The Jātaka, vol. III (nos. 301-438)

[1] ^'Open the gate," etc. — This story was told by the Master while living at Jetavana, about the admission of four female ascetics to the religious life. Tradition says that Licchavis of the ruling family to the number of seven thousand seven hundred and seven had their abode at Vesali. And all of them were given to argument and disputation. Now a certain Jain, skilled in maintaining five hundred different theses, arrived at Vesali and met with a kind reception there. A female Jain too of a .similar character also came to Vesali. And the Licchavi chiefs got up a disputation between them. And when they proved well matched as disputants, the Licchavis were struck with the notion that such a pair would be sure to have clever children. So they arranged a marriage between them, and as the issue of this union in due course four daughters and a son were born. The daughters were named Sacca, Lola, Avavadaka, and Patacara, and the boy was called Saccaka. These five children when they reached years of discretion learned a thousand different theses, five hundred from the mother and five hundred from the father. And the parents schooled their daughters after this manner: "If any layman refutes your thesis, you are to become his wives, but if a priest refutes you, you must take orders at his hands."

After a time their parents died. And when they were dead, the Jain Saccaka lived on in the same place at Vesali, studying the lore of the Licchavis. [2] But his sisters took in their hands a branch of the rose-apple tree, and in the com'se of their wanderings from city to city for purposes of disputation, at last reached Savatthi. There they planted the rose-apple branch at the city gate and said to some boys who were there, "If any man, be he layman or priest, is equal to maintaining a thesis against us, let him scatter with his foot this heap of dust and trample under foot this branch," And with these words they went into the city to collect alms. Now the venerable Sariputta, after sweeping up wherever it was necessary, and putting water into the empty pots and tending the sick, later on in the day went into Savatthi for alms. And when he had seen and heard about the bough, he ordered the boys to throw it down and trample upon it. "Let those," said he, "by whom this bough has been planted, as soon as they have finished their meal, come and see me in the gable-chamber over the gate of Jetavana."

^ See R. Morris, Folklore Journal, iii. 61. J. III. 1 The Jdtaka. Book IV. So he went into the city, and when he had ended his meal, he took his stand in the chamber over the monastery gate. The female ascetics too, after going their rounds for alms, returned and found the branch had been trampled on. And when they asked who had done this, the boys told them it was Sariputta, and if they were anxious for a disjDutation, they were to go to the chamber over the gate of the monastery. So they returned to the city, and followed by a great crowd went to the gatetower of the monastery, and propounded to the priest a thousand different theses. The priest solved all their difficulties and then asked them if they knew any more. They replied, " No, my Lord." "Then I," said he, "will ask you something." "Ask on, my Loi'd," they said, "and if we know it, we will answer you." So the priest propounded just one question to them, and when they had to give it up, the priest told them the answer. Then said they, "We are beaten, the victory rests with you."

"What will you do now ?" he asked. "Our parents," they replied, "admonished us thus: 'if you are refuted in disputation by a layman, you are to become his wives, but if by a priest, you are to receive orders at his hands'. — Therefore," said they, "admit us to the religious life." The priest readily assented and ordained them in the house of the Nun called Uijpalavanna. And all of them shortly attained to Sainthood. Then one day they started this topic in the Hall of Truth, how that Sariputta proved a refuge to the four female ascetics, and that through him they all attained to Sainthood. When the Master came and heard the nature of their discourse, he said, "Not now only, but in former times too, Sariputta jiroved a refuge to these women. [3] On this occasion he dedicated them to the religious life, but formerly he raised them to the dignity of queen consort." Then he told them an old-world story. Once upon a time when Kalinga was reigning in the city of Dantapura in the Kalinga' kingdom, Assaka was king of Potali in the Assaka country. Now Kalinga had a fine army and was himself as strong as an elephant, but could find no one to fight with him. So being eager for a fray he said to his ministers : " T am longing to fight but can find no one to war with me."

His ministers said, " Sire, there is one way open to you. You have four daughters of surpassing beauty. Bid them adorn themselves with jewels, and then seated in a covered carriage let them be driven to every village, town and royal city with an armed escort. And if any king shall be desirous of taking them into his harem, we will get up a fight with him." The king followed their advice. But the kings of the various countries, wherever they came, were afraid to let them enter their cities, but sent them presents and assigned them quarters outside the city walls. Thus they passed through the length and breadth of India till they reached Potali in the Assaka country. But Assaka too closed his gates against 1 On the Coromandel coast. them and merely sent them a present. Now this king had a wise and able minister named Nandisena, who was fertile in expedients. He thought to himself: "These princesses, men say, have traversed the length of India without finding any to fight for their possession. If this is the case, India is but an empty name. I myself will do battle with Kalinga." Then he went and bade the guards open the city gate to them, and spake the first stanza :

Open the gate to these maidens : thro' Nandisena's might, King Aruna's^ sage lion, our city is guarded aright. [4] With these words he threw open the gate, and brought the maidens into the presence of king Assaka, and said to him, "Fear not. If there is to be a fight, I will see to it. Make these fair princesses your chief queens." Then he installed them as queens by sprinkling them with holy water, and dismissed their attendants, bidding them go and tell Kalinga that his daughters had been raised to the dignity of queen-consorts. So they went and told him, and Kalinga said, "I presume he does not know how powerful I am," and at once set out with a great army. Nandisena heard of his approach and sent a message to this effect; "Let Kalinga abide within his own marches, and not encroach upon ours, and the battle shall be fought on the frontiers of the two countries." On receiving this message, Kalinga halted within the limits of his own territory and Assaka also kept to his. At this time the Bodhisatta was following the ascetic life and was living in a hermitage on a spot lying between the two kingdoms. Said Kalinga, "These monks are knowing fellows. Who can tell which of us will gain the victory, and which will be defeated 1 I will ask this ascetic." So he came to the Bodhisatta disguised, and sitting respectfully on one side, after the usual kindly greetings he said, "Your Reverence, Kalinga and Assaka have their forces drawn up each within his own territory, eager for a fight. Which of them will be victorious, and which will be defeated V

"Your Excellency," he replied, "the one will conquer, the other will be beaten. I can tell you no more. But Sakka, the King of Heaven, is coming here. I will ask him and let you know, if you come back again to-morrow." [5] So when Sakka came to pay his respects to the Bodhisatta, he put this question to him, and Sakka replied, "Reverend Sir, Kalinga will conquer, Assaka will be defeated, and such and such omens will be seen beforehand." Next day Kalinga came and repeated his question, and the Bodhisatta gave Sakka's answer. And Kalinga, without inquiring what ^ The scholiast says Aruna was the real name of the Assaka king, The Jcitaka. Booh IV. the omens would be, thought to himself: "They tell me I shall conquer," and went away quite satisfied. This i-eport spread abroad. And when Assaka heard it, he summoned Nandisena and said, "Kaliiiga, they say, will be victorious and we shall be defeated. What is to be done ? " "Sire," he replied, "who knows thisl Do not trouble yourself as to who shall gain the victory and who shall suffer defeat." With these words he comfoi'ted the king. Then he went and saluted the Bodhisatta, and sitting respectfully on one side he asked, "Who, Reverend Sir, will conquer, and who will be defeated V

"Kalihga," he replied, "will win the day and Assaka will be beaten." "And what. Reverend Sir," he asked, "will be the omen for the one that conquers, and what for the one that is defeated ?" "Your Excellency," he answered, "the tutelary deity of the conqueror will be a spotless white bull, and that of the other king a perfectly black bull, and the tutelary gods of the two kings will themselves fight and be severally victorious or defeated." On hearing this Nandisena rose up and went and took the king's allies — they were about one thousand in number and all of them great warriors — and led them up a mountain close at hand and asked them saying, "Would you sacrifice your lives for our king]" "Yes, Sir, we would," they answered. "Then throw yourselves from this precipice," he said. They essayed to do so, when he stopped them, saying, "No more of this. Show yourselves staunch friends of our king and make a gallant fight for him." They all vowed to do so. And when the battle was now imminent, Kalinga came to the conclusion in his own mind that he would be victorious, and his army too thought "The victory will be ours." [6] And so they put on their armour, and forming themselves into separate detachments, they advanced just as they thought proper, and when the moment came for making a great efibrt, they failed to do so.

But both the kings, mounted on horseback, drew nigh to one another with the intention of fighting. And their two tutelary gods moved before them, that of Kalinga in the shape of a white bull, and that of the other king as a black bull. And as these drew nigh to one another, they too made every demonstration of fighting. But these two bulls were visible to the two kings only, and to no one else. And Nandisena asked Assaka, saying, "Your Highness, are the tutelary gods visible to you?" "Yes," he answered, "they are." " In what guise?" he asked. "The guardian god of Kalinga appears in the shape of a white bull, while ours is in the form of a black bull and looks distressed." "Fear not Sire, we shall conquer and Kaliiiga will be defeated. Only dismount from your well-trained Siudh horse, and grasping this spear, with your left hand give him a blow on the flank, and then with this body of a thousand men advance quickly and with a stroke of your weapon fell to the ground this god of Kalinga, while we with a thousand spears will smite him and so shall Kaliiiga's tutelary deity perish, and then shall Kalinga be defeated and we shall be victorious."

"Good," said the king, and at a given signal from Nandisena he smote with his spear and his courtiers too smote with their thousand spears, and the tutelary god of Kalinga died then and there. Meanwhile Kalinga was defeated and fled. And at the sight all those thousand councillors raised a loud cry, saying, "Kalinga is fled." Then Kalinga with the fear of death upon him, as he fled, reproached that ascetic and uttered the second stanza : " Kaliiigas bold shall victory claim, Defeat crowns Assakas with shame." [7] Thus did your reverence prophesy. And honest folk should never lie. Thus did Kalinga, as he fled, revile that ascetic. And in his flight to his own city he durst not so much as once look back. And a few days afterwards Sakka came to visit the hermit. And the hermit conversing with him uttered the third stanza : The gods from lying words are free, Truth should their chiefest treasure be. In this, great iSakka, thou didst lie ; Tell me, I pray, the reason why. On hearing this, Sakka spoke the fourth stanza : Hast thou, 0 brahmin, ne'er been told Gods envy not the hero bold ?

The fixed resolve that may not yield, Intrepid prowess in the field, High courage and adventui'ous might For Assaka have won the fight. [8] And on the flight of Kaliiiga, king Assaka returned with his spoils to his own city. And Nandisena sent a message to Kalinga, that he was to forward a portion for the dowry of these four royal maidens. "Otherwise," he added, "I shall know how to deal with him." And Kaliiiga, on hearing this message, was so alarmed that he sent a fitting portion for them. And from that day forward the two kings lived amicably together. His discourse ended, the Master identified the Birth: — "In those days these young female ascetics were the daughters of king Kalinga, Sariputta was Nandisena and I myself was the hermit." The Jdtaka. Book IV.

