hermitage and will cook him to my taste and eat him." So he took some ghee, curds, condiments and the like, and went with his club concealed under his yellow robe and sat perfectly still at the door of his hut, waiting for the Bodhisatta to come, as quiet as quiet could be. [85] And when the Bodhisatta saw this depraved fellow he thought, " This wretch must have been eating the flesh of my kinsfolk. I will put it to the test." So he stood to leeward of him and getting a whiff from his person he knew that he had been eating the flesh of a lizard, and without going near him he turned back and made off. And when the ascetic saw he was not coming, he threw his club at him. The club missed his body, but just reached the tip of his tail.The ascetic said, " Be off" with you, I have missed you." Said the Bodhisatta, "Yes, you have missed me, but you will not miss the fourfold States of Sufi'ering." Than he ran off and disappeared in an ant-hill which stood at the end of the cloister walk, and putting out his head at some other hole, he addressed the ascetic in these two stanzas One that plays the ascetic role Should exhibit self-control. Thou didst hiu-1 thy stick at me, False ascetic thou must be. Matted locks and robe of skin Serve to cloke some secret sin. Fool ! to cleanse for outward show, Leaving what is foul below. The ascetic, on hearing this, replied in a third stanza : Prithee, lizard, hasten back, Oil and salt I do not lack : Pepper too I would suggest May to boiled rice add a zest. [86] The Bodhisatta, on hearing this, uttered the fourth stanza I willhide me snug and warm Midst the anthill's myriad swarm. Cease of oil and salt to prate. Pepper I abominate. Moreover he threatened him and said, "Fie! false ascetic, if you continue to dwell here, I will have you seized as a thief by the people who live in my feeding ground, and given over to destruction. So make haste and be off." Then the false ascetic fled from that place. The Master, his lesson ended, identified the Birth: "At that time the rogue of a Brother was the false ascetic, but I myself was the royal lizard."

" He that from thievish act" etc. —This story was told by the ]\Iaster while he was at Jetavana, about Devadatta, how that after causing a schism in the Order, as he was going away with his chief disciples, when the assembly broke up, a hot stream of blood gushed from his mouth. Then the Brethren discussed the matter in the Hall of Truth, and said that Devadatta by speaking falsely had created a schism, and afterwards fell sick and suffered great pain. The Master came and inquired what subject the Brethren were discussing as they sat in conclave, and on hearing what it was he said, " Not now only. Brethren, but of old too this fellow was a liar, and not now only, but of old also he suffered pain as the penalty of lying." And so saying he repeated this old-world legend. [87] Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta became a certain god in the heaven of the Thirty-three. Now at this time thei'e was a great festival at Benares. A crowd of Nagas and Garuda birds and terrestrial deities came and watched the festival. And four divine beings from the heaven of the Thirty-three, weai-ing a wreath made of heavenly kakkaru flowers, came to see the festival. And the city for the space of twelve leagues was filled with the fragrance of these flowers. Men moved about, wondering by whom these flowers were worn. The gods said, "They are watching us," and flying up from the royal by an act of supernatui-al power they court, stood poised in the air. The multitude gathered together, and the king with his vassal princes came and asked from what world of the gods they had come. "We come from the heaven of the Thirty- three." "For what purpose ai-e you comel" "To see the festival." No. 326. 59 "What are these flowers'? " "They are called the heavenly kakkarvi flowers." " Sii's," they said, "in the world of the gods you may have other flowers to wear. Give these to us." The gods made answer, "These divine flowers are fit for those possessed of great powers for the base, foolish, faithless and sinful beings in this : world of men they are not fitted. But whosoever amongst men are endued with such and such virtues, for them they are suitable." And with these words the chief amongst these divine beings repeated the first stanza : He that from thievish act refrains. His tongue from lying word restrains. And reaching dizzy heights of fame Still keeps his head — this flower may claim. [88] On healing this the family priest thought, " I own not one of these qualities, but by telling a lie I will get these flowers to wear, and thus the people will credit me with these virtues." Then he said, "I am endued with these qualities," and he had the flowers brought to him and he put them on, and then begged of the second god, who replied in a second stanza :— He that should honest wealth pursue And riches gained by fraud eschew, In pleasure gross excess would shun, This heavenly flower has duly won. Said the priest, "I am endued with these virtues," and had the flowers brought to him and put them on, and then begged of the third god, who uttered the third stanza : He that from purpose fixed ne'er swerves And his unchanging faith preserves. Choice food alone scorns to devour. May justly claim this heavenly flower. [89] Said the priest, "I am endued with these virtues," and had the flowers brought to him and he put them on, and then begged of the fourth god, who spoke the fourth stanza : He that good men will ne'er attack When present, nor behind their back, And all he says, fulfils in deed, This flower may claim as his due meed. The pi'iest said, "I am endued with these vii-tues," and he had the flowers brought to him and put them on. So these divine beings gave the four wreaths of flowers to the priest and returned to the world of gods. As soon as they were gone, the priest was seized with a violent pain in the head, as if it were being pounded by a sharp spike, or crushed by an 60 The Jdtaka. Book IV. instrument of iron. Maddened with the pain he rolled up and down, and cried out with a loud voice. When men asked, "What means this]" he said, " I claimed these virtues when I had them not, and spoke falsely and so begged these flowers of the gods take them from off my head." They : would have removed them, but could not, for they were fastened as it were with an iron band. Then they raised him up and led him home. And as he lay there crying aloud, seven days passed. The king spake to his councillors and said, "This wicked brahmin will die. What are we to dol" "My lord," they answered, "let us again celebrate a festival. The sons of the gods will come back." [90] And the king held a festival, and the sons of the gods returned and filled all the city with the perfume of the flowers, and took their stand in the same place in the royal court. The people gathered together, and bringing that wicked brahmin they laid him down before the gods on his belly. He prayed the gods, saying, " My lords, spare my life." They said, " These flowers are not meet for a wicked and evil man. You thought in your heart to deceive us. You have received the reward of your false words. After thus rebuking him in the presence of the people, they removed the wreath of flowers from his head and having admonished the people, they returned to their own place of abode. The Master, having ended his lesson, identified the Birth " At that time : Devadatta was the brahmin, of the divine beings Kassapa was one, Moggallana was another, Sariputta a third, and 1 myself was the chief one of all."

