The Jātaka, vol. II (nos. 151-300)

" Like my own son you shall be, Master in our family : [268] Come down, Nuncle^ from the tree — Come and hurry home with me ? " 1 sdlaha, lit. ' brother-in-law,' often used as a term of abuse. The monkey listened, and repeated the second verse : — " You arc laughing in your sleeve ! Have you quite forgot that beating i Here I am content to live (So good-bye) ripe mangoes eating." Up he arose, and was soon lost in the wood ; while the snake-charmer returned to his house in hi^rh dudgeon. When this discourse was ended, the Master identified the I'irtli : " Our novice was the Monkey. The Elder was the snake-charmer, and I myself was the cornmerchant."

"J /loli/ sage" etc. — This story was told by the Master whilst living at Jetavana, about a hypocritical Brother. The Brotherhood found out his hypocrisy. In the Hall of Truth the}^ were talking it over : " Friend, Brother So-and-so, after embracing the Buddha's religion, which leads to salvation, still practises hypocrisy." The IMaster on coming in [269] asked what they were discussing together. They told hiui. Said he, "Brethren, it is not the only time this Brother has been a hypocrite ; for a hypocrite he was before, when he shammed simply for the sake of warming himself at the fire." Then he told them an old-world tale. Once on a time, when Brahmadatta was king in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born one of a brahmin family. When he grew up, and his own son was of an age to run about, his wife died ; he took the child on his hip, and departed into the Himalayas, where he became an ascetic, and bronglit up his son to the same life, dwelling in a hut of leaves. It was the rainy season, and the heaven poured down its Hoods incessantly : a Monkey wandered about, tormented witli the cold, chattering and rattling his teeth. The Bodhisatta fetched a great log, lit a lire, and lay down upon his pallet. His son sat by him, and chafed his feet.

188 The Jataka. Book II. Now the Monkey had found a dress belonging to some dead anchorite. He clad himself in the upper and lower garment, throwing the skin over one shoulder ; he took the pole and waterpot, and in this sage's dress he came to the leaf-hut for the fire : and there he stood, in his borrowed plumes. The lad caught sight of him, and cried out to his father, " See, father — there is an ascetic, trembling with cold ! Call hiin hither ; he shall warm himself." Thus addressing his father, he uttered the first stanza : — " A holy sage stands shivering at our gate, A sage, to peace and goodness consecrate. 0 father ! bid the holy man come in, That all bis cold and misery may abate." The Bodhisatta listened to his son ; he rose up, and looked ; then he knew it was a monkey, and repeated the second stanza : [270] " No holy sage is he : it is a vile And loathsome Monkey, greedy all to spoil That he can touch, who dwells among the trees ; Once let him in, our home he will defile."

With these words, the Bodhisatta seized a firebrand, and scared away the monkey ; aiid he leaped up, and whether he liked the wood or whether he didn't, he never returned to that place any more. The Bodhisatta cultivated the Faculties and the Attainments, and to the young ascetic he explained the process of the mystic trance ; and he too let the Faculties and the Attainments spring up within him. And both of them, without a break in their ecstasy, became destined to Brahma's world. Thus did the Master discourse by way of shewing how this man was not then only, but always, a hypocrite. This ended, he declared the Truths, and identified the 13irth : — at the conclusion of the Truths some reached the First Path, some the Second, and yet some the Third : — " The hypocritical Brother was the IMonkey, Kahula was the son, and I was the hermit myself."

[271] " N'o archer," etc. — This story the IMaster told at Jctavaiia, about a backsliding Brother. A yoviug nobleman, living in Savatthi, gave his heart to the doctrine of the Treasures ^, and embraced the religious life. But one day, as he went his rounds in Savatthi, he happened to see a woman dressed in gay a2)parel. Passion sprang up in his heart ; he became disconsolate. When his teachers, counsellors and friends saw him thus, they at once asked him the cause. Seeing that lie longed to return to the world, they .said to one another, "My friend, the Master can remove the sins of those who are tormented by the sin of lust and the like, and by declaring the Truths, he brings them to enjoy the fruition of sanctity. Come, let us lead him to the Master." So to the Master they brought him. Said he, " Why do you bring me this youth against his will. Brothers '( " They told him the reason. " Is this true," he asked, "that you are a backslider, as they .say ? " He as.sented. The Master asked the reason, and he recounted wliat had happened. Said he, "O Brother, it has happened before that these women have caused impurity to spring up even in pure beings whose sins have l>een stayed by the power of ecstasy. Why should not vain men like you be defiled, when defilement comes even to the pure ? Even men of the highest repute have fallen into dishonour ; how much more the unpurified ! Shall not tlie wind that shakes Mount Sineru also stir a heap of old leaves ? [272] This sin has troubled the enlightened Budtlha himself, sitting on his throne, and shall it not trouble such an one as you ? " and at their request he told them an old-world tale.

Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king of Benare.s, the Bodhisatta was born into a groat brahmin family, which had wealth to the amount of eight hundred millions of money. He grew up, and received his education at Takkasila, and returned to Benares. There he married a wife; and on his pai-ents' death, he performed their obsequies. ' Buddha, tlie Law, the Order. 190 The Jdtaka. Book III. Then, as he inspected his treasure, he reflected— " The treasure is still here, but they who gathered it are here no more ! " He was overcome with grief, aud the sweat })oured from his body. He lived a long time at home, and gave much in alms ; he mastered his passions ; then he left his weeping friends, and went into the Himalayas, where he built a hut in a delightful spot, and lived upon the wild fruits and roots of the forest, which he found in his goings to and fro. Ere long he cultivated the Faculties and the Attainments, and lived awhile in the bliss of joyous meditation. Then a thought came to him. He would go amongst mankind, to buy salt and seasoning ; thus his body would grow strong, and he would wander about on foot. " All that shall give alms to a virtuous man like me," thought he, "and greet me with i-espect, shall fill the heavenly regions." So down he came from Himalaya, and by and bye, as he tramped onwards, he came to Benares at the time of the sun-setting. He looked about for a place to bide in, and spied the royal park. " Here," said he, " is a place fit for retirement; here will I dwell." So he entered the park, and sat at the foot of a tree, and spent the night in the joy of meditation.

Next day in the forenoon, having seen to his bodily needs, and adjusted his matted hair, his skin and robes of bark, he took up his alms-bowl ; all his senses were quiet, his pride was calmed, he bore himself nobly, looking no more than a plough's length befoi'e him ; by the glory of his appearance, which was perfect in every way, [273] he drew upon him the eyes of the world. In this fashion he entered the city, and begged from door to door, till he came to the king's palace. Now the king was upon his terrace, walking to and fro. He spied the Bodhisatta through a window. He was pleased with his bearing ; " If," thought he, " there is such a thing as perfect quietude, it must be found in this man." So he sent one of his courtiers, bidding him fetch the ascetic. The man came up with a greeting, and took his alms-bowl, saying, "The king sends for you. Sir." "Noble friend," replied the Bodhisatta, "the king does not know me!" "Then, Sir, please remain hei'e until I return." So he told the king what the beggar had said. Then said the kiHg,

" We have no confidential priest : go, fetch him ; " and at the same time he beckoned out of the window, calling to him — "Here, come in. Sir ! " The Bodhisatta gave up his alms-bowl to the courtier, and mounted upon the terrace. Then the king greeted him, and set him upon the king's couch, and offered him all the foods and meats prepared for himself. When he had eaten, he put a few questions to him ; and the answers which were given pleased him ever more and more, so that with a word of respect, he asked, "Good Sir, where do you live 1 wlience did you come hitlior ] " "I dwell in Himalaya, niiglity king, and from Himalaya have 1 come." The king asked, " Why l " " In the rainy season, O king, we must seek a fixed abode." "Then," the king said, "abide here in my royal park, you shall not lack for the four things needful ; I shall acquire the merit which leads to heaven." The promise was given ; and having broken his fast he went with the Bodhisatta into the grounds, and caused a hut of leaves to be built there. A covered walk he had made, and prepared all the places for his living by night and by day. All the furidture and requisites for an anchorite's life he had brought, and bidding him be comfortable he gave him in charge to the park-keeper.

For twelve years after this, [^74] the Bodhisatta had liis dwelling in that place. Once it so happened that a frontier district I'ose in rebellion. The king desired to go himself to quell it. Calling his queen, he said — " Lady, either you or I must stay behind." " Why do you say that, my lord 1 " she asked. " For the sake of the good ascetic." "T will not neglect him," said she. "Mine be it to attend upon the holy father; do you go away without anxiety." So the king departed ; and then the queen waited attentively upon the Bodhisatta. Now the king was gone ; at the fixed season the Bodhisatta came. When it pleased him, he would come to the palace, and take his meal there. One day, he tarried a long time. The queen had made ready all his food ; she bathed and adorned herself, and prepared a low seat ; with a clean robe thrown loosely over her, she reclined, waiting for the Bodhisatta to come. Now the Bodhisatta noted the time of day ; he took up his alms-bowl, and passing through the air, came up to the great window. She heard his bark robes rustle, and as she rose hastily, her yellow dress slipped. The Bodhisatta let this unusual sight penetrate his senses, and looked upon her with desire. Then the evil passion that had been calmed by the power of his ecstasy, rose as a cobra rises spreading his hood, from the basket in which he is kept :

he was like a milky tree struck by the axe. As his passion gained force, his ecstatic calm gave way, his senses lost their purity ; he was as it were a crow with a broken wing. He could not sit down as before, and take his meal ; not though she begged him to be seated, could he take his seat. So the queen placed all the food together in his alms-bowl ; [275] but that day he could not do as lie used

192 llie Jataka. Book III. to do after his meal, and go out of the window through the air ; taking the food, he went down hy the great staircase, and so into the grove. When he came there, he could oat nothing. He set do^vn the food at the foot of his bench, murmuring, " What a woman ! lovely hands, lovely feet! what a waist, what thighs!" and .so forth. Thus he lay for seven days. The food all went bad, and was covered with a cloud of black flies. Then the king returned, having reduced his frontier to order. The city was all decorated ; he went round it in solemn procession, keeping it always on the right, and then proceeded to the palace. Next he entered the grove, wishing to see the Bodhisatta. He noticed the dirt and rubbish about the hermitage, and thinking he must be gone, he pushed back the hut door, and stepped in. There lay the anchorite. " He must be ill," thought the king. So he had the putrid food thrown away, and the hut set in order, and then asked, "What is the matter, Sir?" " Sire, I am wounded ! "

Then the king thought, " I suppose my enemies must have done this. They could not get a chance at me, so they determined to do a mischief to what I love." So he turned him over, looking for the wound; but no wound could he see. Then he asked, "Where's the place, Sir?" "No one has hurt me," replied the Bodhisatta, "only I have wounded my own heart." And he rose, and sat upon a seat, and repeated the following verses : " Nf) archer drew an arrow to his ear To deal this wound ; no feathered shaft is here Plucked from a peacock's wing, and decked out fine By skilful fletchers : — 'tis this heart of mine, " Once cleansed from passion by my own firm will. And keen intelligence, which through desire Hath dealt the wound that bids me fair to kill, And burns through all the limbs of me like fire. [276] " I see no wound from which the blood might flow : My own heart's folly 'tis that pierces so." Thus did the Bodhisatta explain matters to the king by these three stanzas. Then he made the king retire from the hut, and induced the mystic trance ; and so he recovered his interrupted ecstasy. Then he left the hut, and sitting in the air, exhorted the king. After this he declared that he would go up to Himalaya. The king would have dissuaded him, but he said,

" O king, see what humiliation has come upon me while I dwelt here ! I cannot live here." And although the king entreated him, he uprose in the air, and departed to Himalaya, where he abode his life long, and then went to Bi-ahma's world. [277] When the Master had ended this discoursey he dechired tlic Trutlis and identified the Birth : — at the conchision of the Trutlis tlic backslid in j,' IJrothcr became a Saint, and some entered the First Path, some the Second, and some tlie Third : — " Anauda was the king, and I was the hermit."