^^T/ii/ gifts bestowed," etc. — This story the Master told while dwelling at Jetavana, about the Elder Ananda. The circumstances that suggested the story have been already given. "In former days too," the Master said, "wise men acted on the principle that one good turn deserves another." And hereupon he told them a story of the olden time. Once upon a time the Bodhisatta was king of Benares, and exercising his rule with justice and equity he gave alms and kept the moral law. And being minded to quell some disturbance on his frontier he set out with a large fox'ce, but being defeated he mounted his horse and fled till he reached a certain border village. Now there dwelt here thirty loyal subjects and they were gathered together very early, in the middle of the village, to transact the business of the place. And at this moment the king mounted on his mail-clad horse and splendidly equipped [9] rode into the place by the village gate. The people were terrified and saying, "What can this be?" fled every man to his own home. But there was one man who without going to his own house, came to welcome the king. And telling the stranger that the king, he heard, had come to the frontier, he inquired who he was and whether he was a royalist or a rebel. " I am for the king, Sir," he said. " Then come with me," he answered, and led the king to his home and made him sit down on his own seat.

Then the man said to his wife, "My dear, bathe our friend's feet;" and when she had so done, he offered him the best food he could, and had a bed made ready for him, bidding him rest awhile. So the king lay down. Then his host took off" the armour from the horse, turned him loose, gave him water to drink and grass to eat and rubbed him down with oil. Thus did he tend the king for three or four days, and the king said, " Friend, I am now off*," and again he did all due service both to the king and his horse. The king after he had taken food, on leaving said, "I am called the Great Horseman. Our home is in the centre of the city. Should you come there on any business, stand at the door on the right hand and ask the porter where the Great Horseman dwells, and take him with you and come to our house." With these words he depax'ted.

Now the army, not seeing the king, remained encamped outside the town, but when they saw him, they came out to meet him and escorted him home. The king on entei-ing the city stood at the entrance of the gate and calling the porter ordered the crowd to retire and said, "Friend, a certain man who lives in a frontier village will come here, anxious to see us, and will ask where the house of the Great Horseman is. Take him by the hand and bring him into our presence, and then you shall receive a thousand pieces of money." But when the man failed to come, the king increased the tax on the village where he dwelt. But though the tax was raised, still he did not come. So the king increased the tax for the second and third time, and still he came not. Then the inhabitants of the village gathered together and said to the man : " Sir, from the time the Horseman came to you, [10] we have been so weighed down by the tax that we cannot lift up our head. Go and see the Great Horseman and persuade him to lighten our burden."

"Well, I will go," he answered, "but I cannot go empty-handed. My friend has two sons : so get you ready ornaments and suits of clothes for them and for his wife and for my fi-iend himself." " Very well," they said, and got everything ready for a present. So he took both this gift and a cake fried in his own house. And when he came to the door on the right hand he asked the porter where the house of the Great Horseman might be. The porter answered, "Come with me and I will shew you," and took him by the hand, and on arriving at the king's gate sent in word, " The porter has come and has brought with him the man who dwells in the border village." The king on hearing it, rose from his seat and said, "Let my friend and all that have come with him enter," Then he went forward to welcome him and embraced him, and after inquiring if his friend's wife and children were well, he took him by the hand, stepped on the dais and seated him on the royal throne beneath the white umbrella. And he summoned his chief consort and said, "Wash my friend's feet." So she washed his feet. The king sprinkled water from a golden bowl, while the queen washed his feet and anointed them with scented oil. Then the king asked, " Have you anything for us to eaf?" And he said, "Yes, my lord," and brought out cakes in a bag.

The king received them in a golden dish, and showing great favour towards him he said, " Eat what my friend has brought," and gave some to his queen and his ministers, and himself too ate of it. Then the stranger brought out his other gift. And the king to show that he accepted it put off his silken garments and put on the suit of clothes that he had brought him. [11] The queen also laid aside her silk dress and ornaments and put on the dress and ornaments he had brought her. Then the king served him with food fit for a king and bade one of his councillors, saying, " Go and see that his beard is trimmed after the fashion of my own, and let him bathe in scented water. Then dress him in a silken robe worth a hundred thousand pieces of money, and adorn him in royal style and bring him

8 The Jataka. Book IV. here." This was done. And the king by beat of drum through the city gathered together his councillors, and throwing a thread of pure vermilion across the white umbrella, gave him the half of his kingdom. From that day they ate, drank and dwelt together and they became firm and inseparable friends. Then the king sent for the man's wife and family and had a house built for them in the city, and they ruled the kingdom in perfect hai-mony. So the courtiers waxed wroth and said to the king's son, " O prince, the king has given the half of his kingdom to a certain householder. He eats and drinks and dwells with him, and orders us to salute his children. What service he has done the king we know not. What does the king mean? We feel ashamed. Do you speak to the king." He readily agreed to do so, and told every word to the king and said, " O great king, do not act thus." " My son," he answered, " do you know where I dwelt after I was defeated in battle?'" " I know not, my lord," he said.

" I was living," said the king, " in this man's house, and when I had recovered my health I came back and reigned again. How then should I not bestow honour on my benefactor ? " And then the Bodhisatta went on to say, " My son, whosoever giveth to one unworthy of his gift, and to the deserving giveth nought, that man when he falls into misfortune findeth no one to help him." And to point the moral he uttered these verses : [12] Thy gifts bestowed upon or fool or knave. In sorest need would bring no friend to save: But grace or kindness to the good displayed In sorest need would bring thee timely aid. Boons to unworthy souls are spent in vain, Thy smallest service to the good is gain: A noble action though it stands alone. Renders the doer worthy of a throne : As fruit abundant from the tiny seed, Eternal fame springs from a virtuous deed. [13] On heax-ing this neither the councillors nor the young prince had aught to say in answer. The Master, his discourse ended, thus identified the Birth : "At that time it was Ananda who dwelt in the frontier village, while I myself was king of Benares."

"0 monarch that erst," etc. — This story the Master told while dwelling at Jetavana, about a courtier of the king of Kosala. The circumstances that suggested the story have been already related in the Seyyamsa^ Birth. On this occasion the Master said, "You are not the only one who got good out of evil: wise men of old also got good out of evil." And he told an old-world story. Once upon a time a minister in attendance on the king of Benares misconducted himself in the royal harem. The king after witnessing his offence with his own eyes banished him from the kingdom. How he took service with the king of Kosala, named Dabbasena, is all told in the Mahasllava^ Birth. But in the present story Dabbasena had the king of Benares seized while sitting on the dais in the midst of his councillors, and fastening him by a cord on the lintel of the door suspended him head downwards. The king cultivated feelings of charity towards the rebel prince, and by a process of complete absorption entered upon a state of mystic meditation, and bui'sting his bonds sat cross-legged in the air. The rebel prince was attacked with a burning pain in the body, and with a cry of "I burn, I burn," he rolled over and over on the ground. When he asked the reason of it, his courtiers replied, " It is because the king whom you suspend head downwards from the lintel of the door is such an innocent and holy man." Tlien said he, " Go quickly and release him." His servants went and found the king sitting cross-legged in the air, and came back and told Dabbasena. [14] So he went with all speed, and bowing before him asked his pardon and repeated the first stanza :

O monarch that erst in thy kingdom didst dwell. Enjoying such bliss as few mortals have seen. How is it that lying midst tortures of Hell Thou still art so calm and so gracious of mien ? On hearing this the Bodhisatta repeated the rest of the stanzas : Of yore 'twas my one earnest prayer unto Heaven From the ranks of ascetics no more to be barred, But now that such glory to me has been given, 0 why should the form of my visage be marred ? 1 No. 282, vol. ii. 2 No. 51, vol. i. 10 The Jdtaka. Book IV. The end is accomplished, my task is now done, The prince once my foe is no longer estranged, But now that the fame I so envied is won, O why should the form of my visage be changed l ^When joy turns to sorrow, and weal becomes woe. Patient souls even pleasure may wring from their pain, But no such distinction of feeling they know. When the calm of Nirvana poor mortals attain. [15] On hearing this Dabbasena asked forgiveness of the Bodhisatta and said, " Rule over your own people and I will drive out the rebels from amongst you." And after punishing that wicked councillor he went his way. But the Bodhisatta handed over the kingdom to his ministers, and adopting the ascetic life of a Rishi he became destined to birth in the Brahma-world.

When the Master had finished this discourse, he identified the Birth: "At that time Ananda was Dabbasena, and I myself was the king of Benares."

" 0 Daddara, who" etc. — This story the Master told while dwelling at Jetavana, about a certain choleric fellow. The circumstance has been already related before. On this occasion when a discussion had arisen in the Hall of Truth about the passionate nature of the man, the Master came up, and when in answer to his inquiry he was told by the Brethren the subject of their discourse, he sent for the man and asked, "Is it true. Brother, what they say, that you are passionate?" "Yes, my Lord, it is so," he replied. [16] Then the Master said, "Not now only, Brethren, but of old too this fellow was very choleric, and ^ Compare Lord Houghton's poem, "Pleasure and Pain." See the Fakeer as he swings on his iron, See the thin Hermit that starves in the wild; Think ye no pleasures the penance environ, And hope the sole bliss by which pain is beguiled? No! in the kingdoms those spirits are reaching, Vain are our words the emotions to tell; Vain the distinctions our senses are teaching, For Pain has its Heaven and Pleasure its Hell I owing to his passionate temper wise men of former days though continuing to lead perfectly innocent lives as Naga princes, had to dwell three years on a filthy dunghill." And herewith he told an old story.

Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning at Benares, the Daddara Nagas dwelt at the foot of Mount Daddara in the Himalaya region and the Bodhisatta came to life as Mahadaddara, the son of Suradaddai-a, the king of that country, with a younger brother named Culladaddara. The latter was passionate and cruel, and went about abusing and striking the Naga maidens. The Naga king, on hearing of his cruelty, gave orders for his expulsion from the Naga world. But Mahadaddara got his father to forgive him and saved his brother from expulsion. A second time the king was wroth with him, and again he was induced to forgive him. But on the third occasion the king said, "You have prevented me from expelling this good-for-nothing fellow ; now both of you get you gone from this Naga world, and live for three years at Benai-es on a dunghill." So he drove them forth from the Naga country and they went and lived at Benares. And when the village boys saw them looking for their food in a ditch bounding the dunghill, they struck them and threw clods and sticks and other missiles at them, and crying out, "What have we here — water lizards with big heads and tails like needles 1 " uttered other words of abuse. But Culladaddara, by reason of his fierce and passionate nature, being unable to put up with such disrespect said, " Brother, these boys are mocking us. They don't know that we are venomous serpents. I can't stand their contemjit for us. I will destroy them by the breath of my nostril," And then addressing his brother, he repeated the first stanza :

O Daddara, who such an insult could bear ? "Ho! frog-eating stick-i'-the-mud," they cry: To think that these poor harmless creatiu-es should dare A serpent with poisonous fang to defy ! [17] On hearing his words Mahadaddara uttered the rest of the stanzas : An exile driven to a foreign shore Must of abuse lay up a goodly store; For where his rank and virtues none can know. Only the fool his pride would care to show. He who at home a "shining light" may be, Abroad must sufier men of low degree. So they dwelt there three years. Then their father recalled them home. And from that day their pride was abated. 12 The Jataka. Book IV. When the Master had brought his discourse to an end, he proclaimed the Truths and identified the Birth: — At the conclusion of the Truths the choleric Brother attained Fruition of the Third Path : — "At that time the choleric Brother was Culladaddara, and I myself was Mahadaddara."