KAKATI-JATAKA.^ Fragrant odours," e^c— This story was told by the Master while residing '^^ at Jetavana, of a certain Brother who regretted having taken orders. On this occasion the Master asked the Brother if it were true that he was discontented, and on his answering, " Yes, Holy Sir," he asked him the reason. The Brother replied, "By reason of sinful passion." The Master said, "Womancannot be guarded. There is no keeping her safe. Sages of old placed a woman in mid ocean in a palace by the Simball lake 2, but failed to preserve her honour." Then he told a story of the olden time. Compare No. 360 /w/'ra. On Mount Meru the Garudas live round it. : No. 327. 61 Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as the son of the king by his queen- consort. And when he was grown up, at his father's death he bare rule. Kakati was his chief queen and as lovely as an Apsara. [91] The old form of the legend will be found set forth in full in the Kunala Births Hei'e follows a brief summary of it. Now at this time a certain Garuda king came disguised as a man, and played at dice with the king of Benares. Falling in love with the chief queen Kakati, he carried her off with him to the dwelling place of the Garudas and lived happily with her. The king missing her told his musician named Natakuvera to go in quest of her. He found the Garuda king lying on a bed of eraka grass in a certain lake, and just as the Garuda was on the point of leaving that spot, he seated himself in the midst of the royal bird's plumage^, and was in this way conveyed to the dwelling place of the Garudas. There he enjoyed the lady's favours, and again seating himself on the bird's wing returned home. And when the time came for the Garuda to play at dice with the king, the minstrel took his lute and going up to the gaming board he stood before the king, and in the form of a song gave utterance to the first stanza : Fragrant odours round me playing Breath of fair Kakati's love, From her distant home conveying Thoughts my inmost soul to move. On hearing this the Garuda responded in a second stanza : Sea and Kebuk stream defying Didst thou reach my island home ? Over seven oceans flying To the Simbal gi-ove didst come ? [92] Natakuvera, on hearing this, uttered the third stanza : 'Twas through thee all space defying I was borne to Simbal grove. And o'er seas and rivers flying 'Twas through thee I found my love. Then the Garuda king replied in the fourth stanza : Out upon the foolish blimder. What a booby I have been ! Lovers best were kept asunder, Lo! I've served as go-between. So the Garuda brought the queen and gave her back to the king of Benares, and came not there any more. 1 No. 536. - Compare Tibetan Tales, xii. p. 231. SuSrmii. 62 The Jataka. Booh IV. The Master, his lesson ended, revealed the Truths and identified the Birth :— At the conclusion of the Truths the discontented Brother attained the fruition of the First Path :— " At that time the discontented Brother was Natakuvera, and I myself was the king."

" WhT/ should I shed tears" eilc— This story was told by the Master while living at Jetavana, of a certain landowner who had lost his wife. On her death, they say, he neither washed himself nor took food, and neglected his farm duties. Overcome with grief he would wander about the cemetery lamenting, while his predestination to enter the First Path blazed forth like a halo about his head. The Master, early one morning, casting his eye upon the world and beholding him said, "Save me there is no one that can remove this man's sorrow and bestow upon him the power of entering the First Path. I will be his refuge." So when he had returned from his rounds and had eaten his meal, he took an attendant priest and w^ent to the door of the landowner's house. [93] And he on hearing that the Master was coming went out to meet him, and with other marks of respect seated him in the prescribed seat and came and sitting on one side saluted him. The Master asked, " Wherefore, lay brother, are you silent ? " Reverend Sir," he replied, " I am grieving for her." The Master said, " Lay brother, that which is breakable is broken, but when this happens, one ought not to grieve. Sages of old, when they lost a wife, knew this tiaith, and therefore sorrowed not." And then at his request the Master told an old-world tale. The old legend will be found set forth in the Cullabodhi Birth' in the Tenth Book. Here follows a short summary of it. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was 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 hira. " I have no desire for a married life," said the Bodhisatta. " When you are dead, I will adopt the religious life of an ascetic." And being greatly importuned by them, he had a golden image" made, » No. 443. 2 For the incident of the golden image and the story generally compare Tibetan Tales, IX. p. 186. Mahdkdsyapa and Bhadrd, and said, If you can find me a maiden like unto this, I 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 excliange, 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 was Sammillabhasinl. At the age of sixteen she was a fair and gracious maiden, like to an Apsara, 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. [94] So the men took the golden image and wandered about till they reached this village. The inhabitants on seeing the image asked, " Why is Sammillabhasinl, the daughter of such and such a brahmin, placed there?" The messengers on hearing this found the brahmin family, and chose Sammillabhasinl for the prince's bride. She sent a message to her pai-ents, saying, "When you are dead, I shall adopt the religious life; I have no desire for the maiTied 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 ceremony took place against the wishes of both the Bodhisatta and Sammillabhasinl. Though sharing the same room and the same bed they did not regard one another with the eye of sinful passion, but dwelt together like two holy men or two female saints. By and bye the father and mother of the Bodhisatta died. He performed their funeral rites and calling to him SammillaljhasinI, 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 household 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 Benai^es, 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 64 The Jataka. Book IV. gone out when she expired. The people, beholding the great beauty of this female ascetic, [95] 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 whei-eon she lay and eating the mixture of food he rinsed out his mouth. The people that stood by gathered round him and " said, " Eeverend Sir, what was this female ascetic to you 1 "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 1 " And teaching the people the Truth, he recited these stanzas : Why should I shed tears for thee, Fair Sammillabhasini ? Passed to death's majority^ Thou 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 nigh. Life I count a thing unstable. Loss of friends inevitable. Cherish all that are alive, Sorrow not shouldst thou survive. [97] 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 Master, having ended his lesson, revealed the Truths and identified the Birth : — At the conclusion of the Truths, the landowner attained to fruition of the First Path: "At that time the mother of Rahula was Sammillabhasini, and I myself was the ascetic." ^ Compare the classical usage of oi irXelovs, plures, for the dead. No. 329. 65