" JVow I bethink me," etc.- — This story the Master told in Jetavana, about a passionate man. We learn that there was a Brother who was full of bitterness. No matter how little was said to him, he fell in a rage and spoke roughly; showing wrath, hatred, and mistrust. In the Hall of Truth the Brethren discussed the matter. "Friend, how angry and bitter is Brother So-and-so! He goes snapping about for all the world like salt in the fire. Though he ha.s adopted this peaceful religion, yet he cannot even restrain his anger." The Master heard this and sent a brother to fetch the man in question. "Are you really as passionate as they say?" he asked. The man said he was. Then the Master added, "This is not the first time, Brethren, that this man has been passionate. He was just the same before;" and he told them an old-world tale. Once on a time, Brahmadatta the king of Benares had a son named Prince Brahmadatta. Now kings of former times, though there might be a famous teacher living in their own city, often used to send their sons to foreign countries afar off to complete their education, that by this means they might learn to quell their pride and highmindeduess, and endure heat or cold, and be made acquainted with the ways of the world. So did this king. Calling his boy to him — now the lad was sixteen years old — he gave him one-soled sandals, a sunshade of leaves, and a thousand pieces of money, with these words :

" My son, get you to Takkasila, and study there," [278] The boy obeyed. He bade his parents farewell, and in due course arrived at Takkasila. There he enquired for the teacher's dwelling, and reached it at the time when the teacher had finished his lecture, and 194 The Jataka. Booh III. was walking up and down at the door of the house. When the lad set eyes upon the teacher, he loosed his shoes, closed his sunshade, and with a respectful greeting stood still where he was. The teacher saw that he was weary, and welcomed the new-comer. The lad ate, and rested a little. Then he returned to the teacher, and stood respectfully by him. " Where have you come from'?" he asked. " Whose son are you? " " I am the son of the king of Benares." " What brings you here ? " " I come to learn," replied the lad. "Well, have you brought a teacher's fee? or do you wish to attend on me in return for teaching you ? " " I have brought a fee with me :" and with this he laid at the teacher's feet his purse of a thousand pieces.

The resident pupils attend on their teacher by day, and at night they learn of him : but they who bring a fee are treated like the eldest sons in his house, and thus they learn. And this teacher, like the rest, gave schooling to the prince on every light and lucky day'. Thus the young prince was taught. Now one day, he went to bathe along with his teacher. There was an old woman, who had prepared some white seeds, and strewed them out before her : there she sat, watching them. The youth looked upon these white seeds, and desired to eat; he picked up a handful, and ate them. "Yon fellow must be hungry," thought she; but she said nothing, and sat silent. Next day the same thing happened at the same time. Again the woman said nothing to him. On the third day, he did it again ; then the old dame cried out, saying, "The great Teacher is letting his pupils rob me!" and uplifting her arms she raised a lamentation. The Teacher turned back. [279] "What is it, mother?" he asked. "Master, I have been parching some seeds, and your pupil took a handful and ate them ! This he has done to-day, he did it yesterday, and he did it the day before! Surely he will eat me out of house and home!"

"Don't cry, mother: I will see that you are paid." "Oh, I want no payment, master: only teach your pupil not to do it again." " See here, then, mother," said he; and he caused two lads to take the 1 There are four naklihattm called lahu, 'light'; there is another reading subhanakkhattena, ' every fair day'. The meaning is by no means clear. young fellow by his two hands, and smote him thrice upon the back with a bamboo stick, bidding him take care not to do it again. The prince was very angry with his teacher. With a bloodshot glare, he eyed hira from his head to foot. The teacher observed how angry he was, and how he eyed him. The youth applied himself to his work, and finished his courses. But the oflPence he hid away in his heart, and determined to murder his teacher. When the time came for him to go away, he said to him, " O my Teacher, when I receive the kingdom of Benares, I will send for you. Then come to me, I pray." And so he exacted a i)romise most affectionately. He returned to Benares, and visited his parents, and showed proof of what he had learnt. Said the king, "I have lived to see my son again, and while I yet live, 1 will see the magnificence of his rule." So he made his son king in his stead.

When the prince enjoyed the splendour of royalty, he remembered his gi'udge, and anger rose within him. " I will be the death of that fellow!" he thought, and sent off a messenger to fetch his teacher. "I shall never be able to appease him while he is young," thought the teacher; so he came not. But when the prince's time of rule was half over, he thought he could appease him then; and he came, and stood at the king's door, and sent to say that the teacher from Takkasila had arrived. The king was glad, and caused the brahmin to be led in. Then his anger rose, and his eyes grew bloodshot. He beckoned to those about him. "Ha, the place which my teacher struck still hurts me to-day! He has come here with death written upon his forehead, [280] to die! To-day his life must end!" and he repeated the first two verses : — " Now I bethink me, for a few poor seeds, in days of yore. You seized me by the arm, and beat me Vvnth a stick full sore. Brahmin, are you in love with death, and do you nothing fear For seizing me and beating me, that now you venture hereT'

Thus he threatened him with death. As he heard, the teacher uttered the third verse: — "The gently born^ who uses blows ungentleness to quell — This is right discipline, not wrath : the wise all know it well." 1 The Scholiast explains what ' gentle breeding ' means. It may be used of conduct, both in men and animals ; as — " 'Tis gentle to respect old age, red Goose : Go where you will : I set your husband loose:" 196 The Jdtaka. Booh III. " And so, great king, understand this yourself. Know that this is no just cause for anger. Indeed, if you had not been taught this lesson by me, you would have gone on taking cakes and sweets, fruit, and the like, until you became covetous through these acts of theft; then by degrees you would have been lured on to house-breaking, highway robbery, and murder about the villages; the end would have been, that you would have been taken red-handed and haled before the king for a public enemy and a robber; and you would have come in fear of public punishment, when the king should say, 'Take this man, and punish him according to his crimes.' Whence could have come all this prosperity which you now enjoy ] Is it not through me that you have attained to such magnificence?"

Thus did his teacher talk over the king. [282] And the coui'tiers, who stood round, said when they heard his speech, "Of a truth, my lord, all your magnificence really belongs to your teacher!" At once the king recognised the goodness of his teacher, and said to him, "All my power I give to you, my teacher! receive the kingdom!" But the other refused, sayiug, "No, my lord king; I have no wish for the kingdom." And the king sent to Takkasila for the teacher's wife and family; he gave them great power, and made him the royal priest; he treated him like a father, and obeyed his admonitions; and after bestowing gifts and doing good deeds he became destined for paradise. When the Master had ended this discourse, he declared the Truths: — at the conclusion of the Truths the passionate brother attained the Fruit of the Third Path, and many others entered on the First, or Second, or Third: — "At that time the passionate Brother was the king ; but the Teacher was I myself." or of form, 'noble,' 'thoroughbred': as — [281] "Your mien shows breeding, and your clear calm eye: You must have left some noble family. What made you wish to leave your home and wealth To be an anchorite for your soul's health?"

and adds yet this other : " Clad in a semblance of fair piety But all deceitful, boldly forth leapt he, A babbler of vain sayings, mean and base, Intemperate, the ruin of his race." ^The last four lines occur in Sutta Nipata, verse 89.)

" Rich food and drink" etc. — This story the Master told while he was dwelling at the shrine of Aggalava, near Alavl, about the rules for building cells. Some Brethren who lived in Alavl '^ were begging ^ from all quarters the materials for houses which they were getting made for themselves. They were for ever dinning and dunning; "Give us a man, give us somebody to do servant's work," and so forth. Everybody was annoyed at this begging and solicitation. So much annoyed were they, that at sight of these Brethren they were startled and scared away. It happened that the reverend father Mahakassapa entered Alavi, and traversed the place in quest of alms. The people, as soon as they saw the Elder, ran away as before'*. After mealtime, having retm'ned from his romids, he summoned the brethren, and thus addressed them : " Once Alavi was a capital place for alms; why is it so poor now?" They told him the reason. Now the Blessed One was at the time dwelling at the Aggalava shrine. To the Blessed One came the Elder, and told him all about it. The Master convened the Brethren touching this matter. [283] "T hear," said he, "that you are building houses and worrying everybody for help. Is this true?" They said it was. Then the Master rebuked them, adding these words : " Even in the serpent world, Brethren, full as it is of the seven precious stones, this kind of begging is distasteful to the serpents. How much more to men, from whom it is as hard to get a rupee as it is to skin a flint!" and he told an oldworld tale.

Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta reigned in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as a rich brahmin's son. When he was old enough to run about, his mother gave birth to another wise being. Both the brothers, when they grew up, were so deeply pained at their parents' death, that they became anchorites, and dwelt in leaf-huts which they made them at a bend of the Ganges river. The elder had his lodge by the upper Ganges, and the younger by the lower rivei*. One day, a Serpent-King (his name was Manikantha, or Jewel-throat) left his dwelling-place, and taking the shape of a man, walked along the river bank until he came to the younger brother's hermitage. He greeted 1 I think this Jataka is represented on the Stupa of Bbarhut. In pi. xLii. 1 we sec a man sitting before a hut, apparently conversing with a great five-headed cobra. The story is also told in the Vinaya Pitaka, Suttavibhahga, vi. 1. 3. 2 The introductory story occurs in the Vinaya, SuttavibJicu'iga, Saihghcldisesa, vi. 1. The sin was imi^ortunity. 3 Reading samydcikuya (as in Suttavihhahga). * Reading imtipajjlsu. 198 The Jdtaka. Book III. tlie owner, and sat clown at one side. They conversed pleasantly together ; and such friends did they become, that there was no living apart for them. Often and often came Jewel-throat to visit the younger recluse, and sat talking and chatting ; and when he left, so much did he love the man, he put off his shape, and encircled the ascetic with snake's folds, and embraced him, with his great hood upon his head ; there he lay a little, till his affection was satisfied ; then he let go his friend's body, and bidding him farewell, returned to his own place. For fear of him, the hermit grew thin ; he became squalid, lost his colour, grew yellower and yellower, and the veins stood out upon his skin.

It happened one day that he paid a visit to his brother. "Why, brother," said he, " what makes you thin 1 how did you lose your colour 1 why are you so yellow, and why do your veins stand out like this upon your skin 1 " The other told him all about it. "Come tell me," said the first, "do you like him to come or not?" [284]. " No, I don't." " Well, what ornament does the Serpent-King wear when he visits you ? " "A precious jewel !" " Very well. When he comes again, before he has time to sit down, ask him to give you the jewel. Then he will depart without embracing you in his snaky folds. Next day stand at your door, and ask him for it there; and on the third ask him just as he emerges from the river. He will never visit you again." The younger promised so to do, and returned to his hut. On the morrow, when the Serpent had come, as he stood there the hermit cried, " Give me your beautiful jewel ! " The Sei-pent hurried away without sitting down. On the day following, the hermit stood at his door, and called out as the Serpent came — "You would not give me your jewel yesterday ! now to-day you must ! " And the Serpent slipt off without entering the hut. On the third day, the man called out just as the Serpent was emerging from the water — " This is the third day that I have asked you for it: come, give this jewel to me!" And the Serpent, speaking from his place in the water, refused, in the words of these two stanzas : —

"Rich food and drink in plenty I can have By means of this fine jewel which you crave : You ask too much; the gem I will not give; Nor visit you again while I shall live. "Like lads who wait with tempered sword in hand. You scare me as my jewel you demand. You ask too much — the gem I will not give. Nor ever visit you while I shall five!" [285] With these words, the King of the Serpents plunged beneath the water, and went to liis own place, never to return. Then the ascetic, not seeing his beautiful Serpent-King again, became thinner and thinner still ; he grew more squalid, lost his colour worse than before, and grew more yellow, and the veins rose thicker on his skin ! The elder brother thought he would go and see how his brother was getting on. He paid him a visit, and found him yellower than he had been before. " Why, how is this ? woi'se than ever ! " said he. His brother replied, " It is because 1 never see the lovely King of Serpents ! " " This hermit," said the elder, on hearing his answer, " cannot live without his Serpent-King ; " and he repeated the third verse : —

"Importune not a man whose love you prize. For begging makes you hateful in his eyes. The brahmin begged the Serpent's gem so sore He disappeared and never came back more." Then he counselled his brother not to grieve, and with this consolation, left him and returned to his own hermitage. And after that [286] the two brothers cultivated the Faculties and the Attainments, and became destined for the heaven of Brahma. The Master added, "Thus, Brethren, even in the world of serpents, where are the seven precious stones in plenty, begging is disliked by the serpents : how much more by men ! " And, after teaching them this lesson, he identified the Birth : — " At that time, Ananda was the younger brother, but the elder was I myself."