[18] "In sooth there is," etc. — This story the Master told while dwelling at Jetavana, about the rebuking of sin. The circumstances will be set forth in the Paniya Birth '^ in the Eleventh Book. The following is a brief summary of it. Five hundred Brethren living in Jetavana, at the close of the middle watch of the night, entered into an argument on the pleasures of sense. Now the Master through all the six divisions of night and day keeps a continual watch over the Brethren, even as a one-eyed man carefully guards his eye, a father his only son, or a yak its tail. In the night time, with his supernatural vision regarding Jetavana, he beheld these Brethren, as it were, like robbers that had found their way into some great king's palace. And oiaening his perfumed chamber he summoned Ananda and bade him assemble the Brethren in the Home of the Golden Pavement, and prepare a seat for him at the door of the perfumed chamber. Ananda did as he was commanded and told the Master. Then the Master, sitting down on the seat prepared for him, addressed the Brethren collectively and said, " Brethren, wise men of old thought there was no such thing as secrecy in wrong-doing and so refrained from it," and he told them a story of the olden time.

Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life in a brahmin family, and when he was of age, he was taught science by a world-renowned professor of that city, being at the head of a class of five hundred students. Now his teacher had a grown-up daughter. And he thought : "I will test the virtue of these youths and will give her in marriage to him that most excels in virtue." So one day he thus addressed his pupils : " My friends, I have a grown-up daughter, and I intend to give her in marriage, but I must have proper dresses and ornaments for her. Do you then steal some without your friends discovering it, and bring them to me. Whatever no one has seen you take I will accept, but if you allow anything you bring to be seen, I shall refuse it." They assented, saying, " Very well," and from that day they stole dresses and ornaments without their friends' knowledge ' See K. Morris, FolJclore Journal, iii. 244. - No. 459. Vol. iv. and brought them to him. And the teacher arranged whatever each pupil brought in a separate place. But the Bodhisatta stole nothing.

Then the teacher said, [19] " But you, my friend, bring me nothing." "True, Master," he replied. " Why is this, my friend 1 " he asked. " You accept nothing," he answered, " unless it is taken secretly. But I find there is no such thing as secrecy in wrong-doing." Aiad to illustrate this truth he repeated these two stanzas : In sooth there is no act of sin, that in this world may hidden lie, That which the fool a secret deems, the spirits of the wood espy. Concealment nowhere may be found, nor can a void exist for me. E'en where no being is in sight, while I am there, no void can be. The Master, being pleased with his words, said, " Friend, there is no lack of wealth in my house, but I was anxious to marry my daughter to a virtuous man, and I acted thus to prove these youths. But you alone are worthy of my daughter." Then he adorned his daughter and gave her in marriage to the Bodhisatta, but to his other pupils he said, " Take back all that you brought me to your several homes again." Then the Master said, " It was thus. Brethren, that the wicked pupils by their dishonesty failed to win this woman, while this one wise youth by his virtuous conduct obtained her as his wife." And in his Perfect Wisdom he gave utterance to yet two other stanzas :

Masters Bastard^ and Low and Easy and Gay, With Bravo and Frail, for a wife, went astray ; But our Brahmin, well seen in the Law from his youth, Won a bride by his courage in holding the Truth. [20] The Master, having brought this solemn lesson to an end, declared the Truths and identified the Birth : — At the conclusion of the Truths these five hundred Brethren attained to Sainthood: — "At that time Sariputta was the Teacher, and I myself was the Wise Youth."

" What is this egg-shaped fruit," etc. — This story was told by the Master while dwelling at Jetavana, about queen Mallika. One day, they say, there was a dispute at court between her and the king 2. Men still speak of it as the ' Harem Quarrel.' The king was so enraged that he ^ The Scholiast explains that these were the names of six leading disciples amongst those that yielded to temptation. * Pasenadi, king of Kosala. 14 The Jdtaka. Book IV. ignored her existence. Mallika thought : " The Master, I fancy, knows not how angry the king is with me." But the Master knew all about it and resolved to make peace between them . So early in the morning he put on his inner garment and taking his bowl and robes he entered Savatthi with a following of five hundred brethren and came to the palace gate. The king took his bowl from him, brought him into the house, and placing him on the seat prepared for him, pom-ed the Water of Donation on the hands of the Brotherhood with Buddha at their head, and brought them rice and cakes to eat. But the Master covered up his bowl with his hand and said, " Sire, where is the queen ? "

" What have you to do with her, Reverend Sir ? " he answered. " Her head is turned, she is intoxicated with the honour she enjoys." " Sire," he said, " after you yourself bestowed this honoiu- on the woman, it is wrong of you now to get rid of her, and not to put up with the offence she has committed against you." The king hearkened to the words of the Master and sent for the queen. [21] And she ministered to the Master. "You ought," he said, "to live together in peace," and singing the praises of the sweets of concord he went his way. And from that day they lived happily together. The Brethren raised a discussion in the Hall of Truth, how that the Master had reconciled the king and queen by a single word. The Master, when he came, inquired what the Brethren were discussing, and on being told said, " Not now only. Brethren, but formerly too I reconciled them by a single word of admonition." And he told an old story. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was king at Benares, the Bodhisatta was his minister and his temporal and spiritual adviser.

Now one day the king stood at an open window looking into the palace court. And at this very moment the daughter of a fruiterer, a beautiful girl in the flower of her youth, stood with a basket of jujubes on her head crying, ''Jujubes, ripe jujubes, who'll buy my jujubes?" But she did not venture into the royal court'. And the king no sooner heard her voice than he fell in love with her, and when he learned that she was unmarried he sent for her and raised her to the dignity of chief queen, and bestowed great honour upon her. Now she was dear and pleasing in the king's eyes. And one day the king sat eating jujubes in a golden dish. And the queen Sujata, when she saw the king eating jujubes, asked him, saying, " My lord, what in the world are you eating 1 " And she uttered the first stanza : What is this egg-shaped fruit, my lord, so pretty and red of hue. In a gold dish set before thee? Pray tell me, where they grew. And the king was wroth and said, " 0 daughter of a greengrocer, dealer in ripe jujubes, do you not recognise the jujubes, the special fruit of your own family 1 " And he repeated two stanzas :

[22] Bare-headed and meanly clad, my queen, thou once didst feel no shame. To fill thy lap with the jujube fruit, and now thou dost ask its name ; Thou art eaten up with pride, my queen, thou findest no pleasure in life. Begone and gather thy jujubes again. Thou shalt be no longer my wife. ^ Reading rdjangane na gacchati. With Fausb^U's text rdjanganena, it must be " She passed by way of the court." Then the Bodhisatta thought, " No one, except myself, will be able to reconcile this pair. I will appease the king's anger and prevent him from turning her out of doors." Then he repeated the fourth stanza : These are the sins of a woman, my lord, promoted to high estate : Forgive her and cease from thine anger, 0 king, for 'twas thou didst make So the king at his word put up with the offence of the queen and restored her to her former position. And thenceforth they lived amicably together. The Master, his lesson ended, identified the Birth : "At that time the king of Kosala was king of Benares, Mallika was Sujata and I myself was the Minister."

[23] " Why, brahmin, though," etc. — The Master, when he was stretched upon the bed of death, told this story of the Elder Ananda. The venerable man, knowing that the Master on this very night at eventide would die, said to himself, " I am still under discipline and have duties to perform, and my Master is certainly going to die, and then the service I have rendered to him for five-and-twenty years will be fruitless." And so being overwhelmed with sorrow he leaned upon the monkey-head which formed the bolt of the garden store-room and burst into tears. And the Master, missing Ananda, asked the Brethren where he was, and on hearing what was the matter he sent for him and addressed him as follows : "Ananda, thou hast laid up a store of merit. Continue to strive earnestly and thou wilt soon be free from human passion. Grieve not thyself Wherefore should the service thou hast rendered me prove fruitless now, seeing that thy former services in the days of thy sinfulness were not without their reward ? " Then he told a legend of the past. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta reigned in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life in the form of a Judas-tree sprite. Now at this time all the inhabitants of Benares were devoted to the worship of such deities, and constantly engaged in religious offerings and the like.

^ See R, Morris, Folklore Journal, iii. 355. 16 The Jdtaka. Book IV. And a certain jjoor brahmin thought, "I too will watch over some divinity." So he found a big Judas-tree growing on high ground, and bysprinkling gravel and sweeping all round it, he kept its root smooth and free from grass. Then he presented it with a scented wreath of five sprays and lighting a lamp made an offering of flowers and perfume and incense. And after a reverential salutation he said, "Peace be with thee," and then went his way. On the next day he came quite early and asked after its welfare. Now one day it occurred to the tree-sprite, "This brahmin is very attentive to me. I will test him and find out why he thus worships me, and grant him his desire." So when the brahmin came and was sweeping about the root of the tree, the spirit stood near him disguised as an aged brahmin and repeated the first stanza : [24] Why, brahmin, though thyself with reason blest, Hast thou this dull insensate tree addressed ? Vain is thy prayer, thy kindly greeting vain. From this dull wood no answer wilt thou gain.

On hearing this the brahmin replied in a second stanza : Long on this spot a famous tree has stood. Meet dwelling-place for spirits of the wood ; With deepest awe such beings I revere,- They guard, methinks, some sacred treasure here. The tree-sprite on hearing these words was so pleased with the brahmin that he said, " 0 brahmin, I was born as the divinity of this tree. Fear not. I will grant you this treasure." And to reassure him, by a great manifestation of divine power, he stood suspended in the air at the entrance of his celestial mansion, while he recited two more stanzas : O brahmin, I have marked thy act of love; A pious deed can never fruitless prove. Lo ! where yon fig-tree casts its ample shade. Due sacrifice and gifts of old were paid. Beneath this fig a buried treasure lies, The gold unearth, and claim it as thy prize. [25] The spirit moreover added these words : " O brahmin, thou wouldst be weary, if thou hadst to dig up the treasure and carry it away with thee. Do thou therefore go thy way, and I will bring it to thy house and deposit it in such and such a place. Then do thou enjoy it all thy life long, and give alms and keep the moral law." And after thus admonishing the brahmin, the tree-sprite, by an exercise of divine power, conveyed the treasure into the brahmin's house.

The Master here brought his lesson to an end and identified the Birth : "At that time Ananda was the Brahmin, and I myself was the Tree-sprite."

^^ Kindness as mtich" etc. — This story was told by the Master while dwelling at Jetavana, about the ingratitude of Devadatta. He ended it by saying, " Not only now, but in former days did Devadatta show ingratitude," and with these words he told a story of the past. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as a woodpecker in the Himalaya countxy. [26] Now a certain lion, while devouring his prey, had a bone stick in his throat. His throat swelled up so that he could not take any food and severe pains set in. Then this woodpecker, while intent on seeking its own food, as it was perched on a bough, saw the lion and asked him, saying, " Friend, what ails you ? " He told him what was the matter, and the bird said, " I would take the bone out of your throat, friend, but I dare not put my head into your mouth, for fear you should eat me up." " Do not be afraid, friend ; I will not eat you up. Only save my life." " All right," said the bird, and ordered the lion to lie down upon his side. Then it thought : " Who knows what this fellow will be about 1 " And to prevent his closing his mouth, it fixed a stick between his upper and lower jaw, and then putting its head into the lion's mouth, it struck the end of the bone with its beak. The bone fell out and disappeared. And then the woodpecker drew out its head from the lion's mouth, and with a blow from its beak knocked out the stick, and hopping off sat on the top of a bough.

