{"collection":"Buddhism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/bud/sbe17/sbe17068.htm","path":"bud/sbe17/sbe17068.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/bud/sbe17/sbe17068.htm","text":"1. At that time the blessed Buddha dwelt at R\u00e2gagaha, in the Veluvana, in the Kalandaka-niv\u00e2pa. At that time Ves\u00e2l\u00ee was an opulent, prosperous town, populous, crowded with people, abundant with food 1; there were seven thousand seven hundred and seven storeyed buildings, and seven thousand seven hundred and seven pinnacled buildings, and seven thousand seven hundred and seven pleasure grounds (\u00c2r\u00e2mas), and seven thousand seven hundred and seven lotus-ponds. There was also the courtezan Ambap\u00e2lik\u00e2 2, who was beautiful, graceful, pleasant, gifted with the highest beauty of complexion, well versed in dancing, singing, and lute-playing, much visited by desirous people. She asked fifty (kah\u00e2panas) for one night. Through that person Ves\u00e2l\u00ee became more and more flourishing.\n2. Now a merchant from R\u00e2gagaha went to Ves\u00e2l\u00ee on a certain business. That R\u00e2gagaha merchant saw what an opulent, prosperous town Ves\u00e2l\u00ee was, how populous, crowded with people, and abundant with food, and the seven thousand seven\nhundred and seven storeyed buildings . . . . and the courtezan Ambap\u00e2l\u00ee, who was beautiful . . . . and through whom Ves\u00e2l\u00ee became more and more flourishing. And the R\u00e2gagaha merchant, after having done his business in Ves\u00e2l\u00ee, returned to R\u00e2gagaha and went to the place where the M\u00e2gadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra was. Having approached him, he said to the M\u00e2gadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra: 'Ves\u00e2l\u00ee, Your Majesty, is an opulent, prosperous town (&c., as in \u00a7 1, down to:) Through that person Ves\u00e2l\u00ee becomes more and more flourishing. May it please Your Majesty, let us also install a courtezan.'\n(The king replied), 'Well, my good Sir, look for such a girl whom you can install as courtezan.'\n3. Now at that time there was at R\u00e2gagaha a girl S\u00e2lavat\u00ee by name, who was beautiful, graceful, pleasant, and gifted with the highest beauty of complexion. That girl S\u00e2lavat\u00ee the R\u00e2gagaha merchant installed as courtezan. And before long the courtezan S\u00e2lavat\u00ee was well versed in dancing, singing, and lute-playing, and much visited by desirous people, and she asked one hundred (kah\u00e2panas) for one night. And before long the courtezan S\u00e2lavat\u00ee became pregnant. Now the courtezan S\u00e2lavat\u00ee thought: 'Men do not like a pregnant woman. If anybody should find out regarding me that \"The courtezan S\u00e2lavat\u00ee is pregnant,\" my whole position will be lost. What if I were to have the people told that I am sick.'\nAnd the courtezan S\u00e2lavat\u00ee gave orders to the door-keeper (saying), 'Let no man enter here, my good door-keeper, and if a man calls for me, tell him that I am sick.' The door-keeper accepted\nthis of the courtezan S\u00e2lavat\u00ee (by saying), Yes, Madam.'\n4. And the courtezan S\u00e2lavat\u00ee, when the child in her womb had reached maturity, gave birth to a boy. And the courtezan S\u00e2lavat\u00ee gave orders to her maid-servant (saying), 'Go, my girl, put this boy into an old winnowing basket, take him away, and throw him away on a dust-heap.' The servant accepted this order of the courtezan S\u00e2lavat\u00ee (by saying), 'Yes, Madam,' put that boy into an old winnowing basket, took him away, and threw him away on a dust-heap.\nAt that time a royal prince, Abhaya by name 1, went betimes to attend upon the king, and saw that boy, around whom crows were gathering. When he saw that, he asked the people: 'What is that, my good Sirs, around which the crows are gathering?'\nIt is a boy, Your Highness 2.'\n'Is he alive, Sirs?'\n'He is alive, Your Highness.'\n'Well, my good Sirs, bring that boy to our palace and give him to the nurses to nourish him.'\nAnd those people accepted that order of the royal prince Abhaya (by saying), 'Yes, Your Highness,' brought that boy to the palace of the royal prince Abhaya, and gave him to the nurses (saying),\n'Nourish (this boy).'\nBecause (the people had said about this boy to Abhaya), 'He is alive' (g\u00eevati), they gave him the name of G\u00eevaka; because he had been caused to be nourished by the royal prince (kum\u00e2rena pos\u00e2pito), they gave him the name of Kom\u00e2rabhakka 1.\n5. And ere long G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka came to the years of discretion. And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka went to the place where the royal prince Abhaya was; having approached him he said to the royal prince Abhaya: 'Who is my mother, Your Highness, and who is my father?'\n'I do not know your mother, my good G\u00eevaka, but I am your father, for I have had you nourished.'\nNow G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka thought: 'In these royal families it is not easy to find one's livelihood without knowing an art. What if I were to learn an art.'