" Grass and the scum of gruel," e^c— This story the Master told at Jctavana about the Elder Sariputta. It once fell out that the Buddha had been spending tlie rainy season in Savatthi, and afterwards had been on alms-pilgrimage. On his return, the inhabitants determined to welcome his home-coming ; and they made their gifts to the Buddha and his following. They posted the clerk who used to sound the 200 The Jdtaha. Booh III. call for preaching, to distribute the Brethren amongst all comers, according to the number they wished to provide for. There was one poor old woman, who had prepared one portion. The Brethren were assigned, some to this giver, some to that. At sunrise, the poor woman came to the clerk, and said, "Give a Brother to me!" He answered, "I have already distributed them all; but Elder Sariputta is still in the monastery, and you may give your portion to him." At this she was delighted, and waited by the gate of Jetavana until the Elder came out. She gave him greeting, took his bowl from his hand, and leading him to her house, offered him a seat. Many pious families heard a rumour that some old woman had got Sariputta to sit down at her door. Amongst tiiose who heard it was king Pasenadi the Kosala. He at once sent her food of all sorts, together with a garment and a ]mrse of a thousand pieces, with the request, "Let her who is entertaining the priest, put on this robe, and spend this money, and thus entertain the Elder." As the king did, so did Anatha-pindika, [287] the younger Anatha-pindika, the lay sister Visakha (a great lady), — all sent the same : other families sent one hundred, two hundred or so, as their means allowed. Thus in a single day the old woman got as much as a hvmdred thousand pieces of money.

Our Elder drank the broth which she gave him, and ate her food, and the rice that she cooked; then he thanked her, and so edified her that she was converted. Then he returned to the monastery. In the Hall of Truth, the brethren discussed the Elder's goodness. " Friend, the Captain of the Faith has rescued an old housewife from poverty. He has been her mainstay. The food she offered he did not disdain to eat." The Master entered, and asked what they were talking of now as they sat together. They told him. And he said, " This is not the first time. Brethren, that Sariputta has been the refuge of this old woman ; nor the first time he did not disdain to eat the food she offered. He did the same before." And he told an old-world tale. It happened once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king of Benares, that the Bodhisatta was born into a trader's family in the Northern province. Five hundred people of that country, horse-dealers, used to convey horses to Benares, and sell them there. Now a certain dealer took the road to Benares with five hundred horses for sale. On this road, not far off Benares, thei-e is a town, where had formerly lived a rich merchant. A vast dwelling once was his ; but his family had gradually gone down in the world, and only one old Avoman was left, who lived in the family house. The dealer took up his lodging for a certain hire in that house, and kept his horses hard by.

On that very day, as luck would have it, a thoroughbred mare of his foaled. He tarried two or three days, and then taking his horses with him went off to visit the king. Thereat the old woman asked him for the hire of the house. " All right, mother, I'll pay you," said he, [288] "When you pay me, my son," she said then, "give me this foal, and deduct its value from the hire." The dealer did as she asked and went his way. The woman loved the foal like a son ; and she fed him upon parched rice drippings, on broken meats, and grass. Some time after, the Bodhisatta, on his way with five hundred horses, took lodging in this house. But the horses scented this highbred foal, that fed on red rice-powder, and not one of them would enter the place. Then said the Bodhisatta to the dame, "There seems to be some horse in the place, mother?" "Oh, my son, the only horse there is a young foal which I keep here as tenderly as it were my son !" ' "Where is he, mother?" " Gone out to graze." " When will he return ] "

"Oh, he'll soon come back." The Bodhisatta kept the horses without, and sat down to wait until the foal should come in ; and soon the foal returned from his walk. When he set eyes on the fine foal with his belly full of rice powder, the Bodhisatta noted his marks, and thought he, "This is a priceless thoroughbred ; I must buy him of the old woman." By this time the foal had entered the house and gone to his own stable. At once all the horses were able to go in too. There abode the Bodhisatta for a few days, and attended to his horses. Then as he made to go, " Mother," said he to the old woman, " let me buy this foal of you." " What are you saying ! one mustn't sell one's own foster child ! " " What do you give him to eat, mother 1 " "Rice boiled, and rice gruel, and parched rice; broken meats and grass ; and rice-broth to di'ink." " Well, mother, if I get him, I'll feed him on the daintiest of fare ; [289] when he stands, he shall have a cloth awning spread over him ; I will give him a carpet to stand on."

" Will you, my son 1 Then take this child of mine, and go, and may he be happy ! " And the Bodhisatta paid a separate price for the foal's four feet, for liis tail and for his head ; six purses of a thousand pieces of money he laid down, one for each ; and he caused the dame to robe herself in a new dress, and decked her with ornaments, and set her in front of the foal. And the foal opened his eyes, and looked upon his mother, and shed tears. She stroked his back, and said, "I have received the recompense for what I have done for thee : go, my son ! " and then he departed. Next day the Bodhisatta thought he would make trial of the foal, whether he knew his own power or no. So after preparing common food, he caused red rice gruel to be poured out, presented to him in a bucket. But this he could not swallow ; and refused to touch any such food. Then the Bodhisatta to test him, uttered the first verse : — " Grass and the scum of gruel you thought good In former times : why don't you eat yoiu- food I "

202 The Jdtaka. Book III. On hearing which, the Foal answered with the two other couplets following : — "When people do not know one's birth and breed, Rice-scum is good enough to serve one's need. " But I am chief of steeds, as you are ware ; Therefore from you I will not take this fare." [290] Then answered the Bodhisatta, "I did this to try you; do not be angry"; and he cooked the fine food and offered it to him. "When he came to the king's courtyard, he set the five hundred horses on one side, and on the other an embroidered awning, under which he laid a carpet, with a canopy of stuff over it ; and here he lodged the foal. The king coming to inspect the horses asked why this horse was housed apart. " O king," was the reply, " if this horse be not kept apart, he will let loose these others." " Is he a beautiful horse ^ " the king asked. "Then let me see his paces." The owner caparisoned him, and mounted on his back. Then he cleared the covirtyard of men, and rode the horse about in it. The whole place appeared to be encircled with lines of horses, without a break !

Then said the Bodhisatta, "See my horse's speed, 0 king!" and let him have his head. Not a man could see him at all ! Then he fastened a red leaf upon the horse's flank ; and they saw just the leaf. And then he rode him over the surface of a pond in a certain garden of the city. Over he went, and not even the tips of his hoofs were wet. Again, he galloped over lotus leaves, [291] without even pushing one of them under water. "When his master had thus showed off the steed's magnificent paces, he dismounted, clapped his hands, and held out one, palm upwards. The horse got upon it, and stood on the palm of his master's hand, with his four feet close together. And the Bodhisatta said, " 0 mighty king ! not even the whole circle of the ocean would be space enough for this horse to show off all his skill." The king was so pleased that he gave him the half of his kingdom : the horse he installed as his horse of state, sprinkling him with ceremonial watei*. Dear was he and precious to the king, and great honour was done him ; and his dwelling place was made like the chamber where the king dwelt, all beautiful : the floor was spi"inkled with all the four manners of perfumes, the walls were hung with wreaths of flowers and frequent garlands ; up in the roof was an awning of cloth spangled with golden stars ; it was all like a lovely pavilion round about. A lamp of scented oil burnt always ; and in the retiring closet was set a golden jar. His food was always fit for a king. And after he came there,

the lordship over all India came iuto this king's hand. And the king did good deeds and almsgiving according to tlie Bodhisatta's admonition, and became destined for paradise. When the blaster had ended this discourse, he declared the Truths, and identified the Birth : (now at the conclusion of the Trutlis many entered the First Path, or the Second, or the Third :) "At that time the old woman wa.s the same, Sariputta was the thoroughbred, Ananda was the king, and the horscdcaler was I myself."

" What time the bird," etc. —This story the Master told while dwelling at Jetavana, about a Brother who died of over-eating. [292] On his death, the brethren assembled in the Hall of Truth, and discussed his demerits on this fashion : "Friend, Brother So-and-so was ignorant how much he could safely eat. So he ate more than he could digest, and died in consequence." The Master entered, and asked what they talked of now as they sat together ; and they told him. " Brethren," he said, " this is not the first time our friend died of surfeit ; the same has happened before." Then he told them an old-world tale. Once on a time, when king Brahmadatta reigned over Benares, the Bodhisatta became a Parrot, and dwelt in the Himalaya region. He was king over several thousands of his kind, who lived on the seaward side of the Himalayas; and one son was his. When his son grew up to be strong, the father Parrot's eyes became weak. The truth is, that parrots fly with great swiftness ; wherefore when they be old it is the eye that weakens first. His son kept his parents in the nest, and would bring them food to feed them.

It happened one day that our young PaiTOt went to the place where he found his food, and alighted upon a mountain- top. Thence he looked over the ocean, and beheld an island, in which was a mango grove full of sweet golden fruit. So next day, at the time of the fetching of food, he rose in the air and flew to this grove of mangoes, where he sucked the mango juice, 204 The Jataka. Book III. and took of the fruit, and bore it home to his mother and father. As the Bodhisatta ate of it, he knew the taste. " My son," said he, " this is a mango of such and such an island," naming it. " Even so, father ! " replied the young Parrot. "Parrots that go thither, my son, have not length of life," he said. " Go not to that island again!"— But the son obeyed him not, and went yet again. Then one day it befel that he went as usual, and drank much of the mango juice. With a mango in his beak [293] he was passing over the ocean, when he grew worn out with so long carrying, and sleep mastered him ; sleeping he flew on, and the fruit which he carried fell from out of his beak. And by degrees he left his path, and sinking down skimmed the surface of the water, till in the end he fell in. And then a fish caught and devoured him. When he should have returned, he returned not, and the Bodhisatta knew that he must have fallen into the water. Then his parents, receiving no sustenance, pined away and died.

The Master, having told this tale, in his perfect wisdom, uttered the following stanzas : — "What time the bird without excess did eat. He found the way, and brought his mother meat. " But once he ate too much, forgot the mean, He fell ; and afterward was no more seen. " So be not greedy ; modest be in all. To spare is safe ; greed goeth before a fall ^" ' The Scholiast adds the following lines : " Be moderate in eating wet or dry, And this thy hunger's need will satisfy. Who eats with care, whose belly is not great, Will be a holy hermit soon or late. [291] Four or five mouthfuls, — then a drink is right ; Enough for any earnest eremite. A careful moderate eater has small pain, Slowly grows old, lives twice as long again." "When sons bring meat to fathers in the wood, Like ointment to the eye, 'tis very good. Thus for bare life, with weariness forspent, He nourished him upon such nourishment." When the lilaster had ended this discourse, he declared the Truths (at the concUision of which many persons entered the First Path, or the Second, or Third, or Fourth), and identified the Birth : " At that time, the brother who has over-eaten was the young Parrot, and the king of the Parrots was I myself."