The lion recovered from his sickness, and one day was devouring a wild buffalo which he had killed. Thought the woodpecker : "I will now put him to the test," and perching on a bough above the lion's head, it fell to conversing with him and uttered the first stanza : Kindness as much as in us lay, To thee, my lord, we once did show : On us in turn, we humbly pray. Do thou a trifling boon bestow. 1 Compare Tibetan Tales, xxvii. p. 311: "The Ungrateful Lion." yEsop: "The Wolf and the Crane." JdtaJcamdld, No. 34 : "The Woodpecker.' The Jdtaka. Book IV. On hearing this the lion repeated the second stanza : To trust thy head to a lion's jaw, A creature red in tooth and claw, To dare such a deed and be living still, Is token enough of my good will. The woodpecker on hearing this uttered two more stanzas : From the base ingrate hope not to obtain The due recjuital of good service done ; [27] From bitter thought and angry word refrain, But haste the presence of the wretch to shun. With these words the woodpecker flew away. The Master, his lesson ended, identified the Birth : " At that time Devadatta was the Lion, and I myself was the Woodpecker."

" JIol^ Teacher," etc. — The Master while residing at Jetavana told this story, about the Fraternity of Six Priests. It is related in detail in the Vinaya^. Here is a brief summary of it. The Master sent for the Six Priests and asked if it were true that they taught the law from a low seat''^, while their pupils sat on a higher seat. They confessed that it was so, and the Master in reproving these brethren for their want of respect for his law, said that wise men of old had to rebuke men for teaching even heretical doctrines while sitting on a low seat. Then he told them an old story. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta reigned in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as the son of a pariah woman, and when he was grown up, he established himself as a householder. And his wife being with child had a great longing for the mango fruit, and said to her husband, "My lord, I have a desire to eat mangoes." 1 See Oldenberg's Vinaya, iv. 203. (Suttavibhanga, Sekhiya, 68, 69.) 2 See Manu ii. 198 for the rule that the disciple must sit on a seat lower than his guru.

" My dear," he said, " there are no mangoes at this season, I will bring you some other acid fruit." " My lord," said she, " if I can have a mango, I shall live. Otherwise I shall die." [28] He being infatuated about his wife thought, " Where in the world am I to get a mango V Now at this time there was a mango tree in the garden of the king of Benares, which had fruit on it all the year round. So he thought, "I will get a ripe mango there to appease her longings." And going to the garden by night he climbed up the tree, and stepped from one branch to another, looking for the fruit, and while he was thus engaged, the day began to break. Thought he, " If I shall come down now to go away, I shall be seen and seized as a thief. I will wait till it is dark." So he climbed up into a fork of the tree and remained there, perched u})on it. Now at this time the king of Benares was being taught sacred texts by his chaplain. And coming into the garden he sat down on a high seat at the foot of the mango tree, and placing his teacher on a lower seat, he had a lesson from him. The Bodhisatta sitting above them thought, " How wicked this king is. He is learning the sacred texts, sitting on a high seat.

The brahmin too is equally wicked, to sit and teach him from a lower seat. I also am wicked, for I have fallen into the power of a woman, and counting my life as nought, I am stealing the mango fruit." Then taking hold of a hanging bough, he let himself down from the tree, and stood before these two men and said, " O Great King, I am a lost man, and thou a gr^s fool, and this priest is as one dead," And being asked by the king what he meant by these words, he uttered the first stanza : —

Holy Teacher, Royal Scholar, lo ! the sinful deed I saw. Both alike from grace are fallen, both alike transgressed the law^. [29] The bi-ahmin, on hearing this, repeated the second stanza : — My food is pure rice from the hill, With a delicate flavour of meat, For why should a sinner fulfil A rule meant for saints, when they eat ? On hearing this the Bodhisatta recited two more stanzas : — Brahmin, go range the length and breadth of earth ; Lo ! suffering is found the common lot. Here marred by sin thy ruined life is worth Less than the fragments of a shattered pot. Beware ambition and o'ermastering greed : Vices like these to "Worlds of Suffering" lead. 1 The Scholiast in his explanation adds this verse : True faith of yore prevailed on earth, False doctrine was a later birth. 20 The Jataha. Booh IV. [30] Then the king being pleased with his exposition of the law, asked him of what caste he was. "I am a pariah, my lord," he said. "Friend," he replied, "had you been of a high caste family, I would have made you sole king. But henceforth I will be king by day, and you shall be king by night." And with these words he placed upon his neck the wreath of flowers with which he himself was adorned, and made him lord protector over the city. And hence is derived the custom for the lords of the city to wear a wreath of red flowers on their neck. And from that day forward the king abiding in his admonition paid respect to his teacher, and learned sacred texts from him, sitting on a lower seat.

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

"iVo throne on earth,'' etc. — The Master told this story while in residence at Jetavana, about a backsliding brother, who in going his rounds for alms at Savatthi caught sight of a beautiful woman, and thenceforth had grown discontented and lost all pleasure in the Law. So the Brethren brought him before the Blessed One. Said the Blessed One, " Is it true, Brother, what I hear, that you are discontented ? " He confessed it was so. The Master on learning the cause of his discontent said, " Why, Brother, are you longing for the world, after taking orders in a religion that leads to Salvation ? Wise men of old when offered the dignity of family priest rejected it, and adopted the ascetic life." And he told them a story of the olden time. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was conceived in the womb of the brahmin wife of the king's chaplain, [31] and was born on the same day as the king's son. And when the king asked his ministers if any child had been born on the same day as his son, they said, "Yes, Sire, a son of your family priest." So the king had him brought and given into the charge of nurses to be carefully tended together with the young prince. And they both had the same ornaments to wear and had exactly the same things to eat and drink.

And when they were grown ixp, they went together to Takkasihl and as soon as they had attained proficiency in all the sciences they returned home. The king made his son viceroy and bestowed great honour upon him. From that time the Bodhisatta ate, drank, and lived with the prince, and there was a firm friendship between them. By and bye at the death of his father, the young prince ascended the throne and enjoyed great prosperity. Thought the Bodhisatta: "My friend now rules tlie kingdom; when he sees a fitting opportunity, he will certainly give me the office of his family priest. What have I to do with a householder's life 1 I will become an ascetic and devote myself to solitude." So he saluted his parents and having asked their permission to take orders, he gave up his worldly fortune and setting forth quite alone he entered the Himalaya country. There on a charming spot he built himself a hermitage, and adopting the religious life of an anchorite he developed all the Faculties and Attainments, and lived in the enjoyment of the pleasure of the mystic life. At this time the king remembered him and said, " What has become of my friend? He is nowhere to be seen." His ministers told him he had taken orders, and was living, they heard, in some delightful grove. The king asked the place of his abode, and said to a councillor named Sayha, "Go and bring my friend back with you.

I will make him my chaplain." Sayha readily assented, and going forth from Benares in course of time reached a frontier village and taking up his abode there, he went with some foresters to the place where the Bodhisatta dwelt and found him sitting like a golden statue at the door of his hut. After saluting him with the usual compliments he sat at a respectful distance and thus addressed him : " Reverend Sir, the king desires your return, being anxious to raise you to the dignity of his family priest." [32] The Bodhisatta replied, " If I were to receive not merely the post of chaplain but all Kasi and Kosala, and the realm of India and the glory of a Universal Empire, I would refuse to go. The wise do not again take up the sins they have once abandoned any more than they would swallow the phlegm they have once raised." So saying he repeated these stanzas : —

^No throne on earth should tempt me to my shame. No sea-girt realm, safe-guarded in the deep ; Accm-sed be the lust of wealth and fame That dooms poor man in "Suffering Worlds" to weep. Better through earth a homeless waif to stray, And bowl in hand to beg from door to door. Than as a king, to sinful lusts a prey, To bear a tyrant rule and vex the poor. ^ These stanzas occur again in Jataka -133. 22 The Jdtaha. Book IV. Thus did the Bodhisatta though again and again importuned by him reject his offer. And Sayha, being unable to prevail on him, saluted him, and returned and told the king of his refusal to come. [33] "When the Master had brought his lesson to an end, he revealed the Truths and identified the Birth: — At the conclusion of the Truths the backsliding Brother attained to fruition of the First Path. Many others too experienced like fruits of Conversion : — " At that time Ananda was the king, Sariputta was Sayha, and I myself was the family priest."

" Robber, arise," etc. — The Master, while dwelling in the Bamboo-Grove, told this story about the venerable Moggallana. When that elder was living near Rajagaha in a forest hut, a certain robber, after breaking into a house in a subm-ban village, fled with his hands full of plunder till he came within the precincts of the elder's cell, and thinking that he should be safe there he lay down at the entrance of his hut of leaves. The elder noticed him lying there and suspecting his character said to himself, " It would be wrong for me to have any dealings with a I'obber." So coming out of his hut he told him not to lie there, and drove him away. The robber starting off fled with the greatest haste. And men with torches in their hands, following close upon the robber's track, came and saw the various spots marked by the presence of the robber and said, " It was this way the robber came. Here is where he stood. There he sat down. And that is the way he fled. He is not to be seen here." So they rushed about hither and thither, but at last had to return without finding him. On the next day early in the morning the elder went his round for alms in Rajagaha, and on coming back from his pilgrimage he went to the Bamboo-Grove and told the Master what had happened. The Master said, " You are not the only one, Moggallana, to suspect in a case in which suspicion is justified. Wise men of old suspected in like manner." And at the request of the elder he told a story of bygone times.

[34] Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as a Nimb-tree spirit in a cemetery grove of that city. Now one day a robber having been guilty of an act of theft in an outlying hamlet of the city entered the cemetery grove. And at this time two old trees stood there, a Nimb-tree and a Bo-tree. The robber placed his stolen goods at the foot of this Nimb-tree and lay down there. Now in these days robbers that were caught were put to tortui-e by being impaled on a stake of the Nimb-tree. So the spirit of the Nimb-tree thought : '* If people should come and capture this robber, they will cut off a branch and make a stake from this Nimb-tree and impale him on it. And in that case the tree will be destroyed. So I will drive the fellow away." Then addressing him, he repeated the first stanza : — Robber, arise ! why sleepest thou 1 For slumber 'tis no time, The king's men are upon thee, the avengers of thy crime. Moreover he added these words, "Get you gone, before the king's men take you." Thus did he frighten the robber away. And no sooner had he fled than the deity of the Bo-tree repeated the second stanza : —

And even if this robber bold red-handed they should take, To thee, 0 Nimb-tree, woodland sprite, what difference would it make? The deity of the Nimb-tree on hearing this uttered the third stanza : — 0 Bo-tree, sure thou knowest not the secret of my fear; 1 would not have the king's men find that wicked robber here. They from my sacred tree, I know, straightway a branch would take, And to requite the guilty wretch, impale him on a stake. [35] And while the two sylvan deities were thus conversing together, the owners of the property, following on the trail of the robber, with torches in their hand, when they saw the place where he had been lying down said, " Lo ! the robber has just risen up and fled from this place. We have not got him yet, but if we do, we will come back and either impale him at the foot of this Nimb-tree, or hang him from one of its branches." And with these words rushing about hither and thither, and not finding the robber, they made off. And on hearing what they said the spirit of the Bo-tree uttered the fourth stanza : —

Beware a danger yet unseen: suspect before too late, The wise e'en in this present woi'ld look to a future state. The Master, when he had brought this lesson to an end, identified the Birth : " At that time Sariputta was the Spirit of the Bo-tree. I myself was the Nimbtreo Spirit." 24 TJie Jdtalca. Book IV.