\n6. At that time there lived at Takkasil\u00e2 (\u03a4\u03ac\u03be\u03b9\u03bb\u03b1) a world-renowned physician. And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka without asking leave of the royal prince Abhaya set out for Takkasil\u00e2. Wandering from place to place he came to Takkasil\u00e2 and to the place where\nthat physician was. Having approached him he said to that physician, 'I wish to learn your art, doctor.\n'Well, friend G\u00eevaka, learn it.'\nAnd G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka learnt much, and learnt easily, and understood well, and did not forget what he had learnt. And when seven years had elapsed, G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka thought: 'I learn much, and learn easily, and I understand well, and I do not forget what I have learnt. I have studied now seven years, and I do not see the end of this art. When shall I see the end of this art?'\n7. And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka went to the place where that physician was; having approached him he said to that physician: 'I learn much, doctor, and I learn easily; I understand well, and do not forget what I have learnt. I have studied now seven years, and I do not see the end of this art. When shall I see the end of this art?'\n'Very well, my dear G\u00eevaka, take this spade, and seek round about Takkasil\u00e2 a yogana on every side, and whatever (plant) you see which is not medicinal, bring it to me.'\nG\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka accepted this order of that physician (saying), 'Yes, doctor,' took a spade, and went around about Takkasil\u00e2 a yogana on every side, but he did not see anything that was not medicinal. Then G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka went to the place where that physician was; having approached him he said to that physician: 'I have been seeking, doctor, all around Takkasil\u00e2 a yogana on every side, but I have not seen anything that is not medicinal.'\n(The physician replied), 'You have done your learning, my good G\u00eevaka; this will do for acquiring your livelihood.' Speaking thus he gave to G\u00eevaka\n[paragraph continues] Kom\u00e2rabhakka a little (money) for his journey (home).\n8. And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka took that little money, given to him for his journey, and set out for R\u00e2gagaha. And on the way at S\u00e2keta that little money of G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka was spent. Now G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka thought: 'These ways are wild, and there is but little water and little food; it is difficult to travel here without money for the journey. What if I were to try to get some money for my journey.'\nAt that time the setthi's 1 wife at S\u00e2keta had been suffering for seven years from disease in the head; many very great and world-renowned physicians came, but they could not restore her to health; they received much gold, and went away.\nAnd G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka, when he had entered S\u00e2keta, asked the people: 'Who is sick here, my good Sirs? Whom shall I cure?'\n'That setthi's wife, doctor, has been suffering for seven years from a disease in the head; go, doctor, and cure that setthi's wife.'\n9. Then G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka went to the house of that householder, the setthi; and when he had reached it, he gave orders to the door-keeper (saying), 'Go, my good door-keeper, and tell the setthi's wife: \"A physician has come in, Madam, who wants to see you.\"'\nThat door-keeper accepted this order of G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka (saying), 'Yes, doctor,' went to the place where the setthi's wife was, and having approached her, he said to the setthi's wife: 'A physician has come in, Madam, who wants to see you.'\n'What sort of man is that physician, my good door-keeper?'\n'He is a young man, Madam.'\n'Nay, my good door-keeper, what can a young physician help me? Many very great and world-renowned physicians have come and have not been able to restore me to health; they have received much gold, and have gone away.'\n10. Thus that door-keeper went to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka; having approached him he said to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka: 'The setthi's wife has said, doctor: \"Nay, my good door-keeper (&c., as in \u00a7 9).\"'\n(G\u00eevaka replied), 'Go, my good door-keeper, and tell the setthi's wife: \"The physician, Madam, says: 'Do not give me anything beforehand, Madam when you shall have been restored to health, then you may give me what you like.\"'\nThe door-keeper accepted this order of G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka (saying), 'Yes, doctor,' went to the place where the setthi's wife was, and having approached her he said to the setthi's wife: 'The physician, Madam, says (&c., as above).'\n'Well, my good door-keeper, let the physician enter.'\nThe door-keeper accepted this order of the setthi's wife (saying), 'Yes, Madam,' went to the place where G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka was, and having approached him he said to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka: 'The setthi's wife calls you, doctor.'