"Some merchants,'" etc. — This story the Master told while living at Jetavana, about some traders whose home was at Savatthi. The tradition is that these men had acquired wares in Savatthi, which they loaded on carts. When the time came for them to set about their business, they gave an invitation to the Blessed One, and offered him rich alms ; they received the Refuges, were strengthened in the Precepts, and took their leave of the Master with these words, " Sir, we are going a long way. When we have jiarted with our wares, if we are fortunate and return in safety, we will come and wait upon you again." Then they set oft" on their journey. In a difficult part of their road they observed a disused well. There was no water in it that they could see, and they were athirst ; so they resolved to dig deeper. As they dug, [295] they came upon successive layers of minerals of all sorts, from iron to lapis lazuli. This find contented them ; they filled their waggons with these treasures, and got back safe to Savatthi. They stowed away the treasure which they had brought; and then bethought them, that having been so lucky they would give food to the brotherhood. So they invited the Blessed One, and made him presents; and when they had respectfully greeted him, and sat down on one side, they recounted how they had found their treasure. Said he, " You, good laymen, are content with your find, and accept your wealth and your livelihood with all moderation. But in other days there were men not content, inmioderate, who refused to do as wise men advised them, and so lost their life." And he told at their request an old-world tale.

Once on a time, when Bralimadatta was reigning in JJcnares, the Bodhisatta was born into the family of a business man ; and grew up to be a gi'cat merchant. At one time he had filled his waggons with goods, and in company with a large caravan he came to this very same wood and saw this very same well. No sooner had the traders seen it, than they ■yv^anted to drink, and began to dig, and as they dug they came upon a 206 Tlie Jataka. Booh ITT. quantity of metal and gems. But though they got a gi-eat deal of treasure, they were discontented. *' There must be another treasure here, better than this ! " they thought, and they dug and dug. Then said the Bodhisatta to them, "Merchants, greed is the root of destruction. Ye have won a great deal of wealth ; with this be ye content, and dig no more." But they digged yet the more notwithstanding. Now this well was haunted by serpents. The Serpent-king, incensed at the falling of clods and earth, slew them with the breath of his nostrils^, all saving the Bodhisatta, [296] and destroyed them ; and he came up from the serpent world, and put the oxen to the carts, filled them with jewels, and seating the Bodhisatta upon a fine waggon, he made certain young serpents drive the carts, and brought him to Benares. He led him into his house, set the treasure in order, and went away again to his own place in the serpent land. And the Bodhisatta spent his treasure, so that he made much stir throughout all India by his almsgiving, and, having undertaken the deeds of virtue, and kept the holy day, at the end of his life he came to paradise.

The Master, after telling this tale, in his perfect wisdom, uttered the following lines : — "Some merchants, wanting water, dug the groimd In an old well, and there a treasure found :— Tin, iron, copper, lead, silver and gold, Beryls and pearls and jewels manifold. "But not content, still more they did desire. And fiery serpents slew them all with fire. Dig if thou wilt, but dig not to excess; For too much digging is a wickedness. "Digging bestowed a treasure on these men; But too much digging lost it all again." When the Master had finished this discourse, he identified the Birth :— " At that time, Sariputta was the Serpent-king, and the master of the caravan was I myself." 1 Nilsihavutena. Perhaps this throws light on the disease ahivdtarogo, p. 55 note.

[297] "/if is not a clever builder,'' etc. — This story the Mcoster tokl while sojourning at Jetavana, about the praise of wisdom. In the Hall of Truth sat the Brethren, praising the wisdom of the Buddha: "The Blessed One has wisdom great and wide, wisdom witty and quick, wisdom sharp and penetrating. He excels this world and the world of gods in wisdom." The j\Iaster entered, and asked what they were talking of now as they sat there. They told him. He answered, "This is not the fii-st time. Brethren, that the Blessed One has been wise ; he was the same before." And he told an old-world tale. Once upon a time, Brethren, when Janasandha was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as the son of his chief queen. His face was resplendent, wearing a look of auspicious beauty, like a golden mirror well polished. On the day of his naming they called him Adasa-mukha, Prince Miri'or-face. Within the space of seven years his father caused him to be taught the Three Vedas, and all the duties of this world ; and then lie died, when the lad was seven years old. The courtiers performed the kin^f's obsequies with great pomp, and made the offerings for the dead ; and on the seventh day they gathered together in the palace court, and talked together. The prince was very young, they thought, and he could not be made king.

Before they made him king, they would test him. So they prepared a court of justice, and set a divan. Then they came into the prince's presence, and said they, " You must come, my lord, to the law-court." To this the prince agreed ; and with a great company he repaired thither, and sat upon the dais. Now at the time when the king sat down for judgement, the courtiers had dressed up a monkey, in the garb of a man who is skilled in the lore which tells what are good sites for a building. They made him go upon two feet, and brought him into the judgement hall. ^ See Morris, Folk-Lore Journal, iii. 337; Tawney, Phil. Journ. xii. 112 — ll'J; Academy, Aug. 6, 1887, no. 796. Problems to be solved are a common part of the machinery of fairy tales; e.g. Grimm, no. 29, The Devil with the Three Golden Ilairs, and the editors' notes. 208 The Jataka. Book III. " My lord," said they, " in the time of the king your father this man was one who divined by magic as to desirable sites, and well did he know his art. [298] Down in the earth as deep as seven cubits he can see a fault. By his help there was a place chosen for the king's house ; let the king provide for him, and give him a post."

The prince scanned him fi'om head to foot. " This is no man, but a monkey," he thought ; " and monkeys can destroy what others have made, but of themselves can neither make anything nor carry out such a thing." And so he repeated the first stanza to his court : — " It is not a clever builder, but an ape with a wrinkled face ; He can destroy what others make ; that is the way of his race." " It must be so, my lord ! " said the courtiers, and took him away. But after a day or two they dressed this same creature in grand clothes, and brought him again to the judgement hall. " In the king your father's time, my lord, this was a judge who dealt justice. Him should you take to help you in the awarding of justice." The prince looked at him. Thought he, " A man with mind and reason is not so hairy as all that. This witless ape cannot dispense justice ;" and he repeated the second stanza : — " There's no wit in this hairy creature ; he breeds no confidence ; He knows nought, as my father taught : the animal has no sense ! "

[299] " So it must be, my lord ! " said the courtiers, and led him away. Yet once again did they dress up the very same monkey, and bring him to the hall of judgement. " Sire," said they, " in the time of the king your father this man did his duty to father and mother, and paid respect to old age in his family. Him you should keep with you." Again the prince looked at him, and thought — "Monkeys ai-e fickle of mind ; such a thing they cannot do." And then he repeated the third stanza : — " One thing Dasaratha^ has taught me : no help such a creature would send To father or mother, to sister or brother, or any who call him friend !" "So must it be, my lord !" answered they, and took him away again. And they said amongst themselves, " 'Tis a wise prince ; he will be able to rule"; [300] and they made the Bodhisatta king; and throughout the city by beat of drum they made proclamation, saying, " The edicts of king Mirror- face ! " From that time the Bodhisatta reigned righteously ; and his wisdom was noised abroad throughout all India. To show forth the matter of

^ Pasaratha is another name for his father (SchoL). this wisdom of his, these fourteen problems were brought to him to decide ; — "An ox, a lad, a horse, a basket-knight, A squire, a light-o'-love, and a young dame, A snake, a deer, a partridge, and a sprite, A snake, ascetics, a young priest I name." This happened as we shall now explain. When the Bodhisatta was inaugurated king, a certain servant of king Janasandha, named Gfimaiiicanda, thus considered within himself: "This kingdom is glorious if it be governed by aid of those who are of an age with the king. Now I am old, and I cannot wait upon a young prince : so I will get me a living by farming in the country." So he departed from the city a distance of three leagues, and abode in a certain village. But he had no oxen for farming. And so, after rain had fallen, he begged the loan of two oxen from a friend ; all day long he ploughed with them, and then he gave them grass to eat, and went to the owner's house to give them back again. At the moment it happened that the owner sat at meat with his wife ; and the oxen entered the house, quite at home. As they entered, the master was raising his plate, and the wife putting hers down. Seeing that they did not invite him to share the meal, Gamani-canda departed without formally making over the oxen. During the night, thieves broke into the cow- pen, and stole the oxen away.

Early on the moi-row, the owner of these oxen entered the cow-shed, but cattle there were none ; he perceived that they had been stolen away by thieves. " I'll make Gamani pay for it ! " thought he, and to (jamaiii he went. [301] " I say, return me my oxen ! " cried he. " Are not they in their stall 1 " " Now did you return them to nrnV " Here's the king's officer : come along ! " Now this people have a custom that they i)ick up a bit of stone or a potsherd, and say — " Here's the king's officer ; come along ! " If any man refuses to go, he is punished. So when Gamani heard the word " officer," he went along. So they went together towai-ds the king's court. On the way, they came to a village where dwelt a friend of Gamani's. Said he to the other, " I say, I'm very hungry. Wait here till I go in and get me .something to eat ! " and he entered his friend's house. But his friend was not at home. The wife said, "Sir, there is nothing cooked. Wait but a moment; i will cook at once and set before you."

She climbed a ladder to the grain store, and in her haste she fell (o the 210 TJie Jdtaka. Booh III. ground. And as she was seven months gone with child, a miscarriage followed. At that moment, in came the husband, and saw what had happened. " You have struck my wife," cried he, " and brought her labour upon her untimely ! Here's a king's oflBcer for you — come along ! " aud he carried him off. After this they went on, the two of them, with Gamani between. As they went, there was a horse at a village gate ; and the groom could not stop it, but it ran along with them. Tlie hoi'sekeeper called out to Gamani — "Uncle' Caudagamani, hit the horse with something, and head him back ! " Gamani picked up a stone, and threw it at the horse. The stone struck his foot, and broke it like the stalk of a castor-oil plant. Then the man cried, " Oh, you've broken my horse's leg ! Here's a king's officer for you ! " and he laid hold of him. Grimani was thus thi-ee men's prisoner. As they led him along, he thought : " These people will denounce me to the king ; [303] I can't pay for the oxen ; much less the fine for causing an untimely birth ; and then where shall I get the price of the horse? I were better dead." So, as they went along, he saw a wood hard by the road, and in it a hill with a precipice on one side of it. In the shadow of it were two basket-makers, father and son, weaving a mat. Said Gamani,

"I say, I want to retire for a moment: wait here, while I go aside"; and with these words he climbed the hill, and threw himself down the precipice. He fell upon the back of the elder basket-maker, and killed him on the spot. Gamani got up, and stood still. "Ah, you villain! you've murdei'ed ray father!" cried the younger basket-maker; "here's the king's officer!" He seized Gamani's hands, and came out of the thicket. "What's this?" asked the other.s. " The villain has murdered my father ! " So on they went, the four of them, with Gamani in the middle. They came to the gate of another village. The headman was thei*e, who hailed Gamani : " Uncle ' Cauda, whither away ? " " To see the king," says Gamani. " Oh indeed, to see the king. I want to send him a message ; will you take it 1 " " Yes, that I will." "Well — I am usually handsome, rich, honoured, and healthy; but now I am miserable and have the jaundice too. Ask the king why this is. ^ It is worth notiug that this term of affection means a mother's brother. He is a wise man, so they say ; ho will tell you, and you can Vtring mo. his message again."