" 07ice we enjoyed," etc. This was a story told by the Master while dwelling in the Bamboo Grove, with regard to Devadatta's loss of gains and honour. For when Devadatta had unreasonably conceived a grudge against the Buddha and suborned a band of archers to slay him, his offence became known by the letting loose of the elephant Nalagiri i. Then men took away his office and the rations provided for him, and the king ceased to regard him. And having lost his source of gains and honour, he went about living on what he begged in noble families. The Brethren started a discussion in the Hall of Truth, how that Devadatta thought to get gain and honour, but when he had got it he could not keep it. The Master came and inquired what was the subject the Brethren sat in conclave to discuss, and on being told what it was he said, " Not only now. Brethren, but formerly too, Devadatta was deprived of gains and honour." And he then told them an old-world legend. Once upon a time when Dhanafijaya was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta became a parrot named Radha. He was a well-grown bird with perfectly-formed limbs. And his younger brother was called Potthapada. A certain fowler trapped these two birds and brought them as a present to the king of Benares. The king put the pair in a golden cage [98] and took care of them and gave them honey and parched corn to eat in a golden dish and sugar-water to drink. Great attention was paid them, and they attained to the highest degree of profit and honour. Then a certain forester brought a big black monkey, called Kalabahu, as a present to the king, and from the fact of his coming later than the parrots, he received still greater gain and respect, while that paid to the parrots fell ofl". The Bodhisatta through his possession of Buddha qualities said not a word, but his younger brother, from the absence of these qualities being unable to put up with the honour paid to the monkey, said, "Brother, formerly in this royal house men gave us savoury food, but now we get nothing, and they offer it all to the monkey Kalabahu. As we receive neither gain nor honour in this place from the king, what are we to do ? Come, let us go and live in the forest." And as he talked with him, he uttered the first stanza : Once we enjoyed of food abundant store. This monkey now has what was ours before. Come, Radha, let us to the forest hie ; Such scurvy treatment what can justify ? 1 See vol. ii. p. 140, and p. 168. J. III. 5 66 The JataJca. Book IV. Radha, on hearing this, replied in the second stanza : Gain and loss and praise and blame, Pleasure, pain, dishonour, fame, All as transient states conceive Why should Potthapada grieve? . [99] On hearing this, Potthapada was unable to get rid of his grudge against the monkey and repeated the third stanza : Radha, wisest bird alive. Sure thou knowest things to come, This vile creature who shall drive From the court to his old home ? Radha, on hearing this, uttered the fourth stanza : Oft will his puckered face and moving ears The royal children fill with foolish fears : Soon Kalabahu through some impish freak, Far far away his food will have to seek. In a very short time the monkey by shaking his ears and the like In their alarm they made tricks before the young princes terrified them. an outcry. The king asked what it meant, and hearing the cause, said, " Drive him away." So he had the monkey driven away, and the parrots were restored to their former condition of gain and honour. The Master here ended his lesson and identified the Birth [100] " At that : time Devadatta was Kalabahu, Ananda was Potthapada, and I myself was Radha."

'^ Power on earth,^' etc. — 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. 1 No. 86, Vol. i., and No. 290, Vol. ii. No. 330. 67 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, Virtue owns a wondrous charm Putting on a virtuous air Deadly snakes avoid 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 butcher's shop and darted up into the air.The other birds surrounded him and struck him with feet, claws and beaks. Unable to bear the at 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 whosoever 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 hawk had aught to eat. Birds of prey pecked at him sore, When perforce he dropped the meat. Then they pecked at him no more. [101] The ascetic going forth from the city, in the course of his journey came to a village, and at evening lay down in a certain man's house. Now a female slave there named Pingala made an assignation with a man, saying, "You are to come at such and such an hour." After she had bathed the feet of her master and his family, when they had lain down, she sat on the threshold, looking out for 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 Bodhisatta 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 a sinful world brings sorrow, despair brings peace, he uttered the third stanza The fruit of hope fulfilled is bliss ; How differs loss of hope from this ? Though dull despair her hope destroys, Lo Pingala calm sleep enjoys ! i. 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 ' Compare Sdnkhya Aphorisms, iv. 11. Mahdbhdrata, xii. 6447. 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 Nought can surpass ecstatic joy: To holy calm a devotee, Himself unharmed, will none annoy. [102] Then he went into the forest and adopted the ascetic life of a Rishi and developed the higher knowledge born of meditation, and became destined to birth in the Brahma- World. The Master, having ended his lesson, identified the Birth: "At that time I myself was the family priest."

'•'They that ivith speech inopportune^'' etc.—This story was told by the Master at Jetavana about Kokalika. The introductory story is told in full in the Takkarika Birth i. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was his valued minister. Now the king was very talkative. Thought the Bodhisatta, "I will put an end to his talkativeness," and went about looking for an apt illustration. So one day the king came to his garden and sat down on the royal slab of stone. Above his head was a mango tree and there in a crow's nest a black cuckoo had laid her egg and gone off. The female crow watched over that cuckoo's egg. By and bye a young cuckoo came forth from it The crow thinking it was her own offspring took care of it, bringing food for it in her beak. The young bird while still unfledged uttered a cuckoo cry prematurely. The crow thought, "This young bird even now utters a strange note. [103] What will it do, when it is olderf And so she killed it by pecking it with her beak and threw it out of the nest, and it fell at the king's feet. The king asked the 1 No. 481. Compare No. 215, Vol. ii. No. 331. 69 Bodhisatta, "What is the meaning of this, my friend?" Thought the Bodhisatta, " I am seeking for an illustration to teach the king a lesson, and now I have got one." So he said, "Garrulous folk. Great King, who talk too much out of season, meet with a fate like this.This young cuckoo, sire, being fostered by the crow, while yet unfledged, uttered a premature cry. So the crow knew it was not her offspring and killed it by pecking it with her beak and threw it out of the nest. All those that are too talkative out of season, be they men or beasts, suffer like trouble." And with these words he recited these stanzas : They that with speech inopportune offend Like the young cuckoo meet untimely end. Nor deadly poison, nor sharp-whetted sword Is half so fatal as ill-spoken word. The sage his measured words discreetly guides, Nor rashly to his second self confides Before he speaks will prudent counsel take, His foes to trap, as Garuda the snake. [104] The king, after hearing the religious teaching of the Bodhisatta, thenceforth became more measured in his words, and increasing the glory of the Bodhisatta ever gave him more and more. The Master, having brought his lesson to an end, identified the Birth: "Kokalika in those days was the young cuckoo, and I myself was the wise minister."