\n11. Then G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka went to the place where the setthi's wife was; having approached her, and having carefully observed the change in the appearance of the setthi's wife, he said to the\nsetthi's wife: 'We want one pasata 1 of ghee, Madam.' Then the setthi's wife ordered one pasata of ghee to be given to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka. And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka boiled up that pasata of ghee with various drugs, ordered the setthi's wife to lie down on her back in the bed, and gave it her through her nose. And the butter given through the nose came out through the mouth. And the setthi's wife spat it out into the spittoon, and told the maid-servant: 'Come, my girl, take this ghee up with a piece of cotton.'\n12. Then G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka thought: 'It is astonishing how niggardly this house-wife is, in that she has this ghee, which ought to be thrown away, taken up with a piece of cotton. I have given her many highly precious drugs. What sort of fee will she give me?'\nAnd the setthi's wife, when she observed the change of demeanour in G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka, said to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka: 'Why are you perplexed, doctor?'\n'I thought: \"It is astonishing, &c.\"'\n'Householders like us, doctor, know why to economize thus; this ghee will do for the servants or workmen to anoint their feet with, or, it can be poured into the lamp. Be not perplexed, doctor, you will not lose your fee.'\n13. And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka drove away the disease in the head which the setthi's wife had had for seven years, by once giving her medicine through the nose. Then the setthi's wife, who had been' restored to health, gave four thousand (k\u00e2h\u00e2panas) to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka; her son (thinking), 'My mother stands there restored,' gave him four thousand; her daughter-in-law (thinking), 'My mother-in-law stands there restored,' gave him four thousand; the setthi, the householder, (thinking), 'My wife stands there restored,' gave him four thousand and a man-servant and a maid-servant and a coach with horses.\nThen G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka took those sixteen thousand (k\u00e2h\u00e2panas) and the man-servant, the maid-servant, and the coach with the horses, and set out for R\u00e2gagaha. In due course he came to R\u00e2gagaha, and to the place where the royal prince Abhaya was; having approached him he said to the royal prince Abhaya: 'This, Your Highness, (have I received for) the first work I have done, sixteen thousand and a man-servant and a maid-servant and a coach with horses; may Your Highness accept this as payment for my bringing up.'\n'Nay, my dear G\u00eevaka, keep it, but do not get a dwelling for yourself elsewhere than in our residence.'\nG\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka accepted this order of the royal prince Abhaya (saying), 'Yes, Your Highness,' and got himself a dwelling in the residence of the royal prince Abhaya.\n14. At that time the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra suffered from a fistula; his garments were stained with blood. When the queens saw that,\nthey ridiculed (the king, and said): 'His Majesty is having his courses. His Majesty will bring forth!' The king was annoyed at that. And the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra said to the royal prince Abhaya: 'I am suffering, my dear Abhaya, from such a disease that my garments are stained with blood; and the queens, when they see it, ridicule (me by saying), \"His Majesty is, &c.\" Pray, my dear Abhaya, find a physician for me, able to cure me.'\n'This excellent young physician of ours, Sire, G\u00eevaka, he will cure Your Majesty.'\n'Then pray, my dear Abhaya, give orders to the physician G\u00eevaka, and he shall cure me.'\n15. Then the royal prince Abhaya gave orders to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka (saying), 'Go, my dear G\u00eevaka, and cure the king.'\nG\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka accepted this order of the royal prince Abhaya (by saying), 'Yes, Your Highness,' took some medicament in his nail, and went to the place where the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra was. Having approached him, he said to the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra: 'Let us see your disease, Your Majesty.' And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka healed the fistula of the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra by one anointing.\nThen the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra, having been restored to health, ordered his five hundred wives to put on all their ornaments; then he ordered them to take their ornaments off and to make a heap of them, and he said to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka: 'All these ornaments, my dear G\u00eevaka, of my five hundred wives shall be thine.'\n'Nay, Sire, may Your Majesty remember my office.'\n'Very well, my dear G\u00eevaka, you can wait upon me and my seraglio and the fraternity of Bhikkhus with the Buddha at its head.'\nG\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka accepted this order of the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra (by saying), 'Yes, Your Majesty.'