To this the other agreed. At another village a light-o'-love called out to him — " Whillicr liound, Uncle' Cauda ?" "To see the king," says he. "They say the king is a wise man; take him a message from me," says the woman. [303] "Aforetime I used to make great gains; now I don't get the worth of a betel-nut, and nobody courts me. Ask the king how this may be, and then you can tell me." At a third village, there was a young woman who told Gamani, " I can live neither with my hu.sband nor with my own family. Ask tlu; king how this is, and then tell me." A little further on there was a snake living in an ant-hill near the road. He saw Gamani, and called out, " Whither away, Cauda 1 " " To see the king." *' The king is wise ; take hini a mes.sage from me. When I go out to get my food, I leave this ant-hill faint and famishing, and yet 1 till the entrance hole with my body, and I get out with difficulty, dragging myself along. But when I come in again, I feel satisfied, and fat, yet I pass quickly through the hole without touching the sides. How is this? ask the king, and bring me his answer."

And further on a deer saw him, and said—" I can't eat grass anywhere but underneath this tree. Ask the king the reason." And again a partridge said, " When I sit at the foot of this ant-heap, and utter my note, I can make it prettily ; but nowhere else. Ask the king why." And again, [304] a tree spirit saw him, and said, " Whither away, Cauda 1 " " To the king." " The king's a wise man, they say. In former times I was highly honoured ; now I don't receive so much as a handful of twigs. Ask the king what the reason is." And further on again he was seen by a serpent-king, who spoke to liim thus: "The king is said to be a wise man : then ask him this question. Heretofore the water in this pool has been clear as crystal. Why is it that now it has become turbid, with scum all over it 1 " Further on, not far from a town, certain ascetics who dwelt in a park saw him, and said, in the same way, " They say the king is wis(!. Of yore there were in this park sweet fruits in plenty, now they have grown tasteless and dry. Ask him what the reason is." Further on again, ho was accosted by some brahmin students who wore in a hall at the gate of a town. They said to him,

1 See note, p. 210. 212 Tlie Jataka. Book III. " Where are you going, Canda, eli ? " " To the king," says Canda. " Then take a message for iis. Till now, whatever passage we learnt was bright and clear ; now it does not stay with us, it is not understood, but all is dai'kness, — it is like water in a leaky jar. Ask the king what the reason is." Gamani-canda came before the king with his fourteen questions. When the king saw him, he recognised him. " This is my father's servant, who used to dandle me in his arras. W^here has he been living all this time?" And "Canda," said he, "where have you been living all this time ? [305] We have seen nothing of you for a long while ; what Virings you here ? " " Oh, my lord, when my lord the late king went to heaven, I departed into the country and kept myself by farming. Then this man summoned me for a suit regarding his cattle, and here he has brought me." " If you had not been brought here, you had never come ; but I'm glad that you were brought anyhow. Now I can see you. Where is that man ? "

" It is you that summoned our friend Canda 1 " " Yes, my lord." " He refuses to give back my pair of oxen ! " " Is this so, Canda ? " " Hear my story too, my lord ! " said Cauda ; and told him the whole. When he had heard the tale, the king accosted the owner of the oxen. "Did you see the oxen," said he, "entering the stall?" " No, my lord," the man replied. " Why, man, did you never hear my name ? They call me king Mirror-face. Speak out honestly." " I saw them, my lord ! " said he. "Now, Cauda," said the king, "you failed to return the oxen, and therefore you are his debtor for them. But this man, in saying that he had not seen them, told a direct lie. Therefore you with your own hands shall pluck his eyes out, and you shall youi-self pay him twenty-four pieces of money as the price of the oxen." Then they led the owner of tlie oxen out of doors. " If I lose my eyes, what do I care for the money ? " thought he. And he fell at Gamani's feet, and besought him — " O master Canda, keep those twenty-four pieces, and take these too ! " and he gave him other pieces, and ran away.

The second man said, " My lord, this fellow struck my wife, [306] and made her miscarry." "Is this true, Canda?" asked the king. Cauda begged for a hearing, and told the whole story. " Did you leally strike her, and cause her to miscarry ? " asked the king. "No, my lord ! I did no such thing." "Now, can you" — to the other — "can you Ileal the nnscarriu;;e wliich he has caused ] " "No, my lord, I cannot." " Now, what do you want to do 1 " " I ought to have a son, my lord." " Now then, Canda — you take the man's wife to your house ; and when a son shall be born to you, hand him over to the husband." Then this man also fell at Canda's feet, crying, " Don't Itreak up my home, master ! " threw down some money, and made off. The third man then accused Cauda of laming his horse's foot. Cauda as before told what had happened. Then the king asked the owner, " Did you really bid Cauda strike the horse, and turn him back ]" "No, my lord, I did not." But on being pressed, he admitted that he had said so.

"This man," said the king, "has told a direct lie, in saying that he did not tell you to head back the horse. You may tear out his tongue ; and then pay him a thousand pieces for the horse's price, which I will give you." But the fellow even gave him another sum of money, and departed. Then the basket-maker's son said, "This fellow is a murderer, and he killed my father ! " "Is it so, Cauda?" asked the king. "Hear me, my lord," said Cauda, and told him about it. " Now, what do you want ? " asked the king. "My lord, I must have my father." [307] " Cauda," said the king, " this man must have a father. But you cannot bring him back from the dead. Then take his mother to your house, and do you be a father to him." " Oh, master ! " cried the man, " don't break up my dead fatlier's home ! " He gave Gamani a sum of money, and hurried away. Thus Gamani won his suit, and in great delight he said to the king, " My lord, I have several questions for you from several persons ; may I tell you them 1 "

" Say on," said the king. So Gamani told them all in reverse order, beginning with the young brahmins. The king answered them in turn. To the first question, he answered: "In the place where they lived there used to be a crowing cock that knew the time. When they heard his crow, they used to rise up, and repeat their texts, until the sun rose, and thus tln^ did not forget 214 77ic Jdtaka. Book III. what they learnt. But now there is a cock that crows out of season ; he crows at dead of night, or in broad day. When he crows in the depth of niglit, up tliey rise, but they are too sleepy to repeat the text. When he crows in broad day, they rise up, but they have not the chance to repeat their texts. Thus it is, that whatever they learn, they soon forget." To the second question, he answered : " Formerly these men used to do all the duties of the ascetic, and they induced the mystic trance. Now they have neglected the ascetic's duties, and they do what they ought not to do ; the fruits which grow in the park they give to their attendants ; they live in a sinful way, exchanging their alms'. This is why this fruit does not gi-ow sweet. [308] If they once more with one consent do their duty as ascetics, again the fruit will grow sweet for them. Those hermits know not the wisdom of kings ; tell them to live the ascetic life."

He heard the third question, and answered, " Those serpent chiefs quarrel one with another, and that is why the water becomes turbid. If they make friends as before, the water will be clear again." After hearing the fourth, "The tree-spirit," said he, "used formerly to protect men passing through the wood, and therefore she received many offei'ings. Now she gives them no protection, and so she receives no offerings. If she protects them as before, she will receive choice offerings again. She knows not that there are kings in the world. Tell her, then, to guard the men who go up into that wood." And on hearing the fifth, " Under the ant-hill where the partridge finds himself able to utter a pleasant cry is a crock of treasure; dig it up and get it." To the sixth he answered, "On the tree under which the deer found he could eat grass, is a great honeycomb. He craves the grass on which this honey has dropped, and so he can eat no other. You get the honeycomb, send the best of it to me, and eat the rest yourself." Then on heai'ing the seventh, " Under the snake's ant-heap lies a large treasure-crock, and there he lives guarding it. So when he goes out, from greed for this treasure his body sticks fast ; but after he has fed, his desire for the treasure prevents his body from sticking, and he goes in quickly and easily.

Dig up the treasure, and keep it." Then he replied to the eighth question, " Between the villages where dwell the young woman's husband and her parents [309] lives a lover of hers in a certain house. She remembers him, and her desire is toward him ; therefore she cannot stay in her husband's house, but says she will go and see her parents, and on the way she stays a few days with her lovei\ When she has been at home a few days, again she remembers him, and saying she will return to her husband, she goes again to her lover. Go, tell her there are kings in the land ; say, she must dwell with her husband,

1 Some staying at home, while others beg for all, to save trouble. See p. 57, note 1. and if she will not, let her have a care, the king will cause her to be seized, and she shall die." He heard the ninth, and to this he said, "The woman used formerly to take a price from the hand of one, and not to go with another until she was off with him', and that is how she used to receive much. Now she has clianged her manner, and without leave of the first she goes with the last, m that she receives nothing, and none sock after her. If she keeps to her old custom, it will be as it was before. Tell her that she should keep to that." On hearing the tenth, he replied, "That village headman used once to deal justice indifVcrontly, so that men were pleased and delighted with him ; and in their delight tliey gave him many a present. This is what made him handsome, rich, and honoured. Now he loves to take bi-ibes, and his judgement is not fair ; so he is poor and miserable, and jaundiced. If he judges once again with righteousness, he will be again as he was before. He knows not that there are kings in the land. Tell him that he must use justice in giving judgement."

And Gamani-canda told all these messages, as they were told to him. And the king haATing resolved all these questions by his wisdom, like Buddha omniscient, [310] gave rich presents to Gamaui-canda ; and the village where Canda dwelt he gave to him, as a brahmin's gift, and let him go. Cauda went out of the city, and told the king's answer to the brahmin youths, and the ascetics, to the serpent and to the tree-spirit ; he took the treasure from the place where the partridge sat, and from the tree beneath which the deer did eat, he took the honeycomb, and sent honey to the king ; he broke into the snake's ant-hill, and gathered the treasure out of it; and to the young woman, and the light-o'-love, and the village headman he said even as the king had told him. Then he returned to his own village, and dwelt there so long as he lived, and afterward passed away to fare according to his deserts. And king Mirror-face also gave alms, and wrought goodness, and finally after his death went to swell the hosts of heaven. When the Master had ended this discoiu-se, to show that not now only is the Blessed One wise, but wise he was before, he declared the Truths, and idcntitied the Birth: (now at the conclusion of the Truths many persons entered on the First Path, or the Second, or the Third, or the Fourth :) "At that time Ananda was Gamani-Canda ; but king Mirror-foce was I myself."

' Literally, " until she had made him enjoy his money's worth," ajirdpetvd. 216 The Jataka. Book III. " Wherever sun and moon,^' etc. This story the Master told during a stay at Jetavana, about a backsHding brother. We are told that this brother, in traversing Savatthi for his alms, saw a finely dressed woman and fell in love with her. Then the Brethren led him to the Hall of Truth, and informed the Master that he was a backslider. The Master asked whether it wei'e true; and was answered, yes, it was. [311] " Brother," said the Mastei', " when will you ever satisfy this lust, even while you are a householder? Such lust is as deep as the ocean, nothing can satisfy it. In former days there have been supreme mouarchs, who attended by their I'etinue of men held sway over the four great continents encircled by two thousand isles, ruling even in the heaven of the four great kings, even when they wei-e kings of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty Three, even in the abode of the Thiz-ty Six Sakkas, — even these ftiiled to satisfy their lust, and died before they could do so; when will you be able to satisfy it]" And he told an old-world tale.