" WoundAng another^^ etc.— This story was told by the Master when he was at Jetavaua, about the family priest of the king of Kosala, who, it is said, as he was driving in his chariot to a village on his estate came upon a caravan in a narrow road, and crying out once and again, "Out of the way with you," was so enraged at a cart not clearing out of his way that he threw his goad-stick at the driver of the first cart. The stick struck against the yoke of the chariot, and rebounding hit him on the forehead and raised a bump on his head. The priest turned back and went and told the king he had been wounded by some carters. The carters were summoned, and the judges examining into the case found the priest only was to blame. One day the matter was discussed in the Hall of Truth, [105] how that the king's chaplain, who said he had been assaulted by some carters, on going to law was cast in his suit. When the Master came and inquired what the Brethren were sitting in council to discuss, on hearing what it was he said, "Not now only, Brethren, but formerly also this fellow acted in precisely the same way." And he then told them a story of the olden time. Once upon a time when Brahinadatta was reigning in Benares, the The king's chaplain drives to a village Bodhisatta became his lord justice. where he was headman, and acts in exactly the same way as in the other when the king heard the priest's story, he sumtale, but in this version, moned the carters and himself sat in judgment, and without examining into the matter he said, "You have beaten my priest and raised a bump on his forehead," and ordered all their property to be taken from them. Then said the Bodhisatta to him, "Sire, without even investigating the matter you order them to be mulcted of all their goods, but some men after inflicting wounds on themselves declare that they have been wounded by another. Therefore it is wrong for one who bears rule to act thus without trying the case. He ought not to act till he has heard everything." And then he recited these verses : Wounding another, his own wound he shows, Himself the smiter, he complains of blows. Wise men, king, of partial views beware. Hear both sides first, then judgment true declare. The idle sensual layman I detest, The false ascetic is a rogue confest. A bad king will a case unheard decide, Wrath in the sage can ne'er be justified. [106] The wari'ior prince a well-weighed verdict gives, Of righteous judge the fame for ever lives. The king on hearing the words of the Bodhisatta judged righteously, and when the case was duly tried, the blame was found to rest with the brahmin alone. The Master, his lesson ended, identified the Birth: "The Brahmin played the same part in both stories, and I myself was the wise minister in those days." N'o. 333. 71

GODHA-JATAKA\ " Theii ivert thou" etc. —This is a story told by the Master while at Jetavana, of a certain landowner. The introductory story has been told in full before 2. But in this case, as the husband and wife were returning home, after calling in a debt, in the course of their journey some hunters gave them a roasted lizard, bidding them both to eat of it. The man sent his wife to fetch water and ate up the whole lizard, and when she came back, he said, "My dear, the lizard has run away." "Well, my lord," she said, "what can one do with a roast lizard that runs away?" [107] She drank some water and afterwards at Jetavana when sitting in the presence of the Master, she was asked by him as follows: "Lay sister, is this man affectionate, loving and helpful to you?" She answered, "I am loving and affectionate to him, but he has no love for me." The Master said, "Well, suppose he does behave thus to you. Do not be grieved. When he recalls to mind your virtues, he will give supreme power to you alone." And at their request he related an old-world story. This old story is just like the one given above, but in this case, as the husband and wife were on their way home, some hunters saw how distressed they were and gave them a roasted lizard and bade them share it between them. The royal lady tied it about with a creeper used as a string, and went on her way, carrying it in her hand. They came upon a lake, and leaving the high road sat down at the foot of a Bo-tree. The prince said, "Go, my dear, and fetch water from the lake in a lotus leaf, then we will eat this meat." She hung the lizard on a bough and went to fetch water. Her companion ate up all the lizard and then sat with averted face, holding the tip of the tail in his hand. When she returned with the water, he said, "My dear, the lizard came down from the bough and made for an ant-heap. I ran and seized it by the tip of its tail. The lizard broke in two and left in my hand the part I had seized and disappeared in the hole." " Well, my lord," she replied, " how can we deal with a roast lizard that runs away ? Come, let us be off." And so drinking the water, they journey to Benares. The prince when he came to the throne gave her the titular rank of queen consort, but no honour or respect was paid to her. The Bodhisatta, desiring to win honour for her, standing in the king's presence asked her, " Lady, is it not the case that we receive nothing at your hands % Why do you neglect us ] 1 Compare No. 223, Vol. ii. 2 See No. 320, Vol. iii. 72 The Jdtaka. Booh IV. " Dear sir," she said, " I get nothing from the king. How then should I give a present to you 1 What is the king likely to give me nowl When we were coming from the forest, he ate a roast lizard all by himself." [108] "Lady," he said, "the king would not act after this sort. Do not speak thus of him." Then the lady said to him, " Sir, this is not clear to you, but it is clear enough to the king and me," and she repeated the first stanza : Then wert thou first known to me. When in forest-depths, O king, Roasted lizard broke its string And from Bo-tree branch got free. Though 'neath robe of bark, I ween. Sword and coat of mail were seen. Thus spake the queen, making known the king's offence in the midst of his courtiers. The Bodhisatta, on hearing her, said, " Lady, ever since the time when your husband ceased to love you, why do you go on living here, making unpleasantness for both ? " and he repeated two stanzas : To one that honours thee, due honom' show With full requital of good service done : No kindness on illiberal folk bestow. Nor those affect that would thy presence shun. Forsake the wretch who has forsaken thee, And love not one who has for thee no love, E'en as a bird forsakes a barren tree, And seeks a home in some far distant grove. [109] The king, while the Bodhisatta was yet speaking, called to mind her virtues and said, " My dear, ever so long I observed not your virtues, but through the words of this wise man, I have observed them. Bear with my offence. This whole realm of mine I give to you alone." And hereupon he spoke the fourth stanza Far as in his power may be, Gratitude a king should show : All my realm I grant to thee. Gifts, on whom thou wilt, bestow. With these words the king confei-red on the queen supreme power, and thinking, " It was by this man that I was reminded of her virtues," he gave great power to the wise man also. The Master, having brought his lesson to an end, identified the Birth At : the conclusion of the Truths, both husband and wife attained fruition of the First Path : " The husband and wife of the present story played the same part in the old tale. But I myself was the wise minister."