[36] " Should foolish youth" etc. — This story the Master told while residing at Jetavana, about an aged Brother. A young nobleman at Savatthi, tradition says, from a sense of the evil consequences of sinful desires, received ordination at the hands of the Master, and by devotion to the rite by which ecstasy may be induced, in no long time attained to Sainthood. By and bye on the death of his mother, he admitted his father and younger brother to orders, and they took up their abode at Jetavana. At the opening of the rainy season, hearing of a village retreat where the necessary robes were to be easily obtained^, they all three entered upon the Vassa residence there, and when it was ended they returned straight to Jetavana. The youthful Brother, when they came to a spot not far from Jetavana, told the novice lad to bring on the old man quietly, while he himself pushed on ahead to Jetavana to get ready their cell. The old priest walked slowly on. The novice repeatedly butted him, as it were, with his head, and dragged him along by force, crying, " Come on, Master." The elder said, " You are pulling me along against my will," and turning back he made a fresh start from the beginning. As they were thus quarrelling, the sun went down and darkness set in. The young Brother meanwhile swept out his hut, set water in the pots, and not seeing them coming, he took a torch and went to meet them.

When he saw them coming, he asked what made them so late. The old man gave the reason. So he made them rest and brought them slowly on their way. That day he found no time to pay his respects to the Buddha. So on the next day, when he had come to pay his respects to Buddha, after he had saluted him and taken his seat, the Master asked, "When did you arrive?" "Yesterday, Sir." "You came yesterday and pay your respects to me only to-day 1 " " Yes, Sir," he answered, and told him the reason. The Master rebuked the elder: "Not now only does he act like this. Of old too he did just the same. Now it is you that are annoyed by him. Formerly he annoyed wise men." And at the Brother's request he told an old story.

Once upon a time when Brahmadatta reigned in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life in a brahmin family in a town of the Kasi country. [37] When he was grown up, his mother died. And after due performance of her funeral rites, at the end of six weeks he gave away in alms all the money that was in the house, and taking his father and younger brother with him he put on the bark garment of somebody or other, and adopted the religious life of an ascetic in the Himalaya country. And there he dwelt in a pleasant grove, supporting himself by gleaning in the fields and living on roots and wild fruits. ^ Compare Mahdvagga, iii. 14. Now in the Himalaya, during the rainy season, when the rains are incessant, as it is impossible to dig up any bulb or root, or to get any wild fruits, and the leaves begin to fall, the ascetics for the most part come down from the Himalayas, and take up their abode amidst the haunts of men. And at this time the Bodhisatta, after living here with his father and younger brother, as soon as the Himalaya countiy began to blossom again and bear fruit, took his two companions and returned to his hermitage in the Himalayas. And at sunset when they were not far from his hut he left them, saying, " You can come on slowly, while I go forward and set the hermitage in order."

Now the young hermit coming on slowly with his father kept butting him in the waist with his head. The old man said, "I do not like the way in which you are taking me home." So he turned back and started afresh from the same point. And while they were thus quarrelling, darkness set in. But the Bodhisatta as soon as he had swept out his hut of leaves, and got ready some water, took a torch and returned on the way back, and when he found them he asked why they had taken such a long time. And the boy ascetic told him what his father had done. But the Bodhisatta brought them quietly home, and having stowed safely away all the Buddhist requisites, he gave his father a bath, and washed and anointed his feet and shampooed his back. Then he set out a pan of charcoal and when his father had recovered from his fatigue, he sat near him and said, " Father, young boys are just like earthen vessels : they are broken in a moment, [38] and when they are once broken, it is impossible to mend them again. Old men should bear with them patiently, when they are abusive." And for the admonition of his father Kassapa, he repeated these stanzas : —

Should foolish youth in word or deed offend, 'Tis wisdom's part long-suftering to display; Quarrels of good men find a speedy end. Fools pai-t asunder, like untempered clay. Men wise to learn, of their own sins aware. Friendship can prove, that suffers no decay ; Such are a brother's burden strong to bear. And strife of neighbours skilful to allay. [39] Thus did the Bodhisatta admonish his father. And he from that time forward exercised self-restraint. The Master, having brought his lesson to an end, identified the Bii-th : "At that time the old priest was the father hermit, the novice was the boy hermit, and I myself was the son who admonished his father." 26 The, Jataka. Book IV.

" Whoso cut off" etc. — This story the Master, while dwelling at Jetavana, told about a wrathful Brother. The iucideut that gave rise to the story has been already described. The Master asked that Brother, saying, " Why after taking orders under the dispensation of the Buddha who knows not what wrath is, do you show anger ? Wise men in bygone days, though they suffered a thousand stripes, and had their hands and feet and ears and nose cut off, showed no anger against another." And he then told a story of the olden time. Once upon a time a king of Kasi named Kalabu reigned at Benares. At that time the Bodhisatta came to life in a brahmin family endowed with eighty crores of treasure, in the form of a youth named Kundakakumara. And when he was of age, he acquired a knowledge of all the sciences at Takkasila and afterwards settled down as a householder. On the death of his parents, looking at his pile of treasure he thought : " My kinsmen who amassed this treasure are all gone without taking it with them : now it is for me to own it and in my turn to depart." Then he carefully selected persons, who by virtue of their almsgiving deserved it, and gave all his wealth to them, and entering the Himalaya country he adopted the ascetic life. There he dwelt a long time, living on wild fruits.

And descending to the inhabited parts for the sake of px'ocuring salt and vinegar he gradually made his way to Benares, where he took up his abode in the royal park. Next day he went his rounds in the city for alms, till he came to the door of the commander-in-chief. And he being pleased with the ascetic for the propriety of his deportment, brought him into the house [40] and fed him with the food prepared for himself. And having gained his consent he got him to take up his abode in the royal park.

Now one day king Kalabu being inflamed with strong drink came into the park in great pomp, surrounded by a company of dancers. Then he had a couch spread on the royal seat of stone, and lay with his head on the lap of a favourite of the harem, while the nautch girls who were skilful in vocal and instrumental music and in dancing provided a musical entertainment— So great was his magnificence, like to that of Sakka, Lord of heaven — And the king fell asleep. Then the women said, "He for whose sake we are providing music, is gone to sleep. What need is there for us to sing ] " Then they cast aside their lutes and other musical instruments 1 See Jdtakamdld, No. 28 : "The Story of Kshantivadin. " hither and thither, and set out for the garden, where tempted on by the flowers and fruit-bearing shrubs they were soon disporting themselves. At this moment the Bodhisatta was seated in this garden, like a royal elephant in the pride of his vigour, at the foot of a flowering Sal ti-ee, enjoying the bliss of retirement from the world. So these women in wandering about came upon him and said, " Come hither, ladies, and let us sit down and hear somewhat from the priest who is resting at the foot of this tree, until the king awakes." Then they went and saluted him and sitting in a circle round about him, they said, "Tell us something worth hearing." So the Bodhisatta preached the doctrine to them.

Meanwhile the royal favourite with a movement of her body woke up the king. And the king on waking up, and not seeing the women asked, "Where are those wi*etches gone?" "Your Highness," she said, "they are gone away and are sitting in attendance on a certain ascetic." The king in a rage seized his sword and went ofi" in haste, saying, "I will give this false ascetic a lesson." Then those of the women that were most in favour, when they saw the king coming in a rage, went and took the sword from the king's hand and pacified him. Then he came and stood by the Bodhisatta and asked, " What doctrine are you preaching. Monk 1 " " The doctrine of patience. Your Majesty," he replied. "What is this patience]" said the king. " The not being angry, when men abuse you and strike you and revile you." Said the king, " I will see now the reality of your patience," [41] and he summoned his executioner. And he in the way of his ofiice took an axe and a scourge of thorns, and clad in a yellow robe and wearing a red garland, came and saluted the king and said, " What is your pleasure, Sii'e ]" "Take and drag ofi" this vile rogue of an ascetic," said the king, " and throwing him on the ground, with your lash of thorns scourge him before and behind and on both sides, and give him two thousand stripes." This was done.

And the Bodhisatta's outer and inner skins were cut through to the flesh, and the blood flowed. The king again asked, "What doctrine do you preach. Monk?" "The doctrine of patience. Your Highness," he replied. " You fancy that my patience is only skin deep. It is not skin deep, but is fixed deep within my heart, where it cannot be seen by you, Sire." Again the executioner asked, " What is your pleasure, Sire 1 " The king said, " Cut ofi" both the hands of this false ascetic." So he took his axe, and placing the victim within the fatal circle, lie cut ofi" both his hands. Then the king said, " Ofl" with his feet," and his feet were chopped off'. And the blood flowed from the extremities of his hands and feet like lac juice from a leaking jar. Again the king asked what doctrine he preached. "The doctrine of patience, Your Highness," he replied. " You imagine, Sire, that my patience dwells in the extremities of my hands and feet. It is not there, but it is deep seated somewhere else." The king said, "Cut off" his nose and ears." The

28 The Jataka. Booh IV. executioner did so. His whole body was now covered with blood. Again the king asked of his doctrine. And the asetic said, " Think not that my patience is seated in the tips of my nose and ears : my patience is deep seated within my heart." The king said, "Lie down, false Monk, and thence exalt your patience." And so saying, he struck the Bodhisatta above the heart with his foot, and betook himself off. When he was gone, the commander-in-chief wiped off the blood from the body of the Bodhisatta, [42] putting bandages' on the extremities of his hands, feet, ears and nose, and then having gently placed him on a seat, he saluted him and sitting on one side he said, " If, Reverend Sir, you would be angry with one who has sinned against you, be angry with the king, but with no one else." And making this request, he repeated the first stanza : — Whoso cut off thy nose and ear, and lopped off foot and hand, With him be wroth, heroic soul, but spare, we pray, this land. The Bodhisatta on hearing this uttered the second stanza : —

Long live the king, whose cruel hand my body thus has marred, Pure souls like mine such deeds as these with anger ne'er regard. And just as the king was leaving the garden and at the very moment when he passed out of the range of the Bodhisatta's vision, the mighty earth that is two hundred and forty thousand leagues in thickness sjilit in two, like unto a strong stout cloth garment, and a flame issuing forth from Avici seized upon the king, wrapping him up as it were with a royal robe of scarlet wool. Thus did the king sink into the earth just by the garden gate and was firmly fixed in the great Hell of Avici. And the Bodhisatta died on that same day. And the king's servants and the citizens came with perfumes and wreaths and incense in their hands and performed the Bodhisatta's obsequies. And some said that the Bodhisatta had gone straight back to the Himalayas. But in this they said the thing that was not. [43] A saint of old, as men have told, Great courage did display : That saint so strong to suffer wrong The Kasi king did slay. Alas ! the debt of vain regret

That king will have to pay ; When doomed to dwell in lowest Hell, Long will he rue the day. These two stanzas were inspired by Perfect Wisdom. 1 Mahavagga, vi. 14. 5. The Master, his lesson ended, revealed the Truths and identitied the Birth : — At the conclusion of the Truths the choleric Brother attained fruition of the Second Path, while many others attained fruition of the First Path: — "At that time Devadatta was Kalabu king of Kasi, Sariputta was the Commander-in-Chief, and I myself was the Ascetic, the Preacher of Patience."