\n16. At that time the setthi at R\u00e2gagaha had been suffering for seven years from a disease in the head. Many very great and world-renowned physicians came, and were not able to restore him to health; they received much gold and went away. And a prognostication had been made by the physicians to him, to wit: Some of the physicians said: 'The setthi, the householder, will die on the fifth day;' other physicians said: 'The setthi, the householder, will die on the seventh day.'\nNow (a certain) R\u00e2gagaha merchant thought: 'This setthi, this householder, does good service both to the king and to the merchants' guild. Now the physicians have made prognostication to him(&c., as above). There is G\u00eevaka, the royal physician, an excellent young doctor. What if we were to ask the king for his physician G\u00eevaka to cure the setthi, the householder?'\n17. And the R\u00e2gagaha merchant went to the place where the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra was; having approached him, he said to the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra: That setthi, Sire, that householder, does good service both to Your Majesty and to the merchants' guild. Now the physicians have made prognostication to him, &c. May it please Your Majesty to order the physician G\u00eevaka to cure the setthi, the householder.'\nThen the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra gave\norders to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka (saying), 'Go, my dear G\u00eevaka, and cure the setthi, the householder.'\nG\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka accepted this order of the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra (by saying), 'Yes, Your Majesty,' went to the place where the setthi, the householder, was, and having approached him, and having carefully observed the change in his appearance, he said to the setthi, the householder: 'If I restore you to health, my good householder, what fee will you give me?'\n'All that I possess shall be yours, doctor, and I will be your slave.'\n18. 'Well, my good householder, will you be able to lie down on one side for seven months?'\n'I shall be able, doctor, to lie down on one side for seven months.'\n'And will you be able, my good householder, to lie down on the other side for seven months?'\n'I shall be able, doctor, to lie down on the other side for seven months.'\n'And will you be able, my good householder, to lie down on your back for seven months?'\n'I shall be able, doctor, to lie down on my back for seven months.'\nThen G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka ordered the setthi, the householder, to lie down on his bed, tied him fast to his bed, cut through the skin of the head, drew apart the flesh on each side of the incision, pulled two worms out (of the wound), and showed them to the people (saying), 'See, Sirs, these two worms, a small one and a big one. The doctors who said, \"On the fifth day the setthi, the householder, will die,\" have seen this big worm, and how it would penetrate on the fifth day to the brain of\nthe setthi, the householder, and that when it had penetrated to the brain, the setthi, the householder, would die. Those doctors have seen it quite rightly. And the doctors who said, \"On the seventh day the setthi, the householder, will die,\" have seen this small worm, and how it would penetrate on the seventh day to the brain of the setthi, the householder, and that when it had penetrated to the brain, the setthi, the householder, would die. Those doctors have seen it quite rightly.' (Speaking thus) he closed up the sides of the wound, stitched up the skin on the head, and anointed it with salve.\n19. And when seven days had elapsed, the setthi, the householder, said to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka: 'I am not able, doctor, to lie down on one side for seven months.'\n'Did you not tell me, my good householder: \"I shall be able, doctor, to lie down on one side for seven months?\"'\n'It is true, doctor, I told you so indeed, but I shall die (if I do); I cannot lie down on one side for seven months.'\n'Well, my good householder, then you must lie down on the other side for seven months.'\nAnd when seven days had elapsed, the setthi, the householder, said to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka: 'I am not able, doctor, to lie down on the other side for seven months.'\n'Did you not tell me, &c.'\nIt is true, doctor, I told you so indeed, &c.'\n'Well, my good householder, then you must lie down on your back for seven months.'\nnot able, doctor, to lie down on my back for seven months.'\nDid you not tell me, &c.?'\n20. 'If I had not spoken thus to you, my good householder, you would not have lain down even so long a time. But I knew beforehand, \"After three times seven days the setthi, the householder, will be restored to health.\" Arise, my good householder, you are restored; look to it what fee you give me.'\n'Nay, my good householder, do not give me all that you possess, and do not be my slave; give one hundred thousand (k\u00e2h\u00e2panas) to the king, and one hundred thousand to me.'\nThen the setthi, the householder, having regained his health, gave a hundred thousand (k\u00e2h\u00e2panas) to the king, and a hundred thousand to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka.\n21. At that time the son of the setthi at Benares, who used to amuse himself by tumbling (mokkhakik\u00e2 1), brought upon himself an entanglement of his\nintestines, in consequence of which he could digest neither the rice-milk which he drank, nor the food of which he partook, nor was he able to ease himself in the regular way. In consequence of that he grew lean, he looked disfigured and discoloured, (his complexion became) more and more yellow, and the veins stood out upon his skin.\nNow the setthi of Benares thought: 'My son is suffering from such and such a disease: he neither can digest the rice-milk which he drinks (&c., as above, down to:) and the veins stand out upon his skin. What if I were to go to R\u00e2gagaha and to ask the king for his physician G\u00eevaka to cure my son.'\nAnd the setthi of Benares went to R\u00e2gagaha and repaired to the place where the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra was; having approached him he said to the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra: 'My son, Your Majesty, is suffering from such and such a disease: he neither can digest the rice-milk which he drinks (&c., as above, down to:) and the veins stand out upon his skin. May it please Your Majesty to order the physician G\u00eevaka to cure my son.'\n22. Then the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra gave orders to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka (saying), 'Go, my dear G\u00eevaka; go to Benares, and cure the setthi's son at Benares.'\nG\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka accepted this order of the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra (by saying), 'Yes, Your Majesty,' went to Benares, and repaired to the place where the son of the Benares setthi was; having approached him, and having carefully\nobserved the change in his appearance, he ordered the people to leave the room, drew the curtain, tied him fast to a pillar, placed his wife in front of him, cut through the skin of the belly, drew the twisted intestines out, and showed them to his wife (saying), 'Look here what the disease was, from which your husband was suffering. This is the reason why he neither can digest the rice-milk which he drinks, nor can digest the food of which he partakes, nor is able to ease himself in the regular way, and why he has grown lean, and looks disfigured and discoloured, and (why his complexion has become) more and more yellow, and the veins have stood out upon his skin.' (Speaking thus), he disentangled the twisted intestines, put the intestines back (into their right position), stitched the skin together, and anointed it with salve. And before long the Benares setthi's son regained his health.\nThen the setthi of Benares (saying to himself), 'My son stands here restored to health,' gave sixteen thousand (k\u00e2h\u00e2panas) to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka. And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka took those sixteen thousand (k\u00e2h\u00e2panas), and went back again to R\u00e2gagaha.\n23. At that time king Paggota (of Uggen\u00ee) was suffering from jaundice. Many very great and world-renowned physicians came and were not able to restore him to health; they received much gold and went away. Then king Paggota sent a messenger to the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra (with the following message): 'I am suffering from such and such a disease; pray, Your Majesty 1, give\norders to the physician G\u00eevaka; he will cure me.' Then the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra gave orders to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka (saying), 'Go, my dear G\u00eevaka; go to Uggen\u00ee, and cure king Paggota.'\nG\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka accepted this order of the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra (by saying), 'Yes, Your Majesty,' went to Uggen\u00ee and to the place where king Paggota was, and having approached him, and having carefully observed the change in his appearance, he said to king Paggota:\n24. 'I will boil up some ghee, Sire, which Your Majesty must drink.'\n'Nay, my good G\u00eevaka; do what you can for restoring me without giving me ghee; I have an aversion and a distaste for ghee.'\nThen G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka thought: 'The disease of this king is such a one that it cannot be cured without ghee. What if I were to boil up ghee so that it takes the colour, the smell, and the taste of an astringent decoction 1.'\nThen G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka boiled some ghee with various drugs so as to give it the colour, the smell, and the taste of an astringent decoction. And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka thought: 'When this king will shall have taken the butter and digested it, it will make him vomit. This king is cruel; he might have me killed. What if I were to take leave before\nhand.' And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka went to the place where king Paggota was; having approached him he said to king Paggota:\n25. 'We physicians, Sire, draw out roots and gather medical drugs at such an hour as this. May it please Your Majesty to send the following order to the (royal) stables, and to the gates (of the town): \"Let G\u00eevaka ride out on what animal he likes; let him leave (the town) by what gate he likes; let him leave at what hour he likes; let him enter again at what hour he likes.