Long ago, iu the early ages of the world, there lived a king named Mahasammata, and he had a son Roja, who had a son Vararoja, who had a son Kalyana, wlio had a son Varakalyana, and Varakalyana had a son named Uposatha, and Uposatha had a son Mandhata. Mandhata was endowed with the Seven Precious Things and the Four Supernatural Powers; and he was a great monarch. When he clenched his left hand, and then touched it with his right, there fell a rain of seven kinds of jewels, knee-deep, as though a celestial rain-cloud had arisen in the sky ; so wondrous a man was he. Eighty-four thousaiid years he was a prince, the same number he took some share in ruling the kingdom, and even so many years he ruled as supreme king ; his life lasted for countless ages. One day, he could not satisfy some desire, so he showed signs of discontent. " Why ai'e you cast down, ray lord 1 " the courtiers asked him. *' When the power of my merit is considered, what is this kingdom ? Which place seems worth desiring 'i " " Heaven, my lord." 1 See Divydvaddna, p. 210; Thibetan Tales, p. 1 — 20, King Mdndhdtar. This king is named as one of the foiu- persons who have attained in their earthly bodies to glory in the city of the gods; Milinda, iv. 8. 25 (ii. p. 145 in the trans., .S'. B. E.).

So rolling along the Wheel of Empire, with his suite [312] he went to the heaven of the four great kings. The four kings, with a grt-at throng of gods, catne to meet him in state, bearing celestial flowers and perfumes ; and having escorted him into their heaven, gave him rule over it. Tliero he reigned in state, and a long time went by. But not there either could he satisfy his craving ; and so .h(^ began to look sick with discontent. "Why, mighty king," said the four monarchs, "are you unsatisfied?" And the king replied, " What place is more lovely than this heaven 1 " They answered, " My lonl, we arc like servants. The Heaven of the Thirty-three is more lovely than this ! " Mandhata set the Wheel of Empire a-rolling, and with his court all round him turned his face to the Heav(;n of the Thirty-three. And Sakka, king of the Gods, bearing celestial flowers and pcirfumcs, in the midst of a great throng of gods, came to meet him in state, and taking charge of him showed him the way he should go. At the time when the king was marching amidst the throng of gods, his ehU^st son took the Wheel of Empire, and descending to the paths of men, came to his own city. Sakka led Mandhata into the Heaven of the Thirty-three, and gave him the half of his own kingdom.

After that the two of them ruled together. Time went on, until Sakka had lived for sixty times an hundred thousand years, and thirty millions of years, then was born on earth again; another Sakka grew up, and he too reigned, and lived his life, and was born on earth. In this way six and thirty Sakkas followed one after another. Still Mandhata reigned with his crowd of courtiers round him. As time went on, the force of his passion and desire grew stronger and stronger. "What is half a realm to me?" said he in his heart; "I will kill Sakka, and reign alone ! " But kill Sakka he could not. This desire aud greed of his was the root of his misfortune. The power of his life began to wane; old age seized upon him; [313] but a human body does not disintegrate in heaven. So from heaven he fell, aud descended in a park. The gardener made known his coming to the royal family ; they came and appointed him a resting-place in the park ; there lay the king in lassitude and weariness. The courtiers asked him,

" My lord, what word shall we take from you 1 " "Take from me," quoth he, "this message to the jjcople : Mandhata, king of kings, having ruled supreme over the four quarters of the globe, with all the two thousand islands round about, for a long time having reigned over the peoi)le of the four great kings, having been king of Heaven during the lifetime of six and thirty Sakkas, now lies dead," With these words he died, and went to fore according to his deserts. 218 The Jataka. Book III. This tale ended, the Master became perfectly enlightened and uttered the following stanzas : — "Wherever sun and moon their courses run All arc Mandhata's servants, every one : Where'er earth's quarters see the light of day. There king Mandhata holds imperial sway. " Not though a rain of coins fall from the sky ^ Could anything be found to satisfy. Pain is desire, and sorrow is unrest : He that knows this is wise, and he is blest. "Where longing is, there pleasure takes him wings, Even though desire be set on heavenly things. Disciples of the Very Buddha try To crush out all desire eternally."

[314] When the Master had ended this discourse, he declared the Four Truths, and identified the Birth : — at the conclusion of the Truths the backsliding Brother and many others attained to the Fruit of the First Path : — "At that time, I was the great king Mandhata."

" Wheti all alone" etc. This story the Master told whilst living at Jetavana, about the gift of a thousand garments, how the reverend Ananda received five hundred garments from the women of the household of the king of Kosala, and five hundred from the king himself. The circumstances have been described above, in the Sigala Birth, of the Second Book ^. Once on a time, while Brahmadatta was king of Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as the son of a brahmin in Kasi. On his nameday they called him Master Tirltavaccha. In due time he grew up, and studied at Takkasila. He married and settled down, but his parents' death so distressed him [315] that he became an ascetic, and lived in a woodland dwelling, feeding upon the roots and fruits of the forest. 1 See Dhamviapada, verses 186 and 187, which are the last two of these stanzas. 2 No. 152, page 4, where however there is no word of this incident; it really occurs in No. 156, p. 17 of this volume. Whilst he lived there, arose a disturbance on the frontiers of Benares. The king i-epaired thither, but was worsted in the fight ; fearing for his life, he mounted an elepluint, aiul fled away covertly through the furcst. In the morning, Tirltavaccha had gone abroad to gather wild fruit, and meanwhile the king came upon his hut. "A iierniit's hut!" (juoth \w. ; down he came from his elephant, weary with \Vind and sun, and athirst;

he looked about for a waterpot, but none could he find. At the end of the covered walk he spied a well, but he could see no rope and bucket for the drawing of water. His thirst was too great to bear ; he took ofl' the girth which passed under the {^](»phant's belly, made it fast on the edge, and let himself down into the well. But it was too short ; so he tied on to the end of it his lower garment, and let himself down again. Still he could not reach the water. He could just touch it with his feet : he was very thirsty ! "If I can but quench my thirst," thought he, " death itself will be sweet!" So down he dropped, and drank his fill ; but he could not get up again, so he remained standing there in the well. And the elephant, so well trained was he, stood still, waiting for the king.

In the evening, the Bodhisatta returned, laden with wild fruits, and espied the elephant. "I suppose," thought he, "the king is come; but nothing is to be seen save the armed elephant. What's to do?" And he appi'oached the elephant, which stood and waited for him. He went to the edge of the well, and saw the king at the bottom. " Fear nothing, O king ! " he called out ; then he placed a ladder, and heli)ed the king out ; he chafed the king's body, and anointed him with oil ; after wliich he gave him of the fruits to eat [316], and loosed the elephant's armour. Two or three days the king rested there ; then he went away, after making the Bodhisatta promise to pay him a visit. The royal foi'ces were encamped hard by the city ; and when tlu; king was perceived coming, they flocked around him. After a month and half a month, the Bodhisatta returned to Benares, and settled in the park. Next day he came to the palace to ask for food. The king had opened a great window, and stood looking out into the courtyard ; and so seeing the Bodhisatta, and recognising him, he descended and gave him greeting ; he led him to a dais, and set him upon the throne under a white umbrella ; his own food the king gave him to eat, and ate himself of it. Then he took him to the garden, and caused a covered walk and a dwelling to be made for him, and furnished him with all the necessaries of an ascetic ; then giving him in charge of a gardener, he bade farewell, and departed. After this, the Bodhisatta took his food in the king's dwelling : great was the respect and honour paid to him.

But the courtiers could not endure it. "If a soldier," said they, "were to i-eceive such honour, how would he behave?" They betook 220 Thii Jataka. Book III. them to the viceroy : " My lord, our king is making too much of an ascetic! What can he have seen in the man? You speak with the king about it." The viceroy consented, and they all went together before the king. And the viceroy greeted the king, and uttered the first stanza : " There is no wit in him that I can see ; He is no kinsman, nor a friend of thee ; Why should this hermit with three bits of wood*, Tirltavaccha, have such splendid food?" [317] The king listened. Then he said, addressing his son, " My son, you remember how once I went to the marches, and how I was conquered in war, and came not back for a few days?" "I remember," said he. "Tliis man saved my life," said the king; and he told him all that hud happened. " Well, my son, now that this my preserver is with me, I cannot requite him for what he has done, not even were I to give him my kingdom." And he recited the two stanzas following: —

" When all alone, in a grim thirsty wood, He, and no othei-, tried to do me good ; In my distress he lent a helping hand ; Half-dead he drew me up and made me stand. " By his sole doing I returned again Out of death's jaws back to the world of men. To recompense such kindness is but fair; Give a rich offering, nor stint his share." [318] So spake the king, as though he were causing the moon to rise up in the sky; and as the virtue of the Bodhisatta was declared, so was declared his own virtue everywhere : and his takings increased, and the honour shown to him. After that neither his viceroy nor his courtiers nor any one else durst say anything against him to the king. The king abode in the Bodhisatta's admonition ; and he gave alms and did good, and at the last went to swell the hosts of heaven. And the Bodhisatta, having cultivated the Perfections and the Attainments, became destined to the world of Brahma. Then the Master added, "Wise men of old gave help too;" and having thus concluded his discourse, he identified the Birth as follows : "Ananda was the king, and I was the hermit."

* To hang his waterpot upon.

" 0 king, the Belly's tiiessenger" etc. This story the Master told while staying at Jetavana, about a Brother who was addicted to covctousiiess. Tlio circumstances will be given at large under the Kfika- Birth, in I'ook the Ninth. Here again the Master told the Brother, [319] " Vou were greedy before, Brother, as you are now; and in olden days for your greed you had your head cleft with a sword." Then he told an old-world story. Once on a time, when Brahmadatta was king over Benares, the Bodliisatta was born as his son. He grew up, and finished his education at Takkasila. On his father's death, he inherited the kingdom, and lie was very dainty in his eating ; accordingly he earned the name of King Dainty. There was so much extravagance about his eating, that on one dish he spent an hundred thousand pieces. When he ate, he ate not within doors; but as he wished to confer merit^ upon many people by showing them the costly array of his meals, he caused a pavilion adorned with jewels to be set up at the door, and at the time of eating, he had this decorated, and there he sat upon a royal dais made all of gold, under a white parasol with princesses all around him, and ate the food of an hundred delicate flavours from a dish which cost an hundred thousand pieces of money.

Now a certain greedy man saw the king's manner of eating, and desired to have a taste. Unable to master his craving, he girt up his loins tight, and ran up to the king, calling out loudly — "Messenger! messenger! O king" — with his hands held up. (At that time and in that nation, if a man called out "Messenger!" no one would stay him; and so it was that the multitude divided and gave him way to pass.) The man ran up swiftly, and catching a piece of rice from tiie king's dish, he put it in his mouth. The swoi'dsman drew his sword, to cleave the man's head. But the king stayed him. ".Smite not," said lie; — then to the man, "fear nothing, eat on !" He washed his hand.s, and sat down. • See Morris, Folk-lore Journal, iv. 54. 2 There is no such heading in Book IX. There is a Kaka-Jfitaka in Book VI. no. 395, where the Introd. Story is not given, but said to be " the same as liefore." 3 The Talmud says that one shoukl always run to meet the kings of Israel and even gentile kings. 222 The Jataha. Book III.

[320] After the meal, the kiiig caused his owu drinking water and betel nut to be given to the man, and then said — "Now my man, you had tidings, you said. What are your tidings'?" " O king, I am a messenger from Lust and the Belly. Says Lust to me, Go! and sent me here as her messenger-" and with these words he spake the first two stanzas :— "O king, the Belly's messenger you see: O lord of chariots, do not angry be ! For Belly's sake men very far will go, Even to ask a favour of a foe. " O king, the Belly's messenger you see ; O lord of chariots, do not angry be ! The Belly holds beneath his puissant sway All men upon the earth both night and day." When this the king heard, he said, "That is true; Belly-messengers are these; urged by lust they go to and fro, and lust makes them go. How prettily this man has put it ! " he was pleased with him, and uttered the third stanza: — "Brahmin, a thousand red kine I present To thee; thereto the bull, for complement. One messenger may to another give; For Belly's messengers are all that live."