" Due share of tcealih^^ etc. — This story the Master, while living at Jetavana, told concerning a king of Kosala. The king of Kosala of those days, they say, one night heard a cry uttered by four inhabitants of Hell — the syllables du, sa, na, so, one from each of the four. In a previous existence, tradition says, they had been princes in Savatthi, and had been guilty of adultery. After misconducting themselves with their neighbours' wives, however carefully guarded they might be, and indulging their amorous propensities, their evil life had been cut short by the Wheel of Death, near Savatthi. They came to life again in Four Iron Cauldrons. After being tortured for sixty thousand years they had come up to the top, and on seeing the edge of the Cauldron's mouth they thought to themselves, " When shall we escape from this misery 1 " And then all four uttered a loud cry, one after another. The king was terrified to death at the noise, and sat waiting for break of day, imable to stir. At dawn the brahmins came and inquired after his health. The king replied, " How, my Masters, can I be well, [44] who to-day have heard four such terrible cries." The brahmins waved their hands-. "What is it, my Masters?" said the king. The brahmins assure him that the sounds are ominous of great violence. " Do they admit of remedy, or not ?

" said the king. " You might say not," said the brahmins, " but we are well-trained in these matters. Sire." "By what means," said the king, "will you avert these evils?" "Sire," they replied, " there is one great remedy in our power, and by offering the fourfold sacrifice 3 of every living creature we will avert all evil." "Then be quick," said the king, " and take all living creatures by fours — men, bulls, horses, elephants, down to quails and other birds — and by this fourfold sacrifice restore my peace of mind." The brahmins consented, and taking whatever they required, they dug a sacrificial pit and fastened their numerous victims to their stakes, and were highly excited at the thought of the dainties they were to eat, and the wealth they would gain, and went about backwards and forwards, saying, " Sir, I must have so and so."

The queen Mallika came and asked the king, why the brahmins went about' so delighted and smiling. The king said, " My queen, what have you to do with this ? You are intoxicated with your own glory, and you do not know how wretched I am." "How so. Sire?" she replied. "I have heard such awful noises, my queen, and when 1 asked the brahmins what would be the result of 1 Compare Buddhaghosha's Parables, No. 15 : "Story of the Four Thuthe's Sons." King Pasenadikosala in this story was meditating the sin of David against Uriah the Hittite, and was deterred from his purpose by the awful vision related in this Jataka. See also Tumour's MaMwanso, i. iv. 18. A king in a dream sees his soul cast into the Lohakumbhi Hell. 2 Possibly to avert the evil omen. 2 See Colebrooke's Essays, i. 348. 30 The Jataka. Booh IV. my hearing these cries, they told me I was threatened with danger to my kingdom or my property or my life, but by offering the fourfold sacrifice they would restore my peace of mind, and now in obedience to my command, they have dug a sacrificial pit and are gone to fetch whatever victims they require." The queen said, " Have you, my lord, consulted the chief brahmin in the Deva-world as to the origin of these cries?" "Who, lady," said the king, "is the chief brahmin in the Deva-world ? " " The Great Gotama," she replied, " the Supreme Buddha.' " Lady," he said, " I have not consulted the Supreme Buddha." " Then go," she answered, " and consult him."

The king hearkened to the words of the queen and after his morning meal he mounted his state chariot and drove to Jetavana. Here after saluting the Master he thus addressed him : " Reverend Sir, in the night season I heard four cries and consulted the brahmins about it. [45] They undertook to restore my peace of mind, by the fourfold sacrifice of every kind of victim, and are now busy preparing a sacrificial pit. What does the hearing of these cries betoken to me?" " Nothing whatever," said the Master. " Certain beings in Hell, owing to the agony they suffer, cried aloud. These cries," he added, "have not been heard by you alone. Kings of old heard the same. And when they too, after consulting their brahmins, were anxious to offer sacrifices of slain victims, on hearing what wise men had to say, they refused to do so. The wise men explained to them the nature of these cries, and bade them let loose the crowd of victims and thus restored their peace of mind." And at the request of the king he told a story of bygone days. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born in a brahmin family, in a certain village of Kasi. And when he was of mature years, renouncing the pleasures of sense and embracing the ascetic life he developed the supernatural powers of mystic meditation, and enjoying the delights of Contemplation took up his abode in a pleasant grove in the Himalaya country.

The king of Benares at this time was fearfully alarmed by hearing those four sounds uttered by four beings who dwelt in Hell. And when told by brahmins in exactly the same way that one of three dangers must befall him, he agreed to their proposal to put a stop to it by the fourfold sacrifice. The family priest with the help of the brahmins provided a sacrificial pit, and a great crowd of victims was brought up and fastened to the stakes. Then the Bodhisatta, guided by a feeling of charity, regarding the world with his divine eye, when he saw what was going on, said, " I must go at once and see to the well-being of all these creatures." And then by his magic power flying up into the air, he alighted in the garden of the king of Benares, and sat down on the royal slab of stone, looking like an image of gold. The chief disciple of the family priest approached his teacher and asked, ** Is it not written, Master, in our Vedas that there is no happiness for those who take the life of any creature?" The priest replied, "You are to bring here the king's pi'operty, and we shall have abundant dainties to eat. Only hold your peace." And with these words he drove his pupil away. [46] But the youth thought,

" I will have no part in this matter," and went and found the Bodhisatta in the king's garden. After saluting him in a friendly manner he took a seat at a respectful distance. The Bodhisatta asked him saying, "Young man, does the king rule his kingdom righteously?" "Yes, Reverend Sir, he does," answered the youth, " but he has heard four cries in the night, and on inquiring of the brahmins, he has been assured by them that they would restore his peace of mind, by offering up the fourfold sacrifice. So the king, being anxious to recover his happiness, is preparing a sacrifice of animals, and a vast number of victims has been brought up and fastened to the sacrificial stakes. Now is it not right for holy men like yourself to explain the cause of these noises, and to rescue these numerous victims from the jaws of death 1" "Young man," he replied, "the king does not know us, nor do we know the king, but we do know the origin of these cries, and if the king were to come and ask us the cause, we would resolve his doubts for him." " Then," said the youth, "just stay liere a moment, Reverend Sir, and I will conduct the king to you."

The Bodhisatta agreed, and the youth went and told the king all about it, and brought him back with him. The king saluted the Bodhisatta and sitting on one side asked him if it were true that he knew the origin of these noises. "Yes, Your Majesty," he said. "Then tell me, Reverend Sir." " Sire," he answered, " these men in a former existence were guilty of gross misconduct with the carefully guarded wives of their neighbours near Benares, and therefore were re-born in Four Iron Cauldrons. Where after being tortured for thirty thousand years in a thick corrosive liquid heated to boiliug point, they would at one time sink till they struck the bottom of the cauldron, and at another time rise to the top like a foam bubble', but after those years they found the mouth of the cauldron, and looking over the edge they all four desired to give utterance to four complete stanzas, but failed to do so. And after getting out just one syllable each, they sank again in the iron cauldrons. [47] Now the one of them that sank after uttering the syllable ' du ' was anxious to speak as follows: —

Due share of wealth we gave not ; an evil life we led : We found no sure salvation in joys that now are fled. And when he failed to utter it, the Bodhisatta of his own knowledge repeated the complete stanza. And similarly with the i-est. The one that uttered merely the syllable ' sa ' wanted to repeat the following stanza : — Sad fate of those that suffer ! ah ! when shall come release ? Still after countless aeons, Hell's tortures never cease. 1 See Milindapahha, 357. 32 The Jdtaka. Book IV. And again in the case of the one that uttered the syllable ^ na,' this was the stanza he wished to repeat : — Nay endless are the sufferings to which we're doomed by fate ; The ills we wrought upon the earth 'tis ours to expiate. And the one that uttered the syllable 'so' was anxious to repeat the following : — /S'oon shall I passing forth from hence, attain to human birth, And richly dowered with virtue rise to many a deed of worth. [48] The Bodhisatta, after reciting these verses one by one, said, " The dweller in Hell, Sire, when he wanted to utter a complete stanza, through the greatness of his sin, was unable to do it. And when he thus experienced the result of his wrong-doing he cried aloud. But fear not ; no danger shall come nigh you, in consequence of hearing this cry." Thus did he reassure the king. And the king proclaimed by beat of his golden drum that the vast host of victims was to be released, and the sacrificial pit destroyed. And the Bodhisatta, after thus providing for the safety of the numerous victims, stayed there a few days, and then returning to the same place, without any break in his ecstasy, was born in the world of Brahma.

The Master, having ended his lesson, identified the Birth : " Sariputta at that time was the young priest, I myself was the ascetic."

''For one who is asking," etc. — This was a story told by the Master, while living at Jetavana, as to how the Elder Sariputta procm'ed dainty fare for some sick Brothers under medical treatment. The story goes that certain of the Brethren at that time at Jetavana, after taking oil as a purgative, wished for some dainty food. Those who ministered to them in their sickness went into Savatthi to fetch some dainties, but after going their round for alms in a street in the Cooks' quarters, had to come back without getting what they wanted. Later on in the day the Elder was going into the town for alms and meeting these Brethren asked them why they had returned so soon. They told him ^ See R. Morris, Folklore Journal, iii. 242. what had happened. " Come then with me," said the Elder, [49] and took them to the very same street. And the people there gave him a full measure of dainty fare. The attendants brought the food to the sick Brethren, and they partook of it. So one day a discussion was started in the Hall of Truth how that when some servants were leaving a town, without being able to get dainty fare for their sick masters, the Elder took them with him on his round for alms in a street in the Cooks' quarters, and sent them home with abundant dainties. The Master came up and inquired the nature of their discussion, and on being told what it was he said, " Not now only. Brethren, did Sariputta alone obtain food. Formerly also wise men who had a soft voice and knew how to speak pleasantly obtained the same." And then he told a tale of the olden time.