\"'\nAnd king Paggota sent the following order to the (royal) stables and to the gates (of the town): 'Let G\u00eevaka ride out on what animal he likes, &c.'\nAt that time king Paggota had a she-elephant, called Bhaddavatik\u00e2, which could travel fifty yoganas (in one day). And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka gave the ghee to king Paggota (saying), 'May Your Majesty drink this decoction.' Then, having made king Paggota drink the ghee, G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka went to the elephant stable, and hasted away from the town on the she-elephant Bhaddavatik\u00e2.\n26. And when king Paggota had drunk that ghee and was digesting it, it made him vomit. Then king Paggota said to his attendants: 'That wicked G\u00eevaka, my good Sirs, has given me ghee to drink. Go, my good Sirs, and seek the physician G\u00eevaka.'\n(The attendants answered), 'He has run away from the town on the she-elephant Bhaddavatik\u00e2.'\nAt that time king Paggota had a slave, K\u00e2ka by name, who could travel sixty yoganas (in one day), who had been begotten by a non-human being. To this slave K\u00e2ka; king Paggota gave the order: 'Go, my good K\u00e2ka, and call the physician G\u00eevaka back\n[paragraph continues] (saying), \"The king orders you to return, doctor.\" But those physicians, my good K\u00e2ka, are cunning people; do not accept anything from him.'\n27. And the slave K\u00e2ka overtook G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka on his way, at Kosamb\u00ee, when he was taking his breakfast. And the slave K\u00e2ka said to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka: 'The king orders you to return, doctor.'\n(G\u00eevaka replied), 'Wait, my good K\u00e2ka, until we have taken our meal; here, my good K\u00e2ka, eat.'\n(K\u00e2ka said), 'Nay, doctor, the king has told me, \"Those physicians, my good K\u00e2ka, are cunning people; do not accept anything from him.\"'\nAt that time G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka, who had cut off some drug with his nail, was eating an emblic myrobalan fruit and drinking water. And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka said to the slave K\u00e2ka: 'Here, my good K\u00e2ka, eat of this myrobalan fruit and take some water.'\n28. Then the slave K\u00e2ka thought: 'This physician eats the myrobalan and drinks the water; there cannot be any harm in it;' so he ate half of the myrobalan and drank some water. And that half myrobalan which (G\u00eevaka) had given him to eat, opened his bowels on the spot.\nThen the slave K\u00e2ka said to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka: 'Can my life be saved, doctor?'\n(G\u00eevaka replied), 'Be not afraid, my good K\u00e2ka, you will be quite well. But the king is cruel; that king might have me killed; therefore do I not return.'\nSpeaking thus he handed over to K\u00e2ka the she-elephant Bhaddavatik\u00e2 and set out for R\u00e2gagaha. Having reached R\u00e2gagaha in due course, he went to\nthe place where the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra was; having approached him he told the whole thing to the Magadha king Bimbis\u00e2ra.\n(Bimbis\u00e2ra said), 'You have done right, my good G\u00eevaka, that you have not returned; that king is cruel; he might have had you killed.'\n29. And king Paggota, being restored to health, sent a messenger to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka (with this message), 'May G\u00eevaka come to me; I will grant him a boon.'\n(G\u00eevaka replied), 'Nay, Sir, may His Majesty remember my office.'\nAt that time king Paggota had a suit of Siveyyaka cloth 1, which was the best, and the most excellent, and the first, and the most precious, and the noblest of many cloths, and of many suits of cloth, and of many hundred suits of cloth, and of many thousand suits of cloth, and of many hundred thousand suits of cloth. And king Paggota sent this suit of Siveyyaka cloth to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka. Then G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka thought: 'This suit of Siveyyaka cloth which king Paggota has sent me, is the best and the most excellent (&c., down to:) and of many hundred thousand suits of cloth. Nobody else is worthy to receive it but He the blessed, perfect\n[paragraph continues] Arahat-Buddha, or the Magadha king Seniya Bimbis\u00e2ra.'\n30. At that time a disturbance had befallen the humors of the Blessed One's body. And the Blessed One said to the venerable \u00c2nanda: 'A disturbance, \u00c2nanda, has befallen the humors of the Tath\u00e2gata's body; the Tath\u00e2gata wishes to take a purgative.' Then the venerable \u00c2nanda went to the place where G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka was; having approached him he said to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka:\n'My good G\u00eevaka, a disturbance has befallen the humors of the Tath\u00e2gata's body; the Tath\u00e2gata wishes to take a purgative.'\n(G\u00eevaka replied), 'Well, venerable \u00c2nanda, you ought to rub the Blessed One's body with fat for a few days.'\nAnd the venerable \u00c2nanda, having rubbed the Blessed One's body with fat for some days, went to the place where G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka was; having approached him he said to G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka: 'I have rubbed, my good G\u00eevaka, the Tath\u00e2gata's body with fat; do you now what you think fit.'