So said the king; and continued, " I have heard something I never heard before, or thought of, said by this great man." And so pleased was he, that he showered honours upon him. [321] When the Master had ended this discourse, he declared the Tnxths and identified the Birth : — at the conclusion of the Truths the greedy Brother reached the Fniit of the Third Path, and many others entered the other Paths: — "The greedy man is the same in both stories, and I was King Dainty."

" Cut, and cut, and cut again," etc. This story the Master told at Jetavana, about some Brethren who made offering of garlands under Ananda's tree. The circumstances will be given in the Kaliiiga-bodhi Births. This was called Ananda's tree, because Ananda planted it. All India hcixrd tell how the Elder had planted tliis tree by the gate of Jctavana. Some Brethren who lived in the country thought they would make oH'cring.s before Ananda's tree. They journeyed to Jetavana, did their devoirs to tlie Master, and next day wended their way to Savatthi, to the Lotus Street; but not a garland could they get. So they told Ananda, how they had wished to make an oft'ering to the tree, but that not a garland was to hd had in all the Lotus Street. The Elder promised to fetch some; so he wont off to the Lotus Street, and returned with many handfuls of blue lotus, which he gave them. With these they made their oftering to the tree. "\\lien the Brethren got wind of this, they began discussing the Elder's merits in the Hall of Ti'uth : " Friend, some brothers of little mt'i'it from tlie country could not get a single nosegay in the Lotus Bazaar ; but the Elder went and fetched them some." The IMaster entei-ed, and asked what they were talking of as they sat there; and they told him. Said he, [322] "Brethren, this is not the first time that the clever tongue has gained a garland for clever speaking ; it was the same before." And he told them an old-world tale.

Once on a time, when Brahmadatta reigned in Benares, the Bodhisatta was a rich merchant's son. In the town was a tank, in which the lotus flowered. A man who had lost his nose looked after the tank. It happened one day that they proclaimed holiday in Benares ; and the three sons of this rich man thought that they would i)ut wreaths upon them, and go a merrymaking. " We'll flatter up the old lacknose fellow, and then we'll beg some flowers of him." So at the time when he used to pluck the lotus flowers, to the tank they went, and waited. And one of them uttered the first stanza : — " Cut, and cut, and cut again. Hair and whiskers grow amain ; And your nose will grow like these. Give me just one lotus, please!" But the man was angry, and gave none. Then the second said the second stanza : — " In the autumn seeds are sown Which ere long are fully grown ; May your nose sprout up like these. Give me just one lotus, please ! " Again the man was angry, and gave no lotus. Then the third of them repeated the third stanza : —

" Babbling fools ! to think that they Can get a lotus in this way. Say they yes, or say they no. Noses cut no more will grow. See, I ask you honestly : Give a lotus, sir, to me ! " 224 The JCitaka. Booh III. [323] On hearing this the lake keeper said, " The other two lied, but you have spoken the truth. You deserve to have some lotuses." So he gave him a great bunch of lotus, and went back to his lake. When the Master had ended this discourse, he identified the Birth : " The boy who got the lotus was I myself."

"yl soft hand" etc. This story the Master told at Jetavana, about a backsliding Brother. They brought him to the Hall of Truth, and the Master asked him if he were really a backslider? He replied, yes, he was. Then said the Master, " 0 Brethren ! It is impossible to keep women from going after their desires. In olden days, even wise men could not guard their own daughters; while they stood holding their fathers' hand, without their fathers' knowing, they went away wrong-doing with a paramour"; and he told them an old-world tale. Once upon a time, while king Brahmadatta reigned in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as the son of his Queen Consort. Growing up, he was educated at Takkasilfi, and on his father's death he became king in his .stead, and reigned righteously. There dwelt with him a daughter and a nephew, both together in his house. One day as he sat with his court, he said, " When I am dead my nephew will be king, [324] and my daughter will be his chief queen." Afterwards, when they were grown up, he was sitting again amidst his court ; and he said to them, " I will bring home some other man's daughter for my nephew, and my own daughter will I marry into another king's family. In this way I shall have many relations." The courtiers agreed. Then the king assigned to the nephew a house outside the palace, and forbade his coming to the palace.

But these two were in love with each other. Thought the youth " How shall I get the king's daughter outside the house? — Ah, I liavc it." He gave a present to the nurse. " What am I to do for this, master 1 " she asked. " Well, mother, I want to get a chance of bringing tlu; princess out of doors." " I will talk it over with the princess," said she, "and then tell you." " Very good, mother," he replied. To the princess she came. "Let me pick the insects out of your head," said she. She sat the princess upon a low stool, and herself sitting on a higher one, she put the princess's head upon her lap, and iu looking for the insects, she scratched the princess's head. The princess understood. She thought, " She has scratched me with my cousin the prince's Uiiil, not her own. — Mother," asked she, "have you been with the prince?" " Yes, my daughter." " And what did he say? " " He asked how he could find a way of getting you out of doors." " If he is wise, he will know," said the princess ; and she recited the first stanza, bidding the old woman learn it and repeat it to the prince : —

" A soft hand, and a well-trained elephant, And a black rain-cloud, gives you what you want." The woman learnt it, and returned to the prince. " Well, mother, what did the princess say ? " he asked. "Nothing, [325] but only sent you this stanza," replied she; and she repeated it. The prince took it in, and dismissed her. The prince understood exactly what was meant. He found a beautiful and soft-handed page lad, and prepared him. He bribed the keeper of a state elephant, and having trained the elephant to be impassive, he bided his time. Then, one fast-day of the dark fortnight, just after the middle watch, rain fell from a thick black cloud. "This is the day the princess meant," thought he ; he mounted the elephant, and placed the lad of the soft hands on its back, and set out. Oi)posite the palace he fastened the elephant to the great wall of an open courtyard, and stood before a window getting drenched. Now the king watched his daughter, and let her rest nowhere but upon a little bed, in his presence. She thought to herself, "To-day the prince will come ! " and lay down without going to sleep.

"Father," .said she, "I want to bathe." " Come along, my daughter," said the king. Holding her hands, lie led her to the window; he lifted her, and placed her on a lotus ornament outside it, holding her by one hand. As she bathed herself, .she held out a 226 The Jcitaha. Booh III. hand to the prince. He loosed off the bangles from her arm, and fastened tliem on the arm of his page boy ; then he lifted the lad, and placed him upon the lotus beside the princess. [326] She took his hand, and placed it in her father's, who took it, and let go his daughter's hand. Then she loosed the ornaments from her other arm, and fastened them on the other hand of the lad, which she placed in her father's, and went away with the prince. The king thought the lad to be his own daughter; and when the bathing was over, he put him to sleep in the royal bedchamber, shut to the door, and set his seal on it ; then setting a guard, he retired to his own chamber, and lay down to rest. When the daylight came, he opened the door, and there he saw this lad. " What's this ? " cried he. The lad told how she was fled along with the prince. The king was cast down. " Not even if one goes along and holds hands," thought the king, "can one guard a woman. Thus women it is impossible to guard ; " and he uttered these other two stanzas : —

" Though soft of speech, like rivers hard to fill, Insatiate, nought can satisfy their will : Down, down they sink : a man should flee afar From women, when he knows what kind they are. Whomso they serve for gold or for desire. They burn him up like fuel in the fire\" [327] So saying, the great Being added, "I must support my nephew ;" so with great honour he gave his daughter to this very man, and made him viceroy. And the nephew at his uncle's death became king himself. When the Master had ended this discourse, he declared the Truths and identified the Birth : — at the conclusion of the Truths, the backsliding Brother was firmly established in the Fruit of the First Path : — " In those days, I was the king." ^ The following verses are given by the commentator : " Where women rule, the seeing lose their sight, The strong grow weak, the mighty have no might. Where women rule, virtue and wisdom fly ; Eeckless the prisoners in durance lie. Like highway robbers, all they steal away From their poor victims, careless come what may — Kefiection, virtue, truth, and reasoning Self-sacrifice, and goodness — everything. As fire burns fuel, for each careless wight They burn fame, glory, learning, wit, and might."

The word for fire is the archaic jdtaveda, used already in no. 35. See note in vol. i. p. 90.

[328] "Not through the sea" etc. This story the ^Master told at Jetavana, also about a backsliding Brother. The blaster had him brouglit into the Hall of Truth, and asked if it were true that he was a backslider. Ves, said lie, it w;us. "Women," said the Master, "in olden days made even believing souls to sin." Then he told a story. Once on a time Bralimadatta, the king of Benares, was childless. He said to his queen, "Let us offer prayer for a son." They offered i)rayer. After a long time, the Bodhisatta came down from the world of Brahma, and was conceived by this queen. So soon as he was born, he was bathed, and given to a serving woman to nurse. As he took the bi'east, ho cried. He was given to another ; but while a woman held him, he would not be quiet. So he was given to a man servant; and as soon as the man took him, he was quiet. After that men used to carry him about. When they suckled him, they would milk the breast for him, or they gave him the breast from behind a screen. Even when he grew older, they could not show him a woman. The king caused to be made for him a sojjarate place for sitting or what not, and a separate room for meditation, all by himself.

When the lad was sixteen years old, the king thought thus within himself. " Other son have I none, and this one enjoys no pleasures. He will not even wish for the kingdom. What's the good of such a son ? " And there was a certain dancing girl, clever at dance and song and music, young, able to gain ascendancy over any man she came across. She approached the king, and asked what he was thinking about ; the king told her what it was. [329] " Let be, my lord," said she : " I will allure him, 1 will make him love me." " Well, if you can allure my son, who has never had any dealings whatsoever with women, he shall be king, and you shall be his chief queen ! " " Leave that to me, my lord," said she ; " and don't be anxious." So she came to the people of the guard, and said, "At dawn of day I will go to the sleeping place of the prince, and outside the room wliore he meditates apart I will sing. If he is angry, you must tell me, and I will go away ; but if he listens, speak my praises." This they agreed to do.

228 The Jataka. Book III. So in the morning time she took her stand in that place, and sang with a voice of honey, so that the music was as sweet as the song, and the song as sweet as the music. The prince lay listening. Next day, he commanded that she should stand near and sing. The next day, he commanded her to stand in the private chamber, and the next, in his own presence ; and so by and bye desire arose in him ; he went the way of the woi'ld, and knew the joy of love. " I will not let another have this woman," he resolved ; and taking his sword, he ran amuck through the street, chasing the people. The king had him captured, and banished him from the city along with the girl. Together they journeyed to the jungle, away down the Ganges. There, with the river on one side and the sea on the other, they made a hut, and there they lived. She sat indoors, and cooked the roots and bulbs ; the Bodhisatta brought wild fruits from the forest. One day, when he was away in search of fruits, a hermit from an island in the sea, who was going his rounds to get food, saw smoke as he passed through the air, and alighted beside this hut.

" Sit down until it is cooked," said the woman ; then her woman's charms seduced his soul, and brought it down from his mystic trance, making a breach in his purity. And he, like a crow with broken wing, [330] unable to leave her, sat there the whole day till he saw the Bodhisatta coming, and then ran off quickly in the direction of the sea. " This must be an enemy," thought he, and drawing his sword set off in chase. But the ascetic, making as though he would rise in the air, fell down into the sea. Then thought the Bodhisatta, "Yon man is doubtless an ascetic who came hither through the air; and now that his trance is broken, he has fallen into the sea. I must go help him." And standing on the shore he uttered these verses : — "Not through the sea, but by your magic power, You journeyed hither at an earlier hour; Now by a woman's evil company You have been made to plunge beneath the sea. "Full of seductive wiles, deceitful all. They tempt the most pure-hearted to his fall. Down — down they sink : a man should flee afar From women, when he knows what kind they are.