[110] " The bull through floods " etc. — This story was told by the Master when at Jetavaua concerning the admonition of a king. The introdnctory story will be found in full in the Tesakuna Birth i. But in this version of it the Master said, " Kings of old, Sire, hearkening to the words of the wise, bare rule justly and attained to the heavenly world." And at the request of the king he told a story of the olden times. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born in a brahmin family. And when he came of age, he was trained in all the arts, and adopting the ascetic life he developed all the Faculties and Attainments, and took up his abode in a pleasant quarter of the Himalayas, living on wild fruits and roots. At this time the king being anxious to find out his defects, went about inquiring if there was any one who would tell him his faults. And not finding any one to speak to his dispraise, either within doors or without, either within the city or outside it, he wandered about the country side in disguise, thinking, " How will it be in the country ? " And not meeting with any one there to speak to his dispraise, and hearing men speak only of his merits, he thought, " How will it be in the Himalaya region " ? And he went into the forest and wandered about till he reached the hermitage of the Bodhisatta, whei'e after saluting him,and addressing him in a friendly manner he took a seat on one side. At that moment the Bodhisatta was eating some ripe figs which he had brought from the wood. They were luscious and sweet, like powdered sugar. He addressed the king and said, "Your Excellency, pray eat this ripe fig and drink some water." The king did so, and asked the Bodhisatta, " Why, Reverend Sir, is " this ripe fig so exceedingly sweet ? "Your Excellency," he replied, "the king now exercises his rule with justice and equity. That is why it is so sweet." [Ill] "In the reign of an unjust king, does it lose its sweetness. Sir?'' "Yes, Your Excellency, in the time of unjust kings, oil, honey, molasses and the like, as well as wild roots and fruits, lose their sweetness and flavour,and not these only but the whole realm becomes bad and fiavourless ; but when the rulers are just, these things become sweet and full of flavour, and the whole realm recovers its tone and flavour," 1 No. 521, Vol. V. 74 The Jdtaka. Book IV. The king said, " It must be so, Reverend Sir," and without letting him know that he was the king, he saluted the Bodhisatta and returned to Benares. And thinking to prove the words of the ascetic, he ruled unjustly, saying to himself, "Now I shall know all about it," and after the lapse of a short time he went back and saluting the Bodhisatta, sat respectfully on one side. The Bodhisatta using exactly the same words, offered him a ripe fig, which proved to be bitter to his taste. Finding it to be bitter he spat it out, saying, "It is bitter. Sir." Said the Bodhisatta, "Your Excellency, the king must be unjust, for when rulers are unjust, everything beginning with the wild fruits in the wood, lose all their sweetness and flavour." And hereupon he recited these stanzas : The bull through floods a devious course will take. The herd of kine all straggling in his wake: So if a leader tortuous paths pursue, To base ends will he guide the vulgar crew. And the whole realm an age of license rue. But if the bull a course direct should steer. The herd of kine straight follow in his rear. So shoiild their chief to righteous ways be true. The common folk injustice will eschew. And through the realm shall holy peace ensue. [112] The king after hearing the Bodhisatta's exposition of the Truth, let him know he was the king and said, " Holy Sir, formerly it was due to me alone that the figs were first sweet and then bitter, but now I will make them sweet again." Then he saluted the Bodhisatta and returned home, and ruling righteously restored everything to its original condition. The Master, having ended his lesson, identified the Birth : " At that time Auanda was the king, and I myself was the ascetic."

''Jackal beware," etc. — This story was told by the Master while dwelling in the Bamboo Grove, about the attempt of Devadatta to imitate the Buddha. The incident that gave rise to the story has been told in full before '. Here is a short summary of it. 1 See No. 204, Vol. ii. No. 335. 75 When the Master asked Sariputta what Devadatta did when he saw him, the Elder replied, " Sir, in taking you off he put a fan in my hand and lay down, and then Kokalika struck him on the breast with his knee and so in taking you off : he got into trouble." The Master said, "This happened to Devadatta before," and being pressed by the Elder, he told an old-world legend. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as a young lion, and dwelt in a cave of the Himalayas, [113] and one day after killing a buffalo and eating of its flesh he took a draught of water and returned home. A jackal saw him, and beingunable to escape lay down on his belly. The lion said, " What is the meaning of this, Mr Jackal 1 " " Sir," he said, " I would be your servant." The lion said, " Well, come on then," and conducting him to the place where he dwelt, he day by day brought him meat and fed him. When the jackal had grown fat on the lion's broken meat, one day a feeling of pride sprang up in him, and he drew nigh to the lion, and said, " My lord, I am ever a hindi'ance to you. You constantly bring me meat and feed me. To-day do you remain here. I will go and slay an elephant, and after eating my fill will bring some meat to you." Said the lion, " Friend jackal, let not this seem good in your eyes. You are not sprung from a stock that feeds on the flesh of the elephants that it kills. I will kill an elephant and bring its flesh to you. The elephant surely is big of body. Do not undertake what is contrary to your nature, but hearken to my words." And hereupon he spoke the first stanza: Jackal, beware His tusks are long. One of thy puny race Would scarcely dare So huge and strong A beast as this to face. The jackal, though forbidden by the lion, issued forth from the cave and thrice uttered the cry of a jackal. And looking to the base of the mountain, he spied a black elephant moving below, and thinking to fall on his head he sprang up and turning over in the air fell at the elephant's feet. The elephant lifting up his fore foot planted it on the jackal's head and smashed his skull to pieces. [114] The jackal lay there groaning, and the elephant went off trumpeting. The Bodhisatta came and standing on the top of the precipice saw how the jackal had met his death, and said, "Through his pride was this jackal slain," and uttered three stanzas: A jackal once assumed the lion's pride. And elephant as equal foe defied. Prone on the earth, while groans his bosom rent, He learned the rash encounter to repent. 76 The Jataha. Booh IV. Who thus should challenge one of peerless fame, Nor mark the vigour of his well-knit frame, Shares the sad fate that on the jackal came. But who the measure of his own power knows. And nice discretion in his language shows, True to his duty lives and triumphs o'er his foes. [11-5] Thus did the Bodhisatta in these stanzas declare the duties proper to be done in this world. The Master, having ended his lesson, identified the Birth: "At that time Devadatta was the jackal, and I myself was the lion."