\n31. Then G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka thought: 'It is not becoming that I should give a strong purgative to the Blessed One.' (Thinking thus), he imbued three handfuls of blue lotuses with various drugs and went therewith to the place where the Blessed One was; having approached him he offered one handful of lotuses to the Blessed One (saying), 'Lord, may the Blessed One smell this first handful of lotuses; that will purge the Blessed One ten times.' Thus he offered also the second handful of lotuses to the Blessed One (saying), 'Lord, may the Blessed One smell this second handful of lotuses;\nthat will purge the Blessed One ten times.' Thus he offered also the third handful of lotuses to the Blessed One (saying), 'Lord, may the Blessed One smell this third handful of lotuses; that will purge the Blessed One ten times. Thus the Blessed One will have purged full thirty times.' And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka, having given to the Blessed One a purgative for full thirty times, bowed down before the Blessed One, and passed round him with his right side towards him, and went away.\n32. And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka, when he was out of doors, thought: 'I have given indeed to the Blessed One a purgative for full thirty times, but as the humors of the Tath\u00e2gatha's body are disturbed, it will not purge the Blessed One full thirty times; it will purge the Blessed One only twenty-nine times. But the Blessed One, having purged, will take a bath; the bath will purge the Blessed One once; thus the Blessed One will be purged full thirty times.'\nAnd the Blessed One, who understood by the power of his mind this reflection of G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka, said to the venerable \u00c2nanda: 'G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka, \u00c2nanda, when he was out of doors, has thought: \"I have given indeed (&c., as above, down to:) thus the Blessed One will be purged full thirty times.\" Well, \u00c2nanda, get warm water ready.'\nThe venerable \u00c2nanda accepted this order of the Blessed One (saying), 'Yes, Lord,' and got warm water ready.\n33. And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka went to the place where the Blessed One was; having approached him and respectfully saluted the Blessed One, he sat down near him; sitting near him G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka said to the Blessed One: 'Lord, has the\n[paragraph continues] Blessed One purged?' (Buddha replied), 'I have purged, G\u00eevaka' (G\u00eevaka said), 'When I was out of doors, Lord, I thought: \"I have given indeed, &c.\" Lord, may the Blessed One take a bath, may the Happy One take a bath.' Then the Blessed One bathed in that warm water; the bath purged the Blessed One once; thus the Blessed One was purged full thirty times.\nAnd G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka said to the Blessed One: 'Lord, until the Blessed One's body is completely restored, you had better abstain from liquid food.' And ere long the Blessed One's body was completely restored.\n34. Then G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka took that suit of Siveyyaka cloth and went to the place where the Blessed One was; having approached him, and having respectfully saluted the Blessed One, he sat down near him. Sitting near him, G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka said to the Blessed One: 'Lord, I ask one boon of the Blessed One.' (Buddha replied), 'The Tath\u00e2gatas, G\u00eevaka, are above granting boons (before they know what they are).' (G\u00eevaka said), 'Lord, it is a proper and unobjectionable demand.'--'Speak, G\u00eevaka.'\n'Lord, the Blessed One wears only pamsuk\u00fbla robes (robes made of rags taken from a dust heap or a cemetery 1), and so does the fraternity of Bhikkhus. Now, Lord, this suit of Siveyyaka cloth has been sent to me by king Paggota, which is the best, and the most excellent, and the first, and the most precious, and the noblest of many cloths and of\nmany suits of cloth, and of many hundred suits of cloth, and of many thousand suits of cloth, and of many hundred thousand suits of cloth. Lord, may the Blessed One accept from me this suit of Siveyyaka cloth, and may he allow to the fraternity of Bhikkhus to wear lay robes 1.'\nThe Blessed One accepted the suit of Siveyyaka cloth. And the Blessed One taught, incited, animated, and gladdened G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka by religious discourse. And G\u00eevaka Kom\u00e2rabhakka, having been taught, incited, animated, and gladdened by the Blessed One by religious discourse, rose from his seat, respectfully saluted the Blessed One, passed round him with his right side towards him, and went away.\n35. And the Blessed One, after having delivered a religious discourse in consequence of that, thus addressed the Bhikkhus:\n'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to wear lay robes. He who likes may wear pamsuk\u00fbla robes; he who likes may accept lay robes. Whether you are pleased with the one or with the other sort 2 of robes, I approve it.'