"Whomso they serve, for gold or for desire. They burn him up like fuel in the firel" ^ The Scholiast gives the following lines in his note : Hallucination, sorrow, and disease, Mirage, distress (and solid bonds are these). The snare of death, deep-seated in the raind — Who trusts in these is vilest of his kind. When the ascetic heard these words which the Bodhisatta spake, he stood up in the midst of the sea, and resuming his interrupted trance, he rose through the air, and went away to his dwelling place. Thought the Bodhisatta, " Yon ascetic, with so great a burden, goes through the air like a fleck of cotton. [331] Why should not I like him cultivate the trance, and pass through the air 1 " So he returned to his hut, and led the woman among mankind again; then he told her to be gone, and himself went into the jungle, where he built him a hut in a pleasant spot, and became an ascetic; he prepared for the mystic trance, cultivated the Faculties and the Attainments, and became destined for the world of Brahma. When this discoiu'se was ended, the Master declared the Truths : (now at the conclusion of the Truths the backsliding Brother became establisliod in the Fruit of the First Path :) "At that time," said he, " I was myself the youth that had never had anything to do with women."

"'Tivas king Pandda^^ etc. — This story the Master tokl when lie was settled on the bank of the Ganges, about the miraculous power of Elder Bhaddaji. On one occasion, when the Master had passed the rains at Savatthi, he thought he would show kindness to a young gentleman named Bhadilaji. So with all the Bi'ethren who were with him, he made his way to the city of Bhaddiya, and stayed three months in Jatiya Grove, waiting luitil the young man should mature and perfect his knowledge. Now young Bhaddaji was a magnificent person, the only son of a rich merchant in Bhaddiya, with a fortune of eight hundred millions. He had three houses for the three seasons, in each of which he stayed four months ; and after spending this period in one of them, he used to migrate with all his kith and kin to another in the greatest pomp. On these occasions all the town was a-tlutter to see the young man's magniliccnce; and between these houses used to be erected scats in circles on circles ami tiers above tiers. When the Master had been there three months, he informed the townspeople that he intended to leave. Begging him to wait until the morrow, the town.sfolk on the following day collected magnificent gifts for the Jjuddha and his attendant Brethren ; and set up a jiavilion in the midst of the town, decorating it and laying out seats ; then they announced that the hour had come. The Ma.ster

^ Cp. Divydvadiina, p. 57. 230 The Jdtaka. Book III. with his company went and took their seats there. Everybody gave generously to them. After the meal was over, the Master in a voice sweet as honey returned thanks to them. At this moment, young Bhaddaji was passing from one of his residences to another. [332] But that day not a soul came to see his splendour ; only his own people were about him. So he asked his people how it was. Usually all the city was in a flutter to see him pass from house to house ; circles on circles and tiers above tiers the seats were built ; bvit just then there was nobody but his own followers ! What could be the reason ? The reply was, " My lord, the Supreme Buddha has been spending three months near the town, and this day he leaves. He has just finished his meal, and is holding a discourse. All the town is there listening to his words." " Oh, very well, we will go and hear him too," said the young man. So, in a blaze of ornaments, with his crowd of followers about him, he went and stood on the skirt of the crowd ; as he heard the discourse, he threw off" all his sins, and attained to high fruition and sainthood.

The Master, addressing the merchant of Bhaddiya, said, " Sir, your son, in all his splendour, while hearing my discourse has become a saint; this very day he should either embrace the religious life, or enter Nirvana." "Sir," replied he, "I do not wish my son to enter Nirvana. Admit him to the i-eligious order ; this done, come with him to my house to-morrow." The Blessed One accepted this invitation; he took the young gentleman to the monastery, admitted him to the brotherhood, and afterward to the lesser and greater orders. For a week the youth's parents showed generous hospitality to him. After remaining these seven days, the Master went on alms-pilgrimage, taking the young man with him, and arrived at a village called Koti. The villagers of Koti gave generously to the Buddha and his followers. At the end of this meal, the Master began to express his thanks. While this was being done, the young gentleman went outside the village, and by a landing-place of the Ganges he sat down under a tree, and plunged in a trance, thinking that he would rise as soon as the Master should come. When the Elders of greatest age approached, he did not rise, but he rose as soon as the Master came. The unconverted f<jlk were angry because he behaved as though he were a Brother of old standing, not rising up even when he saw the eldest Brethren approach.

The villagers constructed rafts. This done, [333] the Master asked where Bhaddaji was. " There he is. Sir." " Come, Bhaddaji, come aboard my raft." The Elder rose, and followed him to his raft. When they were in mid-river, the Master asked him a question. "Bhaddaji, where is the palace you lived in when Great Panada was king?" " Here, under the water," was the reply. The unconverted said one to the other, " Elder Bhaddaji is showing that he is a saint ! " Then the Master bade him disperse the doubt of his fellow-students. In a moment, the Elder, with a bow to his Master, moving by his mysterious power, took the whole pile of the palace on his finger, and rose in the air bearing the palace with him (it covered a space of twenty-five leagues) ; then he made a hole in it and showed himself to the pi-esent inhabitants of the palace below, and tossed the building above the water fii-st one league, then two, then three. Then those who had been his kinsfolk in this former existence, who had now become fish or tortoises, water-snakes or frogs, because they loved the palace so much, and had come to life in the very same place, wriggled out of it when it rose up, and tumbled over and over into the water again. When the Master saw this, he said, " Bhaddaji, your relations are in trouble." At his Master's words the Elder let the palace go, and it sank to the place where it had been before.

The Master passed to the further side of the Ganges. Then they prepared 1 For an explanation of this phrase, ahham vydkaroti, see Mahdvagga i. v. 19 with the translators' note (.S. B. E., Vinaya Texts ii. p. 10). him a seat just on the river bank. On the seat prepared for the Buddha, ho sat, like the sun frcssh risen pouring forth his i\iy.s. Tlien the Bretliren asked him when it was that Elder Bhaddaji had lived in that palace. The Mjister answered, " In the days of king Great Panada," and went on to tell them an oldworld tale. Once upon a time, a certaiii Suruci was king of Mithila, which is a town in the kingdom of Videha. He had a son, nanunl Suruci likewise, and he again had a son, the Great Panada. They obtained possession of that mansion. They obtained it by a deed done in a former existence. A father and son made a hut of leaves with canes and branches of the figtree, as a dwelling for a Paccekabuddha. The rest of the story will be told in the Suruci Birth, Book XIV.* [334] The Master, having finished telling this story, in his perfect wisdom uttered these stanzas here following : —

"'Twas king Panada who this palace had, A thousand bowshots high, in breadth sixteen, A thousand bowshots high, in banners clad ; An hundred storeys, all of emerald green. "Six thousand men of music to and fro In seven companies did dance withal : As Bhaddaji has said, 'twas even so : I, Sakka, was your slave, at beck and call." [335] At that moment the unconverted people became resolved of their doubt. When the Master had ended this discoui'se, he identified the Birth : — " Bhaddaji was the Great Panada, and I was Sakka."

" W/ien many a hoiv" etc. — This story the ]\Iaster told in Jetavana, about a Brother who had lost all energy. The Master asked, was it true that this Brother had lost his energy. Yes, he replied. " Why," asked he, " have you slackened your energy, after embracing this doctrine of salvation ? In days of yore, wise men were energetic even in matters which do not lead to salvation ;" and so saying he told an old-world tale. 232 The Jdtaka. Book III. Once on a time, while Brahmadatta was king of Benares, the Bodhisatta was born into the family of a forester. When he grew \i\), he took the lead of a band of five hundred foresters, and lived in a village at the entrance to the forest. He used to hire himself out to guide men through it. Now one day a man of Benares, a merchant's son, arrived at that village with a caravan of five hundred waggons. Sending for the Bodhisatta, he offered him a thousand pieces to be his guide through the forest. He agreed, and received the money from the merchant's hand ; and as he took it, he mentally devoted his life to the merchant's service. Then he guided him into the forest.

In the midst of the forest, up rose five hundred robbers. As for the rest of the company, no sooner did they see these robbers, than they grovelled upon their belly : the bead forester alone, shouting and leaping and dealing blows, put to flight all the five hundred robbers, and led the merchant across the wood in safety. Once aci'oss the forest, the merchant encamped his caravan ; [336] he gave the chief forester choice meats of every kind, and himself having broken his fast, sat pleasantly by him, and talked with him thus : " Tell me," said he, " how it was that even when five hundred robbers, with arms in their hands, were spread all around, you felt not even any fear in your heart 1 " And he uttered the first "When many a bow the shaft at speed let fly — Hands grasping blades of tempered steel were nigh — When Death had marshalled all his dread arrayWhy, 'mid such terror, felt you no dismay?" On hearing this the forester repeated the two verses following : "When many a bow the shaft at speed let fly — Hands grasping blades of tempered steel were nigh — When Death had marshalled all his dread array — I felt a great and mighty joy this day.

"'And this my joy gave me the victory; I was resolved to die, if need should be ; He must contemn his life, who would fulfil Heroic deeds and be a hero still." [337] Thus did he send forth his words like a shower of arrows ; and having explained how he had done heroically through being fi-ee from the desire to live, he parted from the young merchant, and returned to his own village ; where after giving alms and doing good he passed away to fare according to his deserts. When the Master had ended this discourse, he declared the Truths, and identified the Birth :— at the conclusion of the Truths the disheartened Brother attained to Sainthood : —"At that time I was the chief of the foresters."

" He for wkone sake" etc. — This story the Master told at Jctavaiia, about a certain land-owner. At Savatthi, \vc learn, a handsome woman saw this man, who was also handsome, and fell in love. The passion within her was like a fire burning her body through and through. She lost her senses, both of body and of mind ; she cared nothing for food; she only lay down hugging the frame of the bedstead. Her friends and handmaidens asked her what troubled her at heart that she lay hugging the bedstead ; what was the matter, they wished to know. The first few times she answei'ed nothing ; but as they continued pressing her, she told them what it was. "Don't worry," said they, "we'll bring him to you ;" and they went and had a talk with the man. At first he refused, but by their nuicli asking he at last consented. They got his promise to come at a certain hour on a fixed day, and told the woman. She prepared her chamber, and dressed herself in her finery, and sat on the bed waiting until he came. He sat down beside her. Then a thought came into her mind. [338] " If I accept his addresses at once, and make myself cheap, my pride will be himibled. To let him have his will the very first day he comes would be out of place. I will be capricious to-day, and afterwards I will give way." So no sooner had he touched her, and begun to dally, she caught his hands, and spoke roughly to him, bidding him go away, as she did not want him. He shrank back angrily, and went oft' home.

When the women found out what she had done, and that the man had gone oflf, they reproached her. " Here you are," they said, " in love with somcljody, and lie down refusing to take nourishment ; we had great difficulty in persuading the man, but at last we bring him; and then you'll have nothing to say to him!" She told them why it was, and they went oft", warning her that she would get talked about. The man never even came to look at her again. When she found she had lost him, she would take no nourishment, and soon died. When the man heard of her death, he took a quantity of flowers, scents, and perfumes, and went to Jetavana, where he saluted the IMaster and sat on one side. The Master asked him, " How is it, lay brother, that we never sec you here?" He told him the whole story, adding that he had avoided waiting on the Buddha all this time for shame. Said the Master, " Layman, on this occasion the woman sent for you through her passion, and then would have nothing to do with you and sent you away angry ; and just so in olden days, she fell in love with wise persons, sent for them, and when they came refused to have anything to do with them, and thus plagued them and sent them to the rightabout." Then at his request the Master told an old-world tale.