"Grass is still" etc. This story was told by the Master while at Jetavana, of a certain rogue. The incident that suggested the story has been already related. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta became his minister and temporal and spiritual adviser. The king of Benares went against the king of Kosala with a large army, and coming to Savatthi, after a battle entered the city and took the king prisoner. Now the king of Kosala had a son, prince Chatta by name. He made his escape in disguise, and went to Takkasila, where he acquired the three Vedas and the eighteen liberal arts. Then he left Takkasila, and while still studying the practical uses of science he arrived at a certain border village. In a wood near this five hundred ascetics dwelt in huts of leaves. The i^riuce approached them, and with the idea of learning somewhat of them, he became an ascetic, and so acquii'ed whatsoever knowledge they had to impart. By and bye he became the leader of that band of disciples. One day he addressed his company of holy men and asked them, why do you not go to the central region ? saying, " Sirs, No. 336. 77 "Sir," they said, "in the central region are said to be living wise men. [116] They pose one with questions, call upon one to return thanks and to i-epeat a form of blessing, and reprove the incompetent. And therefoi'e we are afraid to go there." " Fear not," he said, " I will manage all this for you." "Then we will go," they said. And all of them taking their various requisites in due course reached Benares. Now the king of Benares, having got all the kingdom of Kosala into his possession, set up loyal officials as governors, and himself, having collected all their available treasure, returned with his spoil to Benares. And filling iron pots with it, he buried them in the I'oyal garden, and then continued to live there. So these holy men spent the night in the king's garden, and on the morrow went into the city to beg alms, and came to the door of the palace. The king was so charmed with their deportment that he called them up and made them sit on the dais and gave them rice and cakes, and till it was their meal-time asked them such and such questions. Chatta won the king's heart by answering all his questions, and at the close of the meal he oflfered up various forms of thanksgiving. The king was still more pleased, and exacting a promise from them he made them all stay in his garden. Now Chatta knew a spell for bringing to light buried treasure, and while dwelling there he thought, " Where can this fellow have put the money which belonged to my father 1 " So repeating the spell and looking about him he discovered that it was buried in the garden. And thinking that with this money he would recover his kingdom also, he addressed the ascetics and said, " Sirs, I am the son of the king of Kosala. When our kingdom was seized by the king of Benares, I escaped in disguise, and so far I have saved my life. But now I have got the property which belonged to my family. With this will I go and i-ecover my kingdom. What will you do 1 "We too will go with you," they replied. " Agreed," he said, and had some big leather sacks made, and at night digging a hole in the ground he pulled out the treasure-pots, [117] and putting the money into the sacks he had the pots tilled with grass. Then he ordered the hundred holy men and others as well to take the five money, and fled to Savatthi. There he had all the king's oflScers seized, and recovering his kingdom he restored the walls, watch-towers and other works, and having thus made the city impregnable against the attack of any hostile king, he took up his abode there. It was told to the king of Benares, " The ascetics have carried oflf the treasure from your garden and are fled." He went to the garden and opening the pots found only grass in them. And by reason of his lost treasure great sorrow fell upon him. Going to the city he wandered about murmuring, " Grass, grass," and no one could assuage his grief. Thought the Bodhisatta, "The king is in 78 The Jataka. Book IV. great trouble. He wanders to and fro, idly chattering. Except myself, no one has the power to drive away his sorrow. I will free him from his trouble." So one day while seated quietly with him, when the king began to chatter, he repeated the first stanza " Grass " is still thy constant cry ; Who did take thy grass away ? What thy need of it, or why Dost thou this word only say? Tlie king, on hearing what he said, replied in a second stanza : Chatta, holy man of fame. As it happened this way came: Him alone to blame I hold, Substituting grass for gold. [118] The Bodhisatta, on hearing this, uttered a third stanza Canny folk their rule should make, " Little give and mickle take." What he took was all his own, What he left was grass alone. On hearing this the king uttered the fourth stanza : Virtue follows no such rules. These are morals fit for fools. Doubtful morals they must be. Learning too is vanity. While he thus blamed Chatta, the king by these words of the Bodhisatta was freed from his sorrow and ruled his kingdom righteously. The Master here ended his lesson and identified the Birth " At that time : the knavish Brother was the great Chatta, and I myself was the wise minister."

PiTHA-JATAKA. '^Alasl we offered thee," etc. This story the Master told while living at Jetavana, about a certain Brother. He came, it was said, from the country to Jetavana, and, after putting away his bowl and robe, he saluted the Master and inquired of the young novices, saying, " Sirs, who look after the stranger Brethren that come to Savatthi?" [119] "The Treasurer Anathapindika," they said, "and the great and holy lay sister Visakha look after the order of the Brethren, and stand in the place of father and mother to them." " Very good," No. 337. 79 he said, and next day quite early, before a single brother had entered the house, he came to Anathapindika's door. From his having come at an unseasonable hour there was no one to attend to him. Without getting anything there he went off to the door of Visakha's house. There also from having come too early, he got nothing. After wandering hither and thither he came back, and finding the rice-gruel was all finished, he went off. Again he wandered about hither and thither, and on his return, finding the rice all finished, he went back to the monastery, and said, " The brethren here speak of these two families as faithful believers, but both of them really are without faith and unbelievers." Thus did he go about abusing these families. So one day they started a discussion in the Hall of Truth, how that a certain Brother from the country came to the door of certain households too early, and failing to obtain alms went about reviling those families. When the Master came and inquired what was the topic the Brethren were sitting to discuss, on hearing what it was, he called the Brother and asked him if it were true. When the Brother said, " Yes, your Reverence, it is true," the Master asked, "Why are you angry, Brother? Of old, before Buddha arose upon the world, even ascetics when they visited a household and received no alms, showed no anger." And with this he told a story of the olden days. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born in a brahmin family, and when he was of age he studied all the arts at Takkasila, and subsequently adopted the religious life of an ascetic. After sojourning a long time in the Himalayas he went to Benares to procure salt and vinegar, and, taking up his abode in a garden, on the next day he entered the city for alms. There was at this time a merchant at Benai-es, who was a faithful believer. The Bodhisatta asked which was a believing household, and on hearing of the merchant's family, he went to the door of his house. At that moment the merchant had gone to pay his respects to the king, and neither did any of his people happen to see him. So he turned back and came away. Then the merchant who was returning from the palace saw him, [120] and saluting him took liis alms-bowl and led him to his house. There he oflfered him a seat and comforted him with the washing and anointing of his feet, and with rice, cakes and other food, and in the course of his meal he asked him one thing and another, and after he had finished eating, he saluted him and sitting respectfully on one side, he said, " Reverend Sir, strangers who have come to our doors, whether beggars or holy priests or brahmins, have never before gone away without receiving marks of honour and respect, but to-day owing to your not being seen by our retainers, you have gone away without being ofiered a seat, or water to drink, and without having your feet washed, or rice and gruel given you to eat. This is our fault. You must forgive us in this." And with these words he uttered the first stanza : Alas ! we offered thee no seat. No water brought, nor anything to eat We here confess our sinfulness. And pardon humbly. Holy Sir, entreat. 80 The Jataha. Book IV. The Bodhisatta on hearing this repeated the second stanza Nought have I to condone, No anger do I feel, The thought just once I own Across my mind did steal, " Habits of people here Are just a trifle queer." The merchant hearing this responded in two more stanzas : The custom of our family — 'twas so Received by us from ages long ago Is to provide the stranger with a seat, Supply his needs, bring water for his feet And every guest as kinsman dear to treat. [121] And the Bodhisatta, after sojourning there a few days, and teaching the merchant of Benares his duty, went straight back to the Himalayas, where he developed all the Faculties and Attainments. The Master, having ended his lesson, revealed the Truths and identified the Birth : At the conclusion of the Truths the Brother attained fruition of the First Path — "At that time Ananda was the merchant of Benares, and I myself : was the ascetic."