Once upon a time when Brahmadatta reigned in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as the son of a wealthy merchant. Now one day a certain deer-stalker had taken venison, and filling his cart with the meat, returned to the city with the intention of selling it. At this time four sons of rich merchants who were living in Benares sallied out of the city, and meeting at some cross roads they sat down and conversed with one another about whatever they had seen or heard. One of these youths on seeing the cart full of meat proposed to go and get a piece of venison from the hunter. The others bade him go and try. So he went up to the hunter, and said, "Hi, Sirrah, give me a piece of meat." The hunter replied, " A man who begs somewhat from another ought to speak with a gentle voice : you shall receive a piece of meat appropriate to your manner of speech," Then he uttered the first stanza : — ■ For one who is asking a favour, my friend, thy language is coarse in its tone. Such language deserves coarse fare in return, so I oflfer thee mere skin and bone.

Then one of his companions asked him what language he had used in begging for a piece of meat, " I said, Hi, Sirrah ! " he replied, " I too," said the other, "will beg of him." [50] Then he went to the hunter and said, " O elder brother, give me a piece of venison." The hunter answered, " You shall receive such a piece as the words you have spoken deserve," and he repeated the second stanza : — The name of a brother a strong link is found, to join those akin to each other. As thy kind words suggest the gift I should make, so a joint I present to my And with these words he took up and threw him a joint of venison. Then a third youth inquired with what words the last had begged for the meat. "I addressed him as brother," he replied. "Then I too will beg of him," he said. So he went to the hunter and cried, "Dear father, give me a piece of venison." The hunter replied, " You shall receive a J. Ill, 3 34 The Jatcika. Booh IV. piece suitable to the words you have spoken," and he I'epeated the third stanza : —

As a parent's fond heart to pity is moved, the cry of " Dear father " to hear. So I too respond to thy loving appeal, and give thee the heart of the deer. And with these w^ords he picked up and gave him a savoury piece of meat, heart and all. Then the fourth of the youths asked the third youth, with what words he had asked for the venison. " Oh I called him ' Dear father,'" he answered. "Then I too will beg a piece," said the other, and he went to the hunter and said, " My friend, give me a piece of meat." Said the hunter, " According to the words you have spoken, shall you receive." And he repeated the fourth stanza : — A world without friends, I venture to think, a wilderness surely must be. In that title of friend all that's dear is implied, so I give all the deer unto thee. Moreover he said, " Come, friend, I will convey all this cartful of meat to your house." [51] So this merchant's son had the cart driven to his house, and he went and unloaded the meat. And he treated the hunter with great hospitality and respect, and sending for his wife and son he took him away from his cruel occupation, and settled him on his own estate. And they became insepai*able friends, and all their life long lived amicably together.

The Master, having ended his lesson, identified the Birth : " At that time Sariputta was the Hunter, and I myself was the Merchant's Son who had all the venison given to him."

'^ Seven red fish" etc. — This story was told by the Master while living at Jetavana, about a gift of all the Buddhist requisites. A certain landowner at Savatthi, they say, provided all the requisites for the Brotherhood with Buddha at its head, and setting up a pavilion at his house door, he invited all the 1 See R. Morris, Folk-Lore Journal, ii. 336 and 370. Jdtakamdld, No. 6. On the wide-spread prevalence of the legend of the Hare in the Moon, see T. Harley's Moon-Lore, p. 60. company of priests with their chief Buddha, seated them on elegant seats prepared for them, and offered them a variety of choice and dainty food. And saying, " Come again to-morrow," he entertained them for a whole week, and on the seventh day he presented Buddha and the five hundred priests under him with all the requisites. At the end of the feast the Master, in returning thanks, said, "Lay Brother, you are right in giving pleasure and satisfaction by this charity. For this is a tradition of wise men of old, who sacrificed their lives for any beggars they met with, and gave them even their own flesh to eat." And at the request of his host he related this old-world legend.

Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life as a young hare and lived in a wood. On one side of this wood was the foot of a mountain, on another side a river, and on the third side a border-village. The hare had three friends — a monkey, a jackal and an otter. These four wise creatures lived together [52] and each of them got his food on his own hunting-ground, and in the evening they again came together. The hare in his wisdom by way of admonition preached the Truth to his three companions, teaching that alms are to be given, the moral law to be observed, and holy days to be kept. They accepted his admonition and went each to his own part of the jungle and dwelt there. And so in the course of time the Bodhisatta one day observing t^e sky, and looking at the moon knew that the next day would be a fast-day, and addressing his three companions he said, "To-morrow is a fast-day. Let all three of you take upon yovi the moral precepts, and observe the holy day. To one that stands fast in moral practice, almsgiving brings a great reward. Therefore feed any beggars that come to you by giving them food from your own table." They readily assented, and abode each in his own place of dwelling.

On the morrow quite early in the morning, the otter sallied forth to seek his prey and went down to the bank of the Ganges. Now it came to pass that a fisherman had landed seven red fish, and stringing them together on a withe, he had taken and buried thera in the sand on the river's bank. And then he dropped down the stream, catching more fish. The otter scenting the buried fish, dug up the sand till he came upon them, and pulling them out cried aloud thrice, " Does any one own these fish 1 " And not seeing any owner he took hold of the withe with his teeth and laid the fish in the jungle where he dwelt, intending to eat them at a fitting time. And then he lay down, thinking how virtuous he was ! The jackal too sallied forth in quest of food and found in the hut of a field- watcher two spits, a lizard and a pot of milk-curd. And after thrice crying aloud, "To whom do these belong]" and not finding an owner, he put on his neck the rope for lifting the pot, and grasping the spits and the

36 The Jdtaha. Booh IV. lizard with his teeth, he brought and laid them in his own lair, thinking, "In due season I will devour them," and so lay down, [53] reflecting how virtuous he had been. The monkey also entered the clump of trees, and gathering a bunch of mangoes laid them up in his part of the jungle, meaning to eat them in due season, and then lay down, thinking how virtuous he was. But the Bodhisatta in due time came out, intending to browse on the kuqa grass, and as he lay in the jungle, the thought occurred to him, " It is impossible for me to offer grass to any beggars that may chance to appear, and I have no oil or rice and such like. If any beggar shall appeal to me, I shall have to give him my own flesh to eat." At this splendid display of virtue, Sakka's white marble throne manifested signs of heat. Sakka on reflection discovered the cause and resolved to put this royal hare to the test. First of all he went and stood by the otter's dwelling-place, disguised as a brahmin, and being asked why he stood there, he replied, " Wise Sir, if I could get something to eat, after keeping the fast, I would perform all my priestly duties." The otter replied, "Very well, I will give you some food," and as he conversed with him he repeated the first stanza : —

Seven red fish I safely brought to land from Ganges flood, O brahmin, eat thy fill, I pray, and stay within this wood. The brahmin said, " Let be till to-morrow. I will see to it by and bye." Next he went to the jackal, and when asked by him why he stood there, he made the same answer. The jackal, too, readily promised him some food, and in talking with him repeated the second stanza : — [54] A lizard and a jar of curds, the keeper's evening meal. Two spits to roast the flesh withal I wrongfully did steal : Such as I have I give to thee : 0 brahmin, eat, I pray. If thou shouldst deign within this wood a while with us to stay. Said the brahmin, " Let be till to-morrow. I will see to it by and bye." Then he went to the monkey, and when asked what he meant by standing there, he answered just as before. The monkey readily offered him some food, and in conversing with him gave utterance to the third stanza : — An icy stream, a mango ripe, and pleasant greenwood shade, 'Tis thine to enjoy, if thou canst dwell content in forest glade.

Said the brahmin, " Let be till to-morrow. I will see to it by and bye." And he went to the wise hare, and on being asked by him why he stood there, he made the same reply. The Bodhisatta on hearing what he wanted was highly delighted, and said, " Brahmin, you have done well in coming to me for food. This day will I grant you a boon that I have never gi-anted before, but you shall not break the moral law by taking animal life. Go, friend, and when you have piled together logs of wood, and kindled a fire, come and let me know, [55] and I will sacrifice myself by falling into the midst of the flames, and when my body is roasted, you shall eat my flesh and fulfil all your priestly duties." And in thus addressing him the hare uttered the fourth stanza : — Nor sesame, nor beans, nor rice have I as food to give, But roast with fire my flesh I yield, if thou with us wouldst live. Sakka, on heai'ing what he said, by his miraculous power caused a heap of burning coals to appear, and came and told the Bodhisatta. Rising from his bed of kuga grass and coming to the place, he thrice shook himself that if there were any insects within his coat, they might escape death. Then oflfering his whole body as a free gift he sprang up, and like a royal swan, alighting on a cluster of lotuses, in an ecstasy of joy he fell on the heap of live coals.

But the flame failed even to heat the pores of the hair on the body of the Bodhisatta, and it was as if he had entered a region of frost. Then he addressed Sakka in these words : " Brahmin, the fire you have kindled is icy-cold : it fails to heat even the pores of the hair on my body. What is the meaning of this 1 " " Wise sir," he replied, " I am no brahmin. I am Sakka, and I have come to put your virtue to the test." The Bodhisatta said, " If not only thou, Sakka, but all the inhabitants of the world were to try me in this matter of almsgiving, they would not find in me any unwillingness to give," and with this the Bodhisatta uttered a cry of exultation like a lion roaring. Then said Sakka to the Bodhisatta, "0 wise hare, be thy virtue known throughout a whole seen." And squeezing the mountain, with the essence thus extracted, he daubed the sign of a hare on the orb of the moon. And after depositing the hare on a bed of young ku9a grass, in the same wooded part of the jungle, Sakka returned to his own place in heaven. [56] And these four wise creatures dwelt happily and harmoniously together, fulfilling the moral law and observing holy days, till they departed to fare according to their deeds.

The Master, when he had ended his lesson, revealed the Truths and identified the Birth : — At the conclusion of the Truths the householder, who gave as a freegift all the Buddhist requisites, attained fruition of the First Path : — " At that time Ananda was the otter, Moggallana was the jackal, Sariputta the monkey, and I myself was the wise hare." 38 The Jdtaka. Book IV.

" Weep for the living" etc. — The Master while in residence at Jetavana told this story of a certain landowner who dwelt at Savatthi. On the death of his brother, it is said, he was so overwhelmed with grief that he neither ate nor washed nor anointed himself, but in deep affliction he used to go to the cemetery at daybreak to weep. The Master, early in the morning casting his eye upon the world and observing in that man a capacity for attaining to the fruition of the First Path, thought, " There is no one but myself that can, by telling him what happened long ago, assuage his grief and bring him to the fruition of the First Path. I must be his Refuge." So next day on returning in the afternoon from his round of alms-begging, he took a jvmior priest and went to his house. On heai-ing of the Master's arrival, the landowner ordered a seat to be prepared and bade him enter, and saluting him he sat on one side. In answer to the IMaster, who asked him why he was grieving, he said he had been sorrowing ever since his brother's death. Said the Master, " All compound existences are impermanent, and what is to be broken is broken. One ought not to make a trouble of this. Wise men of old, from knowing this, did not grieve, when their brother died." And at his request the Master related this legend of the past.

Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was reborn in the family of a rich merchant, worth eighty crores. When he was come of age, his parents died. And on their death a brother of the Bodhisatta managed the family estate. [57] And the Bodhisatta lived in dependence on him. By and bye the brother also died of a fatal disease. His relations, friends and companions came together, and throwing up their arms wept and lamented, and no one was able to control his feelings. But the Bodhisatta neither lamented nor wept. Men said, " See now, though his brother is dead, he does not so much as pull a wry face : he is a very hard-hearted fellow. Methinks he desired his brother's death, hoping to enjoy a double portion." Thus did they blame the Bodhisatta, His kinsfolk too reproved him, saying, " Though your brother is dead, you do not shed a tear." On hearing their words he said : " In your blind folly, not knowing the Eight Worldly Conditions, you weep and cry, ' Alas ! my brother is dead,' but I too, and you also, will have to die. Why then do you not weep at the thought of your own death? AH existing things are transient, and consequently no single compound is able to remain in its natural condition. Though you, blind fools, in your state of ignorance, from not knowing the Eight Worldly

Conditions, weep and lament, why should I weep 1 " And so saying, he repeated these stanzas : — Weep for the living rather than the dead! All creatures that a mortal form do take, Four-footed beast and bird and hooded snake. Yea men and angels all the same path tread. Powerless to cope with fate, rejoiced to die, Midst sad vicissitude of bliss and pain. Why shedding idle tears should man complain, And plunged in sorrow for a brother sigh? Men versed in fraud and in excess grown old, The untutored fool, e'en valiant men of might. If worldly-wise and ignorant of right. Wisdom itself as foolishness may hold. [58] Thus did the Bodhisatta teach these men the Truth, and delivered them all from their sorrow. The Master, after he had ended his religious exposition, revealed the Truths and identified the Birth : — At tlie conclusion of the Truths the landowner attained to fruition of the First Path :— "At that time the wise man who by his religious exposition delivered people from their sorrow was I myself."

" 'Twas the joyous twie," etc. — This was a story told by the Master at Jetavana, about a Brother who was tempted by thovights of the wife he had left. — The circumstances that led up to the story will be set forth in the Indriya Birth i. — The Master, addressing this Brother, said, " Once before, through her, you had your head cut oft'." And then he related a legend of the past. [59] Once upon a time when Brahraadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born in a village of Kasi in the home of a certain householder, under the star of a robber. When he grew up to be a man, he 40 The Jdtaka. Book IV. gained his living by robbery, and his fame was blazed abroad in the world, as a bold fellow and as strong as an elephant. And no man could catch him. One day he broke into a rich merchant's house and carried off much treasure. The townsfolk came to the king and said, " Sire, a mighty robber is plundering the city : have him arrested." The king ordered the governor of the city to seize him. So in the night the governor posted men here and there in detachments, and having effected his capture with the money upon him, he reported it to the king. The king bade the governor cut off his head. Then the governor had his arms tightly bound behind him, and having tied a wreath of red kanavera flowers about his neck and sprinkled brickdust on his head, had him scourged with whips in every square, and then led to the place of execution to the music of the harsh-sounding drum. Men said, "This rapacious robber who loots our city is taken," and the whole city was greatly moved.

At this time there lived in Benares a courtezan named Sama, whose price was a thousand pieces of money. She was a favourite of the king's, and had a suite of five hundred female slaves. And as she stood at an open window on the upper floor of the palace, she saw this robber being led along. Now he was comely and gracious to look upon, and stood forth above all men, exceedingly glorious and god-like in appearance. And when she saw him being thus led past, she fell in love with him and thought within herself, " By what device can I secure this man for my husband 1 " " This is the way," she said, and sent by the hand of one of her female attendants a thousand pieces of money to the governor, and *' Tell him," she said, " this robber is Sama's brother, and he has no other refuge except in Sama. And ask him to accept the money and let his prisoner escape." [60] The handmaid did as she was told. But the governor said, " This is a notorious robber, I cannot let him go free after this sort. But if I could find another man as a substitute, I could put the robber in a covered carriage and send him to you." The slave came and reported this to her mistress.

Now at this time a certain rich young merchant, who was enamoured of Sama, presented her every day with a thousand pieces of money. And that very day at sunset her lover came as usual to her house with the money. And Sama took the money and placed it in her lap and sat weeping. And when she was asked what was the cause of her sorrow, she said, *' My lord, this robber is my brother, though he never came to see me, because people say I follow a vile trade : when I sent a message to the governor he sent word that if he were to receive a thousand pieces of money, he would let his prisoner go free. And now I cannot find any one to go and take this money to the governor." The youth for the love he bare her said, "I will go." "Go, then," said she, "and take with you the money you brought me." So he took it and went to the house of the governor. The governor hid the young merchant in a secret place, and had the robber conveyed in a close carriage to Sama. Then he thought, "This robber is well known in the country. It must be quite dark first. And then, when all men are retired to rest, I will have the man executed." And so making some excuse for delaying it awhile, when people had retired to rest, he sent the young merchant with a large escort to the place of execution, and cutting off his head with a sword impaled his body, and returned into the city.

Thenceforth Sama accepted nought at any other man's hand, but passed all her time, taking her pleasure with this robber only. The thought occurred to the robber : " If this woman should fall in love with any one else, she will have me too put to death, and take her pleasure with him. She is very treacherous to her friends. I must no longer dwell here, but make haste to escape." When he was going away, [61] he thought, "I will not go empty-handed, but will take some of the oi-naments belonging to her." So one day he said to her, " My dear, we always stay indoors like tame cockatoos in a cage. Some day we will disport ourselves in the garden." She readily assented and prepared every kind of food, hard and soft, and decked herself out with all her ornaments, and drove to the garden with him seated in a close carriage. While he was disporting himself with her, he thought, " Now must be the time for me to escape." So under a show of violent affection for her, he entered into a thicket of kanavera bushes, and pretending to embrace her, he squeezed her till she became insensible. Then throwing her down he spoiled her of all her ornaments, and fastening them in her outer garment he placed the bundle on his shoulder, and leaping over the garden wall made off.

And when she had recovered consciousness, rising up she went and asked her attendants, what had become of her young lord. *' We do not know, lady." "He thinks," she said, "I am dead, and must in his alarm have run away." And being distressed at the thought, she returned thence to her house, and said, " Not till I have set eyes on my dear lord, will I rest upon a sumptuous couch," and she lay down upon the ground. And from that day she neither put on comely garments, nor ate more than one meal, nor affected scents and wreaths and the like. And being resolved to seek and recover her lover by every possible means, she sent for some actors and gave them a thousand pieces of money. On their asking, "What are we to do for this, lady?" She said, "There is no place that you do not visit. Go then to every village, town and city, and gathering a crowd around you, first of all sing this song in the midst of the people," — teaching the actors the first stanza, — "And if," said she, " when you have sung this song, my husband shall be one of the crowd, he will speak to you. [62] Then you may tell him I am quite well, and bring him back with you. And should he refuse to come, send me a message."

42 The Jcitaka. Book IV. And giving them their expenses for the journey, she sent them off. They started from Benares, and calling the people together here and there, at last arrived at a border-village. Now the robber, since his flight, was living here. And the actors gathered a crowd about them, and sang the first stanza : — 'Twas the joyous time of spring, Bright with flowers each shrub and tree, From her swoon awakening Sama lives, and lives for thee. The robber on hearing this drew nigh to the actor, and said, " You say that Sama is alive, but I do not believe it." And addressing him he repeated the second stanza : Can fierce winds a mountain shake? Can they make firm earth to quake? But alive the dead to see Marvel stranger far would be ! [63] The actor on hearing these words uttered the third stanza : Sama surely is not dead. Nor another lord would wed. Fasting from all meals but one, She loves thee and thee alone. The robber on hearing this said, "Whether she be alive or dead, I don't want her," and with these words he repeated the fourth stanza :

Sama's fancy ever roves From tried faith to lighter loves: Me too Sama would betray. Were I not to flee away. The actors came and told Sama how he had dealt with them. And she, full of regrets, took once more to her old course of life. The Master, when his lesson was ended, revealed the Truths and identified the Birth : — At the conclusion of the Truths the worldly-minded Brother attained to fruition of the First Path : — "At that time this Brother was the rich merchant's son, the wife he had left was Sama, and I myself was the robber."

[64] "Happi/ life," etc. — This was a story told by the Master while living in the Badarika Monastery near Kosambl, i-egarding the elder Rahula. The introductory story has been already related in full in the Tipallattha Birth i. Now when the Brethren in the Hall of Truth were setting forth the praises of the venerable Rahula, and speaking of him as fond of instruction, scrupulous and patient of rebuke, the Master came up and on hearing from them the subject of their discourse said, " Not now only, but formerly also Rahula possessed all these virtues." And then he told them a legend of the past. Once upon a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born in a bi-ahmin family. And when he grew up, he studied all the arts at Takkasila, and giving up the world devoted himself to the ascetic life in the Himalaya country, and developed all the Faculties and Attainments. There enjoying the pleasures of ecstatic meditation he dwelt in a pleasant grove, whence he journeyed to a frontier village to procure salt and vinegar. The people, on seeing him, became believers, and built him a hut of leaves in a wood, and providing him with all that a Buddhist requires, made a home for him there.

At this time a fowler in this village had caught a decoy partridge, and putting it in a cage carefully trained and looked after it. Then he took it to the wood, and by its cry decoyed all the other partridges that came near. The partridge thought : " Through me many of my kinsfolk come by their death. This is a wicked act on my part." So it kept quiet. When its master found it was quiet, he struck it on the head with a piece of bamboo. The partridge from the pain it suflfered uttered a cry. And the fowler gained a living by decoying other partridges through it. Then the partridge thought : " Well, suppose they die. There is no evil intention on my part. Do the evil consequences of my action affect me ] When I am quiet, they do not come, but when I utter a cry, they do. And all that come this fellow catches and puts to death. Is there any sinful act here on my part, or is there not ] " Thenceforth the only thought of the partridge is, "Who verily may resolve my doubt?" [65] and it goes about seeking for such a wise man. Now one day the fowler snared a lot of pai'tridges, and filling his basket wdth them he came to the Bodhisatta's hermitage to beg a draught of water. And putting down the cage near the Bodhisatta, he drank some water and lay down on the sand and fell

1 No. 16, Vol. i. 44 The Jataka. Book IV. asleep. The partridge observing that he was asleep thought, " I will ask this ascetic as to my doubt, and if he knows he will solve my difficulty." And as it lay in its cage, it repeated the first stanza in the form of a question : Happy life I lead all day, Food abundant falls to me: Yet I'm in a parlous way. What's my future state to be? The Bodhisatta solving this question uttered the second stanza : If no evil in thy heart Prompts to deed of villainy, Shouldst thou play a passive part. Guilt attaches not to thee. The partridge on hearing this uttered the third stanza : " Lo ! our kinsman " : thus they cry, And in crowds they flock to see. Am I guilty, should they die ? Please resolve this doubt for me. [66] On hearing this, the Bodhisatta repeated the fourth stanza : If no sin lurks in the heart. Innocent the deed will be. He who plays a passive part From all guilt is counted free. Thus did the Great Being console the partridge. And through him the bird was freed from remorse. Then the fowler waking up saluted the Bodhisatta and took up his cage and made off.

The Master, having ended his lesson, identified the Birth: "At that time Rahula was the partridge, and I myself was the ascetic."