\nNow the people at R\u00e2gagaha heard, The Blessed One has allowed the Bhikkhus to wear lay robes.' Then those people became glad and delighted (because they thought), 'Now we will bestow gifts (on the Bhikkhus) and acquire merit by good works,\nsince the Blessed One has allowed the Bhikkhus to wear lay robes.' And in one day many thousands of robes were presented at R\u00e2gagaha (to the Bhikkhus).\nAnd the people in the country heard, 'The Blessed One has allowed the Bhikkhus to wear lay robes.' Then those people became glad (&c., as above, down to:) And in one day many thousands of robes were presented through the country also (to the Bhikkhus).\n36. At that time the Samgha had received a mantle. They told this thing to the Blessed One.\n'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to wear a mantle.'\nThey had got a silk mantle.\n'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to wear a silk mantle.'\nThey had got a fleecy counterpane 1.\n'I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to use a fleecy counterpane.'\n__________________\nEnd of the first Bh\u00e2nav\u00e2ra.\n171:1 Compare Mah\u00e2-sudassana Sutta I, 3, and Mah\u00e2-parinibb\u00e2na Sutta V, 42.\n171:2 See above, VI, 30, 6; Mah\u00e2-parinibb\u00e2na Sutta II, 16 seq.\n173:1 This royal prince Abhaya' (Abhaya kum\u00e2ra) is mentioned by the Gainas under the name of Abhayakum\u00e2ra as the son of Seniya, i.e. Bimbis\u00e2ra. See Jacobi, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morg. Gesellschaft, vol. xxxiv, p. 187.\n173:2 The word which we have translated 'Your Highness' (deva, lit. 'God') is the same which is used by all persons except by Samanas in addressing a king.\n174:1 Evidently the redactors of this passage referred the first part of the compound Kom\u00e2rabhakka to the royal prince (kum\u00e2ra) Abhaya, and intended Kom\u00e2rabhakka to be understood as 'a person whose life is supported by a royal prince.' So also the name Kum\u00e2ra-Kassapa is explained in the G\u00e2taka commentary (Rh. D., 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' p. 204). The true meaning of the name, however, appears to have been different, for in Sanskrit kum\u00e2rabhrity\u00e2 and kaum\u00e2rabhritya are technical terms for the part of the medical science which comprises the treatment of infants (see Wise, 'Commentary on the Hindu System of Medicine,' p. 3). We believe, therefore, that this surname Kom\u00e2rabhakka really means,' Master of the kaum\u00e2rabhritya science.'\n176:1 See the note at I, 7, 1.\n178:1 One prasrita or prasriti ('handful') is said by the Sanskrit lexicographers to be equal to two palas. About the pala, which according to the ghee measure (ghritapram\u00e2na) of Magadha was the thirty-second part of a prastha, see the Atharva-parisishta 35, 3, ap. Weber, Ueber den Vedakalender namens Jyotisham, p. 82. Compare also Rh. D., 'Ancient Coins and Measures of Ceylon,' pp. 18, 19.\n184:1 Mokkhakik\u00e2 is explained in a passage quoted by Childers sub voce and taken from the Suma\u1e45gala Vil\u00e2sin\u00ee on the 4th Magghima S\u00eela. (Compare Rh. D., 'Buddhist Suttas from the P\u00e2li,' p. 193.) The passage from Buddhaghosa is however not devoid of ambiguity. He says: 'Mokkhakik\u00e2 is the feat of turning over and over. One gets hold of a staff in the air, and places his head on the ground; turning himself upside down. This is what is meant (by the word mokkhakik\u00e2).' It is not clear whether the performer suspends himself by his feet from a horizontal bar fixed at a height above the ground; or whether he turns a sommersault, holding at the same time a stick in his hands. The latter seems p. 185 more in accordance with the phrase 'holding a stick in the air' (\u00e2k\u00e2se dandam gahetv\u00e2) and with the phrase 'turning over and over' (samparivattanam).\nr86:1 This passage in which king Paggota is represented as addressing king Bimbis\u00e2ra by the respectful expression 'deva' may in our p. 187 opinion be brought forward against Professor Jacobi's conjecture (Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morg. Gesellschaft, vol. xxxiv, p. 188) that Bimbis\u00e2ra was merely a feudal chief under the supreme rule of king Paggota. The Pitaka texts are always very exact in the selection of the terms of respect in which the different persons address each other.\n187:1 See, about the decoctions used in medicine, VI, 4.\n190:1 Buddhaghosa gives two explanations of Siveyyakam dussayugam. 'Either Siveyyaka cloth means the cloth used in the Uttarakuru country for veiling the dead bodies when they are brought to the burying-ground (sivathik\u00e2). (A certain kind of birds take the bodies to the Himavat mountains in order to eat them, and throw the cloths away. When eremites find them there, they bring them to the king.) Or Siveyyaka cloth means a cloth woven from yarn which skilful women in the Sivi country spin.' No doubt the latter explication is the right one.\n193:1 Buddhaghosa: 'To the Blessed One during the twenty years from his Sambodhi till this story happened no one had presented a lay robe.'\n194:1 Gahapatik\u00eev\u00e2ra may be translated also, as Buddhaghosa explains it, 'a robe presented by lay people.'\n194:2 Itar\u00eetara ('the one or the other') clearly refers to the two sorts of robes mentioned before, not, as Childers (s.v. itar\u00eetaro) understands it, to whether the robes are good or bad. Compare also chap. 3, \u00a7 2.\n195:1 See Abhidh\u00e2napp. v. 312.","title":"SBE 17: Eighth Khandhaka: Chapter 1","type":"page"}