" With sense so nice," etc. This story was told by the Master while living in the Bamboo Grove, of prince Ajatasattu. At the time of his conception there arose in his mother, the daughter of the king of Kosala, a chronic longing to drink blood from the right knee of king Bimbisara^ (her husband). Being questioned by her attendant ladies, she told them how it was with her. The king too hearing of it called his astrologers and said, " The queen is possessed of such and such a longing. What will be the issue of it ?" The astrologers said, " The child conceived in the womb of the queen will kill you and seize your kingdom." " If my son," said the king, " should kill me and seize my kingdom, what is the harm of it ? " And then he had his right knee opened with a sword and letting the blood fall into a golden dish gave it to the queen to drink. She thought, " If the son that is born of me should kill his father, what care I for him ? " and endeavoured to bring about a miscarriage. [122] The king hearing of it called her to him and said, " My dear, it is said, my son will slay me and seize my kingdom. 1 Compare Tibetan Tales vi. Prince Jivaka. But I am not exempt from old age and death :suflfer me to behold the face of my child. Henceforth act not after this manner." But she still went to the garden and acted as before. The king on hearing of it forbade her visits to the garden, and when she had gone her full time she gave birth to a son. On his naming-day, because he had been his father's enemy, while still unborn, they called him prince Ajatasattu. As he grew up with his princely surroundings, one day the Master accompanied by five hundred Brethren came to the king's palace and sat down. The assembly of the Brethren with Buddha at their head was entertained by the king with choice food, both hard and soft. And after saluting the Master the king sat down to listen to the law. At this moment they dressed up the young i^rince and brought him to the king. The king welcomed the child with a strong show of affection and placed him on his lap, and fondling the boy with the natural love of a father for his child, he did not listen to the law. The Master observing his inattention said, " Great king, formerly kings when suspicious of their sons had them kept in a secret place, and gave orders that at their death they were to be brought forth and set upon the throne." And at the request of the king he told him a legend of the olden time. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta reigned in Benares, 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 old, 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, [123] 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 pleasure in the garden, observing his father's majesty and power was filled with a desire to kill him and seize upon his kingdom, and spoke to his attendants about it. They said, " True, Sir, what is the good of obtaining power, when one is old 1 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 the 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. J. III. 6 82 TJie Jataka. Book IV. "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 I 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 levee, gird on your sword, and taking your stand amongst the councillors, when you see the king off his guard, you must strike him a blow with your sword and kill him." Thus they aiTanged it. The prince readily agreed, and at the time of the great levee, he girt on his sword [124] 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. 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 towards 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 staircase spoke the third stanza : A monkey once did cruel measures take His tender offspring imi^otent to make. Thought the pi-ince, "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 [125] 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 retiniie 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 goat in mustard field that strays. And who thou art that ku"kest 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 fi'om 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 him he ordered him to be bound iu chains and put into the prison house, and set a guard over him. Then the king meditated on the virtues of the Bodhisatta. And by and bye he died. When they had celebrated his funeral rites, they took the young prince out of prison and set him on the throne. The Master here ended his lesson and said, "Thus, Sire, kings of old suspected in cases in which suspicion was justified," and related this incident, [12(5] but the king gave no heed to his words. The Master thus identified the Birth : " At that time the far-famed teacher at Takkasila was I myself"

^^ Before the crested peacocJc,^^ etc. This story was told by the Master when at Jetavana, of certain heretics who lost their former gains and glory. For the heretics who before the Birth of Buddha received gain and honour, lost the same at his Birth, becoming like fireflies at sunrise. Their fate was discussed in the Hall of Truth. When the Master came and inquired what was the topic the Brethren were discussing in their assembly, on being told what it was, he said, "Brethren, not now only, but formerly too, before the appearance of those endowed with virtue, such as were without virtue attained to the highest gain and glory, but when those who were endowed with virtue appeared, such as were devoid of it lost their gain and glory." And with this he told a legend of bygone days. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as a young peacock. And when he was fully grown, he was exceedingly beautiful and lived in a forest. At that time some merchants came to the kingdom of Baveru, bringing on board ship with them a foreign crow. At this time, it is said, there were no birds in Baveru, The natives who from time to time came and saw this bird perched on the top of the mast, said, " Mark the colour of this bird's skin. Look at its beaked mouth at the end of its throat, and its eyes like jewel-balls." Thus singing the praises of this crow they said to these merchants, " Sirs, give us this bird. We have need of it, and you can get another in your own country." " Then take it," they said, " at a price." " Give it us foi' a single piece of money," they said. " We will not sell it for that," said the merchants. [127] Gradually increasing their offer the people said, "Give it us for a hundred pieces of money." "It is very useful," they replied, "to us, but let there be friendship between us and you." And they sold it for one hundred pieces. The natives took it and put it in a golden cage and fed it with various kinds of fish and meat and wild fruits. In a place where no other birds existed, a crow endowed with ten evil qualities attained the highest gain and glory. The next time these merchants came to the kingdom of Baveru, they brought a royal peacock which they had trained to scream at the snapping of the fingers and to dance at the clapping of the hands. When a crowd had gathered together, the bird stood in the fore part of the vessel, and flapping its wings uttered a sweet sound and danced. The people that saw it were highly delighted and said, " This king of birds is very beautiful and well-trained. Give it to us." The merchants said, "We fii'st brought a crow. You took that. Now we have brought this royal peacock and you beg for this too. It will be impossible to come and even mention the name of any bird in your country." "Be content, Sirs," they said, "give this bird to us and get another in your own land." And raising the price offered they at last bought it for a thousand pieces. Then they put it in a cage ornamented with the seven jewels and fed it on fish, flesh and wild fruits, as well as with honey, fried corn, sugarwater and the like. Thus did the royal peacock receive the highest gain and glory. From the day of his coming, the gain and honour paid to the ci-ow fell off. And no one wanted even to look at it. The crow no longer getting food either hard or soft, with a cry of " Caw, caw," went and settled on a dunghill. The Master, making the connexion between the two stories, in his Perfect Wisdom repeated these stanzas : [128] Before the crested peacock had appeared. Crows were with gifts of fruit and meat revered : The sweet- voiced peacock to Baveru came, The crow at once was stripped of gifts and fame. So man to divers priests due honour paid, TillBuddha the full light of Truth displayed : But when the sweet-voiced Buddha preached the law, From heretics their gifts and praise all men withdraw. After uttering these four stanzas, he thus identified the Birth: "At that time the Jain Nathaputta was the crow, and I myself was the royal peacock."

VISAYHA- J ATAK A \ '^ Of old, Visayha" etc. This story was told by the Master while at Jetavana of Anathapindika. The incident that gave rise to the story has been already told in full in the Khadirangara Birth On this occasion the Master addressing '^. Anathapindika said, " Wise men of old, my lay bi'othei', gave alms, rejecting the counsel of Sakka, king of heaven, when he stood in mid-air and tried to prevent them, saying, "Give not alms." And at his request the Master told a story of the past. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta became a great merchant, named Visayha, worth eighty crores. [129] And being endowed with the Five Virtues, he was liberal and fond of almsgiving. He had alms-halls built at the four city gates, in the heart of the city, and at the door of his own house. At these six points he set on foot almsgiving, and every day six hundred thousand men went forth to beg, and the food of the Bodhisatta and that of the beggars was exactly the same. And as he thus stirred up the people of all India by his gifts, the abode of Sakka was shaken by the extraordinary efficacy of his charity, and the yellow marble throne of the king of heaven showed signs of heat. Sakka exclaimed, " Who, I wonder, would make me fall from my seat in heaven 1" And looking about him he espied the great merchant and thought to himself, " This Visayha gives alms and by scattering his gifts everywhere is stirring up all India. By means of his almsgiving, methinks, he will dethrone me and himself become Sakka. I will destroy his wealth and make him a poor man, and so bring it about that he shall no longer give alms." So Sakka caused his oil, honey, molasses, and the like, even all his treasure of grain to vanish, as well as his slaves and work people. Those who were deprived of his gifts came and said, " My lord, the almshall has disappeared. We do not find anything in the various places set up by you." " Take money hence," he said. " Do not cut off the giving of alms." And calling his wife, he bade her keep up her charity. She searched the whole house, and not finding a single piece of money, she said, " My lord, except the clothes we wear, I see nothing. The whole house is empty." Opening the seven jewel treasuries they found nothing, and save the merchant and his wife no one else was seen, neither slaves ^ See Jatakamfild, no. 5, " The Story of Avishahya." 2 No. 40, Vol. i. 86 Tlie Jataka. Book IV. nor hirelings. The Bodhisatta again addressing his wife said, " My dear, we cannot possibly cut off our charities. Search the whole house till you find something." At that moment a certain grass-mower threw down his sickle and pole and the rope for binding the grass in the doorway, and ran away. The merchant's wife found them and said, "My lord, this is I see," [130] all and brought and gave them to hira. My Said the Bodhisatta, " dear, all these years I have never mown grass before, but to-day I will mow grass and take and sell it, and by this means dispense the fitting alms." So through fear of having to cut off his charities, he took the sickle and the pole and the rope, and going forth from the city came to a place of much grass, and mowing it tied it up in two bundles, saying, "One shall belong to us, and with the other I will give alms." And hanging the grass on the pole he took it and went and sold it at the city gate, and receiving two small coins he gave half the money to the beggars. Now there were many beggars, and as they repeatedly cried out, " Give to us also," he gave the other half of the money also, and passed the day with his wife fasting. In this way six days passed, and on the seventh day, while he was gathering the grass, as he was naturally delicate and had been fasting for seven days, no sooner did the heat of the sun strike upon his forehead, than his eyes began to swim in his head, and he became unconscious and fell down, scattering the grass. Sakka was moving about, observing what Visayha did. And at that instant the god came, and standing in the air uttered the first stanza Of old, Visayha, thou didst alms bestow And to almsgiving loss of wealth dost owe. Henceforth show self-restraint, refuse to give. And thou midst lasting joys for aye shalt live. [131] The Bodhisatta on hearing his words asked, "Who art thou?" "I am Sakka," he said. The Bodhisatta replied, "Sakka himself by giving alms and taking upon him the moral duties, and keeping fast days and fulfilling the seven vows attained the ofiice of Sakka. But now thou forbiddest the almsgiving that brought about thy own greatness. Truly thou art guilty of an unworthy deed." And so saying, he repeated three stanzas It is not right, men say, that deed of shame Should stain the honour of a noble name. O thou that dost a thousand eyes possess Guard us from this, e'en in our sore distress. Let not our wealth iu faithless wise be spent On our own pleasure or aggrandisement, But as of old our stores with increase bless. By that same road a former chariot went A second may well go. So will we give As long as we have wherewithal to live. Nor at the worst each generous thought repress. [132] Sakka being unable to stop him from his purpose asked him why he gave alms. "Desiring," he said, "neither Sakkahood nor Bi'ahmaship, but seeking omniscience do I give." Sakka in token of his delight on hearing these words patted him on the back with his hands. At the very instant the Bodhisatta enjoyed this favour, his whole frame was filled with joy. By the supernatural power of Sakka all manner of prosperity was restored to him. " Great merchant," said Sakka, "henceforth do thou every day give alms, distributing twelve hundred thousand portions." And creating countless wealth in his house, Sakka took leave of him and returned straight to his own place of abode. The Master, having ended his lesson, thus identified the Birth: "At that time the mother of Rahula was the merchant's wife, and I myself was Visayha."